Beta fish care

Question
Hi,
I just got 2 beta fish; they are in one bowl with a divider. I will be transferring them into 2 separate bowls so that they have more room. I was using bottled water for the fish bowl, but now I got this bowl conditioner so that I could use tap water. I make sure that the water is at room temperature before placing the fish back in the bowl (when cleaning their bowl). Is cleaning the fish bowl once a week enough? And when cleaning the bowl, is it okay that I drain all the water & replace it all while the fish are in a separate container? or should I leave about 25% of the original tank water?
Also, where the fish are placed, they do not get much sunlight, and they don't have any light on them.  Do I need to buy a light for the tank of some kind? Do they need to be in sunlight? I'm just not sure how much light they require.

Is there any other tips you have for caring for betas. I just got them last week. I've never had a fish before
Thanks for the help
Steph

Answer
Hi Steph;

You are doing just fine. More room is a good idea for them and it is best to change 100% of the water every week. Use the water conditioner every time.

Bettas don't need sunlight but they do need heat. Their water should be at 78 to 80 all the time, even at night. Desk lamps work out good for them, or if you can get a light that fits the top of each of their bowls that would work too.

Here are some sites to help you know more about bettas and their care;

http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/anabantids2/p/betta.htm
http://www.healthybetta.com/
http://home.bellsouth.net/p/s/community.dll?ep=16&groupid=108706&ck
http://www.bettatalk.com/

Have fun!

Followups Welcome

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins

Come on over and join us on the freshwater fish forum at About.com to get even more information too;
http://freshaquarium.about.com/od/questionsanswers/a/naavigateforum.htm

My member name is ChrisR62. See You There!