Betta Fish and Betta Fish Care

Posts Tagged ‘Tanks’

If you’re serious about keeping these fish then you need to cognize how to take concern of betta fish is important if you are planning on keeping bettas or intend to breed them. Betta fish are one of the best of the tropical fish to look after but they do have many particular needs that could easily be met with a few simple additions. The first thing to do is to organize the needed equipment. If you are seeking betta only for the purpose of reproduction you are going to require different equipment than if you were seeking bettas just for the purpose of having a exquisite addition to your house as well as family.

If you are looking for the intention of merely savoring bettas in your home, bear in mind that male bettas, and in some cases female bettas, do not almost always get along with one another or with a number of other maine creatures so you’ll must have distinct tanks for for each one of your fish. Bettas do not call for a large amount of space but they do require adequate space to move around comfortably in the aquarium. So in fact there should be adequate space for the fish to swim up, to the bottom and to all the edges without their fins touching the sides of aquarium.

In learning how to keep a betta fish, you will look the choice of whether or not to use living flora or use artificial plants. Vegitation is not essential but it does help to give the bettas a more well-fixed habitat, of the two plant varieties live plants are better than synthetic flora because they give  a lot of benefits in addition to being better for the bettas. They do however, need to be quarantined before being situated in the tank. Small stones is not required, but does give the bettas bits and pieces to play around with when creating nests.

One other thing to think about is the fish food that you will be providing the betta that you bring home. This could be live fish food, frozen, freeze dried or in the shape of shots and flecks. There are a few betta that will reject anything but fresh fish food and there are others who will not touch live food, so introducing a bit of both will give you a quick overview of what your betta wants. When learning how to keep betta fish you will have to learn about the assorted illnesses that your betta could be faced with, how to known the diseases and what you ought do to make your betta well again should it become unwell.

It is also important to guarantee that the water is kept clean and fresh, live plants can help with this, and so can filters. Ensuring that you can scoop out any untouched food before it has a chance to drop to the bottom of the aquarium of the aquarium and foul the water will also help to provide a safe and fit environment for your betta.

Female betta fish just because they are not as attractive as the male cannot be ignored. Female betta fish when compared to the male metta fish are less vibrant in colors. Very rarely you can find female betta fish being as colorful as male but not having the flowing large fins. When compared to the male, female betta fish are more tolerant towards different female betta fishes as they are raised in tanks together. This makes the female betta fish more tolerant towards other female betta fish.

Though they are more tolerant than the male, the female betta fish do fight when initially combined with other female betta fishes in a single tank. The natural tendency of being territorial make female betta fish fight with other females initially which most often does not cause serious damage.

It’s advised that one should not keep less than 4 female betta fishes in a tank. Four as well as more than four female betta fishes make a hierarchy and they do not fight with other. If you add just two female betta fishes, then they tend to fight with every other and hurt each other.
To keep 4 to 6 female betta fishes, it is advised to have a tank of 10 gallons size wtih plenty of hiding places with plants and rocks. This provides enough place to hide for female betta fish. When you add 4 to 6 fishes in a tank, these female betta fish creates a hierarchy and there will be an alpha female betta fish. To avoid any serious fight between these female betta fish, it is advised that to keep enough place in the tank wtih great hiding places and enough food to all of them.

Breeding Betta fish at home could be somewhat difficult. Especially with Betta fish, as they tend to be aggressive towards other Bettas. There are many steps you’ll need to follow in order to successfully breed your Betta fish.

You will need to make sure that your fish are at least 5 months old and fully acclimated to their tanks. You must set the male in one tank and the female in another close to each other so they could get used to one another before you bring them together to mate.

Betta fish will initiate to show signs when they are ready to mate; the male will make a bubble nest at the top of his tank where he will eventually place the eggs, and the female can develop colorful stripes.

Your breeding tank should be kept at 80-82 degrees for the baby fish to best survive. You can now place the female in with the male and he will hold her upside down so that she can release her eggs.

Betta fish can release hundreds of eggs, while some have been well-known to release close to a thousand. Her job done, the female will then hide and the male will take over the caring of the young.

It is best to take the mother out of the tank at this point, or the male may view her as a threat to the eggs and may get aggressive towards her.

Once the fish have hatched and are swimming freely, take the male out of the tank as well or he may begin to eat his young and your hard work will have been in vain.

Give the babies about two weeks before you change their water, and be careful that you don’t overfeed them or the tank could become cloudy.

After a couple weeks, you can begin changing the water and separating the fish into other bowls. Now all you will need to do is decide if you want to sell them, or keep them for your family.
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Bettas have a fairly short lifespan, and are most successful as breeders when they under a year old (bettas in pet shops are usually at least six months old). They breed in bubblenests and do not require a large tank or special equipment.
Most breeders find that a bare bottomed tank of roughly ten gallons works well, although smaller tanks are also suitable.Ideally the fish should be conditioned prior to breeding, by feeding them a diet of live foods. The water should be at a pH of about 7.0, and temperature around 80 or slightly above.

The male will blow an elaborate bubble nest when he is ready to spawn. The female should be provided with a hiding place, as males may become aggressive during courtship. Even with a hiding place, it is common for the female to lose a few scales or have their fins frayed during spawning.

When they are ready to spawn, the pair will display intense coloration and begin circling each other under the bubblenest. The male will wrap himself around the female who has turned on her back. As she expels the eggs, they are fertilized and begin to sink. The male will scoop up the eggs and spit them into the nest. From this point on the male will tend the brood. It is advisable to remove the female, as the male may become aggressive towards her as he tends his young.

The male will continue to tend the bubblenest, spitting eggs that fall out back into the nest. In one to two days the eggs will hatch, and the fry will be visible hanging in the bubblenest with their tails pointing downward. They will feed off their yolk sack for another thirty six hours, during which time the male will continue to pick up any fry that fall out of the nest. The male should be removed within two days after the fry hatch, as they may eat the young once they are free swimming.

The fry should be fed a couple of feedings daily of baby brine shrimp or very fine baby food. Tetra makes a dry mixture specifically for egglaying fish, and many pet shops carry frozen baby brine shrimp. Take care not to overfeed, as the uneaten food will foul the water and can quickly prove lethal to the fry.