Ok so now ive seen pictures of bettas and i really want sum! im new to fish keeping and would like to ask a few questions regarding keeping and looking after them.

1:How many could i keep in an 8 gal tank?
2:My tank is a bi-orb 30 litre and i heard bowls are ok fot these fish is that true?
It has a filter in it like this -> http://www.reef-one.com/tech.htm
3:Will they be o.k in a coldwater tank?
4:What foods do they eat?
5:What cleaning would be required?
6:Are there any problems with gravel/sones like this http://www.reefone.com/accessories/ceramic-media.htm
and any artifical plants
7:would i be able to mix them with white clound mountain minnows? if so how many minnows and bettas would be ok?


sorry for all the questions but i just want da best possible health for any fish i get and dont want too make too many rookie mistakes! if someone could just answer a few of those that would be great! thanks iain

To answer some of your questions:

1. How many can you keep? I will need you to answer this question for me: do you want male or female? Betta are agressive fish, but you can keep more than one female together if you give them plenty of places to hide. You can not keep more than one male or and male/female pair. They will tear each other to shreds. They don't call 'em siamese fighting fish for nothing!

2. Bowls are not really ok for any fish, but for betta it depends on the size of the bowl. They have a 'lung' and breathe air as well using their gills for respiration, so you must have an airspace at the top of the container, no matter what it is. I personally will not keep a betta in anything less than a 1 US gallon tank with a lid and lights with 1/2" open space at the top for breathing. The lights allow you to see the betta better and heats up the air they breathe, they like warmth. They are a tropical species.

3. Bettas will not do very well in a coldwater tank since they are a tropical species. I have had good luck with mine being in unheated tanks, but the water normally stays at 75 degrees. I like temps between 72 and 80 for a betta myself.

4. Betta are carnivores, and there are many good diets availabe commercially for them. I feed Hikari Betta BioGold. I give my guy three pellets twice a day and he stays healthy and happy. They also like bloodworms as a treat. You can get these in little cans with the other fish food, and they are dried. Just soak them in a small cup of tank water for a few hours and then drop them in.

5. Cleaning depends on the tank size. If you have a one gallon tank, then you will need to do 100% cleaning about twice a week. Wash all the gravel, clean the inside of the tank, wipe off all the plants, and put fresh, dechlorinated water back in. If you have a larger tank (say 5 gallons or more) and it is properly cycled and filtered then you can get by with 25-50% water changes weekly. Depends on the water quality. If you are going to go for a larger tank make sure to get a water test kit and read up on the nitrogen cycle before you go fish shopping.

6. I couldn't get your link to work, but anything that is made for use in aquariums will work in a betta tank. This includes ornaments, gravels, and plants of all kinds.

7. Bettas will go well in a peaceful community tank, just make sure that the fish you choose as tank mates will not be fin-nippers. As far as quantity, I go by the old saying one gallon for every inch of fish. Research out your selections before you get them and see what the adult size will be. Add up the adult length in inches and you will know how many gallons you need. If you want 8 fish that will be 1 1/2" as adults and then the betta which will be ~2" then you will need at least 14 gallons of water.

Hope all that helps you out, and feel free to ask anything at all. Someone will be along to help you out sooner or later.

thank you for all that! I will make sure that my tank has plenty of space at the top also i will get the correct foods. I knew about not mixing males and females from reading other peoples posts. I think i will keep 1 male along with some white mountain cloud minnows in my us 8 gallon tank (if thats ok). thanks again for the information! i can see that im going to use this site allot in the future! iain

Anytime! Glad I could be of help to you.
Good luck with your betta, and remember that on Koko's, we pictures!!

good news! my tank has been cleaned and was sut up yesterday ready for tommorows new arrivals! im starting of with 3 minnows and progress from there! ill send in a pic (if i can) of them and after a month when i get the betta ill send a pic of him 2 cant wait! iain

Sounds good! Make sure you get something to test the water with so you know when you are ready for waterchanges, when the tank is cycled, and when it's time to add mr. betta.

thanks! ill get some tommorow! on its way! oh yeh ive got some questions about my tank but ill post that in the correct place! iain

Hey Iain I think a single betta with white clouds is a great idea. In total, I think it would be good to have 5 white cloud minnows and one betta total in the Bi-Orb. However, not all bettas will get along with other fish, reguardless of which kind. Some bettas will harrass and possibly kill any minnows, and some will leave them completely alone. Minnows may nip at the bettas fins. The white clouds should be one of the easiest fish to introduce to a betta since they aren't flashy colors and don't have long fins, and aren't as prone to nipping as other small schooling fish.

You didn't clean the tank with soap did you? Soap residue is deadly to fish.

Remember to test the water often for ammonia and nitrites while cycling because those are deadly to fish. Its really best to cycle fishlessly because it doesn't harm or stress the fish and doesn't require so many waterchanges. Here's a link to look over: http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/FishlessCycle.html If you decide to cycle with fish, starting with only a couple minnows is a good idea. Here's a link for the traditional version of cycling: http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/cycle.html Your cycle is stable and complete when ammonia and nitrite are at 0, and nitrate higher than from the tap.


