Got to fish sit! Help!!

[Shadowkins]

My son and I went shopping today and he decided that his life would not be complete until he had bought the last one of the beta fish at the store. He felt so sorry for him because the poor little thing seemed a bit neglected, soooo now I have to fish sit till my son can bring him to his place.
Does anyone have a beta fish? Is there anything special one needs to do other than feed them?
I am completely clueless when it comes to our little water friends and could sure use some helpful hints

[DoozyDog]

We have a beta, they are super easy.

Ours is in a small fish bowl, rocks in bottom, 2 plastic plants.

We just feed the fish 1x a day, about 4-6 pellets each time, Betta Bio-Gold fish food. It's fun to watch them eat.

Just ask if you need more help.

[TinyAlbinoDancer]

Here's some good information:
http://www.klsnet.com/betta.html

I've had several bettas over the years and found they were the most vibrant and active (read: fun to watch!) in a 5 gallon or more tank with heater. My room never got very cold, but a heater made a big difference! Make sure you read about water changes and dechlorinator in the article above. Those are the important things other than feeding.

[Jamila]

I use to have a Beta and it's fun to watch them in fighting mode. Put a mirror up to the side of the tank or bowl (if its a bowl make sure he cant jump out) then watch as he flares up. Its amazing and pretty.

[WhitneyDiann]

Beta fish are very easy to take care of. All you really need to do is feed them and change the water every so often. My grandma and my little cousin have some and they have it where the bowels are really pretty.

They just basically get a bowel, it really just looks like a bit flower vase and put some nice marbles on the bottem and some kind of floating water plant on top, and they actually will feed off the roots of the plant. It actually makes a great decoration.

[TinyAlbinoDancer]

If you read the article I posted it tells why Bettas cannot live off plant roots. Totally insufficient diet.

[WhitneyDiann]

Oh no, Im sorry, i didnt mean they feed off the roots and thats it. They do need beta food. But they will also eat off of the roots too. Im sorry TinyAlbinoDancer

[ewarp]

Bettas do much better in filtered tanks or in situations where the water is changed regularly. While bettas are able to breathe air from the surface, that doesn't make them any better suited to deal with the ammonia build up in a tank. Filtration in a fishtank is more about allowing beneficial bacteria to grow to process the ammonia produced by fish waste and excess food than about putting oxygen into the water for the fishies.

[Swiftwind]

I have a betta, they're really fun to look after and have around. I suggest changing 20-30% of the water once a week (if there's no filter in the tank I'd probably say to change the water twice a week, especially if the tank is small). Bettas don't need to eat that much, what we think seems like a small amount of food is actually just enough for a Betta, or any smaller fish for that matter. Feed your fish once a day, if you have small Betta pellets/granules only feed 3-5 pieces. If you have flakes, take a tiny pinch and crush them up a bit.

[Shadowkins]

Thanks to all for the info. I'll check that site out Tiny and learn as much as I can and I'll make sure my son does the same.
He(the fish ) is really quite beautiful. At first when we brought him home , he was in a small container with blue water so he appeared to be a dark blue black but after awhile of swimming in his new "water world" he now is a deep red...very pretty indeed.
Thanks again guys...maybe after fish sitting I will get hooked.

[Swiftwind]

Oh yeah, you most likely will get hooked! I'm already wanting a bigger tank! I started keeping fish again a couple of months ago and I already have two tanks and want even more! I love designing ('aquascaping') my tanks. I'm forever changing things around!

[oc_spirit]

My cousin breeds bettas (he quite literally has thousands of them at any given time) and he tells me that for his breeding males, it is actually quite healthy for them to have a little bit of stress everyday so everyday he takes the papers out from inbetween the individual jars so the males can see eachother and flare up. He doesn''t let them do it for too long as too much stress is bad for them. The females all live together along with the young males and of course the tiny hatchlings. Since you only have one male you can give him a bit of stress by placing a mirror by his bowl or tank. I used to have a male that was so tempermental, he would flare up if even a human put their face by the bowl and he would attack fingers.

[TinyAlbinoDancer]

How's it going with the fishie, Shadow?

Today I confiscated a friend's Betta and immediately thought of your thread. Here's my little new guy (Exhibit A: How NOT to house a Betta!). Why I confiscated him is rather obvious, I'm afraid.

[ewarp]

Oof. Poor fishie. Kalena, thanks for taking it in!

[Shadowkins]

Thank goodness you got him now, Tiny, I'm sure his condition will improve immensely.
Things are going well with my son's fish ( whom we named Sushie LOL). He is now with my son in his new home at the school dorm and he is a hit with everyone!
I miss the little guy though but he will be coming visit us when my son is on break. I'll try and get a picture of him the next time he visits so you can see how beautiful he is....I'm afraid I may just go out and "rescue" one of my own!!!!