Betta
Betta splendens
Colourful labyrinth fish that lives aloneBeginner
- Lifespan
- 3-5 years
- Size
- 6-7cm / 2.5in
- Social needs
- Solitary (males); kept without tankmates
- Time
- 10-15 min daily; weekly water change
- Cost
- Low
- Diet
- Carnivore (high-protein pellets, frozen foods)
Overview
What is this animal?
- Bettas are labyrinth fish from the slow, warm waters of Southeast Asia, able to gulp air from the surface.
- Centuries of selective breeding produced the long finnage and bright colours sold today, but the fish beneath is hardy and learns to recognise its keeper.
- Despite their reputation as desk ornaments, bettas do well only in a heated, filtered, cycled tank.
- Their tolerance of poor water is a survival trait, not a reason to skip proper care.
- Given a stable setup they are interactive and long-lived.
Temperament
- Males are territorial and must be housed alone, as two males will fight and even a mirror can stress them.
- The name Siamese fighting fish reflects this instinct.
- They do not need company and are content as the sole occupant.
- They become curious and bold once settled, flaring, following fingers, and learning feeding routines.
- Females can sometimes share a heavily planted larger tank as a sorority, but this is advanced and not recommended for beginners.
A good fit for
- First-time keepers wanting an interactive fish
- Smaller heated desktop or shelf tanks
- People who like a single characterful pet
- Keepers who can commit to weekly water changes
Common mistakes to avoid
- Housing in unheated bowls or vases
- Keeping two males together
- Overfeeding causing bloat and swim-bladder issues
- Assuming they tolerate uncycled water long-term
Enclosure
Minimum 19 litres (5 US gallons)
Must be housed alone. Solitary (males); kept without tankmates
- Provide at least 19 litres (5 gallons) with a gentle filter and a reliable heater holding 25-28C (78-82F).
- A tight lid is essential, as bettas jump and need an undisturbed warm air layer to breathe.
- Silk or live plants and a cave give security and resting spots near the surface.
- Keep flow low, since long fins tire in strong currents.
- Cycle the tank before adding the fish and aim for ammonia and nitrite at zero and nitrate under 20ppm.
- Bowls, vases, and unheated nano cubes are inadequate and shorten lifespan.
Supplies
Setup
- Tank and stand
- Filter
- Heater and thermometer
- Substrate, plants and decor
- Liquid test kit
- Dechlorinator and starter supplies
Ongoing
- Quality betta pellets (fish or shrimp meal listed first)
- Frozen bloodworm blister pack
- Frozen daphnia
- Frozen brine shrimp
- Feeding tweezers or a pipette
- Small thawing cup
- Fine net for removing uneaten food
Safe substrate: Inert aquarium gravel · Fine, smooth sand · Aquasoil for planted tanks
Care routine
Daily
- Check temperature and equipment
- Feed a few pellets
- Head-count and look everyone over
Weekly
- Check the finsevery 3 days
- Top up evaporationevery 3 days
- Check the lid and air gap
- Clean glass and clear algae
- Test the water
- Water change and gravel vacuum
Monthly
- Trim and thin the plantsevery 2 weeks
- Check supplies and reagent dates
- Rinse the filter media
Less often
- Replace chemical filter media (Carbon/Purigen)every 2 months
Vet: Quarterly tank and fin review — every 3 months
Top resources for more info
Independent creators and organisations we would send a friend to. We have no affiliation with any of them, and nothing here is sponsored. Links checked 2026-09-19.
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Diet
- Bettas are carnivores and need a meat-based diet.
- Feed a quality betta-specific pellet as the staple, supplemented several times weekly with frozen or live bloodworms, daphnia, and brine shrimp.
- Variety supports colour, finnage, and digestion.
- Feed only what is eaten in two minutes, once or twice daily, and include a weekly fasting day to reduce constipation and bloating.
- Overfeeding is a leading cause of swim-bladder problems and fouled water in betta tanks.
Health
- Common ailments are fin rot, fungal infections, and swim-bladder disorder, most traceable to cold water, poor filtration, or overfeeding.
- Stable warmth and clean parameters prevent most disease.
- Watch for clamped fins, lethargy, and loss of appetite as early warning signs.
- Long-finned and double-tail forms can suffer fin-weighting and spinal issues.
- Quarantine new plants and decor, avoid sharp ornaments that tear fins, and treat illness promptly with the correct medication rather than salt alone.
Is your enclosure big enough?
Is this urgent?
In a fish tank the patient is usually the water. Test before you treat — dosing a healthy tank for a disease it does not have makes things worse.
Go now
Today
Soon
Never add a new fish to a tank that is not fully cycled, and never treat blind. A test kit is cheaper than the fish.
This is general guidance for a healthy adult, not a diagnosis. An exotics vet who knows your animal always overrides it — and the time to find one is before you need one.
What it really costs
Setup, monthly, first year and across a whole life, itemised and with the electricity worked out from the actual wattage. Published figures for the same animal disagree by a factor of four, so the calculator shows ranges rather than picking one.
Bedding and substrate
Substrate in an aquarium is a filter as much as a floor. Most of the biology lives in and on it.
Safe
With a caveat
Never
This is our general list for freshwater fish. We have not built one specific to Bettas yet.
My kit says 0.25 ppm. Is that dangerous?
A liquid kit measures total ammonia, but only the un-ionised fraction is really toxic, and that fraction is governed by pH and temperature — each whole pH unit multiplies it roughly tenfold. So the same reading can be nearly harmless in one tank and lethal in another; this works out which one you are in.
Compare with other animals
The same axes for every animal, side by side — the way the guides are written makes that a fair comparison rather than two articles.
Other Freshwater Fish worth knowing
Same axes, same care guides — the honest way to compare them.
Browse all Freshwater Fish →