Good luck! If you have any questions feel free to ask.

thats exactly what i was thinking 5 clouds and a betta! Well im introducing the 3 minnows today and when the cycle is finished then i will add the betta. I will try to get some peacefull fish and ask if a store helper if they which ones are. No dont worry I didnt wash it with soap as i know that would probalny kill them! i washed it with clean water and thats all. it looks much clearer today (thankfully) so i think it should be alright. Ill send in some pictures later of my iain

sorry forget to say thank you for the info on cycling. i am also buying plenty of test kits today iain

Hi iain123,and welcome to the forum.It's always exciting to see a new member so excited about getting some fish.You're starting on the right foot for sure by asking questions first,and doing a little research before you purchase,and that is a good sign.
Glad to hear that you're getting the Test Kits.Alot of people just don't realize how important thye are in keeping your fish healthy.Good luck and keep us posted.

hi and welcome to the forum im glad you have taken the time to find out about the fish before you buy too many of us are guilty of 'spur of the moment' buys

hiya! thanks i always do some research before buying anything! lol i heard about them! iain

well im glad you do too many problems can be caused unnessecarily through people not doing their reseach. Bettas are great little fish, and perfect for a bi-orb, as the have a 'lung' so to speak, so surface area is not a problem

such a shame so many little fishies lose their lives because of it ! thanks will a male one be ok with my white clouds ?

it is a shame so many get killed
bettas can sometimes be aggressive, but in my experience they should be fine together just keep a watchful eye out for aggressive behaviour

is this your first fish tank?

terrible shame ill keep my eyes open for any naughty behaviour. yes its my first ever tank! i dont think im doing toooo bad lol.

well you've definately started off the right way - by researching!!

so many hours researching should pay off! lol

Hmm...do Bi-orbs come with filters? If not you should look into one since it will make your fish's lives less stressful and yours too since you won't have to do so many water changes.

The only other thing I would recomend is to get the three minnows, let it cycle, get the two more, wait for it to stabilize, then get the betta last. Minnows and other schooling fish are less prone to nipping if kept in groups, and since betta comes last, he won't feel like he has to defend territory from the new minnows after him. It will probably work either way, but I like to go with the safe side.

Your tank looks very nice already!

hiya! yes the bi-orb came with a filter which is a ugf and seems to be working quite well. i got 4 minnows because one of them was free! i spent ages trying to decide wether to buy 3 or 4 and he gave me one for free in then end because i bought some over stuff aswell! thanks im going to leave it to cycle with these fish and then get the rest of the minnows and after all that get the betta! blimey sounds like aaaaagggggeeeesssss untill i get my betta oh well it will be worth the wait! thanks. iain

hiya! yes the bi-orb came with a filter which is a ugf and seems to be working quite well. i got 4 minnows because one of them was free! i spent ages trying to decide wether to buy 3 or 4 and he gave me one for free in the end because i bought some over stuff aswell! thanks im going to leave it to cycle with these fish and then get the rest of the minnows and after all that get the betta! blimey sounds like aaaaagggggeeeesssss untill i get my betta oh well it will be worth the wait! thanks. iain

hiya! yes the bi-orb came with a filter which is a ugf and seems to be working quite well. i got 4 minnows because one of them was free! i spent ages trying to decide wether to buy 3 or 4 and he gave me one for free in the end because i bought some over stuff aswell! thanks im going to leave it to cycle with these fish and then get the rest of the minnows and after all that get the betta! blimey sounds like aaaaagggggeeeesssss untill i get my betta oh well it will be worth the wait! thanks. iain

oh... my comp went really weird then so i wasnt sure wether i posted it or not! woah!!! it went crazy!!!! god i feel so embarassed sorry about that could someone delete it please! lol sooo sorry for the hassel! stupid computer!!! iain

Lol don't worry about that, it happens a lot. A mod will come by and clean up the extra posts soon.

Congrats on your new fish A UGF should be fine for the fish you plan on getting. Do you have a syhpon to perform waterchanges with? Sorry I forgot to tell you about it. Its a necessity in fish keeping because it vacuums all the decaying waste from the gravel. They're pretty cheap, so if you don't have one already it'll be an easy purchase. Just make sure you get one in the next couple days. I don't know if you have this already, but you need a good water conditioner to remove chlorine and other harmful stuff from the tap water. If you don't already have one, buy a bottle of Prime. Prime detoxifies that stuff PLUS ammonia and nitrite so it will really help your fish out inbetween water changes while it is cycling. Sorry!! Can anyone else think of anything to add so we don't have Iain running to the store again?

phew! i thought i was in a right mess there! yeh i know about these syhons i was planning to order one they are the ones which u like hand pump once and it like suck up stuff off the gravel ye? im getting some water conditioner sutff aswell hopefully some free off a friend but if thats no good then i will go with you and buy the 'prime' stuff. i added the packet of water condition that came with it so the water in there now has been treated.dwl ol. yes is there anything else? lol