Beta Question

I'd really like to purchase a beta for my son. Okay, I want one, too but I like to pretend I'm being super selfless and getting one for the kid. We don't have room for an aquarium, though I'd like to have one eventually.

I'm not sure where to purchase one from a reputable breeder though. Can anyone recommend a place with a good variety and good reputation? I'm in Illinois if that makes a difference.

Thanks!

(05-27-2014 05:49 AM)millshre Wrote:  We don't have room for an aquarium, though I'd like to have one eventually.

Could you please explain this part a little more clearly?
It sounds like you aren't going to get a fish tank for your betta fish. I hope I am wrong.

To keep a betta fish alive and healthy, you need a minimal 5 gallon fish tank. A 10 gallon is recommended. You will need a heater and a filter as they are mandatory equipments just to keep the fish alive.

5 gallon fish tank goes for only $11 here at local walmart. 10 gallon fish tank goes for only $14 here. Small investment for long term usage.

These fish tanks are very small too. They won't take much space in your home.

As for your question of reputable breeder, you can buy high quality fish from liveaquaria.com. The shipping cost is $35 the last time I checked. It might not be wise to just buy a single betta fish from them since the shipping cost is the same regardless how many fish you buy from them.

Or you can go to aquabid.com or ebay to find a breeder. Although the betta fish from these places are not cheap since they are for breeding.

If you want something cheap, might as well check with local pet shops. I know... the betta fish there are often not as good looking nor very healthy. But you can always pick the one you like yourself, and they are cheap. The typical price of a betta fish from local pet shops are $2~4 each. The fancy looking breeder betta from aquabid.com or ebay can cost $30~60 each not including the shipping.

I agree that you should be getting some kind of an adequate aquarium for your Betta fish. Many people do keep them in bowls, and even in vases with plants growing in them; but this is a terrible thing to do to any fish. They need room to swim around, as well as a healthy environment.
Not only that, but you are probably going to just waste your money on an expensive fish if you do not get a proper tank, since the Betta will likely not live long, and then you and your son will be very sad, as well.
Bettas are a great fish to own and watch. My mom had them when I was growing up, and I later had a Betta when my children were little, and we always enjoyed watching them "flare out" their fins and show off.

I have kept bettas for many, many years. I have kept them in everything from a 3 cup container to a 10 gallon aquarium. In fact, when I was a teenager (many years ago) I bred them with much success. I love bettas because they are such an easy fish to have. They will do well in a small container with no filtration, however, you do need to keep the container clean out regularly and make sure you use clorine remover or water that has had a chance to sit in a container overnight. The best food I have found to use for them is the small pellet betta food. The flake type tends to cloud the water faster. I even had a betta that would come to the surface and take the small pellet from between my fingertips.

(06-27-2014 08:24 AM)evelynmcgregor Wrote:  I have kept bettas for many, many years. I have kept them in everything from a 3 cup container to a 10 gallon aquarium. In fact, when I was a teenager (many years ago) I bred them with much success. I love bettas because they are such an easy fish to have. They will do well in a small container with no filtration, however, you do need to keep the container clean out regularly and make sure you use clorine remover or water that has had a chance to sit in a container overnight. The best food I have found to use for them is the small pellet betta food. The flake type tends to cloud the water faster. I even had a betta that would come to the surface and take the small pellet from between my fingertips.

How long did those betta of yours stay alive in those small containers?
Betta can live for 5~7 years depend on how well they are treated. Most betta sold on the market are less than a year old. If they didn't stay alive for years after you bought them, then the conditions weren't ideal for them at all.

All live fish (or shrimp, snail, etc. for that matter) in captivity must have filtration 24/7 in order to stay alive. Sure, some people might try to do very very frequent water changes to keep the water clean, but it is impossible to completely eliminate the toxic ammonia produced by the fish without constant (nonstop) aquarium nitrogen cycle even in a large aquarium.

With a "3-cup" container, the ammonia concentration would have gone to extremely toxic level very quickly. In such a small container, it will also be impossible for you to install a heater which is required for all tropical fish to stay healthy (Betta is a tropical fish). Any small amount of water change in such small container could have easily shock the fish with sudden change in water temperature, hardness, PH, etc. Any one of these sudden change could cause the fish to become sick and die.

I have also seen people had Betta fish in small vase with a plant at my dentist. She claimed the fish was fine without heater and filter, and the fish was "happy" to eat the root... Betta is a carnivore which feed on insect larva in the wild. I am sure all humans will chew on roots when they are hungry enough, but it is not sustainable meal. A few months later when I went to see my dentist again, the betta fish was not there. There was just the plant in the vase. Want to guess what happened to the fish?

You can get a small glass bowl floral department to put the Beta in. One major thing, only one Beta per bowl or tank! They are fighting fish and will kill one another. Buy a bag of aquarium rocks and one small plastic plant, and Beta food. You can feed him(the bigger colourful ones are males, the small ones are female) 3 pieces of Beta food a day, clean bowl once a week, and put filtered water in the bowl or you can buy the little bottle of solution to dechlorinate the water, and set Beta back in in small container so fresh water and old water can become same temperature so Beta doesn't go into shock. Do this when putting Beta in bowl to begin with too.