1. Personality – These small 3 inch fish are packed with big personality. They zoom around their aquarium with a pouty look on their face exploring every nook and cranny. It won’t take them long to recognize you too. Soon, each time you near the aquarium your betta fish will approach and wiggle his tail in anticipation of a treat.
2. Style – There are hundreds of color/tail combinations of Betta splendens available through your local fish store, aquarium club, online fish auctioneer and even the big pet retailer are now getting a variety of fancy and colorful bettas in stock. No two bettas look alike and you are sure to find one that suits you.
3. Compact – Bettas don’t require large aquariums. An adult male betta can do great in a small 5 gallon desk-top tank and with proper care you can keep 3 to 5 females in a tank as small as 10 gallons.
5. No Pets Allowed? – No problem. While many apartment buildings don’t allow cats and dogs many still permit small aquariums or fish bowls. Even college dorms often allow fish where they prohibit other pets. Just because you can’t have a dog or cat today, doesn’t mean you can’t have a companion at all. Check your housing regulations before buying your betta.
6. Ease of Care – Though not care-free, bettas are pretty easy to care for. Once your aquarium is set up and established, bettas require only an hour or two of work each week to clean their tank or bowl, test their water quality, check their temperature and just a minute for daily feedings.
7. Learning Opportunity – Like anything, you get out what you put in. Your betta can be simply a companion but he can also be used to learn all about chemistry, science, math, genetics and art. Parents use betta fish to teach their children about fish care and responsibility. Because of my bettas, I learned all about web design and blogging. That’s one smart little fish.
9. Compatibility – Already have an aquarium? It is commonly believed that betta fish have to be kept alone. While it’s true that you shouldn’t keep more than one male or a male and female together, bettas of both genders can often be integrated successfully into a community aquarium. Bettas have been known to great with other tropical species like cory catfish, otos, African dwarf frogs, apple snails, ghost shrimp and neons.
10. Support – Just five years ago, when Nippyfish was born there was very little reliable information on the web about betta fish, except for a few dedicated web-savvy breeders that were sharing their knowledge. Most of us had to go to our local library to find out how to care for bettas. Today there are tons of great resources including websites, blogs and web forums. Though myths still sprinkle the web (how about the one recommending bettas be kept in Peace Lily vases), thanks to dedicated betta fish hobbyists, many of those myths have been squashed and replaced with good responsible betta fish care advice.
Trad PK Green Red Dragon M – Betta-Online, originally uploaded by Daniella Vereeken.
View Comments (10)
nice picture
I love bettas
Hi Christie,
I just want to let you know that I’ve learned a lot from this site. I’ve got two male bettas – one at work and one at home. Right now – both are very healthy and happy – living in filtered/heated environments (2-3 gallons) and doing well. In large part, I attribute my success with these fish based on what I’ve learned from this site. Thank You.
Kim
thanks for your efforts
this site is awsome i LOVE bettas and becase of my betta i learned how to paint with watercolors :)
Hey how do you learn about stuff from betta?
well, certainly Bettas are the pet for me. :)
Hi! I just borrowed my owners phone to send out this message: WE ARE AWESOME!!!!
I had bought a sweet dark blue elephant ear young betta 4 yrs ago, and kept it in a 2 gallon bowl without a filter or heater. I named it “Indigo-go” because he was so energetic! It lived healthy and happy for 3 yrs.
I really like the size of this bowl for where it fits next to my chair, and for cleaning. I’m looking for a round filter with a plastic screen that would fit under rocks, like I had some 30 yrs ago for some goldfish I had. It had a small little motor and was really handy. I feel like this new pretty one I got will be healthier as he just got fin rot, which I’ve been treating first with mild salt bath in a small separate bowl for 20 min, then back in his bowl with 2/3 tsp of BettaFix for a week. His color is back and his lovely energy. But is there a filter that would fit into a round bowl, cylinder shape that I could find?
Does having the catfish or snails in the bowl actually keep it cleaner and ph better? Can they live without heater?