How to Keep a Betta Fish Alive
How to Keep a Betta Fish Alive
Betta fish are often sold as though they are nearly indestructible.
You see them sitting in tiny plastic cups at pet stores. There may be no filter, no heater, barely enough room to swim, and sometimes not even enough water to completely stretch out comfortably.
That can give people the wrong idea.
Bettas can survive poor conditions for a while. That does not mean those conditions are good for them.
A properly cared-for betta can be an active, curious little fish with a surprising amount of personality. Keeping one alive and healthy is not especially difficult, but there are a few basics you need to get right.
First: A Betta Does Not Belong in a Cup
Bettas are frequently sold in cups because adult male bettas are territorial and usually cannot safely be housed together.
The cup is a convenient way for a store to keep dozens of individual fish separated.
It is not an example of proper permanent housing.
A vase, drinking glass, deli container, or tiny decorative bowl presents the same basic problem: there simply isn’t enough water or room to provide a stable environment.
For a permanent home, aim for at least a 5-gallon aquarium for one betta.
Larger is even better if you have the room.
A larger tank may actually be easier for a beginner because the water temperature and water chemistry change more slowly than they do in a tiny container.
Bettas Need Warm Water
Betta fish are tropical fish.
They should generally be kept around 78–80°F (26–27°C).
Unless your house stays unusually warm all day and night, that normally means using an aquarium heater.
Do not judge the water temperature by touching the tank. Water that feels comfortable or “room temperature” to your hand may still be too cold for a betta.
Use a simple aquarium thermometer.
When bettas are kept too cold, they may become sluggish, stop eating normally, become more vulnerable to illness, or simply spend most of their time sitting around.
Yes, Bettas Need a Filter
Bettas can breathe some air directly from the surface using an organ called the labyrinth organ.
That unusual ability helps them survive in low-oxygen water.
It does not mean they do not need clean water.
Fish produce waste. Uneaten food rots. Waste eventually produces toxic substances, including ammonia.
A small aquarium filter helps keep the water clean and supports beneficial bacteria that break down fish waste.
Bettas do not usually appreciate being blasted around by a powerful current, however, so choose a filter with a gentle flow.
Sponge filters are an excellent option.
The Most Important Thing Beginners Often Never Hear About: The Tank Cycle
Putting tap water in an aquarium and adding a fish does not instantly create a healthy aquarium.
A functioning aquarium develops colonies of beneficial bacteria that process fish waste.
Very simply:
Fish waste produces ammonia → bacteria convert ammonia into nitrite → other bacteria convert nitrite into nitrate.
Ammonia and nitrite are dangerous to fish.
This bacterial process is called the nitrogen cycle, and establishing it is commonly called cycling the tank.
Ideally, the aquarium should be cycled before the fish goes into it.
If you already bought the fish, don’t panic. You can perform what aquarists call a fish-in cycle, but you will need to monitor the water and perform water changes as necessary while the bacterial colony develops.
A liquid aquarium test kit that measures ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH is extremely useful.
For a healthy established aquarium:
- Ammonia should be 0 ppm
- Nitrite should be 0 ppm
- Some nitrate is normal and is controlled with water changes
Never Put a Betta Straight Into Untreated Tap Water
Most municipal tap water contains chlorine or chloramine.
These chemicals make drinking water safer for people but can injure or kill fish and the beneficial bacteria living in the aquarium.
Before adding tap water to the tank, treat it with an aquarium water conditioner that neutralizes chlorine and chloramine.
Follow the directions on the bottle.
You do not need fancy bottled “betta water.”
Ordinary tap water treated with a proper aquarium conditioner is usually perfectly suitable.
Feeding a Betta
Bettas are primarily carnivorous and insect-eating fish.
Choose a quality food made specifically for bettas or other carnivorous tropical fish.
Good staple foods include:
- Betta pellets
- High-quality small tropical carnivore pellets
You can occasionally supplement those with foods such as frozen or live:
- Brine shrimp
- Daphnia
- Bloodworms
Bloodworms are better considered a treat than an everyday diet.
How Much Should You Feed?
One of the easiest ways to hurt a betta is by feeding too much.
People often see a fish begging at the glass and assume it must still be hungry.
Bettas are very good at convincing people of this.
Feed a small amount once or twice a day, following the food manufacturer’s directions and adjusting for the size of your fish and food.
The fish should be able to eat what you provide within a short period.
If food is regularly falling to the bottom and remaining there, you are probably feeding too much.
Excess food does more than make the fish fat. It also decomposes and pollutes the water.
Don’t Feed a Betta Peas
You may run across old internet advice suggesting that a constipated betta should be fed a cooked pea.
Bettas are insect-eating fish and are not built to digest plant material particularly well.
Daphnia is generally a much more appropriate food if you are trying to provide something that may help a mildly constipated betta.
Persistent bloating or abnormal swimming can also have causes unrelated to constipation and should not automatically be treated as a feeding problem.
Water Changes
A filter does not eliminate the need for water changes.
