So…. for some odd reason, in consequence of moving, I’ve taken up a new hobby–fishkeeping, or, the practice of having an aquarium in your home. (Or in my case, um, more than one…)
When we moved into our new place, it had a “wet bar” (which, being a practicing Mormon, I will never use for alcohol) and it struck me this would be the perfect place to put an aquarium. Or two.
If I’d been blogging these past few months, it would be about fish. I may still blog a bit about fish. So there.
Those who know me know my fascination with houseplants – and working with aquatic plants was on my to-do list anyway. Planted tanks are just gorgeous.
my angelfish tank
my betta "sorority" tank--some females can live together
I have had Bettas ever since Steve and I started dating, but hadn’t run a full aquarium setup in about 15 years – and back then, when I did, I was doing it all wrong. Looking back with what I know now, I don’t know how those poor fish survived.
Somehow this hobby is addicting, though, and Craigslist provided (or as I prefer to say, the Lord provided…) me with good access to inexpensive equipment. Still, it’s been trial and error, and I’ve learned a lot about sick fish from pet stores, fish disease and treatment, and fish just plain not making it. Put that with my tendency to want to rescue things, and pretty soon you have the family groaning when Mom walks in the door with a fish bag. I’ve slowed down, thank goodness. There’s no way to save them all–there just isn’t.
I became so distressed as I shopped around and learned about the poor conditions of Bettas in those little tiny cups, that I decided I want to breed them myself–to keep them OUT of pet stores and directly into the hands of owners I can help teach about their proper care.
With a lot of research, trial and error, and finally a stroke of luck, I succeeded in putting two beautiful fish together without killing each other in the process, and now have about 20-30 six-week-old baby Bettas in my home. Thankfully, this was a “small” spawn–sometimes you can wind up with two or three hundred. They’re almost two months old now and pretty adorable. They won’t have their full finnage for about three more months, but their colors are coming in nicely.
With Bettas, the Daddy fish cares for the eggs until they hatch and the babies are free-swimming. It’s neat to watch. Momma fish pretty much just lays the eggs–then Daddy chases her off before she can eat them. (ew, gross–but that’s the fish world for you.)
Frodo tending his bubblenest
Scaramouche, the Mama
Here, pics of Mom and Dad. Her fins are a little torn up from his protecting the eggs from her, but are growing back in nicely.
Their spawning tank, with fry; microworms for fry food teeming on the bottom (the white cloudy stuff)
And the babies:
One of the larger babies - bottom right, smaller fry
In about a week or two, I’ll have to separate the fiesty little boys from everyone else, and put them into individual containers–but they’ll have much larger and cleaner homes than any Betta in a pet store ever gets. Then, between three and five months old, they’ll be ready to find their new homes.
Did you know that sometimes they have to live in that little tiny cup for over a year? It’s really unfair to the fish. But it does take up to a year for their full finnage to come in–and everyone wants to buy them fully finned.
Two medium-sized fry
If you’ve had a Betta before and it didn’t live very long, it was very likely in poor health before you bought it. Try looking on Craigslist or online for a reputable breeder near you with healthy breeding and raising practices–and stay away from those in the tiny cups if you possibly can. But if you’re like me–with Bettas–once you make eye contact, it’s over. “Save me, save me, save me….” ….you can almost hear them begging to go home.
They have so much personality compared to many other fish, and can be very interactive with you.
Through the years, mine have even learned to tap on the glass to get my attention for treats. Very cute. You can’t pet them–but otherwise, they’re a lot like puppies.
While I’m at it, I’ll post a few simple guidelines for proper betta care, but for more information visit the International Betta Society’s website. I don’t have it in front of me at the moment, but a web search will bring it right up.
http://www.bettysplendens.com is another excellent online resource, and breeder who can ship to your door.
