Betta Diet Questions.

[SoCal]

Yeah freeze dried blood worms, the Hikari brand. I buy the larger size container because I feed freeze dried blood worms to all my fish. The container has an adjustable opening to allow for smaller or larger amounts to come out so I use the container like a salt shaker. I never touch the worms. I agree that frozen is closer to live and probably better for them, I just don't care for the mess.

broomtail,......I meant to say combtail. It's a betta.

 

[An t-iasg]

Thanks for telling me about the bloodworms in the shaker! I never saw it, but I usually just get what I need in a pet store -- I don't stay and browse because of my dog, cat, bird, etc, allergies. I'll have to make sure I look real quick next time.

I never heard of a combtail betta. I bet it's real pretty! There was a fish-only store (no dogs, cats, rats, ferrets, etc, and it was great. I could browse in there!) near me but they closed. They had Cambodian bettas -- the ones with one color on their body and different color fins. I've seen half-moons too. My one betta is a crowntail (got him at Petsmart), but I really don't see the fancy ones around here. Where did you get the combtail?

I looked at your gallery and all your pictures are great! Can you tell me a little bit about your betta set-up? My two are in a 5 1/2 gallon divided tank. I've had them for a year and a half. The temperature didn't stay stable in their bowls, and the one got fin & tail rot often. His tail is nowhere near its original length. The other one got it once and has been fine. I just hope someday I can get a betta to stay healthy and keep his fins!

 

[SoCal]

I got them from a LFS. Check your yellow pages I'm sure there are a few more LFS around you. Start calling them to see if they will special order fish for you. Also I have seen several betta sites that sell fish, but they are really expensive because they are show quality.

As for my set up's, I am guilty of keeping my bettas in vases (for now) except one. I have a 2.5 gallon tank that has some natural colored gravel and one silk plant, no filtration or heater. I live in San Diego and it is relatively warm here year round (Thank God, I used to live in Machanicsburg and I hated shoveling snow) so my tank/vase temps stay between 75 and 80 unheated.

Vase #1 is a half gallon which is ok for the small female betta I have in it, but I do a lot of water changing. It has one live tea plant in it.

Vase #2 is 1.5 gallon with natural colored gravel, one silk plant, and a live tea plant.

Vase #3 is a little over 2 gallons with one silk plant and one live tea plant.

Lastly I have a betta in a beer pitcher 8O with one live tea plant. The pitcher also gets a lot of water changes.

As you can see I am a little betta crazy. When I go to the pet store I always look at every betta cup to see if they have any new and unusual colored ones. I have a 10 gallon that I am going to divide into three sections and eliminate all the vases but #3 because it is huge for a vase and looks cool as a center piece on my table.
I've been putting off the 10 gallon because I was researching building a betta barracks, but I decided I don't want one right now.

 

[SoCal]

Here is Hikari's website with a small picture of the container. http://www.hikariusa.com/fd_blood_worms.htm

I forgot how much fun it was to make my fish jump out of the water to grab their food. (My oscars would do it all the time) If you get the dried stuff try this: Next time you feed your betta get the tip of your finger wet and touch the dried blood worms (they'll stick to your finger) then hold your finger just above the surface of the water. Stupid pet tricks are great!

 

[An t-iasg]

Hi SoCal,
So you have 4 bettas? That's great! I would like to get one or two more too. I've just had a lot of trouble with fin and tail rot in the one. I changed the bowl water a lot, but I was reading that water that was too cool may cause it. I know my water temps fluctuated a lot, so I set up this tank with the heater. Hopefully he won't get sick anymore, but I don't know if his tail will ever grow out to its original length. He was my first betta (my first fish, even!) and I made so many mistakes with him, but he's a year and a half old, so I must not be that bad!

What is a tea plant? I am thinking about getting each betta a real plant. So far, I was considering a java fern or a sword plant.

I have seen a lot of aquarium set-up places in the phone book. I wonder what they are like? They probably want you to buy a huge 70 gallon set up, and not just a little betta, but I could try them too. I have seen the show quality betta websites. Some of those bettas cost $50 or more. I would pay more than the 3 dollars or so that Petsmart charges, but not $50! Anyway, I probably could look around here some more to find the unusual bettas since, like you suggested, they may be special order.