For many established 5-gallon or larger betta aquariums, changing roughly 20–30% of the water once a week is a reasonable starting point.
The exact schedule depends on:
- Tank size
- Number of animals
- Feeding
- Plants
- Filter
- Water test results
Use your test results rather than treating any water-change schedule as an absolute rule.
When replacing water:
- Remove some of the old tank water.
- Add water conditioner to the replacement tap water as directed.
- Make sure the new water is reasonably close to the aquarium’s temperature.
- Add it gently.
You normally do not need to empty the entire aquarium and scrub everything clean.
In fact, constantly sterilizing an aquarium can destroy the beneficial bacterial community you are trying to maintain.
Give Your Betta Places to Explore
A betta aquarium does not need to look like an underwater palace, but an empty glass box is not ideal either.
Bettas commonly enjoy:
- Live aquarium plants
- Silk artificial plants
- Caves
- Driftwood
- Shaded areas
- Broad leaves or resting platforms near the surface
Avoid decorations with sharp or rough edges.
Male bettas in particular can have long, delicate fins that can snag or tear.
A simple test for questionable decorations is to gently rub a piece of nylon stocking across the surface. If the decoration catches or tears the material, it may also damage a betta’s fins.
Bettas Like Access to the Surface
Remember that labyrinth organ?
Bettas naturally visit the surface to gulp air.
Do not fill or decorate the aquarium in a way that makes it difficult for the fish to reach the surface.
Many bettas also enjoy resting on leaves or platforms fairly close to the surface.
Put a Lid on the Tank
Bettas can jump.
Sometimes surprisingly well.
An aquarium that looks impossible to escape from can still produce a fish on the floor.
Use a lid or securely fitted cover while still allowing appropriate ventilation and equipment access.
Can Bettas Live With Other Fish?
Sometimes.
But this is one area where beginners should be cautious.
Male bettas should generally never be housed with other male bettas.
They earned the nickname “Siamese fighting fish” for a reason.
Some individual bettas can live peacefully with carefully chosen community fish or invertebrates in a sufficiently large aquarium.
Others will attack nearly anything that moves.
Tank mates also introduce additional requirements involving aquarium size, water quality, territory, and species compatibility.
If this is your first betta, there is absolutely nothing wrong with keeping the betta alone.
The fish will not become lonely because it doesn’t have another betta to fight with.
What About Female Bettas Together?
You may see groups of female bettas referred to as betta sororities.
They are possible, but they are not something I would recommend to someone setting up their first aquarium.
Female bettas can also be aggressive, and a poorly managed sorority can result in stressed, injured, or dead fish.
Start simple.
One betta in a properly maintained aquarium is an excellent setup.
Lighting
Your betta does not need the aquarium light blazing 24 hours a day.
Fish benefit from a normal day-and-night cycle.
If you have live plants, your lighting schedule will also depend on their needs.
For many simple aquariums, around 6–8 hours of aquarium lighting per day is plenty to begin with.
Too much light can also encourage excessive algae growth.
Turn the aquarium light off at night.
Your fish needs darkness too.
Signs Something May Be Wrong
Get familiar with what your betta normally looks and acts like.
Possible warning signs include:
- Suddenly refusing food
- Constantly hiding
- Gasping excessively
- Clamped fins
- Unusual swelling
- White spots
- Cottony or fuzzy growth
- Rapid breathing
- Torn or deteriorating fins
- Difficulty staying upright
- Spending nearly all day lying on the bottom
- A sudden major change in behavior
Before reaching for medication, test the water.
Poor water quality causes or contributes to an enormous number of aquarium problems.
If ammonia or nitrite is present, correcting the water conditions is immediately important.
What You Actually Need to Keep a Betta
You do not need hundreds of dollars’ worth of aquarium equipment.
A solid beginner setup includes:
- 5-gallon or larger aquarium
- Lid
- Adjustable or appropriately sized aquarium heater
- Thermometer
- Gentle filter
- Water conditioner
- Betta food
- Aquarium water test kit
- Gravel vacuum or siphon
- Safe plants and/or decorations
That is enough to build a very good home.
Bringing Your New Betta Home
If possible, have the aquarium running, heated, conditioned, and cycled before purchasing your fish.
When the betta comes home, avoid simply dumping the fish and store water straight into the aquarium.
Allow the fish to gradually adjust to the temperature of the new aquarium, and avoid adding unnecessary store water to your tank.
The exact acclimation method matters less than avoiding a sudden dramatic change in temperature or water conditions.
The Simple Version
If all of this sounds complicated, remember these few rules:
Give the betta enough room. Keep the water warm. Keep the water clean. Don’t overfeed it.
A betta should have a real aquarium rather than a cup or vase.
Use a heater and gentle filter.
Treat tap water with conditioner.
Learn the basics of the aquarium nitrogen cycle.
Feed a small amount of appropriate food.
Perform regular partial water changes.
And pay attention to your fish.
Bettas are remarkably expressive animals once they are given enough room to behave like fish.
The tiny cup at the pet store may be where your betta’s journey starts.
It should not be where it spends its life.
