Ok! So now you have bought your betta from the pet shop or some betta breeders. First question is:
WHERE ARE YOU GOING TO PUT THEM???
Like us, betta needs a 'house' too. It doesn't need to be massive nor does it need to be tiny (Do you want to live in a 2mX2m 'house'???). For small bettas, a BIG Nescafe jar will do. (I said big!!! Don't you dare putting them in a small jar!!!). A small plastic aquarium that could be bought from any pet shops are even better as these aquariums have proper tops to ensure the bettas won't jump out. There should be holes on the tops to ensure there's oxygen on top of the water. Bettas are a member of the labyrinth fish family. They have an auxiliary breathing organ, usually called the labyrinth, which they use to breathe in air.
WHAT SHOULD I PUT IN THE AQUARIUM WITH MY BETTA???
Certainly not another betta??? Bettas are very territorial, and so they will attack bettas living with them. They are so aggressive that they can't even recognize themselves and will try to attack their images if you put a mirror near or in the aquarium. If the aquarium is very large and you want to put other fishes in, please check that the species is not known to harm your bettas. Their flowing fins could attract fin-nipping fishes. So please check first before you add aquarium mates for your betta.
Water plants is a good idea to add into your aquarium as it will help improve the quality of the water by eliminating the ammonia and other toxic substances. You could also put gravel in if you don't mind washing them thoroughly (Can be a pain in the neck since dirt accumulates in the gravel.). Please note that I refer to underwater plant when I said water plant. Do NOT add floating plants because it will reduce the amount of oxygen on top of the water.font>
WHAT ABOUT WATER AND WATER CHANGES???
The water used for your bettas MUST be aged and treated water. The water should aged at least two days before introduced in the betta aquariums. This is to allow time for the chlorine to dissipate. You can also use an Anti-Chlorine (to get rid of the chlorine and chloramines, which could be fatal to your bettas) and a pinch of aquarium salt (Put essential ions in the water and also prevent infections to some points). Water changes should be done at around twice or trice a week depending how big the aquarium is. The bigger the aquarium, the lesser is the need to change the water frequently. I did not say that you only need to change the water once a month!!!
Bettas waste products contain a high concentration of Ammonium compounds so it need to be removed as much as possible. If you could see gunk at the bottom of the tank, you could siphon it out but be very careful so the water won't enter your mouth. YUCK!!!
WHAT KIND OF FOOD CAN I FEED MY BETTAS???
There are a variety of food you can feed you bettas. Basically, you can feed bettas with live, frozen, freeze-dried foods or pellets made for tropical fishes. It's better if you could provide them with a variety of food and occasional 'treats'.
One of the best food for a betta are mosquito larvae. You could prepare a basin or a jar of water and put a few dried leaves and leave it for a few days. In a few days time you could probably find some wriggling mosquito larvae at the bottom of the jar. Easy huh!!!
You could find frozen blood worms in some pet shops. This is also a choice of betta foods which were highly recommended by most experienced breeders. But this is definitely not for those of you who faints when they see blood (Yes! the worms are actually in blood) or those of you who are afraid of worms or those with a super-sensitive nose (Oh yes!!! They stink!!! Believe me!!!)
Freeze Dried blood worms are what I usually feed my bettas with. This is because a very high temperature is used to dry these worms so it is quite sterile unlike frozen food where it might not be as sterile as the freeze-dried food and may cause some diseases. Freeze-dried food also last longer as they won't go bad as quickly as the frozen foods.