Betta Tank Set Up, Water Changing Steps, and Betta Care Tips

BEFORE SETTING UP TANK FOR THE FIRST TIME:

Rinse all decorations and inside of tank with clean tap water. Place tank on surface you wish it to sit on. Do not plug the tank in yet.

Fill tank with water leaving 1-2 inches of space between the top of the water and the top of the tank. Bettas breathe air and need this space to get a breath.

Before adding fish, put half a cap full of water conditioner in the tank water. Place fish in the tank still in his closed bag and let the bag float for 30 minutes to get it to the same temperature as your water. Tank water should be room temperature if not using a heater. Make sure if you are not using a heater that the room the tank will be in stays between 69°F and 85°F.

Take the fish out of the bag with your net, making sure to place your hand over the net to keep him from flipping out. Gently place the fish in the tank. Plug the tank in. Enjoy your new fishy companion!

How to change your small betta tank. (1.5 gallons to 3 gallons)

1. Gather all your supplies. This includes the fish in the tank, new water, water conditioner, fish net and an extra cup or container to put the fish in, while you clean the tank. (Make sure you are near a sink)

2. If your tank has a lid, take the lid off the tank.

3. Take the fish out of the tank and put it in the cup or container with a couple inches old tank water in it. Unplug the tank and all plugged in accessories and remove heater and filter. Place heater and filter in a large container or bucket to prevent water spilling.

4. Take the tank to the sink and take out all the rocks and plants on the bottom of the tank (if you have rocks) and put them in the bucket.

5. Rinse the rocks and plants off in the bucket with conditioned water and then put them on a towel or in a container. Lightly swish the filter pad in the rinse water. You only replace the filter pad once a month.

6. Pour the old water from the tank into the sink.

7. Rinse out the tank in the sink.

8. Take the rocks and plants/decorations from off the towel or out of the container and put them back into the tank.

9. Pour the new conditioned water into the tank filling the tank until it is 2/3 full. Remember to feel the water and try to get it at the same temperature as the old tank water. Put the heater and filter back on the tank and plug them back in.

10. Once the tank is 2/3 full, take the cup or container with the fish in it and pour the water and the fish into the tank. Top off tank with tap water leaving 1-2 inches of space between the top of the water and the top of the tank.

Betta Care Tips: If feeding betta pellets, only feed 3-4 small pellets a day to avoid over feeding and polluting the water. Make sure any decorations in the tank have smooth edges to prevent your fish from tearing his fins.  Turn off the lights at night, bettas sleep just like we do! Make sure your water is staying between 69°F and 85°F. Provide your betta with a mirror to look at to give him something to play with. Bettas are intelligent and curious fish and like to play. They will also explore any holes or caves in your tank, so make sure all holes and caves are bigger than your thumb or your betta could get stuck. 

If you have any questions do not hesitate to email me at aquanerd1983@gmail.com

Thanks!—April 

Peace, Love, and Süßwasser

 

Updated photos of my 20 gallon freshwater planted guppy and emerald corydora tank

Here is a before and after of my 20 gallon.
The plants in this tank are just exploding with growth. 
When I set it up in January:

Now:

I have emerald corys. Super cute and very social. They breed like crazy too. I have had two spawns since I started with 5 of them, have only lost one female, and have 5 babies from the spawns, so from 5 corys I now have 9! I will be selling 3 of them as soon as the get big enough. The key is to cover the eggs with mesh or move them to a breeder net as soon as you see them, or the guppies will make a quick snack of them.

Here are closeups of my guppies and corys, plus 2 of the most recent baby corys!!

If you have any questions about my tank, plants, or livestock please comment below!!

