fish splashed me back.

Question
QUESTION: Hi Lynda. I hate that weather too. I have jsut found out that my friend who left me some fish is on life support so I have got all the fish again. She told me to keep the fish if anything happens to her. The staff at the hospital have said she has got just this week to live maybe less than that. I have a male betta and a female betta.  I don't want the male to attack the female. What should I do if he stats getting aggressive towards her? I gave the little devils a splash for you and the ygot me back. The wter is improving, it isn't as cloudy as it was but it is taking for ever. You said it might take a while though. Something is bothering me about my little dears Dasher and Comet. They are healthy fish but they keep doing something that is worrying me. Let me kknow if you can handle what is worrying me. I just want to get it of my chest. I love my little dears.
Danielle.

ANSWER: Hi Danielle,
I'm sorry to read about your friend, what terrible news.  She might pull through, miracles happen.  I sure hope so.
You cannot keep a male Betta, and a female in the same tank.  You must separate them as quickly as possible.  The male will kill the female.
I sent you a page on how a betta should be treated, and that is the only way you can keep a betta.  There are no exceptions to the rule.  Bettas cannot live with other Bettas, they are siamese fighting fish.  If you have lost the information I sent you on Bettas, let me know, and I will send you information again.
I'm sending this off now so you can work on separating them as fast as you can.
Lynda


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Lynda. I have just looked for the information but it isn't there. I have lost it. I have just seperated  the betta fish with no problem apart from the male did that thing with the gills again directly at the female. That's bad isn't it. Are you sure you don't mind sending it to me again? Dasher and Comet are grabbing each other by the tail and pulling each other around and they have even started flipping each other upside down. That's what's bothering me. The betta's are siamese fighting fish. That spells trouble. I am glad  seperated them when I did. Last week I went to see a new film called Marley and me about a labrador called Marley who was very naughty. We were all crying at the end because the dog dies. He had to be put to sleep. I cried and cried.  
Danielle.

Answer
Hi Danielle,
Here is the information on the Betta...

Bettas need 5 gallons of water to be healthy, and happy.
In their habitat the betta may live in shallow waters, but they have lots of room to swim.  
Keeping Bettas in small bowls, containers, vases etc, is cruel.  The Betta is one of the most mistreated fish on the market.
They need a heated tank.  Temperature should be 78-80 degrees.  They are tropical fish, and are cold under this temperature.  Cold bettas get sick, are miserable, and live unhappy lives. ( Always remember  when heating a tank, do this very very slowly..1 (one) degree every two days, as bringing up the temperature too fast would kill your Betta.)  The temperature should always be stable.  Fluctuating temperature is very bad for bettas, and any other fish.  
They should have a silk plant in their tanks, so that they can rest on the leaves  They also need a little tunnel or some knick knack that they can go through.   One teaspoon to five gallons of diluted aquarium salt may be added to his water, when a Betta is well.  
Aquarium salt helps them with stress, and helps with parasites.  However if a Betta is showing signs of a swollen tummy, salt should not be used.
They need a varied diet. This is very important.  Betta pellets one day, Betta Flakes the next, Daphnia the next, and bloodworms should be given once a week as a treat.
He should be given one well cooked frozen cooked pea a week, and on the day you give him the pea, he should fast.    
A betta is prone to constipation, and constipation leads to Swim Bladder Disease.  A frozen cooked pea a week keeps them from getting constipated.  Always remove the outer layer of the pea, and cut it into small pieces feeding it to your betta one piece at a time.
They should have 2-3 small meals a day, and not one big meal.  We must remember that their tummy is the size of their eye.
Example:  2 pellets for one meal.
Water changes are very important.  Water changes must be made every week without fail with a good water conditioner such as Aqua Safe or Stress Coat.  There is also a conditioner made especially for bettas.  If you do not have a filter, change all the water in his tank weekly.
Never put two bettas in the same tank, they will kill each other...male or female.  The Betta male is a loner.  Females can be kept together in a big enough tank.
When treated well, a betta can live up to 8 years, if you buy him when he is very young.  (Unfortunately we do not know their age when we buy them at the Pet Store which is why some bettas die two or three years after we have bought them.)
He's an intelligent little fish, and should be treated with kindness.
Too many vendors know nothing about the betta, and don't care...so don't give good information on how to keep them.
They are there to sell, and will say anything just to make a buck.  They send you home with your bought betta, telling you a small bowl is perfect, and bloodworms!  The poor customer thinks he has everything he/she needs, and then the fish gets sick, money is spent to cure him, and eventually the fish dies.   
This turns my stomach over.  Unfortunately there are no laws to protect fish.  
Bettas kept in small bowls, one gallon tanks, and vases, will get sick, and are very hard to cure in such little water.  They end up dying, and
that hurts the person who has grown so attached to them.  They don't deserve to be treated this way.
This is how a Betta should be treated.  If treated this way, you will have your friend for a long long time.  I have bred them, love them, and know what is good for them.
I hope that your friend left you enough things to care for her fish.
The male Betta, would have killed the female if you had left them in together.  Even when they spawn, I don't take my eyes of them, the betta is fast, even though he doesn't look it, and can kill the female, if I don't take her out in time.  They are something else, but gee, we get so attached to them!
Looks like you are going to have a problem with your fish...Pulling each other like that is not too good is it?  They will hurt each other if they keep that up!
Lynda