Petlife logo

Caring for Your Betta Fish

A Step-By-Step Guide

By Mariam KaddouraPublished 6 years ago 2 min read
Like
Beautiful Half-Moon Betta Fish (above)

Betta fish (commonly called Siamese fighting fish) are easy to take care of as long as they’re in the right conditions. If you leave them living in a cup at home, they’re going to go to the BIG fish tank up in the sky (you know what I’m talking about). I know, doesn’t sound very fun, does it?! So, if you don’t want that to happen, here are a few simple things you need to do to give them a long and healthy life!

Things You Will Need:

  • Water conditioner
  • A stress coat and aquarium salt (not needed but it really does help them have a nice slime coat)
  • A tank or bowl
  • Betta fish food
  • Some decor like plants and gravel/substrate
  • A water filter
  • An aquarium heater
  • A gravel vacuum

Steps:

  1. Rinse out all of your decor and your bowl/tank.
  2. Add your filter in if you are not willing to clean your tank very often. With a filter, depending on how big your tank is, you will only have to clean your tank every 2-4 weeks.
  3. Fill the tank/bowl with enough water for the filter to be submerged in the water. (Leave enough room in the top so the bettas can get their oxygen.)
  4. Add your water conditioner, slime coat, and aquarium salt.
  5. Put half of your gravel in the tank. Now add your plants and other decor on top.
  6. Add the rest of your gravel to cover the bottom of these decorations.
  7. Add your heater in if your house is too cold. (If their water is too cold they may die.)
  8. By keeping your heater and filter on, you are cycling your tank. You have to do this for the nitrogen cycle to begin. Depending on how big your tank is, you might have to cycle it for an hour to a week.
  9. Add 2-3 fish flakes/pellets into the tank to create beneficial bacteria in the water for the fish's health.
  10. After the cycle is complete, let your betta fish float in the container or bag you got them in for 15-20 minutes.
  11. Lastly, add your fish to the tank.

Cleaning your Betta's Tank/Bowl:

Use a gravel vacuum to clean the gravel in your tank/bowl to remove uneaten food and waste. If you don’t clean your tank, ammonia will build up in the water, which can be deadly for the fish. You should also do partial water changes with your tank, minimum ¼ of your water.

NEVER change ALL your betta fish’s water as it can remove the beneficial bacteria and you will have to cycle your tank all over again.

I hope you all have your betta living a happy and healthy life!

- Mariam K.

fish
Like

About the Creator

Mariam Kaddoura

Hello! I'm here to educate people about animals and share my passion.

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.