If you compare the difference between the salt water or marine fish and freshwater fish, you know that the fish for freshwater aquariums can be a bit dull and boring compared to salt water fish. However, there is one fish for freshwater fish tanks that is so beautiful and exotic it can rival any of the marine fish. This fish is the Betta or Japanese fighting fish. You've probably seen them sitting In tiny round bowls at your pet store.
These are the beautifully colored fish with long flowing fins that come in a range of red, purple's and aqua's. These fish exhibit a grace and beauty that compares to none other and you might just one of the lucky fish tank with a dozen of them. However, this wouldn't be very good idea since male Bettas - the ones with the long fins - a very territorial and will fight to the death. When buying Bettas for your fish tank you need to make sure that you only have one male aquarium.
You can have more than one female, but the females are not as beautiful as the males having much shorter fins and in fact, the females can also fight but are not as aggressive as the males. in addition to being beautiful, the Betta is also one of the few freshwater fish that can survive in water that has little in as they can actually take the oxygen from the air itself. But just because they can survive in a little tiny bowls doesn't mean you should subject him to such a boring life. just like with any fish the bigger the aquarium and the better the water quality and healthier you fish will be. If you do decide to keep your Betta are in a small fish bowl you'll need to spend a lot of time doing water changes in making sure that the water quality is good enough for your fish to size.
The water in a small bowl will soon become toxic due to decaying food and wastes and there is not enough room in a small bowl for enough bacteria to build up for sufficient biological filtration. You should probably change out half the water to three times a week in order to keep the ammonia nitrate levels at bay. Also be sure that your fish gets the appropriate heat and light necessary to survive. Feeding your Betta the appropriate food will help keep him healthy and colorful.
Bettas are carnivores and will need a meat-based feed food. They like food such as prime time, freeze dried blood worms and you can also buy food specifically formulated for the Betta fish. If you're feeding him frozen brine shrimp, thaw it out so that your Betta can digest it properly. Don't overfeed refresh, simply given up what he can eat in a minute or two as you want to avoid having food rot on the bottom of your tank which will reduce the water quality.
Bettas like a water temperature that is around 78 to 80°F and it is good to keep this temperature consistent. keep your tank away from windows so that algae does not build up and also keep it out of drafts or sunlight is the sunlight can heat the water up to much. Adding live plants suitable or aquarium can help filter the water and keep the quality at peak levels.
Lee Dobbins writes for http://fish-tank-guide.com where you can learn more about aquarium care and fish such as the Betta.
