Information on caring for the female betta is hard to find - especially females as pets and not breeding fish. Hopefully, I will be able to help you better understand the female betta. The female betta is a lot different than the males. Not only are they different physically, they are different in personality traits. The female betta is best identified by her short fins … [Read more...] about Betta Females-observations
Caring for a Betta at Work
Keeping a betta at work is a tad bit different than your betta at home. For one you have to consider water changes are more "timely" and "watched" by others as well as feeding and care. Feeding is a large issue because one - if you are not there, who will feed him? two - what if someone is feeding him and you don't know? We all know the latter of the two can cause some … [Read more...] about Caring for a Betta at Work
My Experience in Color Morphs
This article is dedicated to the unnamed Royal Blue and Magenta Betta that tragically died of a protozonine illness and to Dexter, the red betta that inspired this article. If you have read much about betta genetics, it is likely you have heard that some reds don't stay that way. If you're like me, the mystery of this statement interests you. Well, recently I purchased … [Read more...] about My Experience in Color Morphs
Ammonia, Nitrates & Nitrites OH MY
When people are talking about their fish, any non-fish hobbyiest can pick up that ammonia is a bad thing. They may even get the feeling that nitrites and nitrates are bad. They might not understand the how's and why's of it, but they definitely know it's bad. First, definitions: Ammonia is the by-product of bodily waste and decayed food/plants. When something begins to … [Read more...] about Ammonia, Nitrates & Nitrites OH MY
Betta Bubblenest-It’s Purpose
You purchase your first betta and do your best to create the perfect home for him - after two days of admiring his beauty, you are stunned to wake up to a tank covered with a mass of floating bubbles. Is this normal? Will it harm him? How do you get rid of it? To simply answer these questions: yes - no - you can't. The bubblenest, in addition to other things, is one … [Read more...] about Betta Bubblenest-It’s Purpose
What Belongs in a Betta Tank
It can take me up to an hour to select a betta for my little finned family so you really do not want to know how long it takes me to put together a neat little home for him/her. Yes - we can safely say more than an hour. I have been asked on several occasions what types of things can and cannot go in a betta bowl and how do you know what they like. Some of the basics to … [Read more...] about What Belongs in a Betta Tank
Raising Your Own Microworms
Microworms are very small nematodes that are on the jungle floor. Microworms can be used as live food for most fish species and are smaller than newly hatched brine shrimp so they accommodate the smaller fry. They are also incredibly easy to culture and generally stay suspended in the water before falling to the bottom. The first thing you will need to do is make the … [Read more...] about Raising Your Own Microworms
My Experience-Curled Tendrils
Melba wrote: I bought a beautiful red crowntail who was prancing and flaring while at the store. I brought him home, put him in a one gallon footed bowl with pretty colored glass and his own little house for hiding and resting. I used tap water with a proper water conditioner. Within a couple of weeks his lovely tendrils began to curl up. A week or so later his appetite … [Read more...] about My Experience-Curled Tendrils
Steps for Illness Prevention
1. If you have a betta die - scour and scald the old bowl Many fungal and bacterial growths, as well as parasites, can live in adverse conditions. When your betta passes on, it is possible the reason he/she died is still present in the tank/bowl. By cleaning the bowl thoroughly you can kill whatever lurks and prevent passing it on to a new betta. 2. Sick Tanks are a … [Read more...] about Steps for Illness Prevention
What’s Wrong with my Betta?
Wouldn't it be nice if our bettas could talk to us and simply tell us that something was wrong? A silly thought of course. Although not through the use of vocabulary, our bettas do communicate to us when something is wrong. It is up to us, the betta owners, to pay close attention to the habits and routines of our little finned friends. We need to look them over, study them … [Read more...] about What’s Wrong with my Betta?