EQUIPMENT
Many times the betta is the first pet a person will ever own
and they may be purchasing it for the home or even the office
to add a little "Living Gem" to their home or work place.
Sometimes they are a gift and the new owner wants to provide
a good life for their pet. That a great place to start!
Everything you need can be purchased right here through the
net through Petsmart. This is not the Petsmart site but I can
link you to the stuff on the Petsmart site to give you the
best stuff for your betta, so you can keep your betta "betta
equipped"!
1. The container.
The container should contain only one betta, because the
males (which is what they usually sell in the pet stores)
will fight. That is the reason they call 'em Siamese
Fighting Fish! To take full advantage of their splendid
color I suggest you get lighted aquarium. You might want to
add some snails or a cleaner fish like a Coridorus cat fish
or a small algae eater. These will make good take mates. But
just the betta alone is good if you don't over feed. Do 20%
water changes monthly and you should be fine. The setup I
suggest is the Aqua Scene Desktop Aquariums.
2. A heater and a thermometer.
Bettas go dormant at cooler temperatures and they just lie
there and stop eating. It is best to keep them in water
between 78 - 86F (25 - 30C). You will need a thermometer and heater.
I like the submersible heaters the best because they are easier
to hide and you don't have to worry about it falling in and
being ruined by the water. I suggest one of these thermometers
and Accura 1000 heater
(50 Watts for the 2 gallon aquarium 100 Watts for the 5 gallon
aquarium.)
3. A net.
You really need a net on hand if you need to remove the fish
for any reason. Make sure to wet the net first before you
scoop up the fish. Just soaking it for several seconds helps
a lot. You can damage a fish's slime layer with a dry net and
introduce a chance for infections. I suggest a 5 X 4 inch net.
4. Food.
Ah, Food! The best part of the bettas day. Once he gets
adjusted to you, and his new environment. He will swim to the
top of his container when he sees you coming! There are
a lot of great foods for bettas floating about, and yet live
and frozen foods may be the best ...but dry foods are really
just as good for the domestic pet fish. They are easier and
cheaper too! And your hands don't stink after you feed your
fish. Keep it simple and use this high quality "Betta Gold" food,
made for the betta diet.
5. Water conditioners.
If you get city-water chances are you need to declorinate it.
I suggest getting the "Stress Coat" declorinator/conditioner. Remember, when
declorinating, conditioning or altering the pH, do it in a seperate
container than the one with your fish. Adjusting water conditions can
make for temperary exstreams which my damage, weaken or even kill your
fish.
There are a lot of other things you don't need that, but if you're
like me you just got to have! This is a fun hobby so shop
around and enjoy. You can click the Petsmart logo and shop
till you drop!
Send E-mail to BEAMAN_TODD@YAHOO.COM
Document last updated SEP 24, 2007.
https://members.tripod.com/~Be_A_Man/betta/change.html