An Overview Of Betta Behavior & Temperament:
This is a page on the general care of bettas, or should I call that a common sense page on the care of bettas. Covered here will be things like whether or not your betta should have tank mates, what types of tank mates, how many tank mates depending on size of tank, some basic betta behavior, a betta tank cleaning schedule, etc.
I should also add in here, that this is merely my opinion. I'm not passing it off as fact, this is just my observations, experiences and what works and does not work for me.
So, first things first. You're thinking of buying a betta or maybe one already stole your heart and you're trying to learn about how to properly care for one. I am not going to write lectures on the importance of doing research and setting up tanks before you purchase your fish, just about everyone has at one time or another bought a pet on impulse. At least now a days with the internet, the pet doesn't have to suffer because of it. As long as you're willing to do the reading, lot's of info is available in a short amount of time. All you need to do is sort through it all, probably will take a few hours, and sort the info out in your head. I am by no means condoning people buying pets on impulse, but I do know that it happens(I've been guilty of it myself)and am not judging anyone for it. Besides anyone who has done it, knows that in the future it's a lot easier on everyone to do the research first and it's not usually repeated.
So, you have a betta or are thinking of getting one. Should it have a tank mate? Well first you have to decide whether or not your tank is large enough. I personally don't recommend tank mates for any fish(betta or other), that's kept in a tank that's less than 5 gallons. However for a 5 gallon tank, I recommend only small tank mates like Dwarf Underwater Frogs, cory cats, otto cats, etc. I also don't recommend any fish that are live bearers; like guppies, platies, swordtails, etc. Live-bearers can easily over-populate a tank, the betta and parent fish can't eat all of the babies and many will survive.
Okay, now that I have gone over some of the okay tank mates(I prefer to keep a species-specific tank myself), let's go over the ones that are not okay, under any circumstances.
Well, you definately don't want to keep more than one male betta in a tank. People have reported being able to keep sibling males together, but that's a chance you shouldn't take. People have also reported that they have successfully kept more than one male together in a large tank(we're talking more than 100 gallons), but I also don't recommend that. So let's just agree on one male per tank. Let's also agree that female betta's should not be kept with male bettas, either. The only way female bettas are kept with male bettas, is when you are breeding and it's only long enough for mating to occur and no longer. Once mating is completed, the female is removed.
And while we're on the subject of female bettas, some people keep them together and some do not. If you do, it's recommended, usually, that you have at least 3 and try to keep them in odd numbers. This helps them establish a pecking order and keeps fighting to a minimum. Like males, females can be as aggressive and can do damage to each other just the same. For this reason, it's wise to keep a pretty close eye on your female tank for a month or so. If you notice chewed fins, missing scales or see females picking on each other, it would be a good idea to seperate them. For this reason,it's a good idea to keep dividers and extra tanks laying around when you have a female betta tank.
You also don't want to keep any fish that might look to a male betta like another male betta. This includes any fish with long, flowing fins. Fish like gourami's, angelfish, goldfish(for this and other reasons), veiltailed guppies, etc.
You also don't want to keep fish that the betta may think are food items. These would be small fish like neon tetras, feeder guppies, etc.
You also don't want to keep aggressive fish with your betta. Fish like tiger barbs(known fin nippers), chinese algae eaters(I have had one on more than one occasion kill every fish in my tank by sucking onto their sides, thus tearing their scales off), most cichlids(again a little common sense will tell you that fish like oscars or convict cichlids are not good tank mates), bumblebee gobies, etc.
I think I've covered enough on the tank mates section and now you know why I keep species-specific tanks. It's just so much easier that way. All of my tanks are species-specific and with the exception of possibly adding a few otto cats for algae control, will stay that way.
Now I'll go over my weekly and monthly cleaning schedule for my bettas. This is just an example and I am not telling anyone to follow it. It works for me and I haven't had any problems with it.
1st Sunday of the month: This is when I do my 100% water change. I only do a 100% water change, once a month. This is also when I break the tank down and clean the gravel, plants(plastic), etc. on my small uncycled tanks.
Wednesdays: This is when I do my once a week 50% water change. If in between the Wednesdays the water gets cloudy, like from trying out new food items or if it gets algae-y from being exposed to too much light, I do other water changes. Basically I only have to do 50% water changes once a week.
Now I'll touch base on some basic betta behavior.
Flaring: This is what a male, sometimes females do it too, does when it either sees another male, sees a female it's interested in mating with, something it sees as a threat(like a larger animal or your finger on the glass of it's tank), or sees it's reflection(which it thinks is another male and doesn't know that it's his own reflection). Females will do this to males, other females and sometimes their own reflections. When done to a member of the same sex or it's own reflection, this is a sign of aggression. This is a pre-cursor to a fight. If this is done by a male to a female, it's an attention getter. He's interested in this female and wants to mate with her. He's trying to look visually attractive, large and in charge for her. It's their version of strutting. In the wild, female animals(fish and other animals)generally pick the largest males, because they are seen as the healthiest and best stock with which to procreate. So when he flares(by flaring his gill covers and stretching his fins out to their fullest), he's trying to look large enough to be picked for mating.
Blowing bubbles: Both male and female bettas can blow bubbles, however males are the ones who make the large bubble nests. Each bubble is coated with mucus to make it stick to the other bubbles and to hold the air in. Bubble nests can be quite large and male bettas will make them with or without the intention of mating. This is perceived by us as a sign of good health in bettas, as usually ill bettas won't bother with making bubble nests. However, just because your male betta doesn't make a bubble nest, does not mean he isn't healthy. My male, Saleen, has only made one bubble nest in the year I have had him. Also, male bettas will have a hard time making a bubble nest if the filter(assuming you have one in the tank)is disturbing the water too much. I have also noticed that male bettas will build bubble nests in the presence of other male bettas, like if you have your tanks sitting side by side. It could be some sort of contest for attracting females, the one with the biggest nest wins, but I am not sure on that. All I know is that Saleen has only built one nest in the year I have had him, but since putting his tank near my other two males(Boss & Indigo), he's started blowing a few bubbles and I expect to see a nest soon.
Swimming: This is normal fish behavior. Most fish swim, I would say all, but I don't know that every fish in the world does swim. However, bettas do and this is totally normal. Bettas may not be the most active fish in the world, but they do keep busy swimming.
Jumping: Jumping is something that bettas will do. If you don't have a lid on your tank or jar, you may find this out the hard way by coming home(or waking up)to a dead fish on your floor. I know this is how I learned about jumping bettas. I've read about bettas that will jump into their neighbors jar just to get to another male. And of course they get little bursts of energy and in a shallow container like a jar or small hex tank, they can get a little rambunctious and end up out of their tank.
Breathing Surface Air: Breathing air at the surface of the water is a normal behavior for both sexes of bettas. Bettas have an organ called a labrynthe, which enables them to do this. They need this organ in order to breathe in the wild, as they live in low-oxygen environments.
These are just a few of the behaviors bettas exhibit, I am by no means an expert and I never have and never will claim to be one. I just like to share my experiences and things I have learned, in hope's that it will help others out there.