Taking Care of a Betta Fish

Getting the right size of Aquarium for your Betta Fish can be difficult if you go by what most fish stores suggest: that Bettas love small bowls. The justification for this is that Bettas live in the wild (in Thailand) in puddles. While that is true, the puddles are in the rice paddies, which are shallow, water-logged areas that are certainly not small. The puddle that the Betta lives in might be the entire field. In summer, when the fields dry up and the puddle shrinks to the size that we commonly associate puddles with, the Betta will try to find a larger space: they jump really well (a good reason why you should get an Aquarium with a lid).

The Betta Splendens commonly found in fish stores is an artificially bred variety that never lived in the wild. Even so, it does have the same genes, and as any fish breeder knows, adequate space is indispensable for fish to thrive. All that hype about Betta Fish ‘liking’ a small bowl with no filter is just sales talk to give the impression that the Betta is an easy to maintain fish.

When the serious aquarium owner takes home a Betta and begins to learn more, a proper Aquarium replaces the bowl soon enough and a filter and thermostat are installed promptly. For this reason, the Betta is also popularly known as a ‘gateway fish’: they are bought with the bowl in mind and ultimately get settled in an aquarium!

When getting the right size of Aquarium for your Betta Fish, consider the fact that the Betta will come up to the surface for air. The minimum capacity of Aquarium for one Betta is 2.5 gallons, but 5 is usually better. The height should not exceed 20″, – if the Aquarium is shaped like a column with greater height than width, your fish could very well drown. Standard dimensions for a 5 gallon Aquarium are 16″ x 8″ x 10″. Make sure you have plants and rocks in there because the Betta loves to hide. A 10 gallon tank with foliage will give your Betta so much space to hide that you might rarely see him!

Getting the right size of Aquarium for your Betta Fish will keep him healthy and playful, and with proper filtration, constant temperature control, and timely water changes, you will have arranged a fine home for your finned companion for the three years that is his average life span.

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