I just saw my one betta laying on the heater suction cup! I looked over and saw this fin sticking out. I opened the lid and woke him up to make sure he was ok! I never saw him wedged in there like that. But he swam right out!

They have not built bubble nests since they've been in this tank. I hope they are not too stressed out by the sight of the other one. They both used to build really big nests.

I think there is a Mechanicsburg, PA...is that where you used to live? I kinda like snow! 8)

 

[SoCal]

I Just found this link. looks like our fish are very similar.

http://www.bettasrus.com/bcorner/tails/

 

[An t-iasg]

Thanks for the websites! I have never seen that Hikari food, I don't think. Maybe I will try it, since you don't have to touch it, and it said "pharmaceutical quality freeze-dried", or something like that.

So, my one betta is a crowntail, and the other one is called veil tail. I never heard of the veil tail name. That's the one that had the tail rot fairly often. The crowntail only had it once, so he still looks like his picture.

There is a store called Pet Supplies Plus here. They have an excellent fish supply selection, and lots of nice fish too. About a month ago, they got some really pretty bettas in. Usually they just get the veil tails. One looked like a purple half moon. I'm still kicking myself for not buying it! Since they did get some unusual ones, maybe when I'm ready I could ask what they could special order.

**edit** Well, from looking at that website some more, maybe it wasn't a perfect half moon, but it sure was gorgeous!

 

[bettacove]

OMG i'am so happy! We just got a new petstore and they carry Hikari foods!! I could never get hikari around here before. They didn't have any frozen foods though.... But my bettas seem to 'tolerate' the freeze dried, spoiled little buggers lol

ashley

 

[bettacove]

Got to be carfull with bloodworms, i know a lot of people who get itchy hands after feeding them. Wonder why its only with them though. My hands get itchy after to, but not as bad as some people. So i just wash my hands off right after now and they don't get itchy. I know some people who wear gloves to feed thier fish bloodworms. The trouble we go for these fish lol

ashley

 

[SoCal]

I actually have 5 bettas 4 males and one female. I have had really bad luck keeping my females alive. I got some to breed and after breeding they died from infection. I put two females in the same tank and they were picking on each other (thought they where deciding dominance) so I left the room for a while and when I returned on was dead. I guess they figured out who was dominant.

What is a tea plant? I am thinking about getting each betta a real plant. So far, I was considering a java fern or a sword plant.

Not sure what type of tea it is, maybe green tea. My girlfriend told me the plant that came in the betta bowl is a tea plant.

Some of those bettas cost $50 or more.

I would never pay $50 for a betta, I saw some for $75!! Are these people on drugs?

I just saw my one betta laying on the heater suction cup! I looked over and saw this fin sticking out. I opened the lid and woke him up to make sure he was ok! I never saw him wedged in there like that. But he swam right out!

I have also checked on my betta because he looked dead. I'm not use to looking at a fish that sleeps on the bottom of the tank.

They have not built bubble nests since they've been in this tank. I hope they are not too stressed out by the sight of the other one. They both used to build really big nests.

How long did you say they've been next to each other? I would wait a month or two just to see what happens. If they are healthy and not constantly trying to get to each other I really don't see a problem with it. Maybe they just need more time to get bored of each other.

I think there is a Mechanicsburg, PA...is that where you used to live? I kinda like snow!

YUP! Right across the river from harrisburg. I lived on the naval base in Mechanicsburg. I don't hate snow I just hate shoveling it. I remember several winters that I had to unbury my car from a snow drift, and don't even get me started on plows. LOL
During the winters here I can go to the beach in shorts and get a sunburn then drive an hour and lay in the snow. I think that's pretty cool.

 

[SoCal]

bettacove

We just got a new petstore and they carry Hikari foods!!

Hikari food is great, and I like the containers it comes in. Be careful not to get any water in your food. I got some in my freeze dried brine shrimp and the whole can got kinda moist and wasn't sticking together the way it used to so I had to heavily feed it to my fish before it spoiled.

Got to be carfull with bloodworms, i know a lot of people who get itchy hands after feeding them.

