Betta care

Question
Dear Jaymie,

Okay here is the thing. The other day I went to the pet store to buy some food for my rabbit and I came out with two Betta fishes, one of them a crown tail. I already knew that Betta males cannot be kept together. Unfortunately I decided to do more research on betta care AFTER buying my fish. I didn't know that they were tropical fish who require a heater and a certain amount of space. At the moment I am just keeping both of them on small bowls. One of them is half a gallon and the other one not even that,about 0.25 gallons. Now I am seeking some advice. What's the minimum amount of space a betta needs? I would not want to get two big aquariums honestly and I've seen a few small 1.5 Gallon aquarium kits that come with a small filter and light. I was thinking I could get two of those with a heater but if that is too unhealthy for the fish then I suppose I shouldn't. Like I said, now I am just seeking some advice, what do you think I should do? How often should the aquarium be cleaned and what are appropriate foods for bettas? I heard that a combination of different foods is good so I suppose giving them, pellets, flakes and bloodworms would work? I would appreciate any advice you could give me.

Answer
Julio,

  I have 10 Betta adults and they are all in 5 gallon tanks. The smallest i would put one in is a 2.5 gallon. Yes they are tropical and need a heater set at about 82 degrees. If you get them 2.5 gallon tanks, you will not need a filter. Since they have a labyrinth organ, they get most of their oxygen from breathing air. They are usually found in rice paddies, so no current is a good thing. Water changes need to be done weekly and consist of removing 25% of their water and adding back in conditioned water. Never put them in regular tap water, the chlorine will kill them. They like having gravel in the tank along with live or fake plants. If fake, make sure they cannot injure themselves. Their tails and fins are long and they can get them torn very easily. They eat, flakes, pellets, brine shrimp both frozen and freeze dried, blood worms both frozen or freeze dried. Mine also get live brine shrimp and mosquito larvae. I feed mine twice a day, morning and evening. If i am giving them pellets they get 4. I also soak the pellets for a few minutes before i feed them. This lesses the chance of them having problems. They are a great breed of fish, and enjoy all of mine. They have their own personalities and need a lot of attention.