Male bettas

Question
I am considering purchasing a male betta to keep as a pet, and I have a few questions.  How much care/attention do these fish need?  I have a very busy schedule, and cannot afford a lot of time to feed/clean/take care of it.  How big of a container do they need?  Some of my friends keep theirs in small cylindrical containers about the size of a plastic bag, is this adequate?  Do they require any sort of filtration system or anything else?  How often/much do I need to feed it, and when should I do it?  How do I tell if a betta is healthy or young?  How often do I need to clean the tank?

Thanks in advance.

Answer
Hi Twitch;

Bettas will 'survive' in a tiny container with no heat, but they really can't live up to their true potential. Bettas are tropical fish that need heat. Many of them die from the cold in those tiny containers because their new owners don't know about that. They are better off in an aquarium with heat and filtration. You can get some small aquariums of 4 or 5 gallons that can be heated quite well with little 25 watt thermostatically controlled heaters. A small system like this would be very little maintenance for you and a nice little home for a betta.

Bettas need to be fed once a day and have 25% of their water changed once a week while vacuuming the gravel. The food available is usually in the form of tiny pellets. Feed him 2 to 4 pellets a day. Supplement it with dry worms a couple of times a week.

Some other things you will need are water conditioner, a small net for removing excess waste or decaying food, an algae scraper pad.

Get the tank first and have it set up for a couple of days before adding the betta. You want to be sure the heater and filter work properly and the tank won't leak.

Have fun!

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Chris Robbins

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