WOW I've never heard that. My fingers don't ich, guess I'm lucky, although after working on a fishing boat for 7 years my hands have touched a lot of stinky fishy bait type stuff so I may have built up immunities to a lot of stuff.

 

[bettacove]

Are these people on drugs?

LOL! I've seen lots of bettas go for $200 or more. You'd be suprised how much people would pay for a good show winner.

ashley

 

[SoCal]

I've seen lots of bettas go for $200 or more. You'd be suprised how much people would pay for a good show winner.

WOW, I need some of that action. I could stay at home all day feeding my bettas and watching TV........................wait I do that already. LOL

 

[bettacove]

LOL!

ashley

 

[An t-iasg]

Hi SoCal and Bettacove,
I've enjoyed posting to you about our bettas! We're going away for the weekend, so I'll post some more on Tuesday! have a good weekend!

P.S. Maybe if I get some show-winning bettas, they can earn the money around here! LOL!! I'm surprised at how much money I've spent on these two. I mean, it's not astronomical or anything, but they cost maybe 3 bucks each, and I've spent a lot more than that on their stuff...food, medicine, test kits, fake plants, tank, heater, filter, etc. But they are sweet little fishies...they're worth it!

 

[SoCal]

I picked up 3 more females this weekend. I couldn't help it and at 1.99 each I was going to buy more, but my girlfriend was giving me the look she always gives me when I spend to much time in the fish department and she is ready to go home. One of them was really funny to watch as the 3 of them inspected their new 20 gallon home she swam up to the thermometer and was looking it up and down like WHO ARE YOU. Guess they've never seen a thermometer before. LOL

 

[An t-iasg]

Hi, we're back from our weekend trip! It was fun but just about a total washout! (rainy!) My mom fed the bettas while we were gone. She likes them and likes to feed them! She knows not to give them too much, but if my dad was in charge of feeding them, he would probably give them half the little jar in one day!

SoCal, good luck with your new female bettas! The 20 gallon tank sounds like a nice home for them. Are they all together or did you put in dividers? Well, the one betta probably never saw a thermometer before! Not in the little cups! One of my bettas (only for a day or two, thankfully) seemed to get stuck in the corners when they were first put in their tank! He put his nose all the way in the corner, and swam up and down like he couldn't figure it out!

I also saw the Hikari freeze-dried bloodworms in the Drs Foster and Smith catalog. I order from there fairly often. I'll order them next time. Dumb question time -- How many bloodworms do you give each betta? They look kind of hard -- do you need to soften them in some tank water first? Do you need to break them in half?

Also, when we were talking about the Tetra bloodworms in the gel, I forgot to mention that the gel can be a little messy. Little bits of sediment float all through the water. That's why I didn't give them a lot of the gel. I only have a sponge filter; if you had a bigger filter, it would probably clear any sediment out that they didn't eat. SoCal, you already are giving your bettas the Hikari bloodworms, so maybe you don't want to try the gel worms, especially since you don't have a filter. Bettacove, I just wanted you to be aware of this if you didn't try the gel worms yet. I'm glad I can order the Hikari bloodworms from my catalog. I do have to go back to the lfs to return an ammonia test kit. I got the wrong kind, but the box looked just like my old kit! Maybe I'll look real quick -- I think they have Hikari food.

 

[bettacove]

Aww thats to bad about your weekend!
I just throw in a few at first and if they eat them quickly i will give them a few more. It is really hard to say, cus every betta is different and we all feed them differently.

I don't think i'am going to get the gel stuff, i don't really like messes. The food i have is messy enough lol.

ttyl!
ashley

 

[mollyluvr]

I tried the gel stuff and found it to be much more difficult and wasteful than it was worth. I love the hikari frozen foods. I also like San Francisco Bay. We have a cichlid tank, a molly tank, two bettas and corys and cats, so we like the freshwater multi-pack. It offers a little bit of everything. My mollies really like the veggie cubes. I think last time we got the freshwater multi-pack lunchbox. I think it had 48 cubes for about 15 bucks. Brine shrimp, bloodworms, veggie cubes and something else.

 

[bettacove]

Ah, don't even get me started on SFB stuff! (I hate it!)

ashley