The Siamese fighting fish which is popularly known as the Betta is one of the most common fish found with aquarium keepers both highlyexperience to the beginner. They come in various colours and tail shape. Their behaviour makes them attractive to all but one should be very cautios and keep in mind certain facts in mind to maintain them in good health. Bettas are relatively easy to care for and their low maintenance is particularly appealing to people who would like to have fish but don’t have a lot of time to care for them.In order to keep them healthy and to enjoy them throughout their life span, one has to keep certain points in mind in order to do so.


1. Bettas in many far east countries are kept in jars. This does not mean that you do not need to clean them or never change any water. In order to keep them healthy, frequent water changes is a must. Make sure that they have enough space to swim and best recommendation is to keep them in jars of not less than 3 litres. Avoiding decorations is a must as they have long fins and they can easiliy shred them and suffer diseases.

2. Your Betta will thrive in the cleanest water that you can provide for him. He does not always require a filtration system but that would mean that you have to change the water much more frequently if you have no filters. A small sponge filter would help to reduce water changes and avoid burning as a result of nitrites accumulating in the water. This would mean that the tank has to be heated with an average temperature of around 28 degrees Celcius. This would apply to any fresh and clean water to replace the old water. Make sure that conditioners are used.

3. Unlike other fish, males do not tolerate each other and therefore avoid males in the same tank. Betta’s can be coupled with algae eaters, guppies, or corydorus catfish safely.

4. The idea of having the best water conditions is very subjective. They are very tolerant to various PH but ideally they should be kept in neutral PH i.e. 7.0 for optimal results.

5. As for decorations, one can include anything as long as they are not sharp which would tear their long fins. Anything used must be well cleaned before use and if in doubt I would boil them (not platic!!!). Avoid detergents and if they have to be used make sure that they are cleaned more than once with tap water to remove odour and any particles of soap.

6. Bettas are jumpers so keep tanks covered. Do not be fooled by their size because they can really jump. Accidents do happen but if you catch them on time they can survive falls but otherwise they are doomed...

7. As for food use a varied diet rich in proteins. One can use live food such as bloodworms, mosquitoe larvae. One has to be very careful though in feeding them live food. They can carry a number of diseases which can kill your fish. So, the ideal way is to feed tem ready frozen types such as daphnia, bloodworms etc. One can buy a number of dried flake food whih is ideal for bettas. Make sure that they are small bites as able to float as they prefer to eat their food on the surface.

8. Heating the tank or container is a must as they are TROPICAL FISH and not coldwater fish as the common belief is.


Enjoy your fish...