Make the World a Betta Place

catcher-of-your-dreams

catcher-of-your-dreams asked:

Hi there! I was just wondering if it would be a good idea to put a lamp near my betta bowl for a few hours each day, to warm the water a bit more. Or would the light agitate my baby? Thank you in advance! c:

Hi there! Lights are not a good idea for heating purposes- they heat the water unevenly through, and you can’t control the temperature. I would suggest getting a heater, which you can if his bowl is around 2 gallons. If his bowl is smaller, he would probably really appreciate some more room, so if you’re able get him a larger tank and a heater :)

hope that helps!

echolaliating

echolaliating asked:

thank you so so much for this blog. I just got a new betta and I'm terrified of killing it but it seems difficult to find good and accurate information about taking care of them

You’re very very welcome! Congrats on the new fish!

Another tumblr user to check out would be pooperscoopin- she’s a wealth of betta knowledge, and her betta website- bettasplendid.weebly.com has some really great care information :)

I hope you find whatever information you’re looking for!

ohblainers:

ohblainers:

ohblainers:

I just pimped out my betta’s bowl this douchebag better be grateful.

Pretty sure he’s dead.

It’s ok he came with a 30 day warranty I can just take him to the store tomorrow and get a new one. Unfortunately this means that I’m going to have a container with a dead fish in it in my car all day.

I’m sorry to hear about the loss of your fish D:

If you haven’t already, I highly suggest reading up on bettas and their care- a lot of petstores will give shitty advice, either out of a lack of being informed themselves or out of wanting to sell products that really aren’t too good for the animals that will have to live in them.

Bettas need a minimum 1 gallon of water, with bigger being better because they also need heaters, and larger spaces are easier to heat, as well as you won’t have to change the water as often.

If you want to check out some care infor for bettas, here are some links, and if you have any questions after reading these caresheets, feel free to send them my way- my ask is always open :)

http://velvetdragon.com/bettas/caresheet.html

http://ultimatebettas.blogspot.ca/2010/04/selecting-appropriate-betta-housing.html

http://nippyfish.net/bettas-101/

http://scalestails.tumblr.com/post/17680649714/betta-care-sheet

Best of luck with your next fish!

Anonymous

Anonymous asked:

I'm thinking about getting two platies for my 12 litre tank, how often would you suggest partial water changes for a tank of this size? Are platies definitely ok for a tank of this size? (The box says so, but it also says that a black moor could live happily in it, which is bull xP ) Also (sorry for all the questions!) for how long should I cycle my tank before adding fish? The info I've found so far is a bit confusing (some say 3 days, some say 8 weeks). I have a fiterstart bacteria starter c:

From a few quick googlings, it seems like the general consensus for platies is a ten gallon tank. Platies aren’t my area of expertise though, so I may be wrong, but that seems to be the general opinion. I think the 12 litre (about 3 gallons) would be great for a betta, though!

Cycling takes varying amounts of time- here is a website with a comprehensive guide to cycling.

http://bettasplendid.weebly.com/cycling-for-dummies.html

In a tank that size, you don’t really need to cycle. It’s possible, but the smaller the tank is the more finicky the whole process is.

If you decide to get a betta, you would do 1-2 100% water changes per week in an uncycled tank, or probably at least 1 50% change once a week if the tank is cycled and planted.

I hope that helps! Thanks for your question :)

Anonymous

Anonymous asked:

What size tank should my baby betta have? (Same person as before)

When I find really tiny bettas at pet stores or whatever I usually go for a 2.5 gallon- lots of room, but not too difficult to manage. Smaller is okay but not for long term.

Anonymous

Anonymous asked:

Help !!! I bought a baby betta at petco out of guilt. I should have thought about it more bc I don't know how to take care of it! I have micro pellets for it. It's is transparent and about 1/2 long. HELP ME ASAP PLEASE I DONT WANT IT TO DIE.

Hello!

So, important things for baby bettas are food, cleanliness, and stability. Make sure you have the little guy/gal in a container with a heater, or one floating inside a larger tank with a heater. I would suggest picking up some baby brine shrimp, maybe some daphnia (frozen) as well as some frozen bloodworms, which you can chop up so the little fish can eat them. You may want to get an eyedropper, if you don’t already have one, to make feeding a bit easier. If the micropellets you have are high in protein, they should be fine, if not, maybe look into New Life Spectrum grow formula.

Change the water every 2-3 days, and if you can, use a turkey baster to suck up waste between water changes.