Peace, Love, and Süßwasser---April R

Video and pictures of my male betta taking care of the newly hatched fry

I am breeding betta fish and have video and pictures of my male betta tending to his newly hatched fry. Bettas form a nest out of bubbles, which the male betta makes by inhaling air and exhaling the bubbles onto a secure object like a leaf or other floating object. The eggs are laid during spawning, during which the male wraps his body around the female expelling her eggs and fertilizing them at the same time. The male then picks up the eggs in his mouth and spits them into the bubble nest. Afterwards the female is chased off and the male does all the care and protecting of the nest. When the fry (baby fish) hatch the male betta keeps up his routine of putting the fry into his mouth and spitting them back into the nest. He does this until they are able to swim in their own, usually 48-72 hours after hatching. In the wild the fry would swim off and hide and the male betta would eventually move on, but in the breeding tank I have to remove the male betta so he can focus on himself and get some much needed rest and food. Check out the videos and pictures below to see how the male betta cares for the newly hatched fry. !!!

Until Next time!!

Peace, Love, and Süßwasser---April R

Breeding my Bettas Videos of Day one and two

Day one video of Sekihan and Bubbles in the breeding tank. Bubbles is in her jar. Lots of flirting and dancing going on.

Day 2 video of my releasing Bubbles into the tank. Immediately she goes after him. She definitely was not playing hard to get! Less than 12hrs later they had already spawned and I missed the embrace. Next update will be the videos I got of Sekihan tending his nest and taking care of the fry.

Here is Seki with his nest the day they spawned 

Updates soon,
Peace, Love, and Süßwasser---April R

(Pics Added) Betta Spawn Log: Halfmoon Male X Halfmoon Female

  Long story short, since I don't feel like typing it all up right now. The last two times I tried typing this up the computer logged out and ate my post .........

I introduced Sekihan into the breeding tub yesterday afternoon with Bubbles in her jar. Lots of flaring, she had really intense breeding stripes, I could tell they were extremely interested in each other. This was her first time, his 4th attempt with another female, the first of which was the only successful time I have gotten my bettas to spawn. The fry did not survive due to a mass die off at a few days old. I am going to be extra militant with my water changes this go around if I am lucky enough to get any fry from this.

Skip to this morning at 10am. I release Bubbles into the tank and she immediately started chasing Sekihan around. I think at first he was surprised because my other female Kaosu was so docile. I covered the tank with a black shirt to give them privacy and to keep myself frm bugging them with peeking and taking pics. I do have two videos, one from yesterday and one from when I released her. I will get those uploaded ASAP.

I checked on them at 5pm, and there were already eggs! Those buggers had spawned in less than 12 hours and I missed it. Seki was busy guarding the nest while Bubbles looked like she has been through a paper shredder in the middle of a hurricane. I immediately removed her and placed her in her home tank with antibacterial medicine and salt to recover and left Seki to himself in the breeding tub. I dosed the breeding tub with anti fungal meds and covered it back up.

I just checked on him at 11:00pm before bed and his tiny bubble nest was quickly deteriorating and the whole tub bottom was littered with what looks like hundreds of eggs. I am praying that he gets a new larger nest built soon and the eggs back where they belong. He is a good daddy from what I could tell from the first time he successfully spawned so I have confidence in him.

I will get the pics of the eggs in the nest and the videos of their courtship up soon. Have a great weekend!!!

Peace, Love, and Süßwasser


Edit: below are the pictures of Sekihan and Bubbles in the tank and Sekihan tending to his eggs afterwards. Also, the last few pics are of Bubbles as she looks like today, she is pretty beat up. Just a word of caution to those of you who haven't bred bettas before. More often than not one or both of your beloved babies will look like shredded cheese after the spawn, so please do not spawn your bettas if you aren't prepared to endure the sight of your fish being torn up and are not prepared to nurse them back to health. Sometimes fish even die as the result of a particularly violent spawning
                                                           Day 1 7/2/2014

                                                               
                                                                 Day 2 7/3/2014

                                                               

                                                                 Day 3 7/4/2014

                                                          Bubbles in home tank on Day 3

.  VIDEOS COMING SOON!!!!!

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