Q: Anon wrote, I have a 20 gal long with some peaceful community fish and I’m currently keeping a male and female in separate tanks. I’d like to add them both to this one tank but don’t know how they will react in the same tank. Is it safe to house them together? A: Generally speaking it isn’t a good idea to house male and female Betta splendens in the same aquarium. Both … [Read more...] about Large Aquariums: Housing Male Bettas with Females
A Betta in Sheep’s Clothing: Cotton Wool Disease
Sexta poser…, originally uploaded by Fabiz Rabbit©. Q: KG wrote, I was wondering if you could help me again. I wrote a few months back. I had a betta who appeared to have Columnaris. You suggested that I use a combination of Maracyn and Maracyn II which worked really well on the first try. Unfortunately, my betta seems to have come down with the same disease. I have had him … [Read more...] about A Betta in Sheep’s Clothing: Cotton Wool Disease
Thermal Shock & Chlorine Poisoning
humpingtheheater150, originally uploaded by rkbentley. Q: KM wrote, When doing a total water change for our male betta, “Patches”, my 6 year old daughter thought she was helping, and decided to fill the aquarium with tap water and to ahead a put the fish in when I stepped away to take care of another matter. He seemed fine last night, but this morning he is listless, and … [Read more...] about Thermal Shock & Chlorine Poisoning
When Fish Attack: Treating Betta Wounds
Angry Titan, originally uploaded by Calin. Q: M wrote, I put a betta in with my angelfish and he got trashed. I was gonna put him down because he looked terrible, but then i used the “will to live” rule… and I figured I should at least try to bring him back, so i moved him (temporarily) to a smaller tank with some bamboo to hide in. I’m going to clean out an old tank … [Read more...] about When Fish Attack: Treating Betta Wounds
The Many Faces of Dropsy
Walter, originally uploaded by Mean and Pinchy. Q: Anon wrote, Hello. I enjoy this site and am wondering about a strange condition. I have a male betta that has bloating on only one side. He has not pine-coned and has been this way for weeks, so I don’t believe it is dropsy. I have him in a bare 2.5 gallon tank at 82F. Over the past almost two months I have done courses of … [Read more...] about The Many Faces of Dropsy
When Stress Overcomes your Betta
Q: LL wrote, I am struggling with the death of my betta. I lost him on Friday, after having him for a year and 4 months. He was doing just great until 2 months ago when he started hanging around at the bottom of the tank more. I did tons of research and thought the problem was two-fold: water was too cold and I was not leaving some of the water in the tank when I cleaned … [Read more...] about When Stress Overcomes your Betta
Hot Hot Hot! Betta Bowl Temperature Spikes
betta femmina, originally uploaded by altiebassi. Q: AC wrote, I just got a betta fish a few days ago and have been keeping him on a heating pad to make sure he doesn’t get too cold. However, I think someone may have bumped the control accidentally, heating my poor fish to about 10 degrees higher than the bowl have been before. I immediately took the bowl off the pad to let … [Read more...] about Hot Hot Hot! Betta Bowl Temperature Spikes
Preparing a New Home for your Betta
Q: SO wrote, I am so glad to have come across your extremely helpful website! Finally, somewhere to find answers that make sense. About 1 1/2 year ago, we adopted a betta that my daughter’s class could no longer care for. At that time, he was in a very small container, swimming in plain old tap water. Now, I never thought of myself as a “fish person”, but very quickly, I … [Read more...] about Preparing a New Home for your Betta
Upgrading Your Betta Bowl
Jonah, originally uploaded by Jon & Brigid. Q: JL wrote, I have a 10 gl tank that I started in December 2006. I purchased a goldfish and 2 snails. After about a month the goldfish died and I have had the 2 snails in there since. I change the water partially weekly (can you recommend a good conditioner for tap water? I have been using distilled water) and I change the … [Read more...] about Upgrading Your Betta Bowl
Spring Cleaning: The Feng Shui Aquarium
Black Velvet in motion, originally uploaded by RyanThomas. HG wrote, I have a black betta fish that is living in a feng shui glass container with bamboo and rocks. How would I go about cleaning the glass container? A: I’m not really well versed in feng shui but I can tell you that spring is good time for cleaning house and bringing in positive energy and it’s a great … [Read more...] about Spring Cleaning: The Feng Shui Aquarium