Feed him/her 3 times per day, and keep the water super duper clean, and your fish should be just fine.

trulysophisticat

trulysophisticat asked:

Hello! I was just wondering if you had any decorating tips for fish tanks. My betta is happily swimming in a 5 gallon, but I just have a bunch of green silk plants...I'd like to change it up a bit and make some decor that would be more stimulating. Perhaps even getting live plants. Do you have any suggestions?

Hey there!

I really like live plants, personally- there’s a list of good low light ones here:

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/general-aquarium-plants-discussions/46667-excellent-list-plants-low-light-tanks.html

As for other decor, I like to have themes. I tend to name my fish after characters in books/tv shows/etcetera, so I base the tank on a setting from the fictional world they’re in.

Other ideas for a theme include colors, or maybe like a beach/forest stream/other natural area sort of look.

I hope that helps!

setphaserstolimp

setphaserstolimp asked:

I just bought my betta from petsmart and it came in a cup. I'm not sure how to acclimate it to the bowl's water with it in a cup. Do you have any suggestions?

http://bettysplendens.com/articles/page.imp?articleid=1638

here is a pretty good guide. If your fish’s cup isn’t floating as you’d like it to, you can always transfer him/her to a ziploc baggie.

setphaserstolimp:

Make the World a Betta Place: setphaserstolimp: I’m… actually second guessing getting a betta…

bettasdeservebetter:

setphaserstolimp:

I’m… actually second guessing getting a betta fish

this is the first fish I’ll be taking care of so I’m not sure a betta fish is the best option

I dunno

I’ll ask someone when I go to PetSmart tomorrow

but until then, anyone have any suggestions?

Bettas aren’t hard to…

money isn’t a problem for me.

My biggest issue is that it’s the middle of winter and my room is very cold(well, not very cold, but definitely colder than a tropical fish would like, I’m sure). I’m not sure how well a heater works. If I can get a heater that will get the water to a good temp then I’ll probably be good.

I have a fishbowl that holds about 2/2.5 gallons

here’s a question, though. Is it only other betta fish they can’t get along with or will they fight with all fish?

They’ll fight with anything that they think out-pretties them :P

Basically, small, dull coloured critters like snails, feeder or female guppies, or bottomfeeders they can get along with (usually). Anything flashy, and you get a higher chance of problems.That being said, in a 2 gallon, you can’t house tankmates. In a 5 gallon, you can have a snail or maybe an african dwarf frog if your betta is not a very aggressive one, but in a 2 gallon it’s probably for the best to just have the betta.

If the bowl you have is about two gallons, you can use a 25 watt adjustable heater. There are some heaters that aren’t adjustable, but I wouldn’t trust those as much as one where you can set the temp to where bettas like it, around 78-80*, and the heater will keep it stable there.

Just a tip as well- I would suggest making/getting a lid for the bowl, if you don’t have one already- bettas are notorious for jumping and it would really suck to have a fish be able to get out of the bowl and end up dying.

Hope that helps :)

setphaserstolimp:

I’m… actually second guessing getting a betta fish

this is the first fish I’ll be taking care of so I’m not sure a betta fish is the best option

I dunno

I’ll ask someone when I go to PetSmart tomorrow

but until then, anyone have any suggestions?

Bettas aren’t hard to take care of, per se, but they aren’t as stick-em-in-a-bowl-and-forget-em as people would like you to think.

They require an absolute minimum of one gallon, with 2.5 or more being better, and they need an aquarium heater. Taking care of one properly is also more expensive than most people think (about 40 dollars for a basic set up), so that’s something to take into consideration as well.

Bettas are probably the easiest ones to look at- please, please don’t trust everything the pet store employees say. They often are misinformed on proper fish care, or just want to sell you something.

Goldfish need 20 gallons each, with a lot of filtration. I don’t think they’re a very good first time fish because of all the space, waterchanges, and filtration- people who think they’ve kept them successfully in a bowl probably aren’t aware that they can have a lifespan of twenty years, so bragging about having a goldie live for a year is akin to talking about something like a cat living for that length of time.

Here are some links on bettas that may help you out:

http://bettasplendid.weebly.com/your-betta—day-one.html

http://nippyfish.net/bettas-101/

http://velvetdragon.com/bettas/caresheet.html

http://scalestails.tumblr.com/post/17680649714/betta-care-sheet

I would recommend doing some reading up on their care, because it’s always best to be prepared before getting a new pet of any kind!

I wish you best of luck with your fish, whatever you decide to get, and if you have any questions feel free to ask me :)