Betta Fish Care

Betta Fish are some of the most beautiful fish on the planet and they will catch the eye of your guests. They are known for their lovely colors and fins, with a wide range of colors available. Bettas have specific requirements that are simple to meet so the Betta fish or Splendens fish is perfect for the first time tropical fish owner. Bettas are one of the most popular types of fish found in homes across the world.

When purchasing bettas for your aquarium, you should only buy one male fish. You can add several female betas to the tank if it is on the large side. Male bettas are known for the way they constantly fight aggressively with each other, so putting more than one of them in the same aquarium is a bad idea. Female bettas also fight amongst themselves, but not as aggressively as male bettas.

Facts About Betta Fish

Betta fish are native to the Mekong basin in Southeast Asia. That means they are tropical, so they prefer warmer waters. As said before, Bettas are relatively easy to care for and their low maintenance is particularly appealing to people who would like to have fish but don't have a lot of time to care for them. Bettas can be coupled with algae eaters, guppies, or corydorus catfish safely. Betta fish have been found to live for up to three years in the right conditions, but few in home aquariums will live anywhere near this long. Bettas grow to an overall length of about 6 cm.

Betta Fish Males and Females

Most often the aggression and fights occur between two male Bettas, however a new female introduced into a tank can threaten the existing male's dominate role and cause him to attack, so care must be taken when introducing Bettas. Female betta fish are not that aggressive towards each other, though it is recommended that there are many hiding places inside a tank if several female betta fish are to be kept in a community. Female bettas will get along better with each other than the males do but they do need room to escape a more aggressive female. They are not as vibrantly coloured, and have much shorter fins. Female bettas can also be housed with, tetras, and barbs.

An Important Betta Fish Care Tip

One word of caution and an important tip in betta fish care is to never use a fish net to catch a Siamese Fighting fish when doing water changes because their fins are very delicate and can easily get caught in the fiber of the net and be ripped, causing damage and stressing the betta. Take extreme precautions when changing the water in the tank. BTW, if your betta lives in a large tank (3+ gallons), you should change the water once in a week.

Betta Fish Care: What Water Temperature Is Preferred?

Being Tropical Fish, Bettas need to be kept at a temperature of 78 degrees F (25 degrees C) at a minimum on a consistent basis. 80 degrees is optimal, as this is their breeding temperature and they are more active, alive and happy with this temperature water because this is the temperature they used to live in the wild. If the temperature is too low, your Betta Splenden's growth will be stunted, become prone to disease, or even die from chronic stress. Most diseases are primarily prevented by keeping the tank temperature at consistent and steady levels. Make sure any water you add to the bowl is the same temperature as the water in the bowl. A digital meat thermometer is a great tool for checking water temperature regularly.

Conclusion

Betta fish are great for kids and college students who want an "easy to care for" fish in a smaller aquarium. But keep in mind: You need to feed, clean, and care for your Betta just like you would any other pet. If you take the time and effort to give your fish the Beta fish care that he or she deserves, you can make certain that your fish enjoys a long and happy life.
By following these tips, you are well on your way to having your betta stay healthy and showing a wonderful display of its vibrant colors. A bright, active fish is your reward for good betta fish care.

For your convenience, I've made an online Betta Fish Guide with complete reference regarding betta breeding, feeding, curing diseases, etc.

If you have ever noticed your betta splenden staring back out at you all bulging eyes, you are not alone. Most probably your beta fish is suffering from what is known as popeye disease. And the new bulging eyes that your betta is sporting is the worrying symptom of several potential problems with different degree of danger:

Internal metabolic disorders
Parasitic infection
Ick (another bacterial infection and also easily treatable)
Mycobacterial infection (which is easily treatable)
Tuberculosis (not so easily treatable)

The reason why your betta's eyes look bulding is because there is an abscess process developing behind the eye.

How to Treat Popeye Fish Disease

If the primary cause of betta popeye is a mycobacterial infection, you should go ahead and first remove the very cause of the bacteria itself. This can be done done by cleaning the tank water and ensuring that the pH balance of the water is just slightly acidic, at the level of 7.0. On a side note, nearly all bacterial infections found in betas and other fish can be avoided or in the very least reduced by keeping the water clean with the pH balance being regularly monitored.

Additionally, you can disinfect the water with Tetracycline or Terramycin, two very popular antibacterial medications that are availbale at every local pet store. The standard is to add this in the water at the proportion of 100 mg of the medication for every 4 oz. of water.

If this doesn't help to fight the bacteria, you can try the following methods to quickly fix the betta's environment:

Warm the water to 86 degrees F. You will want to do this gradually at a rate of 1 degree per hour so that not to cause your betta stresses. The water temperature should already be in the high 70 degree range (and never lower tham these figures! Cold water is on of the reasons standing behind betta fish diseases).

Add a little salt to the water. The key is "little", that is, a tiny quality. Don't give your betta fish a salt lake. The percentage of salt added to the water should be no higher than 6% when dissolved.

Both of these quick fixes will help to keep bacteria from exploding. It is important to note that if your fix is exhibiting signs of Popeye, you should avoid contact. Although it is unlikely that your sick betta fish suffers from tuberculosis, it is a disease transmissible to humans through open sores.

To sum up, popeye fish disease can be cured at home conditions using widely available medications and like most bacterial infections, the cause lies normally in the dirty aquarium water or a low pH. The best way to prevent popeye disease is to make sure your betta fish lives in a stress-free environment. That means clean and warm water, good and diverse healthy food, and spacious tank setup.