Feeding Bettas

by: William Berg 

Knowing the right way to feed your betta is fundamental, because not doing it right can have big consequences on your bettas health. Nothing is more stressful than dealing with a sick fish, right? So, let's do it right, and get rid from the calamity!

Here are some golden rules on feeding your betta.

First, select the proper food. Bettas are selective eaters. A betta specific pellet is ok, but live and frozen foods are preferable. The recommended diet includes frozen brine shrimp and frozen bloodworms.

Photo by cod_gabriel

The next rule is to not overfeed your Bettas. Carefully dose the meals, because even if the fish ate all you give him, he will produce so much more waist when overfed and the pollution level of the jar he is in will go beyond safe range, this problem is smaller if you keep your betta in a larger aquarium. Remember not to leave uneaten food in the Aquarium! Once your betta and the rest of the fish is done eating, you must remove all uneaten left over food. If you do not remove it, it will punctually rot and cause havoc in the tank.

Bettas prefer to eat from the upper parts of the water column. They don’t really enjoy eating from the bottom of the tank. So before dropping the food in the tank, make sure you have his attention. Let him see the food, get it close to his face from the outside of the aquarium, let him check out what it is, and then there you go! Drop food in front of his nose. The best way is to drop a tiny bit of food--about 6 frozen brine shrimp, watch the bettas eat it all and then look at the belly, if it looks the same as it did before you fed, it’s ok to give them more, but always watch and make sure to make the second portion smaller than the first.

Your betta should go for the food right away, but if not, watch where the food sinks, and what the betta does. If more than 15 min he has not eaten the food yet, remove the food. Never let the water go cloudy. If it is already, then change it, as cloudy water will threaten your betta’s health. Normally, small bowls or containers should be changed at least twice a week. Larger tank can be changed once a week. And notice if the ammonia and nitrite levels are up the roof, because both are very bad for your Betta. Also be wary of harmful bacteria they can ruin your fish life, but don’t kill of all bacteria in the aquarium since a lot of bacteria is essential for a well functioning aquarium.

During the pre-spawning period you can feed a wide variety of food, including blackworms, Grindal worms, fruit flies, brine shrimp, mosquito larvae and frozen blood worms (all are life except the frozen blood worms). During this period the adult fish may be fed 4 times per day or more depending on how close the fish are to being placed into the spawning tank.

You can start feeding your betta fry, 5 days after the spawning. Feed the fry several times per day, using a variety of foods (infusoria, boiled egg yolk, baby brine shrimp…) made up of small particles.

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About The Author

William Berg has over 20 years of aquarium experince and runs the website http://www.aquaticcommunity.com and you can find more of his articles on http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/universal.html.

Make Your Freshwater Aquarium Maintenance Fun

 by: Rozlyn Rozberry



Keeping Your Aquarium Clean

A Lot owners find that setting up their freshwater aquarium was the easy part, the maintenance to keep it running is the challenge! They have it up, but oh my, there are problems presenting themselves that they just didn't expect!

Junk Floating In Your Aquarium?

Tired of dirty water? Well believe me, your fish don't care for it either!

If you want low maintenance, consider a power filter, it does a great job removing drifting particles. Using chemicals, a good power filter will also reduce common impurities, discoloration and smells.

Aside from swapping out the filter cartridges every 3-4 weeks, which should take about 5 minutes, you will need to take an extra 10-15 minutes every few months on a detail cleaning of the filter interior. With the filter cartridges normally being throw away, all the tedious cleaning is eliminated.

Photo by Kedza 

Algae

Very little will mar a gorgeous tank faster than green algae growing in, on and around everything inside your aquarium.

If you're looking for a quick solution, consider a Plecostomus. At best, this fish could be considered "handsome", but it can put a dent in your algae growth. On the plus side, the Plecostomus has a fantastic personality!

Of course, you can always remove the algae by hand. Even if you do have algae eaters in your tank, there will inevitably be some amount of hand cleanup required. There are some great tools on the market today that will aid you in this endeavor.

Remember that algae thrives in sunlight! You can get away with placing your aquarium by a widow with daylight exposure, just not sunlight; unless of course you are intending to grow algae.

Strong Scents?

Powerful smells emanating from your tank are dangerous to your fish, clean your filter more often if this is an issue. They simply can't live in that sort of environment.

Unclear Water?

There can be many reasons for this, overfeeding is the usual culprit. Your fish ought to be fed no more than 2-3 times each day, adjust the quantity being fed so that it is consumed in 3-5 minutes. This should eliminate the problem.

If it does not, try using bottled drinking water or distilled water. Look in your neighborhood grocery store, you should find it for around 50-70 cents per gallon.

Photo by Jason Sholar 

Prepare for Your Water Changes

Every two weeks is fine if you are not having water quality problems, if you have a heavy fish load, plan on removing 20% of your water every week with a siphon or gravel cleaner. Any clean hose will work but we prefer gravel cleaners since you can remove detritus from the bottom of your tank while siphoning off the water.

Once your hose is primed, put one end in a bucket, only fill about 3/4 full.

Once you have your 20% removed, just fill the tank back up with prepared water. Depending on the size and setup of your tank, you will need an extra 45-60 minutes once a month to do some extra cleaning, one of the less glamorous chores.

The interior walls of the tank will need to be gently scrubbed, you can pick up sponges and scrapers at your pet supply store, just be sure you get ones that are safe for your tank.

Periodically remove your decorations and soak them in hot water with a bit of salt, then scrub them with a sponge until clean. Caution! Do not use any type of soap on any object used in or on your aquarium! The residue will kill your fish very quickly.

Using a gravel vacuum for your water changes is a great way to get rid of the buildup of dirt and uneaten food. Select a gravel vacuum that is sized for your tank and read the users guide before using your new vacuum for the first time.

Putting Water Back In Your Tank

Any time you are adding water to your tank, whether it is is to replenish evaporation or refill after a water change, the temperature and pH levels need to be the same as what is currently in the aquarium. A great way to put water back in your tank is to use a garden hose attachment connected to your utility faucet. If the pH matches your tanks, get the temperature just right and run a hose direct to your tank. Sure beats sloshing buckets of water on your hardwood floors! 
Tap water was not intended for freshwater fish tanks, be sure to check your chemistry BEFORE putting it in. If your having problems with your tank water, you might find that heating a 5-10 gallon container of distilled or bottled water is a better option.