Thread: Ask me about Betta splendens

haha! awesome! you told me about these...

are they expensive to breed or keep? and do they have a specialized diet?

Originally Posted by no-name

haha! awesome! you told me about these...

are they expensive to breed or keep? and do they have a specialized diet?

They aren't expensive to keep. They're as expensive as any other small fish. <$10 for the tank, $8 for the heater, $5 for decor/gravel, $3 per fish, $3 for good fish food. The best stuff is Hikari's Betta pellets, which cost $2.59 at Wal-Mart and last a few months. They can eat flake food, too.

They are carnivorous, usually eating water bugs. Thailand's natural mosquito control! If you want to be fancy, feed them frozen bloodworms every week or so.

As far as breeding goes, expense depends on your effort. I didn't pay anything extra for my fish, but I had to raise the daphnia and nematode culture myself. Unlike other fish, betta fry are so small and picky that they can only eat live food (zooplankton). This is where the expense comes in. You can buy pre-made, biologically pure cultures online, or buy brine shrimp eggs and start a small hatchery. After a few weeks, they should be able to eat commercial fish food (which is easier and cheaper).

I used to have one of those! How long do they usually live? I don't think mine lasted more than a year.

Originally Posted by eppy

I used to have one of those! How long do they usually live? I don't think mine lasted more than a year.

In pet stores, they could be anywhere from 6-12 months to start out. In an unheated vase or bowl (the common setup), two years is a reasonable lifespan to expect.

If you give your betta a heated environment, and some sort of exercise, it could live up to five years. (In a heated environment, the betta will be much more lively, too!)

My oldest betta at the moment is 1.5 years. She's huge and tough and is still in good shape.

After a while, I just put it in my freshwater fish tank. It stayed alive in there a couple months.

Originally Posted by eppy

After a while, I just put it in my freshwater fish tank. It stayed alive in there a couple months.

What was the tank setup? Any tankmates? Any illnesses beforehand?

i had a bunch of guppies and other fish in there. It was a big tank. My dad takes care of it and set it up and he knows how to manage it. He is really into turtles and fish. I don't really know anything about it.