Hey need help with gettin started!

[Arco_Iris]

Hey Since I was like 7 I always wanted a fish, and yesterday I got a Betta Siamese Fighting Fish, I really like it, its blue, red, and green, it has long droopy fins, but I only know the basics about them, like don't put two males togeather, and they acculy breath air(I love that part lol), but I would really like to know if they are happy, is there ANY way to tell how they like it? Like by their fins, or swimming, I would really like to know.

And I have a 1-gallon fish bowl(Pet store said that was big enough is it?), and it has nothing in it, I'm planning to buy some stuff for it this week, but what would a Betta like? Is there any type of gravel, rocks, plants, decorations?

And also I heard that Bettas can live up to a few years, what is the average life span that you think?

If there is any thing that you would righly recomend could you please tell me? I'm scared I will do something wrong and kill the poor little thing lol.

And if there is any Betta experts around that has had a Betta or two for a while could you PM me?

Thanks for any help!

 

[astroguy]

Hi and welcome to AA

First off, you will need to read, read, and read about the hobby. Go to this web page, as it will explain you how fish keeping works. It is more complicated than people expect, unfortunately. It involves cycling, frequent water changes, proper food portions, proper stocking of tank, size of tank, temperature, etc.

http://faq.thekrib.com/begin.html
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/showfaq.php?fldAuto=2

After you read the site, you will realize that 1) bettas need warm temperature, 2) bettas need more than 1 gallon tank (they can survive but definitely will not thrive; a 5-10 gallons tank is way better), 3) you will need to cycle your tank and that may be dangerous to the betta.

Plants are a must for the betta, but since you only have 1 gallon, not too many. I strongly suggest you return the tank and buy a 5 gallons tank. Since you are a beginner, start with plastic plants.

Bettas live for a few years. However, as a beginner, your challenge will to make them live and survive (no offense!).

Finally the purpose of message boards being to share the info, we generally not PM people. Please post, and expect people to read and contribute by posting.


Good luck

 

[An t-iasg]

Hi Arco_Iris,
Astroguy has given you excellent suggestions for getting started. I will change one thing, though: Bettas' long, delicate fins may be torn or tattered by plastic plants. Get silk plants. They are not expensive.

Also, I agree that a 5 or 10 gallon tank is way better than a one-gallon bowl. Here is how my betta tanks are set up: I have two 5-gallon (actually 5.5 gallon) tanks, each with one male betta, a sponge filter, a 25-watt heater, and 7 silk plants. I have a small air pump, a Tetratec 12, that runs both sponge filters using a gang valve. The gang valve also allows me to adjust the flow of air thru the sponge filters. This is important because bettas like still water. They don't like strong filters that make currents in the water. I have a pretty good stream of bubbles coming out of my sponge filter, but I adjusted it so that the water surface is barely moving.

If you get a 10 gallon tank, you would need a sponge filter and heater to correspond with that tank size.

Here are some heaters and sponge filters you can look at to familiarize yourself with them:

Sponge filters: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produ...catid=3954&Ne=40000&R=7675&Nao=9&N=2004+22779

This one is rated for a 10 gallon tank. I have a sponge filter rated for a 15 gallon in my 5 gallon tank. You can use a filter for a bigger tank, like I did, but make sure you can adjust the airflow.

Heaters: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=3852&R=8449&N=2004+113565&in_merch=1

I have a Visi-Therm 25-watt heater in my tank. This website doesn't carry them, only the bigger heaters, but I got mine locally. You can put a bigger sponge filter into your tank, but don't put a bigger heater in. It could overheat the water. But you could use a 50-watt heater in a 5 gallon tank if you need to raise the tank temp more than 10 or 12 degrees above room temp.

You could also search at the DrsFosterSmith site for gang valves and air pumps.

About some of your other questions, I think you can tell if a betta is happy. He should be interested in you, and not be hiding constantly. He should be swimming around and exploring the tank. His fins should not be held closely to his body -- they should be spread out. This is a general guideline to go by. I have had 4 bettas over the years, and their personalities are all different!

Good luck!

