Bettas truly are the perfect college kid fish; cheap, low maintenance, hardy, they don’t take too much space and bettas eat just about any fish food. It is interesting that most people still neglect their Betta to the point of death, especially since it is the only fish that they have. Well, after some research into some of the myths that get thrown around about betta, I have prepared a guide for keeping a truly healthy betta.

There is a lot to be attracted to with these fish, and a lot of people have them, but what is appropriate for them to be kept in? It is not uncommon to go into somebody’s room and see a small one gallon bowl on their desk housing a pretty long finned betta, a fine home for a humble fish. One gallon bowls are perfectly acceptable for a single betta. I know a lot of people may say that these are unacceptable for the fish, based on build-up of ammonia and nitrite, but I urge you to not listen.

I was curious one week while thinking about this and did my own experiment. I had a one gallon bowl set up with a full grown male crowntail betta. He was 3.125-ish inches long including the tail. I went to Pet Krazy and got PH strips, ammonia tests and nitrite tests. I did a full water change on the bowl, rinsing off the gravel and scrubbing the inside of the bowl with dish soap, as to kill the bacteria (don’t worry I rinsed well). I used the recommended amount of “TLC Super Water Conditioner”, and put my betta in. I took initial readings and nitrite and ammonia were at zero (by the way water here runs at about 7.4 PH, at least it did about a month ago). I fed the betta 3 betta pellets twice a day. After three days of testing on the water, the nitrite and ammonia levels were at nearly zero. Ammonia just started to show up on the test kit, which is bad. I let it sit one more day and they both spiked. I did this two more times with about the same results. So, keeping a betta in a one gallon bowl is acceptable if you change the water every three days.

There are two ways you can go in town when picking a betta. You can go to Wal-Mart, but I urge you to be careful, often times their betta’s are not too healthy; being in a container of that size with often overused chemicals can hurt them, so pick the healthiest one you can. Or you could “rescue” one that is sick, it’s up to you. You could go to Pet Krazy, but most of their betta cost $12. They are not the same kind of betta that you can find at Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart houses crown tail and half moon betta, Pet Krazy has Super Delta and crown tail betta’s, and theirs are on average a bit healthier because she keeps them in her 20 gallon tanks with her other fish. It’s ultimately up to you.

Picking out food is a big part of your betta’s life. There are common betta pellets which run less than $2 which is enough for a year, or there are smaller ones that run $5 because they are of better quality. Either one is fine; the expensive ones often help with the coloration a bit more. I suggest buying more than one type of food for your new betta, a varied diet does wonders. No food is perfect and has all the nutrients that it needs. My Betta gets betta pellets, high quality fish flakes, shrimp pellets, freeze dried blood worms, and the leftovers of the ghost shrimp that I feed my dwarf puffers. Only feed the freeze dried bloodworms and shrimp as a treat, they don’t do well for sustenance, because they lack nutrients.

I have heard of people trying to put another fish in the bowl with the betta because it is lonely, don’t do that. If you want a friend with it, buy a 5 gal and throw an African Dwarf Frog in with it.

Substrate is not as big of a deal as some people make it seem. If you only have a bowl, just get a bag of marbles, or some gravel off of a friend. Don’t get gravel from outside. It could house deadly parasites and you don’t know its composition. It could mess with your water chemistry and kill your fish.

I’m sure you want some type of decoration for the betta bowl. I suggest something fairly small, like a small fake flower. You can get them at Wal-Mart for like $2. If you feel adventurous, you can get a small tunnel or bridge for him to sleep in. Don’t get anything that would restrict access to the surface of the water, they need the surface to breathe.

Betta’s have been on the brunt of human stupidity for a long time. No, they can’t thrive in a 1 quart vase with just a plant root to eat. They can’t thrive in a quart bowl for very long no matter what you are feeding them. I have even seen ads for a betta bowl inside a purse as decoration. The point is some people do unhealthy things to their fish, please refrain from it, and your fish will live a lot longer, and therefore make you happier.  

By the way, it is pronounced bet-uh. A lot of people pronounce it bait-uh, which confuses me, because then it would be spelled Beta. So here are just a few things to remember when you go looking for that college pet. Shop smart and care for your fish’s well being. Further information can be found easily on the internet.

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