

They’ll even come out to greet you when your face gets near the aquarium.

They swim around and investigate things when they have more room. But for them to be happy, healthy and have a normal lifespan, they need more room.Īlso, their behavior is much more lively in a larger tank. It’s impossible to get a healthy nitrogen cycle going in a small, unfiltered tank.īettas are really tough and can live for a short time in these conditions. Keeping bettas in tiny tanks or bowls means that they are constantly being exposed to ammonia as their waste breaks down. Yes, tiny, quart-size betta tanks are sold in stores.īut just because the poor fish can survive being kept this way does not mean it’s the right thing to do.įrankly, I think that the tiny cups and bowls should be illegal because they border on cruelty. Yes, I know that you see them in stores being kept in tiny little cups. The absolute minimum tank size for a betta should be 5 gallons. Bettas need a much bigger permanent home in order to thrive. Setting up a Betta Fish Aquarium for Optimal Careĭon’t be fooled by seeing betta fish in cups at the pet store. They can jump out of the water and survive flopping along the ground for short distances to find a new home when needed. It’s common for wild bettas to end up in small bodies of water that dry up. The labyrinth organ also helps betta fish when they’re in serious trouble. Since they live in oxygen poor environments, they can go to the surface and gulp bubbles of air to breathe using their labyrinth organs. This suborder includes other gourami species like dwarf gouramis, paradise fish and pearl gouramis.Īll Anabantoidei have a specialized organ that works like a crude lung, the labyrinth organ. Special Adaptationsīettas are part of the suborder Anabantoidei, commonly known as labyrinth fish. The somewhat boring colors of the wild fish helps them to blend into their environment and avoid predators. Wild bettas have small rounded fins and are a drab greenish brown color.Īll the spectacular colors and giant fins we’re used to come from many generations of selective breeding. If you saw a wild betta, you might not even know it was the same species of fish as the one found in pet stores. The waterways in this area are also considered to be soft or very soft, meaning they have low levels of calcium and magnesium dissolved in the water column. All that tannic acid means that the water is always fairly acidic, sometimes pH can even drop below 5. The tannins also have a big effect on the water parameters in these environments. The tannins dye the water dark brown, just like when you add hot water to a tea bag. As the leaves break down, they release tannins (tannic acid). The dark water in blackwater environments is caused by millions of leaves falling into waterways. Bettas typically live in what’s called blackwater environments where the water is a dark brown color. Natural Habitatīetta fish live in slow moving waters like swamps, small creeks or even rice paddies. They can be found in Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. Bettas in the Wild: Where do They Come From?īettas ( Betta splendens), also called Siamese fighting fish, are native to the Mekong River basin in Southeast Asia.
BETA FISH CARE HOW TO
They’re the perfect blend of beauty, personality, and deathly fighting skills.Īnd in this guide, you’ll learn how to provide them with an optimal environment in order to help them thrive and entertain. Betta fish are in my top 5 freshwater fish.
