Vulpix wrote:Hello fish thread! How y'all doing today?
I work at a pet supply store chain that carries betta fish. I feel bad seeing them in their tiny cups and would kind of like to bring one home and spoil him. Sadly I do not know very much about keeping betta fish! I was wondering if anyone in the thread might be able to help me out and point me towards any good betta-keeping resources or guides? I'd like to do some research but I'm not sure where to start!
Thanks guys, hope all your fishies are doing well!
If you don't like how they're treated you might want to consider buying your betta from a shop or individual that doesn't sell them in cups as well as writing to the company to tell them how you feel. It might suck for the fish that have to go through it now but over time if less people buy them in those conditions and let them know they don't like it there's a chance they could improve. In our country bettas are sold in community or divided tanks, still small but at least they're heated and filtered.
As for caring for it you'll need an absolute minimum of 2.5 gallons but ideally at least 5 gallons. Bigger is better for tanks as a larger one is more stable and forgiving of mistakes than a smaller one. Learn about the
nitrogen cycle and cycle your tank before you get the fish, it normally takes about a month.
You'll need a heater even if your room is warm. They need the temperature to stay between 78° and 80° F (25.5° and 26.5 C).
Bettas love plants and places to hide. Consider getting real or fake silk plants and lots of decorations. He'll feel safer with more cover and real plants can help with nitrates c:
Make sure you get water conditioner and add it to any water you put in the tank. We like Prime, it might be a bit expensive to buy but if you just have a small tank even the smallest bottle will last you about a year. Most people do partial water changes every 1-2 weeks. The exact amount will vary based on any ammonia, nitrite or nitrate in the water but about 20% is common. Never change 100% of the water at once as this can shock your fish.
There's a more detailed guide here that might help:
https://bettafish.org/care/ When looking at resources you have to be careful as there's a lot of bad information out there about bettas and fishkeeping in general. We'd be wary of anything that doesn't mention cycling or says a bowl or very small tank is fine.
Or you can ask here c: