Hi to all,
I am new to owning bettas and I would love any tips to the best way to care for them. I have then in 1/2 gall. mini tanks. I believe that I will have to do a water change every 2-3 days. Is this correct? I would love any help or suggestions anyone has. Also if you but them in a bigger tank how do you keep the water warm if you can't purchase a small enough water heater?
Thanks Leah.

Bigger tanks would def be nicer for the little guys, but you're right about the water changes if you leave them where they are. Make sure you use some type of water conditioner each time.

I've kept bettas in bigger tanks (3-5 gallons) with no heaters and they do just fine, as long as their not in a really cold room or anything. "Critter Keepers" can be really good for bettas, they look nice and come in all kinds of sizes.

Chrissy

Oh I almost forgot, if you can get some plants..live or silk..for the little guys, they'll love you for it! My betta's tank is a jungle of plants, he loves to lay around in them all day!

yup it is hard to heat a tank that little. often times if you put a goose neck lamp near his container ( not directly next to or over it) it will warm the water as will sitting his container under a table lamp. A bigger container is acctually better for him. If you get a 2 gallon like a 2 gallon bowl or 2.5 gallon minibow ( can get these at wally world for $25 and it has a light, filter etc ) then you can get a hydor 10 watt heater at petco for around $15. You can also find a 2 gallon vase ain the craft dept of you local Wally world too. I had a betta in one before. you probably will not need a heater as long as the ambient room temp is 75-76 or above. so a stick on thermometer will be great to keep track of the water temp. you can get those inexpensively. The light from my minibows keeps the water warm enough without a heater. I only use a heater in the tank I have that is near the window when it is like 20 degrees outside. it seems the one over by the window has cooler air blowing around it. I have one across the room I never have to use a heater in. As mentioned if you keep him in the 1/2 gallon container make sure to do a 100 percent water change every couple days to keep his water pristine. And make sure to use a good water treatment for chlorine etc as mentioned at each water change. Prime is an excellent one. You can get a very small container opf it at petsmart for around $3 or $4 dollars and it will last a long time because you only use drops of it . Get him a soft plant of some kind as mentioned. I also have those little 2 inch clay pots in my tanks that have been turned on their side. My bettas love these and they use them as a hidey hole. It fun to watch them curl up in them when they feel like hiding. a freind of mine uses those plastic elbow joints from pvc pipes as hidey holes. I have one of my bettas in one of these . it is about 4 gallons . I just made some holes in the top for air. It is directly under a table lap. you can get one of these ( really a sterlite file folder ) at Wally world for around $5 ( even cheaper than a critter keeper but critter keepers are an excellent option as well.) With the 4 gallon file holder thingy I can do 50 percent water changes once a week because I have a filter running in it to. you do not necessarily need a filter but it makes the water clearer and will give you more time between water changes if in tank of 2 plus gallons. A word of warning here some bettas will tolerate filter flow but some will not. just trial and error. Also make sure to only feed him or her what they will consume in about five minutes or so and remove any uneaten food because decaying food in a container that small will make the water go bad faster

Thanks for the advice, I have decided that I am going to put them in bigger tanks I have got one here that is about 3 gallons, I also ordered a heater last night. I am in Australia and I couldn't find one anywhere. After going to two pet shops and 1 1/2 hours on the internet I found someone who has them, I just hope that they have them instock so It is sent out straight away. When I got up this morning the temp had dropped to about 63. I don't think that that is to good. If anyone has some advice how to keep them warm at night until the heater comes that would be great.I ordered a hydor mini heater 7.5w, That should do the job. I use prime with my goldfish, so I will use it with the betts as well. What temp do you try and keep your bettas at, is 78 about right?
Thanks again.

no you are right . Anything below 72 in is not good for a betta. you can try getting a goose neck lamp and setting it next to his tank and leaving it on all the time till you get the heater

Thanks for the extra speedy reply, at the moment I have got them sitting on the goldfish light to warm up, I will put them under a lamp or something today. Am I better to cycle the new tank before I put them into it?
Thanks again

hey no problem glad and happy to help

This may be a stupid question, but you do know that you can't put more than one in any one container, right?

I have some similiar queries... I hope no one minds that I post here, but it seemed appropriate.

