By Lorraine | 17 March 2020 | 0 Comments
How to Take Care of a Betta Fish: History, Life Span, Feeding, and Tank Setup
Betta fish has always been a favorite of novices and advanced aquarists. However, despite their popularity in the fish world, many people are still unfamiliar with their care requirements.
In general, this stems from the expectations of bettas, which they believe can be maintained by cheap and widespread exaggeration of their hardiness.
Here are the things you really need to know to take good care of betta, including their history, lifespan, feeding requirements, fish tank settings, so you can make your betta grow strong and happy.
Get to Know the Betta Fish
But to help them live this long, you will need to provide them with the right betta fish tank, food, light, and mental stimulation.Betta fish naturally live in the small, warm standing waters of tropical Southeast Asia, especially Thailand. About 150 years ago, in Thailand, bettas became pets. At that time, children would collect them from rice fields and put them together to watch them spar. As these competitions became more popular, the King of Siam began to regulate and tax betta.
Betta caught European attention in 1840 when the king donated several of them to a Danish doctor named Dr. Theodore Cantor. He researched and bred betta fish, and by the 1890s betta was imported to France and Germany. The first betta did not enter the United States until 1910.
The average life of betta is about 3-4 years. But to help them live this long, you need to provide them with the right fish tank, food, light, and mental stimulation.
Betta Fish Tank Settings
Many people may think that betta can live in a small bowl, which is actually very inaccurate. The fish should not be forced to live in a bowl. The cause of this misunderstanding is not entirely clear, but it seems to stem from the fact that bettas are able to breathe air and survive in hypoxic environments. They are able to do this due to their "labyrinth organ," which allows them to breathe air to a certain extent. It also allows them to gulp food from the water surface without worrying about the air disrupting their swim bladder.However, bettas don't actually like small habitats, but instead, use these environments to evade their competitors and predators (they cannot survive there). Betta fish, like other fish, are also sensitive to the effects of ammonia. They are actually prone to fin rot and other maladies—due to their long fins—and a poorly maintained or undersized fish tank can increase their risk or exacerbate an already developing issue. So, if your pet betta is not attacked by competitors and predators, don't you want to give them more space to thrive, not just survive?
Betta Fish Tank Size
The minimum capacity of the tank size for a betta is 5 gallons. There is not much swimming space, so you can even make a 10-gallon tank-just make sure the tank is not super deep. Since bettas are used to swimming left-to-right in shallower waters, a deep tank is not ideal for their habits. You should also choose a standard square tank over a bowl. The rounded sides of bowls—and a relatively small opening at the top—seriously limit filter options. Because bettas are very sensitive to bacterial diseases, it is critical that their habitats have an effective filtration system.Betta Fish Tank Temperature
Betta fish is also sensitive to water temperature, so for tank owners, aquarium heaters are a must not an option for betta fish’s sake. The betta fish strongly prefers temperatures (78-82°F) that are even higher than most other tropical fish.Feed Betta Fish
As a carnivore, betta fish actually live by eating insects and larvae, so you need to provide them with a balanced fish food rich in protein. Betta fish can be fed flakes, pellets, or frozen foods that are specially made for them. These foods will contain the levels of a protein that suit their needs.There are two common rules for feeding betta: Provide only enough food to get your fish to finish in 2 minutes. If you have a fish, they will grind when they eat, you can give them 5 minutes. The size of a meal should be equal to 5% of Betta's body size.
Betta fish have no sensory ability when they are full, so you have to give your betta fish the right amount of food. Do not feed betta more than twice a day.
Betta Fish Temperament
Although bettas may be called "Siamese fighting fish", they are not as despicable as their fame imagines. The moniker comes from the tendency of male bettas, which are highly territorial, to attack each other on sight. Male bettas have even been known to attack their own image in a mirror. Needless to say, this fish should not live with other bettas (including female bettas); bettas are just too grouchy with each other.Betta is attractive. There are many reasons to want a pet betta. However, betta fish require the same care and equipment as other fish. They should not be seen as a substitute for lower maintenance replacements.
In the last, the only good reason to buy a betta is that you really want a betta. Here’s the Best Double Betta Fish Tank recommended for you.
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