Betta Splendens Care 101

When you are looking to choose a betta splendens at the local pet store, here are some things you should keep your eye on.

Color: Look to see that their colors are bright and not dull and faded.

Activity: Take the cup with the betta splendens you're interested and place it next to another cup with a betta in it and see if your betta will perk up and start showing off. A normal healthy betta will always show off to another male betta.

Signs of Illness: If you see white spots or white fungus growing on your betta, you might want to pass. It will take time and lots of tender care to bring back a sick betta.

Betta splendens are commonly Siamese Fighting Fish. They are aptly called "Fighting Fish" because the males will fight to the death.

If you have two males, kept in separate tanks of course, and you put the tanks next to each other, you will be able to see some very awesome displays from your fish.

Now that you've picked out your new betta buddy, it's time to move him into his new home.

The larger the tank, the better for him. Those tiny betta tanks they sell at pet stores don't provide enough space at all for your betta. I wouldn't go for anything under 1 gallon.

The best 1 gallon tank that I've seen that would be great as a betta home are these:


Top Fin® Aqua Scene Desktop Aquariums

The 2 gallon would work as well and your betta will appreciate the extra room, but for basics, the 1 gallon works very well.

These tanks come complete with air pump, filter, and light!

Now that your new betta splendens is all settled in its new home, you'll need to get it to eat.

Bettas are normally raised on live food so the transition from their breeding grounds to your home as a pet can sometimes be a bit choppy.

Your new betta may not understand that the little things floating on the water is actually edible food.

To get your betta interested in the food, try pushing the food around with a toothpick and see if your betta perks up. If your betta takes it, watch him to see that he actually swallows it and doesn't spit it back up.

Don't worry if your betta refuses to eat for a day or two. It may take that long for it to realize that what he's tasting is food.

If though your betta still isn't eating after 2 days, you may want to try feeding him freeze dried worms and doing the same movement with the toothpick.

And if all else fails, you can always resort to live worms. Yummy! Live worms are great as a betta treat!

I recommend Omega One Betta Food.

Your betta splendens will learn your habits and when feeding time is. Before you know it, your betta will greet you everytime he sees you. He'll start wagging his little behind with as much gusto as he can in excitement.

You can take a mirror and place it next to him for him to show off his beautiful fins and his rough and tough exterior!

With patience, you can even teach him to jump up and touch your finger!

Bettas usually live for around 3 to 4 years. But with excellent care, they have been known to live for 6 years. In one laboratory experiment where they had the betta exercise every day for about an hour, the betta lived for 9 years!

When a betta gets older, you will notice that its chin will start turning white. Kinda like our hair getting white when we get old. I've noticed that this happens at around 4 or 5 years old.

Along with your local pet store, there are also online shops where you might be able to get your betta supplies cheaper.

I recommend these online stores:

Raising a betta family is quite an experience.

To see your bettas genes being passed on and seeing the babies take on the looks of the dad and mom is very rewarding.

If you keep on breeding and matching pairs, you might even be able to breed a new strain of betta!

To learn about breeding bettas successfully, this book will explain how to do it step by step.

Betta Fish Secrets goes into detail on how to pick the best bettas to breed and how to care for them to prep them for breeding. You will learn a lot about bettas with this book.

Become a successful betta breeder with Betta Fish Secrets!