# Betta Behaviour



## oakthrees (Apr 2, 2014)

Hey so I'm definitely a beginner when it comes to fish, and recently my friends got me a betta fish for my birthday. I personally don't approve of buying someone else a live animal because you never know if they have the time, money/resources, or knowledge to properly care for one.Escpecially considering its exam time right now and I have a hundred other things to be worried about. Anyways ethical issues aside I have a few questions.

First of all they bought him a 0.5 gallon tank with no filter/heater that was recommended to them from the pet store they got him at. After getting him I started researching and very quickly realized that a 2-5 gallon tank would be best. Unfortunately I can't get him a new tank/fiter/heater until the weekend so it it okay if I keep him in this till then? I've had a small ikea lamp on near him. Is it okay to do a 100% water change because of the small size even though it might be stressful on the fish? I got the fish on Sunday and have done this once already because they had kept him a week before giving him to me and still hadn't cleaned his tank ! He has been making bubble nests on top and I know its not a definitive signal of healthiness. Also after the first few days he now seems to spend more time than usual at the bottom. He does swim around quiet a bit and swims very excitedly when I walk into the room or near his tank. I feed him a 2-3 crushed flakes once in the morning. 

Thanks any help would be greatly appreciated I want him to stay healthy


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## HOWsMom (Jan 3, 2012)

You are definitely doing the right thing by doing your research, and your little guy will soon be MUCH happier and more active for it !

The water changes are good, as long as you are using a good quality dechlorinator (Personally, I recommend Prime - it's expensive to start, but you need SO little of it that it's well worth it).

How are you currently doing his water changes ?

Also, be careful not to over-feed him. Especially as he is not active at the moment, he doesn't need much in terms of food at all.


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## oakthrees (Apr 2, 2014)

Thanks for replying ! So far I used a dechlorinator and put a capful for 0.5 gallon as instructed on the bottle and let the water sit for a couple of hours before replacing it with his old water. I'll look into buying prime


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## HOWsMom (Jan 3, 2012)

oakthrees said:


> Thanks for replying ! So far I used a dechlorinator and put a capful for 0.5 gallon as instructed on the bottle and let the water sit for a couple of hours before replacing it with his old water. I'll look into buying prime


Sounds perfect so far.

What are you using as a dechlorinator ?


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## oakthrees (Apr 2, 2014)

HOWsMom said:


> Sounds perfect so far.
> 
> What are you using as a dechlorinator ?


I'm using the Nutrafin Betta+ that they got as a starter kit I believe.


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## HOWsMom (Jan 3, 2012)

That one is fine for now - it does neutralize the chlorine.

In the long run, the Prime will be cheaper, but you don't need to switch.


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## oakthrees (Apr 2, 2014)

HOWsMom said:


> That one is fine for now - it does neutralize the chlorine.
> 
> In the long run, the Prime will be cheaper, but you don't need to switch.


Alrighty thank you so much for your help


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## mistersprinkles (Nov 4, 2013)

If you want an attractive, compact, all in one situation for your betta, check out the Fluval Spec tanks. The flow rate on especially the 5 gallon version is perfect (nice and mellow) for a betta. The little pump that comes with the tank has an adjustable flow rate. Pick up a 25 watt heater (PJ's tends to have more selection of low-wattage heaters than Big Al's does) and put the heater in the same compartment as the pump, so it's out of the way. The little light that comes with the fluval spec will be more than sufficient for some low light plants, so go ahead and pick up a couple of small anubias plants, tie them to rocks or driftwood, and sit them on the bottom.

For substrate I'd suggest just going with regular gravel. The Estes gravel at Big Al's is affordable, attractive, and a small bag will be enough for a 5 gallon (no need for deep gravel beds, just enough to cover the bottom.

Here's my betta, also in a fluval spec, on the gravel I'm suggesting





If you want to go with a modular setup (standard 5 gallon tank, hang on back filter or sponge filter, heater, light) that's fine too. You'll probably want to "baffle" the output on the hang on back filter so it is not too intense for your betta.

As you've been researching, I'm sure you have read about cycling a tank. At this point, your betta is in an uncycled, unheated, unfiltered environment. This means ammonia will be present in the water, which is bad. Once you put him in his new tank, it will take a month or possibly even 5 weeks to cycle. During this time your betta will be exposed to ammonia and nitrite. A good solution to this is to get some cycled biomedia and put it in the filter when you get him his new tank. You can ask on the forum, and somebody will give you some. Hell, I'll even give you some if you want to come to pickering and get it. This will instantly cycle the tank for the betta and make a much healthier environment for him. I strongly suggest you do this. If you're closer to Mississauga, you might want to ask Mike at Finatics if you can buy a used sponge filter from him and use that to kickstart your tank.

Here is a list of the stuff you should have for setting up and maintaining an aquarium:

~Aquarium
~filter (and filter media. Often included with filter)
*airpump (only if using sponge filter)
~heater (17-25W ideally)
~light (LEDs are affordable and last a long time.)
*glass top (if the lights did not come with a plastic hood)
~substrate (gravel or sand)
~2 to 5 gallon plastic bucket
~Syphon hose with gravel cleaner
~thermometer (don't get the stick on ones. Not very accurate)
~full API freshwater test kit (pH/ammonia/nitrite/nitrate)

Once your tank is cycled and you have a couple of hardy plants in there, you can add some larger shrimp like amano shrimp. The betta won't eat them. They will need their own sinking food though.

Also, you should look into supplementing the betta's diet with some frozen foods. These will be beneficial for the shrimp also. get some bloodworm and brineshrimp cubes from Big Al's and just feed a little bit at a time. What I do is take out a cube, cut an 8th off of it, put the rest of the cube in a ziploc bag, and use from there, and so on. Bettas in the wild eat a lot of tiny insects and crustaceans.


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## bob123 (Dec 31, 2009)

My preference is a 1.5 gallon fish bowl with a small sponge filter, no substrate, no heater and some artificial plants. I change out 25-30% of the water twice a week and vacuum the bottom of the bowl every second day using a turkey baster. The bubbles that you see on the top of the water could be he is building a nest in hopes of mating. Bettas generally only live for about 2-3 years, I have kept and bred Bettas this way for years and find it easy and not to expensive. Oh yes use prime, in your .5 gallon tank you would only need 2-3 drops per water change. Enjoy.


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## mistersprinkles (Nov 4, 2013)

bob123 said:


> My preference is a 1.5 gallon fish bowl with a small sponge filter, no substrate, no heater and some artificial plants. I change out 25-30% of the water twice a week and vacuum the bottom of the bowl every second day using a turkey baster. The bubbles that you see on the top of the water could be he is building a nest in hopes of mating. Bettas generally only live for about 2-3 years, I have kept and bred Bettas this way for years and find it easy and not to expensive. Oh yes use prime, in your .5 gallon tank you would only need 2-3 drops per water change. Enjoy.


1.5 gallons may be survivable, but it's not enough room IMO for the fish to live comfortably.


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

I like to use a 2.5 for a betta


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