AboutLynda Expertise I can help you with cichlids, african cichlids, betta fish. I have bred most of them, including the Discus, and Angel Fish, and Rams. I have also bred many african cichlids. I have bred bettas too...well I am a fish nut! I can help you with most diseases, and have experience in setting up a tank. I can tell you tricks on keeping your water alkaline without products. I also speak and write french. I have experience with salt water fish, but would rather not get into that field.
Please when writing to me, give me detailed information. The size of your tank, your water chemistry, etc. The more I know, the more I can help you. I cannot guess at what you have, so please give me information and I will do my outmost to help you with any question you ask me.
Please do not ask me questions on Goldfish, mollies, platies, and guppies. Lynda
Experience I have worked in Petshops in the fish department...was Manager in two...and alot of my experience came from my home where I had 26 aquariums from 20 gallons to 200 gallons.
Publications I have a MSN group but it has nothing to do with fish
Education/Credentials I have finished high school, and went to college, in accounting
Question Hi,
I was considering getting a betta. I already have food (betta pellets, betta flakes, and freeze dried blood worms) and water conditioner left over from my sister's fish that died from constapation. I was wondering if a tank with a filter would be better or should a plain fishbowl be ok.
Loretta.
Answer Hi Loretta,
A betta needs a 5 gallon tank or more to be healthy, and happy. He also needs a little toy that he can go through, and silk plants that he can rest on. In his habitat the water may be shallow, but they have lots of room to swim. Keeping bettas in small bowls, 1 gallon tanks, mirrored tanks, and vases is cruel. He is a tropical fish, and needs heated water. He thrives in water 78 to 80 degrees. Under this temperature, he is cold, and will get sick. When heating his tank, we must do this very very slowly. Fill your tank with the same water temperature that he came in. Heat your tank one degree every two days as heating his water to quickly would cause death. A betta does best without a filter which means you would have to change all of his water once a week, always using a good water conditioner such as Stress Coat or AquaPlus. If you decide to use a filter, make sure that his water is always free of ammonia, nitrites, and low nitrates. Once your water chemistry is right, then you will have to do 25% water changes every week. This is up to you.
Vary his diet as much as possible so that he gets all the vitamins he needs. Frozen glass worms, and mealworms, plankton flakes, and brine shrimp are also good for him. Feed him twice a day in small amounts...example: 2 pellets for one meal. We must always remember that his tummy is the size of his eye. Feed him one frozen cooked pea a week. Remove the outer layer, cut it into tiny pieces, and feed the pieces to your betta, making sure that they don't fall to the bottom of the tank. This is to avoid Swim Bladder Disease which the Betta is prone to. On the day you feed him the pea, feed him nothing else, so that he cleans out his system.
You should also add one teaspoon of diluted aquarium salt to his water. One teaspoon for 5 gallons of water. This helps with stress, and parasites. However, salt should not be used if your betta ever showed signs of a swollen tummy.
I hope this helps, and if you have any other question, please do not hesitate to write me. I love bettas, and breed them. They are so intelligent, and how quickly we get attached to them!
Lynda
