5 Things I Wish I Knew BEFORE I Got My First Betta Fish

Betta

fish

are supposed to be a super easy pet, but you might have some trouble keeping them alive, don't worry. I have five quick tips to help you keep your

betta

happy and save you some headaches. Hello, my name is Irene. A girl talks about

fish

here with practical advice for busy fish keepers like you and when she was in high school she probably had a similar setup to the one you have now. I put my

betta

fish in a glass bowl and put some marbles in it and I hated cleaning it. this thing every time I basically had to lift it move about 10 pounds to the sink pour it all out wash it and then set it up again and I absolutely hated it so my number one tip is to get an aquarium siphon this is the best tool out there is super cheap it's just a piece of hose I honestly feel like every betta fish aquarium kit should have one of these

things

because all you do is basically this end is used to suck the poop out of the container and the other end goes in a bucket that It fills with dirty water that you can dump over your plants and then you can fill that bucket with clean water and pour it into your aquarium to fill it up again and you will never have to pick up your fish tank again.

Awesome, I have a whole video here on how to use it, it's super easy, that's one of the reasons I like to use aquarium gravel instead of marbles in my tank because the poop from the best fish tends to stay on the bottom. superior and it's really easy to vacuum compared to marbles, I find that debris often gets trapped between the gaps and then it doesn't look very pretty. I found that it is actually very important to keep the water clean for my betta, because if you think about it, he basically lives in a soup of his own waste, which is not good for his health and makes him more likely to get sick the more dirty is the water.

However, the larger the aquarium for your betta fish, the less frequently you will need to water. changes, for example Petco/PetSmart, when they keep those little cups for the bettas, they have to change the water several times a day to keep it clean enough that they better not get sick. Now one of my

first

aquariums. for a better fish it was 3.5 gallons and that one without aquarium plants you basically had to clean it once a week compared to a 5 gallon tank maybe you could clean it once every two weeks and then a 10 gallon tank if you wouldn't do it Having some other fish in it is best, maybe once a month, so that's something to think about.

The second bed I had was actually an office pet, so for my

first

job I basically didn't learn my lessons, but I still had him in a small container with marbles, but I had never run into this problem before where Bettas can die from being too cold, so for my first betta I lived in Texas with my parents and they didn't want to pay for a lot of air conditioning, so the house was always pretty warm and fuzzy, but in an office environment, I mean, the air conditioning runs on maximum all the time and it's not something that will kill you better right away, but after several months of this, I just couldn't tolerate it.

It's the same thing that you, as a human being, know that if you are kept in 50°F weather all the time without any extra clothing, you're basically going to be uncomfortable and shiver all the time and that won't kill you, but it's extra stress for you. your body and makes you more likely to get sick, so my tip number two is really easy, just get a heater. Yes, it has an additional cost, maybe it costs around 25 dollars, but it will basically automate that temperature than ever before. You have to think about it after you plug it in, it will always keep it at that warm 78-80°F temperature that your betta needs to enjoy because it is now a tropical fish.

As for what size heater to get, it depends on how big your aquarium is and how cold you keep it in your house, so I'll put a link in the description for a box that will basically help you decide what size heater to buy, but, for example, for me, I live in Colorado, it's a little colder here. I have a 5 gallon tank and need a 50 watt heater, not a 15-25 watt one like most pet stores recommend. Once I became a father, one of my friends offered to buy my gamer son his and I's first betta fish.

It was like, hmmm, let me do some research on what it really takes to keep these critters alive and that's how I went down the deep rabbit hole of keeping fish and became more serious about it, so after doing some research little more, I tried. To get the largest betta fish aquarium kit I could find at the pet store, which weighs about 3.5 gallons, I then discovered that the default filter that came with it, an internal filter, the spray that came out of it just I whipped my betta fish everywhere. tank because it has very large fins and is not equipped to basically swim in fast currents and if given enough time where the fish is constantly fighting to stay basically in the same place, that can really stress the fish and cause it to get sick and They don't live that long, so tip number three is to make sure your betta fish has a very gentle flow in their aquarium, so if you find that the filter you have is too strong, I have a video here on several ways you can you can baffle that filter. and that just means slowing down the flow so it's much more comfortable and you can keep the aquarium clean.

