When I first got Betta fish, I spent the whole night searching for the dos and don'ts of proper caring for Betta, that I wish to keep the pet as long as I could.. I care for a betta once during childhood (my siblings and I got a betta each in individual tank). Bettas are common in Asian household, being sold cheap AF and very easy to care for..
1. TANK SIZE
It is advisable to have tank of minimum 5gallon/per each Betta fish. As a beginner, I am following this rules simply, no further question asked. Smaller tanks is said can induce stress to bettas.
I bought mine here from local store. PM for info!
2. DIET
Bettas are carnivore, and their common food are pellets. I bought from store (where I purchased the betta) and this pellets smells like cat kibbles! (probably the salmon flavour?). In my childhood, we bought this cubed, compacted worm and shared among the 4 of us (we cut it to smaller pieces). Fast forward, I realized we kinda overfed out fish back then! Cuz the worm stay floating on the surface for days (I still remember this)
To make sure I did not overfeed, I am making sure I serve 5-6 pellets, twice daily.
Current pellets for my betta, I bought it here : https://petsnaturale.com.my/
3. WATER CHANGE
I did my water change weekly for a healthier betta because the water condition may worsen because of leftover food, waste etc. So far I did not miss the water change and my betta is living healthily (watch out for health issues -please Google for more info)
1. Separate fish from old water tank
2. Siphon the old water out, remove and rinse wood, rocks and plant. Lightly scrub the inner surface of aquarium (so far they are clean -not slippery/have algae growth, etc) Save half of the water!
3. Rearrange back aquascape and fill half the tank with new water. Add water conditioner.
4. PLANT & AQUASCAPE
I think this is the part that I like the most. I kinda love to keep a tank for its aquascape! I love AquariumInfo account on Facebook and this sparks love to care for a fish again!
I choose java fern due to similar water condition required for betta, and I can say after 1 month+ of keeping it, they are maintenance-free! Driftwood is added as well to create safe space for my betta
5. TANK MATE
Since I am waiting to be comfortable caring for this betta, and while not wanting to recklessly (hurrily) introduce him to tank mate (maybe can make him stressed out), I waited for a while to finally purchase Marimo Moss Ball! This is considered a beginner plant as well since it requires minimum care (low maintenance) and bonus point -they make better water (improves quality)
They said tetras/guppies could be bettas tankmate, but I saw them super excited, swimming in speed, made me question back the pet shop SA for the recommendation. Maybe not yet another fish, since I think my tank is considerably small for another (fish) addition. I gotta make everyone happy!
I love watching AquariumInfo (FB) so much, I develop a love for caring Axolotl too! But I guess this must wait until we move into our new, bigger house. Because I might need larger tank for this. But tbh, axolotl has the cutest smile & yawn! I saw once in black colour in Taobao store, this also got me excited! Waaaaaa me likey
Until next post!
