New Tank

[ahubbard]

Okay so my boyfriend just bought me a Betta fish for Christmas and he bought the 1/2 gallon starter kit that comes with it. I was reading on here about how a Bette needs more space so I was wondering if you think that I should get a bigger tank considering that I live in a dorm room. I have had the fish for 2 weeks now but he still moves around alot, sometimes he seems sad but it is never for too long. Also, how often am I supposed to feed him a day because I have been feeding him twice a day? Oh and I am just supposed to change a portion of the water in the tank, not all of it?

[miagrrl]

i would move to a little larger tank. i have an eclipse 3 gallon, and it suits my betta nicely - without being bulky or big. you will not only being providing more swimming space, but also nice filtration.

and yes, you only change a portion of the water- and try to keep it around the same temp as the old water. as for the amount of water....if he is living in a half gallon, you might need to change most of it out. the less water, the more easily waste will build up.

feeding once or twice a day is sufficuent, just a few pellets or what he / she will eat in about 1-2 minutes. you should also look into feeding a variety of foods- flakes, pellets, brine shrimp, peas etc.

[fish_4_all]

There are a lot of opinions on the best size tank, here is mine. 5 gallons for a lone betta with a spnge filter and a light of some sort that is only bright enough to light the tnak.

As for feeding, I would only feed once a day with the betta pellets, 2-3 of them and 3-4 times a week I would give it some peeled peas so it doesn't get constipated. Just 2-3 small pieces of pea either in the morning or in the afternoon, opposite of the pellets.

Water changes need to be 50% weekly with tap water at the same temp as the tank and dechlor added.

Heater added to keep the tmeperature steady as possible.