However, nowadays I like to use a sponge filter just because it's already so soft. There is no way for its fins or tail to be sucked. on this sponge and it is very easy to clean, so don't forget that the number one tip was to keep the water clean. Filters tend to collect a lot of fish waste, so be sure to clean them regularly, maybe once a month. The next story is about my nephew's betta fish, so my mother-in-law was watching her pet and she couldn't get this thing to eat so she would put a little pellet directly in front of the betta fish and he would eat it and then Tip number four is that maybe your betta fish pellet is too big for their mouth and you need to get something that is a little smaller, so I personally prefer betta fish pellets to flakes because I feel like the flakes They dissolve easily in water and sink. down to the ground and your betta fish, when they eat it, tend to make a big mess of it, compared to pellets, if you get one small enough they will swallow it whole and even if they don't find it right away, they don't .

They tend to dissolve in the water very quickly and also remain floating on top, which is where betta fish prefer to eat. Now my favorite pellets to feed betta fish that I think are small enough are Hikari betta bio gold and Xtreme betta pellets. They are both about a millimeter which makes them smaller for most bettas and neither of mine have had a problem spitting them out or anything like that. However, if you really want to go the extra mile, I would consider feeding them a wide variety of foods, such as freeze-dried foods and frozen foods, because just as a human could technically survive on hamburgers all the time, you really want to have a wide variety. of foods to make sure they are getting as many nutrients as possible to live the best and healthiest life as possible and that is what your bitter fish needs too so you can watch this video here to see all the different types of foods you can feed them. your betta fish.

It is fun. Now I'm going to talk about a little more advanced tip. Number five is to consider getting a betta fish or a betta fish that has shorter fins and tail. Now I know that seems counterintuitive because, basically, after years of experience keeping those big, beautiful, slim, long finned ones. tailed betta fish, I have realized that I mean, they just tear, bite or get caught on

things

very easily and then that wound can easily turn into an infection if you are not careful, this also applies to bettas with dumb ears that tend If you look at them, they always have a tear in those pectoral fins because they're so big and heavy, so back in the day, Darth Vader and Soundwave liked to bite their tails and it would grow back and then they'd decide not to. .

I need another haircut, so that was a repeat pattern and then Sonic, he was originally in this community tank with the Platys and he kept chasing them, but he was chasing them so much that rips and tears were forming in his fins, that's why it's like that. . He lives in his own bachelor tank right now, but it's something to consider now if you've followed all of these tips and your betta fish has reached the mature age of two, three, four years... congratulations, but I have one final advantage. . One piece of advice I can give you, which is you know, if you've ever had an older cat or dog that you know near the end of their life, their fur starts to get a little ratty, they sleep a lot, they don't really have as much energy. , maybe.

Their eyes are cloudy from cataracts. The same thing can happen to your betta too, so my betta Soundwave was around for the last six or almost 12 months of his life. He just wasn't very active anymore. His scales were gone. It looked patchy and wasn't as pretty anymore, it wasn't as shiny, the fins of its fan looked a little tattered and tattered, but it wasn't rotten, it was just getting old, so it's something to expect and it's possible. that you have to prepare a retreat to return home. He, if he were in a community tank like this with a lot of tank mates, I would recommend putting him in a smaller tank with a definitely gentle flow and that way he won't have to compete with anyone for food, however, if he gets to the point where the one that can't feed itself, euthanasia may be something you should consider, so there are many articles online on how to do it, but I just want to warn you that after years of keeping betta fish, I can tell you definitively. it gets easier and easier as time goes on, like being a first time dog owner versus having had multiple dogs because you basically already have all the equipment and food, you know all the wacky behaviors they have and now you can spend more time.

Relax at the end of the day and enjoy your betta fish instead of worrying about them now. If you really want to take your Betta fish aquarium to the next level, consider adding live aquarium plants. I know it seems difficult, but they are really beautiful. I'll help you keep your water cleaner, which is why I have a complete tutorial here on how to set up your first planted aquarium for your betta fish. Take the time to enjoy your aquariums and I'll see you in the next video.