Betta Care, With Love

A person standing silhouetted in front of a well lit fish tank with many fish and live plants

Welcome!

If you're here right now, you're most likely looking to learn more about how to care for a betta fish. Thank you for being here. Many people are uneducated in what proper fish care is like. It can be messy, tiring, and frustrating, but if you have the time, money, and patience, then you're in the right place to learn. First of all, I'd just like to say this-- everything you think you know about fish care that you've learned from movies or chain stores like Petco or PetSmart? FORGET IT. We are starting from scratch because those companies do not care about their fish, and unless you're lucky and one of the workers is a fish enthusiast, their employees likely don't either.

Places like these chain stores like to advertise betta fish as easy "first pets" for kids, placing them near the front of the store in cups about the size of a coffee mug. I could go on an entire rant about how this is animal abuse, but we're going to focus on the opposite side of this. What can you do, and how can you give your betta fish a nourishing and fulfilled life? Stick around and I'll guide you through the basics. I am by no means an expert, and I encourage you to continue research through multiple websites, but as for now, thank you for being here and let's get into it!

The Basics

Betta fish, also known as the siamese fighting fish, are extremely territorial, so unfortunately, as beautiful as they might look in groups, it is essential to keep only one male fish per fish tank. While it is possible to keep multiple female betta fish in one tank, these "sorority tanks" are meant for more advance fish experts due to the females also being quite territorial.

You very much have to know your fish and make sure your tank is large enough to fit them all comfortably. However, since you are here, it is likely you are a beginner fish owner, so sticking with one male or female fish is best for now. You can tell them apart because males tend to be more colorful with longer fins, whereas the female betta fish have much shorter fins.

Betta fish require water temperatures from 78°F - 80°F with a pH of 6.5 - 7.5 and prefer slow moving water pumps. For food, you should feed your betta a healthy mix of pellets, blood worms, and even frozen brine shrimp if they like it. They have extremely small stomachs however, and can get sick if you over feed them. I would recommend feeding 2-4 pellets a day because their stomach is about the size of their eyeball.

Tank Decor

Many pet stores sell bright and colorful decorations such as neon gravel, bright plastic fake plants, and the infamous pineapple house from SpongeBob SquarePants that many fish owners online call “the pineapple of death and despair.”

At first glance these may all seem like harmless things, but let me ask you a question. Have you seen any of these things in a natural aquatic environment? I’m going to assume your answer is no, and if it’s not, maybe go back to wherever you saw all that stuff in nature and take it out of the water because it is not supposed to be there.

Betta fish are delicate creatures, and while they can be beautiful loud colors, they do not like to be surrounded by those colors. Betta fish prefer natural colors you’d seen in a habitat of water like browns, greens, and even grays or black. Aim to have live plants in your tank for several reasons.

Plastic plants are known to scratch the fins of your fish and harm them and cause disease if not properly taken care of. Not only that, but it is important to give them plants they can rest on, particularly near the surface of the water for when they need to sleep. They thrive most in heavily planted waters that allow hiding spots away from prying eyes. For more ideas on how to decorate your betta’s home, check out this site for inspiration.

Cleaning

Now here comes the grunt work, cleaning the tank. It is essential to keep your fish tank clean to prevent ammonia build up that can hurt your betta fish in the long run. Not to worry though, cleaning is a lot easier than you might think.

Rather than taking everything out of your tank, all you need is a glass scraper or sponge, and a gravel siphon or gravel vacuum, a decent sized bucket, and a water dechlorinator. Depending on your skills and the amount of plants in your tank, you will need to remove 25-50% of the water in your tank weekly.

This can be done using the gravel vacuum. When you do this, be sure to aim the syphen at the bottom of the aquarium where all the old food and bacteria is so to clean off the gravel/sand when you remove the water as well. You can also scrape the algae growth off the sides of the tank when doing this.

Never ever remove all the water because it can cause stress to your fish and takes out the good bacteria that's built up that can be good for the betta fish.

While you will still need to do regular clean ups, you can invest in a snail or two, or depending on the aggression (or lack up) in your betta, consider fish like corydoras or shrimp, but be careful your betta won't eat them, and do proper research on tank sizing for all the fish.

The Various Kinds of Betta Fish

Super red betta fish up close in detail with a plain black background.

Super Red

A multicolored imbellis betta fish up close in detail swimming in aquatic plants

Imbellis

Multicolored betta fish up close in detail with a plain black background.

Koi

Bright white betta fish up close in detail hovering in water.

White Dumbo Ear

Blue and yellow betta fish up close in detail with a plain white background.

Mustard Gas

Multicolored blue and red betta fish up close in detail with a plain black background.

Stars & Stripes

A metallic colored betta fish up close in detail with a colorful tank behind it.

Copper

Blue and white betta fish up close in detail with a plain black background.

Marbled

Up close of a bright orange betta fish with black and white spots in front of a plain black background.

Are Betta Fish Right For You?

I hope that after reading a bit more about betta fish and done some research on multiple sites you’ve decided; are betta fish right for you? If you believe you can keep up with regular cleaning regiments, proper water and plant care, and keep your fish healthy and thriving, then go ahead and start building your set up and have fun aquascaping. Just remember, be sure to source from ethical stores when purchasing your fish!

A red betta fish flaring it's fins at the camera in a well lit planted fish tank with a grey rock.