It is almost summer here and I am getting my new Betta on the weekend. I figure that since I live in Australia, not having a heater around this time of year will be okay? I can't afford one anyway. I may leave a goose lamp on if the temp drops, though. I will get a heater when it gets colder, that's for sure. I have a 5 gallon tank for him. It's not cycled, but I will be cycling it once he's in (50% water changes everyday, adding water conditioner and a little aquarium salt). I'm trying to get some Java Moss or, possibly, Java Fern for him too. But that probably won't go in for a while, because my search has been failing me so far. I will be TRYING to feed him Betta pellets or flakes at first, but I'm going to try and get hold of some freeze dried bloodworms and/or brine shrimp just incase he is really picky (they usually are, no? lol).

I know I'm probably doing something wrong. So is there anything else I should know/do??

Thanks! And I really hope it's okay to post here. But a whole new thread felt annoying to me... hahaha.

Oops! I was also meant to say that I'm not using a filter. That's pretty important, lol.

If I'm not using one for my 5 gall, how often should I do water changes? Well, after about a month anyway when the tank is just about cycled.

Thank you.

Hi, yes I do have them in separate tanks I mustn't have written my post properly sorry. Capucine I hope you live somewhere in Australia warmer than me. I am in Melbourne and it was really cold here last night. My poor fish with no heater. I have but them under a lamp today hope the heater gets here soon.. Thanks Leah

My betta lives in a large, plant filled vase which gets sunlight almost all day. It's on a shelf which is fairly high off the floor as well so it stays warm and he doesn't need a heater. Maybe you could find a sunny spot for your guys to keep them warm.

As for how to do the water changes, I actually manage to use a small gravel vac on mine, even though the water's only about 9 inches deep. There's not much water so I only vaccum for about 10 seconds, but it does the job of removing the water and cleaning the gravel at the same time

Chrissy

You are getting good help but I just wanted to post this website link for basic betta care because I think it gives good information and is pretty easy to follow and the rest of the website is very helpful as well. http://www.firsttankguide.net/betta.php

I'm not a big fan of keeping bettas in vases with plants blocking their oxygen, since they get their oxygen from the air unlike most fish who get it from the water but sunlight I heard was supposed to be very good for them. It helps their colors stay true and some bettas tails can kind of curl a little and putting them in sun is supposed to straighten them back up. Of course being in the sun too much can cause algae to grow and that can be a problem. It can also over heat the tank which can be bad so if you do put the tank in the sun just watch out for those things. At night the sun obviously won't be heating up the water but the heater will help with that.

Capucine. You will need a heater, I've watched the temps on my coldwater tanks, and you'll still need a heater year round to keep the temp stable. As for cleaning out, if you don't go for a filter, and just have the Betta in the tank probably 50% water changes twice a week would do.

Spooky is in a 4 gallon mini Biorb with some fake plants that are special made for that tank, and he loves laying on the "root bases" when he's resting. For the longest while I had him in a container without any plants, and I've seen how much he really prefers them to have plants....so I agree with the others in adding a little jungle for yours.

Post pics when you're done!

you are getting excellent advice. I would make sure you get one of those stick on thermometers or a small glass one and keep track of the temp of the water to see what temp it stays at before I bought a heater.If it drops below 72 degrees a lot you will then need an external heat source. Depending on how big the tank is you can either use a table lamp, goose neck lamp not set too close to the tank if you have a tank around 2 gallons or smaller. Remember if using a goose neck not to sit it too close to the tank or you will boil your little friend.This is when the thermometer will also come in handy too you can tell what distance to put the goose neck lamp from the tank or container by how warm it gets. Do not let the temp of the water to get over 83 degrees. Good temp would be between 72 degrees and 82. If you manage to get a tank with a light built in the hood this maybe all that you need to heat your tank. I have a 2.5 minibow and when I leave the light on during the day it is enough to heat the tank. you will get a thermometer and it maybe trial and error for a couple days. I also have a 1 gallon tank and all I do is leave the table lamp on over the tank and it heats it to the proper temp

I keep 2 of my bettas in a 1/2 gallon tank, one of them has a light to heat it, the other does too but it doesnt have a bulb yet, I do waterchanges every 3 days, 100% and they do just fine, excpept my newest one cause his tank isnt cycled cause I disinfected it before putting him in cause of the weird disease my triops had, so now he has ich but gets a 100% waterchange everyday I also have a little miniheater that I once used in a half filled 5 gallon, it said that it would keep the temp at 76 degrees in all small tanks under 5 gallons and it kept overheating it which was since my Crabby needed his temp exactly at 76 degrees so I had to keep unplugging it, now I use it on a 5 gallon and it keeps the water between 80 and 83 degrees, so be careful, they can overheat the water sometimes, mine is only a 5 watt I think, but Im not sure, i'll check on that later