Betta fish are tropical carnivores. Their staple diet includes tropical flake or pellet food to be used as directed on the package. My fish are fed a special flake that enhances color, but that is not necessary. Some specialty food includes frozen or freeze-dried bloodworms, tubifex worms & other small worms, mosquito larvae, and daphnia. Always remember to thaw frozen foods before feeding. You don't want to give your fishies a brain freeze, do ya?
Signs your Betta is healthy:
- Eating vigorously
- Clear eyes, smooth, clean skin & fins free from any lesions or inconsistent coloration
- Calm, steady gill movements
- lying on the bottom of the tank for extended periods of time
- poor growth or weight loss
- inflamed gills, skin, or fins
- Fins clamped to sides
- Scraping body on rocks
The way to distinguish males from females is simple.
Male's fins are longer and more extravagant. Female's
fins are much shorter. Females sort of look like nemo,
the clown fish.I went to Petsmart to get a male &
female pair for my new tank, but when I got home &
got them in the tank, they started fighting. This was
strange because they had just barely seen eachother
for the first time, they couldn't be mating so soon.
But when they started to bite off each others fins,
I spotted the problem. The "female" was a male. No
doubt it's fins were shorter, but they didn't quite look
like nemo's. I fixed this problem by preparing another
tank.At first, the male was Ben, & the female Belle.
I changed the name to Bernie, much more fitting.In the
end, I'm much more happy with two males that I would
ever be with 1 male & 1 female.(Thank you incompetent
Betta fish sorters at Petsmart!)
When adding fish, or just starting out, only go for
1-3 at a time. I keep my fish in a vase with bamboo &
rocks which they seem to like. Males need about a liter
of water. Females need less. If you only have a limited
amount of space, don't fret, just be sure they're not too
crowded.
VERY IMPORTANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Male Betta fish are very aggressive & cannot be kept together or one of them is going to end up dead!!! Females on the other hand are very docile and can be kept with other females. I do not recommend females & males in the same tank, but it can be done. Just be careful when the male makes what is called a bubble nest at the top of the tank. This means the female will then deposit eggs in the nest and you will have baby fry you don't know how to take care of. If you do know how to take care of them, go ahead, be my guest, just be careful. Frequent water changes stimulate the males.
(Most, not all, of this information comes from the Petsmart care guide for Bettas. Pick one up for free in the fish section of Petsmart.)
