All about betta fish

Tips and tricks for transporting a betta fish safe

2014-10-28T10:49:00.000-07:00

Traveling with bettas is stressful, there's no doubt about that!
However, there are a few tricks to keeping your ride with less flaring
and a little less water spillage! If you're the type of owner who travels with their fish in tupperware
or baggies (and you should be!), there's no greater frustration than
seeing your fish in their containers in their carrying box flaring at
each other. An easy fix is to take one of your cruddy mop-up t-shirts
(see above) and cut off the sleeves. The sleeves are usually just large
enough and tall enough to go all the way around the cup. This keeps the cup dark, which keeps the fish comfy; keeps them from
seeing each other, which keeps them unstressed; and helps keep you
dry in the event the lid leaks a little bit! How awesome! It's also a good idea for water changes with more than one fish-
Darkness, a bit of warmth, and protection from stressing at seeing
the other. Perfection.
follow us for more www.facebook.com/bettafish4u

Types of Betta fish

2014-08-17T19:45:00.001-07:00

Bettas belong to Pea Potha Betta Farm
1. Red dragon plakat
2. Fancy plakat
3. Platinum white halfmoon
4. Yellow plakat
5. White dragon plakat
6. Lavender halfmoon betta fish
7. Milky white halfmoon betta fish
9. Platinum plakat

Betta fish breeding @bettafish4u

2014-06-11T11:00:00.002-07:00

Dumbo Betta fish in a planted aquarium with corydoras as tank mates

2014-05-28T08:05:00.002-07:00

Planted Aquarium

2014-05-22T07:53:00.001-07:00

Nano Aquascaping best suited for Plakats

2014-05-20T07:11:00.001-07:00

Betta fish Nano Tank setup

2014-05-18T19:49:00.000-07:00

Equipment:
- Walmart Stem Vase ($9) - Hagen Elite Mini ($7) - Ikea Lamp ($10 @ Ikea, $20 Online)

Flora:
- Aponogeton - Green Cabomba - Lindernia Parviflora - Amazon Micro Sword - Ludwigia Arcuata - Rotala Macrandra - Hygrophila Polysperma

Fauna: - 1 Female Betta - 6 MTS

Mythbuster :Do bettas really live in "tiny" puddle

2014-05-16T20:50:00.001-07:00

Okay, folks, after a research breakthrough and reminiscing of memories on how I often see people suggest to use vases and bowls for bettas considering "they live in tiny mud puddles", I decided to crash this myth in an effort to put a stop on what we call betta abuse simply by placing them in a container with no heater, no filter, etc at all. I've read plenty of books and discovered there is a lot more than what you see on a betta. It has always been a misconception that bettas live in mud puddles. Everytime I see people saying this, I keep thinking to myself "Is this possible?" Even the mud puddles dug by animal hooves would be quite horrible for a betta. What were those labyrinths for?

Before I go further, please note there are several betta species more than you can think of distributed around Asia, however, the human developments have seriously depleted their habitats with some species already lost and feared extinct.

While roaming around on forums for possible summaries, I discovered this paragraph (I don't own a lot of books however I do spend plenty of time in bookstores but I cannot copy every important bit without purchasing the said books which are expensive.)

Information is taken from Labyrinth Fish: The Bubble Nest Builders written by Horst Link and published by Tetra in 1991.

"In my opinion, the natural distribution range is very much smaller than had been supposed until now and is, in fact, restricted to central, western, and northern Thailand...Betta splendens lives in paddy fields and associated ditches, in marshes and flooded grass pits and in theklongs (canals) of the residential parts of towns and villages. At different times of the year, they may be very numerous."

A very important advice...
The view that fighting fish often live in mudholes and therefore can be kept in such conditions is not really tenable. The fish will exhibit their full finery in a well-established, balanced aquarium and it is only under such conditions that their keeper will be able to appreciate their beauty at its best

So the questions now are..

What paddy field are we talking anyway?
Is this really a mud puddle? Is it really small?

What is your conclusion on the whole?
Going to back to the above, I've shared to you my thoughts. Now to answer the question, What were those labyrinths for?, this doesn't mean all anabantids can live in mud puddles as previously suggested by several people but this means it allows them to survive in warm, shallow, slow moving waters with very low oxygen levels.

So like other fish, we should treat the bettas with great care. Efficient filter, heater, etc just like what other tropical fish deserve.

