Just wondering if anybody These fish. Just been doing a bit of reading on a Web page and it was saying that you don't need a filter because they breathe oxygen from the surface. I have a 20 gallon tank here. Was thinking about having a couple of these fish. Problem is, I don't think you would see the fish if they are at the surface all the time. I would imagine that most people keep them in aquariums that don't have a lid, at least you can see them then. Any information would be helpful.

Yup, I've kept several previosly. Males are extremely aggressive and will kill another male no matter how big the tank. Will probably kill any other fish with long trailing fins. Females are very subtle though, won't kill each other. Some people say you can keep a female with a male, and they'll be fine, but some others said that the two would kill each other- i heard that on a betta forum.

They like plants, but it's not really a requirement. I think you would need a filter, they're dirty like any other fish- but the do breathe air so no nice filter or aerator is required.

They're very cool looking, and there's a lot of varieties. Pretty easy to keep if you follow the basic rules. They like a ph of 6.7-8.0

I would imagine that it will be good idea to have a certain type of aquarium when keeping these fish, after all I would imagine there will be at the surface quite a lot, you want to be able to see them.

Bettas have an organ that allows them to breath air under conditions of poor water quality. Their natural habit that is rice patty type water that can dry into small dirty puddles in the dry season. That Labyrinth organ (I may have butchered that spelling) keeps them alive. You can keep a betta in a community tank and it would be just fine. It would spend most of it's time at the surface though. Don't mix bettas with fin nipppers. Barbs, guppies, and danios hate bettas. Most people keep bettas in bowls. That's probably the best way to have one. Nice stagnant water with a glassy calm surface. Of course you should be changing the water frequently. But that won't be a problem since you've got hundreds of gallons of prestine aquarium water there. Just don't let your place get too cold. Bettas aren't all that active under 65 degrees F. And they are basically dead if they get close to 50 degrees. Don't fill the bowls all the way to the top either. Bettas will get out if it's easy enough. They don't realize that they'll never find a mate on your countertop. I kept a betta in a community tank when I was a kid and "babysat" both of my sister's for the two years she was away at school. They aren't too bad. I'll say that in bowls it's tricky not to overfeed them because they don't eat much at all. And in aquariums they will get kicked around by the currents. For being called a "Fighting Fish" they aren't all that tough at all.

Oh yeah, and if you're going to go the bowl route, get two males. (in seperate bowls of course) Then at least you can occasionally let them see each other. When this happens they will both jump straight into their fighting stances. This display is very impressive indeed. The two fish that my sis and I kept in bowls lived for nearly five years. So don't look at the bowls as totally inhumane like some folks do. That is actually a lot closer to their natural habitat than a tank.

I keep and breed bettas at the moment and have doen on and off for years. I have even made a dvd all about breeding thses fantastic little fish. It is true that you can only keep one male as males will fight on sight, in fact in Thailand betta fighting is a national sport with money being bet on who will win the fight. Thewy can be kept in smaller tanks than other fish but this does not mean that they can be left without changing the water. They do have an auxilliary organ for taking air form the surface instead of extracting oxygen form the water through their gills like other fish. They have evolved this organ so that they can survive in the conditions which they are found which is small pools of water that are low in oxygen. that said they are a fantastic little fish and most people that get into bettas get betta fever and have to have lots of tanks to keep them. they are fascinating to breed and the colour and finnage forms that we have now are fantastic. There are halfmoons,crowntails,doubletails, deltas and they can be in lots of different colours: blues reds, greens, yellows, blacks to name but a few. I do have my own website all about bettas and im sure that OFL wont mind me giving it out Its www.bettasplendens.co.uk there are a couple of uk forums for bettas and there are some really good international ones. There is also an international body that judges bettas called the IBC. but be warned they can take over your life if your not careful. Much like Oscars i suppose.

so just 1 betta by itself? I've got a 20g jewel aquarium here. any good?