First of all, Bettas do like space to swim, and they do like heat. They do not need an airstone like other tropical fish, because they have a labyrinth organ which allows them to breathe air from the surface. But they do like and need clean water–which means if you are keeping one in a small vase or jar, say a quart or so, you should be changing that water 100% at least twice a week. One to two gallons can go up to a week. And two to three gallons per Betta, changed fully about every week, with a heater to keep them between 74 and 80 degrees, is really best. And yes, you really, really should use a water conditioner, in addition to “aging” the water for a day or two by letting it stand. This does evaporate chlorine and eliminate those pesky nitrogen gas bubbles, but there may be other elements in your tap harmful to fish. You can do a lot of water testing to figure this out–some fish stores offer this as a free service–but you’ll probably be getting a conditioner anyway. I really like Prime.
So if you think about it, it’s not all that hard, or expensive, to upgrade your Betta to a bit more water and swimming space, or to give them clean water more often. They’ll thank you for it–and will live longer and happier lives. Remember–just because you can keep them in a tiny, cold little cup doesn’t mean you should.
Bettas come from Thailand, where they are found in rice paddies, and many wild species find their way into the hobby as well. But the most common is betta splendens, which includes all the various tail types you may have seen out there: veiltail (the usual), crowntail, split or doubletail (my Frodo), delta and halfmoon.
Their natural environment provides small insects, and they love them. Most will not touch flakes unless they are offered nothing else to survive on, and this–and the commercially produced “betta pellets”–are not the best foods for them. Also, any freeze-dried foods, while they eat these readily, can cause serious constipation, which can lead to death. Don’t do it.
I do keep a high-quality pellet on hand (Hikari and Omega One are good brands), but it’s a great idea to soak them in water first so the expansion happens outside their bodies rather than inside. They’re pretty voracious eaters, especially the females (sigh…), and don’t really know when to stop. The ”all they can eat in three minutes” rule doesn’t apply to them–they’ll be stuffed so big they’ll look like they swallowed a small grape. And then you have health problems, and will need to fast your little overeater until that bulge is completely gone (which also will not hurt them–in the wild, they can go up to two weeks without eating, but I don’t recommend waiting that long at home!)–all while your little guy is looking at you like you’re evil, because they could certainly eat more!
Just remember, they can and will eat until they explode, so don’t let them.
So. What should they eat, and how much? A variety of live foods is best, if you can stomach it. They’re not expensive if you ignore the price per pound and realize your fish is only going to eat about the size of their eyeball every day. A $5 package of frozen bloodworms will last you a really, really long time. These are a favorite. Snip off a small portion with a sharp knife and thaw it in a small dish of water (I pull water out of the warm tank). When thawed, you can pull out 3-4 of the juiciest-looking ones with a plastic fork and drop in the water. Easy as that.
There are also frozen or live brine shrimp (“sea monkeys”–although I don’t recommend raiding your child’s beloved sea monkeys to feed your fish), daphnia, and mosquito larva (I don’t recommend growing these at home on purpose, either). You can also find flightless fruit flies wherever reptile foods are sold, and these are also readily accepted. And yes, they do stay in the little jar they come in, and don’t get all over the house or your food.
Take care that any food you buy is small. Bettas have tiny teeth (too small for you to feel, should your Betta ever happen to bite you), but they can’t cut up their food into smaller pieces. It has to fit in their mouth. So some foods you see in that freezer case–such as krill and mysis shrimp–are just too big for them. You can chop them up if you, uh… want to. Be my guest.
Chopped earthworms would also be a great and healthy treat, but that’s not exactly how I want to use my cutting board. How you use yours is up to you.
My favorite food for mine is live blackworms (sometimes sold as tubifex worms–which you can also find frozen). These are usually sold by the ounce and can be kept in the fridge for a couple of weeks, with waterchanges needed every few days. I prefer to grow mine out myself in a separate tank–but that’s not for everyone. In any case, Bettas love to chase them down and slurp them up like spaghetti.
So there you have it, Betta Care 101. To recap:
*Buy from a good breeder
*Larger bowls/tanks
*Add a heater
*Live or frozen foods
These simple steps will help your Betta thrive and live a happy, healthy life.
Enjoy!
