Questions from a Betta Fish hopeful

[BettaflySkies]

Hey, Betta Forumers!
I'm 13, and I've been thinking for a while about getting a fish. I've looked around, and Bettas seem to be a mix of easy and pretty, when it comes to fish care. I may not be able to get one, since my parents say I don't need one because I already have a pug dog, and I only need one pet . However, should I be able to convince my parents that a fish is a good idea, and that I could take care of it, I have a few questions:
*I understand that unless you want a dead Betta, or many tiny ones, that you shouldn't put two Betta Fish together. However, I was wondering what the optimal size for a Betta bachelor pad (one fish tank, ) is. I've heard numbers anywhere between 5 and 20 gallons, and I think both of those are probably extremes. I was thinking 10, but I dunno how that is for sure.
*Who makes the best filters/heaters/tanks, and what temp. should their water be?
*What kinds of rocks/plantlife is good for a Betta tank? What size and shape should the floor rocks be?
*How often should you clean their tank, and how would you go about doing so? I understand you need to get all the ick out, without actually boiling it sterile, but what do you do with the fish while that's going on, and what are the tools required to do the cleaning?
*What do they eat, and how often do they eat it?
*What sort of extra things do you need to put in the water? I've heard of aquarium salt, but how much, and is there anything extra?
*The water in my area is pretty hard, is this okay?
*What is the safest area of a house to put the tank, and are there any other fish I should/could put with it?

That's all, thanks!

[dramaqueen]

Hello and welcome to FishForum. You can go as small as 2.5 gallons or as large as 20. I'd say 5 to 10 gallons is good. I can't tell you about filters because I don't use them in my tanks. If you plan on cycling, you'll need a filter. You can google fishless cycling and find info on cycling or some other members can fill you in. The Marineland Stealth visitherm is a good heater that a lot of us here use. It was highly recommended to me. How often you clean the tank and change the water depends on whether or not you cycle your tank. If you cycle, how much water you have to take out depends on your water parameters. If you cycle, you'll need a master test kit. The API freshwater liquid master test kit is the one that is usually reccommended. If you have a small tank that is not cycled, you would do more frequent changes. 1 to 2 gallons, you would do a full change twice a week.A lot of us here feed our bettas twice a day, 2 pellets each time. You can also feed them freeze dried or frozen foods such as daphnia, bloodworms and brine shrimp. I hope that covers everything. I don't know anything about water hardness either. Hope this helps.

[BettaflySkies]

Thanks so much for the information. I don't think I'll be able to get a fish, but if I can, this information will be really useful! At some point in my life, I definitely want a Betta, though, they're really beautiful fish.

[dramaqueen]

You're welcome. I hope you can get one in the future. They are great fish to have; they have so much personality!