Questions for my Super Giant Betta

[WinnieTabz]

Hey forums, i just recently bought a (labeled) Super Giant Betta, hes about 3in long body only not including fins. Currently living in a 5gal tank: filtered, declorinated, scenery, etc.

My questions:
1- how much should i feed him?
2- he looks very lonely, can i place a female betta in there with him?
3- any fishes that i could have live with him?
4- hes in my room which barely gets any sunlight, is that bad?

I think thats all i have for now.

Thanks everyone

[shellieca]

1. What are you currently feeding him? My Bettas get 6 or so NLS pellets per day, with 1 day a week fasting. I also substitute their pellets for frozen foods a couple times a week.
2. NO
3. IMO a 5g is too small to add any other fish. The male I have in a 5.5g has a Mystery snail. Your Betta is not lonely, they're meant to be solitary.
4. So long as he's getting a day/night cycle he's fine. Does your tank have a light hood? If so that's sufficient light.
Does he have a heater? Is your tank fully cycled?

[Viva]

My regular sized betta gets 6 - 8 NLS pellets per day (NLS pellets are fairly small) so a Giant betta would need more than that because its bigger. As far as tank mates go, the general rule of keeping fish is 1" per 1 gallon. Since your fish is 3+ inches, there really is no room for another fish in there. It might be OK with a single snail, but other than that I'd say no. Tankmates are always tricky with bettas because you don't know if the betta will tolerate sharing it's space until you put it in the tank. Females and males housed together permanently will always result in either death, or a spawn followed by death. Both genders are too aggressive to live together permanently. Bettas dont NEED sunlight, but they are much happier with a regular light/dark schedule. Plus, how will you see the magnificent colors of a betta without light?

[finnfinnfriend]

To add to all this great info, bettas live in very shaded and dark water, so as long as it is lighter during the day than it is at night it should be just fine. In fact too much bright light stresses them out. My room is dark and my betta tank has a glass top with no light and he is happy :)