BETTA CARE SHEET 

~Heaters; Bettas are tropical fish. They are naturally found in Asia's warm, slow moving waterways and swamps. An optimal temperature is 80-82f for good digestion and immune health.  This is one of the most important steps no matter the set up!

~Housing; does not need to be complicated. We recommend a container that is a minimum of 2-3 gallons for a permanent home.  For wild type betta, larger set ups of 5-10 gallons or more are recommended with a tight fitting lid, as wilds are excellent jumpers.  Long finned fish may need a smaller 2 gallon set up to do well.

~Filtration; can stretch the time between water changes by a week to 10 days. It is essential to learn about the nitrogen cycle before starting a filtered aquarium.  It can take 6+ weeks and requires a little extra learning, but is worth it.  We recommend sponge filters.

~Non-filtered set ups; require a little more time, but are easy to do. You will need to perform large volume water changes (around 50%-90% depending on size) every 2-3 days and replace water with temperature matched and conditioned water (same as when filtering tanks). Any good quality water conditioner is fine, we like Seachem Prime.

~Tank decor; is up to you.  Any live aquatic plants for a low light set up would work well, particularly taller ones your fish can rest on.  Fish safe silk plants are a good alternative.  Natural decor, such as drift wood, rock, natural substrates etc are best, especially for wild type betta, as well as Indian almond leaf or other leaf tannin.  Some painted substrates and decor can leech into the water.  However, there are plenty of safe colorful options out there.  Using a leaf hammock or taller plants are a must for your fish to rest on close to the surface.  We recommend avoiding all large substrates like big gems, and large pebbles.  Sand and smaller size gravel does not allow as much, if any, uneaten food and waste to become stuck.

~Foods; we recommend frozen and live foods.  

~Frozen options; include; mysis shrimp, adult brine shrimp, daphnia, cyclops, blood worms etc. Directions to feed; Keep blister pack frozen, pop out 1 cube at a time, place into condiment cup to thaw in refrigerator.  Offer smaller amounts at meal times (roughly pea size/around 7-10 blood worms), usually keeps about 3 days thawed in the refrigerator. Frozen food can generally be found at any pet store that sells fish, in the freezer section.  Remove uneaten food.

~Live options; include white worms, cut up red wigglers, mosquito larvae, daphnia, fruit flys etc. Live foods can be found at pet supply stores and online.