Joined
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109 Posts
Hey! Welcome to the world of bettas! Just a warning though... they're addicting and there is a high chance you'll end up with lots of them!
1) A 10 gallon is great! Yes, females can jump. In fact, they can jump higher than males because they don't have the long finnage. I would think that filling it to 8 gallons is enough to prevent jumping outside the tank, but someone else might have more insight
2) 78 degrees is perfect for a betta. I have the smaller version of the heater (for 2-10 gallons) and it only goes on when it needs to (when the water gets lower than 78). The red light will come on when it's heating. I also recommend you get a thermometer if you don't already have one!
3) I totally understand the college budget thing... lol I'm a fellow student You can feed her whenever. I feed mine a combination of pellets, flakes, and frozen brine shrimp (but blood worms are a great treat too!). A lot of people on here don't recommend the pea thing actually. You can just not feed the fish for 1 day to help get it's system cleared out I fast my 5 bettas once a week-- every Sunday. I've never had an issue *knocks on wood*
4) Someone else could probably recommend a better water change schedule than me I have smaller tanks so I have to do more frequent changes
5) Lots of plants! Someone on here told me that if you can look in your tank and immediately see your fish, you need more plants! Make sure that they aren't sharp so they won't snag her fins. To test this, you can run a piece of nylon over the plant and if it catches, it will also snag the betta's fins. You could also get some plastic mesh from a craft store and put together some cool tubes and whatnot. I have a floating tube in each of my tanks and they are constantly swimming in and out and sleeping in it. Look through this thread to see some DIY tank decorations: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=245289
6) Bloodworms and brine shrimp should only be given as a treat, not an entire diet. Good news for you lol it saves money! New Life Spectrum pellets are great, but can be a little tough to find. I also use Omega One Betta Buffet flakes.
Whew-- that was a lot! Hopefully I helped ya a little bit! Post pics of your fishy and tank!
1) A 10 gallon is great! Yes, females can jump. In fact, they can jump higher than males because they don't have the long finnage. I would think that filling it to 8 gallons is enough to prevent jumping outside the tank, but someone else might have more insight
2) 78 degrees is perfect for a betta. I have the smaller version of the heater (for 2-10 gallons) and it only goes on when it needs to (when the water gets lower than 78). The red light will come on when it's heating. I also recommend you get a thermometer if you don't already have one!
3) I totally understand the college budget thing... lol I'm a fellow student You can feed her whenever. I feed mine a combination of pellets, flakes, and frozen brine shrimp (but blood worms are a great treat too!). A lot of people on here don't recommend the pea thing actually. You can just not feed the fish for 1 day to help get it's system cleared out I fast my 5 bettas once a week-- every Sunday. I've never had an issue *knocks on wood*
4) Someone else could probably recommend a better water change schedule than me I have smaller tanks so I have to do more frequent changes
5) Lots of plants! Someone on here told me that if you can look in your tank and immediately see your fish, you need more plants! Make sure that they aren't sharp so they won't snag her fins. To test this, you can run a piece of nylon over the plant and if it catches, it will also snag the betta's fins. You could also get some plastic mesh from a craft store and put together some cool tubes and whatnot. I have a floating tube in each of my tanks and they are constantly swimming in and out and sleeping in it. Look through this thread to see some DIY tank decorations: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=245289
6) Bloodworms and brine shrimp should only be given as a treat, not an entire diet. Good news for you lol it saves money! New Life Spectrum pellets are great, but can be a little tough to find. I also use Omega One Betta Buffet flakes.
Whew-- that was a lot! Hopefully I helped ya a little bit! Post pics of your fishy and tank!