Quality Bettas

General

1. What size tank does a Betta need?

   There is mixed feelings about this subject and i am sure people will tell you all sorts of things, but in my opinion you should keep a single male Betta in a tank of a MINIMUM 2 gallons (approx 10 ltrs). This gives them good space to move and also room for you to decorate the tank and make it a suitable home for your Betta. Bigger is always better.

2. How often do I have to change the water in my tank?

   If the tank is filtered you will need to do a partial change now and again as you will need to vacume the gravel. This is about 20% once a week. However you will need to change the water if you get a spike in the water paramiters, then you do a 50% change every other day until the spike has gone. 

   If your tank is unfiltered like mine you will need to do larger water changes and more often. Below isa rough guide for this

   1-4 Gal - 50% every other day

   5-9 Gal - 50% every 3-4 days or 100% weekly

   10 Gal - 50% weekly or 100% every week and a half

   Remember to make sure that the new water is the same temperature and PH as the old. For 100% changes you will need to remove the Betta, the best way to do this is to scoop him up in a cup with some of his original water. If you net him out, it is best to use the soft fine mesh nets.

3. Can I have more than one female in my tank?

   If your tank is big enough and you have plenty of places for fish to hide and get out of each others way, then yes you can, but you need to have 4 or more to prevent bullying. I would never keep more than 6 in a 10 galon tank. You also need to keep an eye of for overly aggressive females, these will need to be removed.

Breeding

1. Why aren't they doing any thing?

   Don't rush the breeding process. You must keep your breeding pair next to each other so they can see each other for approximately 1 week. This gives you a great time to condition them and also time for your female to egg up. Only once she is fat with eggs and has bars, a bit like a tigers stripes, running from dorsal fin to anal fin. This means she is ready. Once introduced it still might take up to 3 days for them to mate so give them time. If you have done all this and it looks like its the male who doesn't want to know then try introducing another male, in a tank next to the breeding one or in a glass tube within the tank for about 10 minutes. This should kick the males hormones into action. Other factors are the fish might be too young, the water condition is bad or it just might be he is no good for breeding with.

2. Can a male and female live together in the same tank?

   Simply put, no.

   Male and female bettas do not get along unles they are mating. He will constantly bully her, or in some cases, she will bully him. One or both fish will always look a mess and you will be constantly treating to water to prevent fin rot and infections. Thats best case cenario.

3. How long do they need to see each other before I can put them together.

   They need to be next to each other for at least a week, this gives you time to condition them both for breeding as well. However the female needs to be fat with eggs and have bars on her a bit like tiger stripes, these bars go from her dorsal fin to her anal fin. If she is not like this then you need to give her a bit longer.