Fancy Mustard gas Betta fish

2014-04-21T10:29:00.002-07:00

Stop treating Betta's like Sandwiches :(

2014-04-15T10:07:00.001-07:00

Sad to see they’re still the common peasants of the aquarium aisle, and they've been downgraded to living in take-out containers.
Spread the awareness, stop buying fishes form walmart,and other corporate...all they want is money...and they treat bettas like shit .. :( sad

share the message

How to Have a Happy Betta Fish

2014-04-09T10:17:00.000-07:00

How to Have a Happy Betta Fish

1.Make sure your betta has a good home.
Bettas need a minimum of 2.5 gallons, a heater, and a low current filter to be happy. They are also happiest when they haveclean water, so be sure to do a 25% water change every week for 5 - 10 gallons, twice a week for tanks 2.5 gallons.

2.Teach him to jump out at the water at your finger by wiggling your finger above the surface of the water.

You can even stick a food pellet on the tip of your finger to motivate him, but only if it's meal time. Be careful not to let him jump out of the tank.Betta fish are curious fish, and they like to play! Move your finger around on the glass of his tank, and he might follow you around.

3.Move around his decorations or buy him a new one.
Bettas love exploring, so caves and tunnels are good choices for decorations.

4.Contrary to some popular belief, Betta fish do NOT live long in small puddles or filthy environments.
They reside in large rice paddies and slow moving streams. In the case of most Betta the bigger the aquarium the better.

5.Bring in some "company" to pal with the Betta fish.
Betta fish like company when your not home. Buy him an apple snail, zebra diano, or cory cat to keep him company. Make sure to avoid colorful, aggressive and fish with long fins such as guppies or other bettas so the Betta doesn't try to attack them.

Lavender Dumbo Betta fish in Planted tank

2014-04-08T10:21:00.001-07:00

Search tags:

Betta fish in Planted tank |Elephant ear betta fish | Dumbo betta fish | lavender Betta fish

Aquascaping

2014-04-05T07:03:00.001-07:00

Betta fish goes well with molly

2014-04-05T07:01:00.001-07:00

Betta fish in Planted tank, winner of aquascaping competation

2014-04-04T06:40:00.002-07:00

Partitioned Planted tank by Ata Recai

2014-03-28T10:01:00.000-07:00

Planted Aquarium by Gatto Nero

2014-03-25T07:01:00.003-07:00

How to setup a Planted Aquarium for Betta fish

2014-03-21T20:57:00.000-07:00

Natural Planted tank:

Soil based with lots and lots of stem and floating plants. Common snails and shrimp complete the little ecosystem-everything has a job.

Plants functions as the filtration-All livestock and anything organic function as the ferts-When the organics start to break down and decomp-they naturally produce CO2 that the plants need. Shrimp also shred dead/dieing organics/plant matter so that it will break down faster and eat some algae. Snails-eat organics and dead/dieing plant matter and some algae.

Soil based tanks are as close to a complete ecosystem you can create in a closed system/aquarium. Everything works together to create the Balance.

It can take about 3 months for a soil based tank to mature. Once the soil has started its life under water, is alive and full of critters/microorganisms. I like to remove my filter or water movement in my 10gal and under tanks. I do use water movement in my 20gal and larger.

Nitrogen cycle-in properly setup soil based tank with lots of plants you don't need to worry about the nitrogen cycle or do anything special-It happens on its own. The silent cycle.

Often with heavy planted tanks-it will take a long time if ever to see the nitrate reading we normally look for that tells us cycling stage/completeness-But the nitrogen cycle is happening-its silent.

If you properly setup the soil based tank-you can safely add all your livestock on the same day you set it up.
Once mature-water changes are limited and this can vary from once a month to 4-5 times a year. If you want that really clean tank floor with an organized look-the soil based may not be for you.

Over cleaning-water changes and vacuum can upset the balance, however, your water should always look crystal clear-this tells you that you have good balance and the plants, microorganism, shrimp, snails and fish are doing their job.

Dirt-Look for organic type potting soil, top soil or use dirt from your yard. You don't want any added ferts, chemicals...etc.....

Sift the soil or pick through it to remove any large pieces of organics and wood.
In 1-10gal tanks use 1-1.5 inches of dirt
In 20-55gal tanks use-1.5-2 inches of dirt
In over 55gal-use 2-3 inches of dirt

Cap-use either-pool filter sand, play sand or small diameter gravel.
The cap is to help hold the soil in place and you only want to use half as much cap as you do soil.

Hard scape-If using large based items-like big rocks or driftwood-along with more than 1 inch of dirt. Place the hard scape item on top of the first 1 inch of dirt-then add the rest of the dirt and cap.

*Hint: Place the filter and heater in the tank before you place hard scape items. This will help you with proper placement and then place the hood if you are using one to check that everything will fit properly-You want the overflow of the filter to be directed over a hard scape item so it doesn't cause a kick up. Check the intake to insure that it isn't too low to the dirt/cap line-you may need to shorten the intake or place a flat rock under it so it doesn't suck up the soil/cap and ruin the filter.

