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First Time Betta Owner

1K views 14 replies 4 participants last post by  NantanLupan 
#1 ·
Well...technically, I'm not an owner yet. I'm going to be getting one tomorrow or Tuesday. I happened to be in the store the other day, when I noticed that they have some Bettas for sale, a new development. I stopped and looked at them, and they all looked really sad in their tiny tupperware containers, but they are quite beautiful fish. I spent a few minutes examining the fish care area, and noticed that most of the "Betta designed aquariums" are really kind of small. And they were so small that they made me too sad to buy one of them, so I decided to get a five gallon tank. So now I have a tank, a water filtration thingy-ma-bobber, some food, and a light. I just need a heater thingy, and some gravel and decorations. And the Betta of course. I'll get the heater tomorrow on my lunch break, and since I live close to work and the store, I'll run home and get that set up, and get the gravel in, I can worry about decorations tomorrow evening. And then I can put a Betta fish into a nice, decent size home. Would I be okay to add maybe another fish or two or three at a later date? What kind should I get, if I do get some others?

It's been a long time since I've had any fish. When I was a kid, we had the occasional seahorse(one died when my younger brother decided to share his chocolate milk with the seahorse and fish we had), a fair amount of guppies(which bred like rabbits), swordtails, and the occasional random other fish, but never a Betta. But I see Bettas used as office decorations ALL the time in my line of work(I make deliveries to offices all over the city), and they make me sad a little to see them so cooped up. So my fish shall have a comfortable amount of space.
 
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#2 ·
Unfortunately a 5 gallon is just not big enough for anything other than a betta, at least as far as fish go. Shrimp and snails could be added. Also, the tank could be divided for 2 bettas!

Good for you doing your research so you can give your new fishy friend a good start! Sounds like you have everything taken care of! Do you have water conditioner? What type of food will you be using? Pellets are better than flakes!
 
#4 ·
As far as varying food goes, I think most people are referring to varying between live or "frozen live" with pellets or flakes. Once you find a pellet or flake that your betta likes, I would stick with that. Bettas can be fussy eaters.

As far as which is better, I won't give my personal opinion on what is best. I know you want to find a flake or pellet with a higher protein content, but it is hard for me to judge what your betta's preference will be in the food department. Also look for some sort of fish or fish meal as the first ingredient in the what ever food you end up buying.
 
#5 ·
Well, I picked up "Charlie" today, as in "Good Time Charlie". So named because he's blue. If you don't get it, you're probably way too young. I hope he makes it, the cashier was kind of rough in handling him, to where I had to say "You realize that this is a live animal, right?" to get her to stop just twisting the bowl around trying to get the UPC code to scan. :roll: :evil: He seems alright right now, swimming around in the little bowl he came in, and as soon as I feel it's safe, I'll start working on putting him in the aquarium. He was one of the most active I saw there, and while not a crowntail Betta(I would have preferred a crowntail, but they were all red and I wanted a Charlie) he really seemed like a fun little fish compared to some of the others.
 
#9 ·
Well, she was special. Bless her heart.

Charlie is still doing well this morning, swimming his little heart out in his new home. He ate a little this morning. He's skinny, but I'm getting him some bloodworms to go along with his pellets. He just isn't terribly hungry at this point it seems, I guess that's what happens when the instructions on your little bowl say "feed three to four times a week". But with more regular feeding, he'll get a little bigger in no time. I put some pics up in the folder for Betta Pics.
 
#15 ·
Charlie is still doing well. He seems to really be enjoying his larger aquarium(I mean, I guess it's comparable to going from a prison cell to a 5,000 square foot house), and I never know exactly where he'll be in there when I walk in the room. Seems to be getting some more color too, now that he's getting fed more and is a bit happier. I'm still keeping a close eye on him though, making sure he's doing alright.
 
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