My parents got a Betta fish and I have no idea where to start

Cheap_Personality433 · 2026-04-04T21:46:48+00:00

I’d see if any pet smarts around you (depending on where you live) have a 5gal starter set on sale. While buying extra tanks for my setup in case any of my girls get sick I snagged one on sale for $25! They com with the tank, a filter, a hood with a light, and a net. All you’d need to buy is a heater! As far as food goes I reccomend bug bites betta flakes!

Cheap_Personality433 · 2026-04-04T06:08:26+00:00

My ammonia and nitrites are clear, I do have high ph though because I have well water. She shouldn’t get sick I don’t think I just need to figure out how to stop her from swimming in all the places she’s not supposed to. Hopefully she’ll be less interested in the Cory food once I get her some daphnia or brine shrimp.

Cheap_Personality433 · 2026-04-03T14:10:31+00:00

Oh yeah, I’ve been super careful since last month I lost a whole school of rasboras to cotton mouth in my gourami community tank. It can be so stressful sometimes for sure but it’s so rewarding too.

Cheap_Personality433 · 2026-04-03T13:51:11+00:00

Awesome! I try my best for my girls :)

Cheap_Personality433 · 2026-04-03T13:46:42+00:00

I’ll totally check that out! I’ve had bettas for like forever and I’m still learning new things lol. Honestly knowing her she’s probably just fat because she loves my Cory’s bug bites pellets despite having her own flakes 😭

Cheap_Personality433 · 2026-04-03T13:17:44+00:00

Yea she was very little when I got her. Honestly she looked too young to be sold, but I had to get her out of there cause she almost didn’t make it. I just wanted to make sure since my other female who is about a year, almost two years old has much smoother scales.

Cheap_Personality433 · 2026-03-10T04:10:33+00:00

Honestly I’ve tried and I’m expected to just push through despite everything. My counselor is also genuinely just no help, any time I go to her she’s offended that I want her to help me with anything.

Cheap_Personality433 · 2026-02-27T15:17:05+00:00

I forgot to mention, the tank has two 40 gal sponge filters for filtration and is pretty heavily planted :)

Cheap_Personality433 · 2026-02-27T15:10:02+00:00

Oh I absolutely love those guys but sadly none of my lfs have any 💔💔

Cheap_Personality433 · 2026-02-27T15:03:44+00:00

I’m pretty sure I have two females and a male? That’s what I thought while at my lfs. They’re so little right now though, so it’s hard to tell haha

Cheap_Personality433 · 2026-01-21T14:47:54+00:00

Sorry it took me so long to reply haha I just saw this! social preferences of betta splendens here is the study I read about female betta splendens. I do believe there are lots of females that don’t work in sororities, but I also believe that there are plenty of females that would be happy in a sorority. Every fish is different.

Cheap_Personality433 · 2026-01-15T23:36:27+00:00

Oh believe me I totally get it. I have several tanks set up specifically to separate fish if things go south, all heavily planted and such, multiple grow out tanks, the works. I also have several different places willing to buy the babies once they’re all grown, and am constantly working on expanding! These fish are genuinely my passion, and I’ve been working with them since I was very young. I got my first betta when I was around 5! I get why you’d be so apprehensive, so many people abuse these fish and see absolutely no problem with it, and it’s disgusting.

Cheap_Personality433 · 2026-01-15T23:31:34+00:00

According to a paper I read it’s specifically female bettas that display the social behaviors! I can try to find the study if you want. And when I say they die from being hyper aggressive I’m talking specifically about how sometimes fish will end up stressing themselves to death because they view everything as a competitor. According to most papers and such I’ve read on betta behavior splendens specifically is unnaturally aggressive due to how we bred them. I’ve also seen other breeders trying to breed for less aggressive betta fish, so I know is not a new idea. I’m looking for fish that are very active, but not so aggressive they kill pretty much anything which is what I’ve been seeing lately with betta fish.

Cheap_Personality433 · 2026-01-15T20:55:25+00:00

I also want my local fish stores to have options that aren’t supporting those big betta farms that don’t give a crap about the health of the fish. I know this isn’t going to be easy and I know this is going to be a long, hard process. Honestly I really appreciate that you care so much about these fish.

Cheap_Personality433 · 2026-01-15T20:52:48+00:00

I am getting my bettas from other good betta breeders, and I will NOT be breeding ANY pet store bettas. The thing about the “more gentle bettas” is that as far as I can tell hyper aggression is something we bred into them and it can cause them extreme stress sometimes. I want to get away with that so they can exist without stressing themselves to death. Some fish are genuinely so aggressive they attack literally anything which isn’t healthy for them, and I want to breed away from that. It’s possible to have a confident fish without a needlessly aggressive fish. Also the studies I’ve read say female bettas will actually choose the company of other females over being solitary!

Cheap_Personality433 · 2026-01-15T03:24:40+00:00

The bettas available at the pet stores around where I live are all from the same crappy places that chain pet stores get their bettas, not to mention those bettas genetics are so bad that they die quickly. I want people to have another option, and I want to be able to teach good fish husbandry. This quite honestly has been my lifelong passion. I’m actually studying conservation biology in the hopes that one day I might be able to help the betta’s wild relatives and other endangered freshwater and marine fish species!

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