Water For Betta Fish
What is the best water for beta fish to live in?
As you can imagine, the water that the betta fish lives in 24 hours/7 days a week – has the biggest impact on whether or not your betta will be healthy and happy. The most important things you can do to make sure your betta does not develop problems is to make sure the water has no chlorine, that the pH is close to 7.0, and that that it is clean. This will increase the lifespan of your betta fish significantly.
You have to be careful HOW you change and prepare the water. This will make all the difference between having a healthy, happy betta – or having health problems that will surely come up if you don’t clean the water properly.
How to Clean the Water for Beta Fish
The water pH is extremely important for the survival of your betta, so it is a good idea to get a pH test kit to find out what the pH levels of the tap water or filtered water are that you are going to use, and to adjust it accordingly.
The perfect pH for the betta to live in is 7.0. Bettas can survive in a pH between 6.5 and 7.5, but you need to be really careful in monitoring this. At first, you will want to check every day, but then you can check every couple of days to a week after you know what you are doing.
If your betta fish is in a bowl, be sure to only put your betta in the new water AFTER it has been conditioned. Never try to adjust the pH of the water with the betta in the water. The reason for this is because if you happen to put too much pH down in the water (and only one or two drops might be too much), then you could end up killing him. It is always better to have your betta in water where the pH is too high, than to have him in water where the pH is too low.
Water Tips To Live By
As far as the type of water to use, it is best to stick with tap water. You have to neutralize the chlorine in the water BEFORE you put your betta fish in it, or your betta will not survive. Be sure to use Amquel and Novaqua according to the directions, and add some aquarium salt to properly condition the water. Typically, you will want to add 4 drops of Amquel/Novaqua per gallon, and about a third of a teaspoon of aquarium salt per gallon. Be sure not to use table salt, or the betta will not make it. You can also treat the water with Aquarisol to prevent ich, velvet, fungus, and other diseases that might harm your betta.
You can mix distilled water with tap water, but to be safe, keep the mixture 50% tap water and 50% distilled. Never use more than 50% distilled or the betta fish will suffer.
Also, be sure to use fresh cold tap water when you are preparing the betta fish’s new home. Most likely, you will have to use pH down to bring the pH of tap water down to a reasonable level (since it is usually high), and always wait until the water is as warm as room temperature before putting your betta in it – otherwise it may go into shock.
When it comes time to clean the fish bowl or aquarium, put your betta in a soft net, rinse out the fish bowl, re-fill the bowl with the conditioned water, and then gently place the betta fish in it’s new home. Your betta will be fine out of water for a minute or so, but do not keep him out of water for more than that.