Lights-proper lighting is really important-without the proper color temp bulb the plants can't see the light to use it for photosynthesis. Without good plant growth the soil based tank will crash.

You want-"Daylight" 6500k bulbs-watts will vary based on length of bulb.

You want to change both the bulb and the starter every 12 months-even if they still work since florescent bulb intensity can be lost over time.

The partition between the light and plants-need to either be removed all together or ensure it is kept clean for best light penetration to plants.
Photoperiod-keep the lights on 10-12 hours. Plants naturally are on 10h/day PP with 1 hour before and after of less intense light.

*Too short a PP or wrong color temp bulb, old bulbs can trick the plants into thinking its a season change and time to go dormant, die or flower.
Poor plant growth can result in poor water quality. You should need to make your first plant trim in 7-10 days after planting.

Algae: Its normal, expected and a sign of a healthy system, however, since this is a closed system-even the good algae needs to be manually removed on occasion. With soil based systems that have proper balance you shouldn't have algae issue-you will have some-but as long as you have enough of the right species of thriving plants-they should out compete problem algae.

Plants: If you can't start a soil based tank with enough of the right species of plants-DON'T set one up...It is important to have enough of the right species of plants on hand, correct lights from the start-otherwise the system might crash.

You want to start with lots of fast growing stem plants and some floating plants. You can add the moss, ferns, anubias to your hard scape items and add some rosette plants too.
Plants I like to use:
Stem plants:

Najas indica (naja grass)
Cabomba caroliniana(green)
C. piauhyensis (red)
Hygrophila dfformis (westeria)
H. corymbosa (giant hygro)
H, siamensis (thin leaf)
Ludwigia natans
Rotala indica
Rosette plants:
Vallisneria americana-var Biwanesis
V. spiralis
Sagittaria subulata
S. platyphylla
Cryptocryne walkeri
Crypt-bronze
C. wendtii
Echinodorus bleheri (amazon sword)
E. ozelot
E. tenellus (chain sword)

Other:

Nymphaes stellata (red lily)
Aponogeton ulvaceus
Microsorium pteropus (java fern)
Vesicularia dubyana (java moss)

Floating plants:

Pistia stratiotes (water lettuce)
Limnobium laevigatum (frogbit)
Lemna minor (duckweed)

Once the hard scape items and fully planted-make water only changes until the water is clear-Turn on the filter and heater-Once at temp-add the livestock after proper acclimation.
If you don't have trumpet snails that burrow to add-be sure and poke the soil a couple of times a week with either chopstick, wooden spoon...etc.....This will help prevent anaerobic soil. Once you make your first trim, plants are thriving-the roots of the stem plants will help prevent anaerobic soil by pulling oxygen into the soil layer.

You will need to make 1-3 times a week 25-50% water only changes for the first 1-2 weeks-Then decrease as you see plants growing/thriving to 1-2 25-50% a week. By the 3 month stage and provided plants are thriving and you have had to make at least 4-5 trims on the stem plants-Reduce water changes to monthly 50% and remove the filter if you want. As the tank matures-plants thriving you can use your judgment on water changes and reduce them further.

I don't use any added ferts or inject CO2-neither are needed in soil based balanced systems-They make everything they need if allowed, however, adding an extra pinch of fish food weekly is a great plant food for NPT's.
Once you have 1 thriving soil based tank-you will soon need another tank due to the plant growth.

Betta fish in a planted tank setup

2014-03-21T05:30:00.004-07:00

Partitioned Betta fish tank

2014-03-18T04:27:00.001-07:00

Fin Rot Treatment and symptoms for Betta fish

2014-03-15T12:15:00.000-07:00

Treatment

Change the water and check the filter
Treat with a suitable treatment such as phenoxyethanol, malachite green methylene blue or other proprietary agent
Use Indian almond leaves in the tank.
Use aquarium salt, 1 tbsp per 1 liter.
Find out the pH and correct it if necessary.
Use melafix if the rotting is jagged.
use pimafix if rot is jagged and has holes.

Symptoms

Fin edges turn black / brown
Fins fray
Base of fins inflamed
Entire fin may rot away or fall off in large chunks

Platinum white halfmoon dumbo betta fish

2014-02-15T20:23:00.000-08:00

Royal blue halfmoon in a planted tank with neon tetras

2014-02-08T03:24:00.001-08:00

Blood Red Dumbo Betta fish plakat

2014-02-05T22:34:00.001-08:00

Blood red halfmoon betta fish flaring

2014-02-04T04:07:00.002-08:00