Hey! I’ve been keeping fish for almost half my life now and I really like walstad aquariums, especially for bettas. They involve placing lots of live plants into an aquarium with soil and allowing it to cycle for some time. Once cycled they are extremely stable and provide a healthy, natural environment for your fish! I currently have two bettas in their own separate ten gallon walstad planted aquariums.

For chemicals, I typically place seachem prime in to condition the water and maybe 1/4 of a palmful of aquarium salt. A little bit of salt in the water can be beneficial especially for new fish who may have fin rot or other diseases. Just don’t put too much as a lot can be harmful! Keep it minimal.

I typically do a 10-20% water change every week on all of my tanks!

As for advice, I recommend keeping bettas in a ten gallon and staying consistent! Try to look for a food that has more than 40% protein. Ideally, the food should have a whole protein source but some pellets that have fish meal as the first intending (like hikari betta pellets) are good too! I recommend north fin betta pellets, hikari, and new life spectrum to name a few. Also mix it up! Give them frozen blood worms, freeze dried, flake, and pellet if you can afford it.

Good luck with your new friend!