Aquarium Maintenance

Maintaining a betta aquarium must be done with extreme care... slowly and very carefully. And anyone who wants to succeed in keeping bettas must take time to understand some basic tank and water chemistry.
You will need a kit that tests each of these:

• Ammonia
• Nitrite
• Nitrate
• PH
• Water Hardness
• Chlorine/Chloramine

What causes ammonia?

The worst rivals are ammonia and nitrates. Ammonia is the largest killer of aquarium fish. It occurs most often when a tank is newly set up, but it can also occur in an established tank when too many new fish are added at one time, when a filter fails or due to a change in water conditions. Ammonia can be produced by your betta fish; the more they eat, the more ammonia gets put into the water. Ammonia is also created by decaying plants and excess food. Even over-feeding your betta fish can cause a sudden rise in the ammonia levels in the tank and can kill your fish literally overnight.

Symptoms:

• Fish gasp for breath at top of the water
• Purple or red fins that appear to be bleeding
• Fish becomes increasingly lethargic
• Loss of appetite
• Fish lays at the bottom of the tank, with clamped fins
• Red streaking all over body

Treatment:

• Lower pH below 7.0
• 25-50% water change
• Use chemical to neutralize ammonia
• Discontinue or reduce feeding

Prevention:

• Stock new tanks slowly
• Remove any uneaten food
• Change water regularly
• Test water consistently to catch problems early

The ammonia needs to be broken into smaller and less harmful substances by beneficial bacteria. Beneficial bacteria lives on gravel and inside the tank and it needs time to develop into sufficient quantities. It's always possible to use chemical filters and other devices, but for the beginner, it's safest to start with no more than one fish.