 

[Christmasfish]

Heh..there are several betta keepers here. I have an extensive experience with labyrinths including betta splendens. But I would never claim that I personally am an expert. My daughter breeds them, and may here keep or breed them. You shouldn't need a PM. Most info you need is prolly quicky found by "search". But we are happy to do it again.

As far as life span..many of my grandfathers well kept wild specimins lived for a certain 7 years (once they were 5 they were put in a biotope pond. Only unique colored individuals could be tracked after that (they always popped up for chow time treats, despite plenty mosquitoes and such). my pet long tailed betta (wild veil type still available when I was a kid) lived 5 and a half years. He lived in a5 gallon battery glass styled tank that I changed 3 times a week. He ate a pate' of chicken hearts, mealworms and flake.
Todays commercial bred fish live about 2-3 years and are usually a year old when you buy them (because we in the americas like large things they send the fish at 8= months old. Usually a year. And generally we statesiders always choose the largest/oldest). Show fish live 3-5 years dedpending on the strain (highly inbred fish like white are more delicate and live a shorter life).

A happy as in mood betta, will blow bubble nests and swish about. Healthy happy will grow large, ,strong and shiny. Healthy betta have harder, thicker scales. You will also see his full range of color (depending on how many layers he has he can turn dark red to blue! My female plakat is like having 10 fish). He will come right uop front for chow and wil exhibit aknowledgement of your prescence (the "betta dance"). he will patrol every inch of the tank and always be swishing about, with a periodic rest at wherever his "spot" is.
If his color is pastel and pale , but he is a solid color...he feels unwell and unhappy. Fins will look droopy, attitude will be bored and lackadaisial. He wil usualy hang at one spot and do little. He wil act shy. And if he keeps his fins all squeezed up to his body("clamping"), he is coming down with something.
And if he ever shows stripes he is waaay stressed or frightened.Stripes are rarely seen in a male.


There..a taste of the joys bettakeeping

 

[Christmasfish]

Ack..by the time I edited typos I was pre-empted ^_^

 

[Mayonnaise]

Hello! I can't be of much help, as I'm a newbie here too, but I thought I'd say Hi, newbie to newbie! I'm in the oposite position to you... got the tank, no fish. But I'm planning on Getting a Beta too!

So yesh... hello!

8^)

 

[Devilishturtles]

Yeah, I agree with everthing said. Most people get the wrong idea that bettas "love" small spaces and all and that they thrive in the bowls. They really don't, and they'll live just fine in them, but they love acutal tanks. I have a betta in a 5 gal tank all by it's lonesome and it is the most entergetic, happiest thing ever. I play with it somtimes, let it chase my finger across the glass and stuff like that. They really are cool, but I suggest to you to read up and get a bigger tank! Have fun with it all!

 

[Menagerie]

[center:93596a1a93] Welcome to AA, Arco_Iris!! [/center:93596a1a93]
The best thing you can do is research, research, research!! It sounds like you are off to a good start by asking questions!

 

[Arco_Iris]

Hey again, Thanks for the advice I'm going to get a bigger tank.

Just a few questions that I'm not sure I could get from the net:

You say bubble nests? is that when there are like lots of little tiny bubbles all stuck togeather on the side of the tank?

and the little dance thingy? Is that when the fish dives down to the bottom of the tank then comes back up to you and looks at you then like swishes its tail and body around? lol.

And thanks for telling me about the plastic plant!! Yeah it sense when you think about it, but I don't think I wouldn't have thought about it! You just saved my fishes pride and joy!

 

[Devilishturtles]

A healthy male betta will "blow" bubble nest on the top of the water. It does, like you said, look like a bunch of little tiny bubbles all stuck together, but it will be on the surface of the water, not the side of the tank. And ditto or the plants. My betta tank has all silk plants and he loves to swim through them and hide! I won't comment on the "dance" as I'm not to sure of it myself!

 

[LAGlocker]

Have to agree with everyone, read read read and when you are tired of reading, read some more. We each of us learn something new every day about our fish, our plants, or the hobby in general. And dont be afraid to ask questions, like it has been said, the only dumb question is the one you dont ask. And welcome to the site.