Betta Fish Questions

[RyanChance]

I recently bought a betta fish (about 6 weeks ago); it was in a little dirty cup at Walmart so I felt the need to rescue it. I just moved it to a 5 gallon hex tank and it seems alright; it eats a lot.
I have cat, but the fish is next to my lava lamp so I don't think she knows there's anything there. She probably thinks Bull is a lava lamp. I don't think Shadow has ever seen a fish or has any idea what they are... at all. Now if I'd gotten a gerbil... lol.

Anyway, here are my questions:
It hangs out a lot at the top. This is how it breathes, right?
How long do betta fish live?
Is it really unsafe to put any other fish in the tank with a betta or is it just other betta fish that they fight?
Bettas are supposedly aggressive but mine isn't at all, is that just a rumor?
Finally, any advice on things I should do for the fish?

Thanks in advance for all replies!

 

[TankGirl]

Congrats on rescuing poor Bull from the cursed cup, and welcome to Aquarium Advice!

Does this hex tank have a filter? If so, you will need to keep an eye on the water very closely and do frequent water changes to keep ammonia and nitrite levels down. The very first thing to do is get an ammonia test kit (liquid reagents are more accurate than the dip strip tests) as ammonia will be the first nasty thing to appear in the water, which is very harmful to the fish. Read about the nitrogen cycle so you know what I mean, because you need to protect the fish as the tank "cycles" and grows the good bacteria necessary for a healthy tank.

If it has no filter then just change about a gallon of water every couple of days to keep waste material down. Bettas are labyrinth fish and do breathe from the surface, and the males build bubble nests when they are happy, so he may be doing that. I like to feed a betta a blanched, peeled pea about once a week to keep the digestive system running smoothly (lost one to bloat and learned the hard way) and otherwise I am sure Christmasfish (among others) will be along to offer expert advice on the care and feeding of a betta.

Good luck and enjoy!

 

[RyanChance]

I've just read that small, tropical, non-aggressive fish not resembling bettas may also be placed in the tank. I've looked at neon and glow light tetras but I was wondering if there was anything else a little more interesting in appearance that I could put in there. Any suggestions?

 

[Menagerie]

[center:f502dccfd7] Welcome to AA, RyanChance! [/center:f502dccfd7]
You did a great thing by taking the betta home!
It's hit and miss whether the betta gets along with it's tank mates or not. One member keeps a cory with each betta. Another member said that didn't work out so well :?. Many members put shrimp in with their bettas, but some of the bettas ate their tank mates 8O.
On the flip side, due to the long flowing fins, many fish will nip at the male betta and that is not good .
I will suggest striped Khuli loaches. They reach 3" or so in length and look eel like. They have cute whiskers and are a ton of fun to watch. Totally peaceful and will stay mostly at the bottom of the tank, out of the way of the betta.

 

[Christmasfish]

I will also chime in for the khuli combo...!

Also commend you on instinctively selecting a real tank and not some retail contrived "betta tank". Kudos to you!

Cories are cute but they also breach for air refills and a skippy betta may decide to go medevil on it for seeming to be a labyrinth fish. Plus they need to be in groups of 3+ so most common available species will make it crowded. Otos are smaller, and more useful as far as tank helpers go (they eat diatoms and algae, where cory cats eat detrius from feedings and sometimes diatoms), but a mean betta will make short work of them
Many tetra are fin nippers who will shred the beautiful sails of your betta.
neons are really water sensetive little guys who need a mature tank for intros. In large tanks I don't know of many betta /neon problems, but I would NOT suggest it in a 10 gallon as far as the betta goes.

Khulis stay more out of the way and are least likely to raise your finny friend's ire. Striped khulis give you many of the qualities people enjoy about clown loaches minus the large adult size.
I have personaly known betta who lived at least 8 years last I saw them... and there were many who lived 5.

In the end; your betta's best companion will be you. they love attention adn are social..they just have territory issues that are hard to address in enclosed space.

Today's betta has an expected lifespan of about 3 years.

 

[CiRXSi]

Bettas are very unpredictable, and as Menagerie said, some have succeeded with a fish such as the cory, others haven't. It really depends on Bull. Whatever you try, be sure to keep an extra eye for the first couple of weeks. Bad things that might happen, don't always happen on day 1. As far as something special to do for him--As you said, he hangs out at the top. Most Bettas do. Find a plant that is as tall as your water line, or get some floating plants. Plants make fish feel safer, but if he's always at the top, what good is it right? So bring the plant up to him. I suctioned some silks in mine (see my gallery) and it works quite well. He loves it.