First, all fish will eat they just won't eat what you are offering. They get stressed (they should not be able to view one another as in divided tank, as in the wild they would not - one would be chased from the others territory not being forced to deal in aggressive mode constantly - adrenal stress hormones affect metabolisms ie eating so on. All betta's should have plants - the plants will grow little micro organisms and you'll see them picking at these. Dried food is horrible - like us eating dried up cereal, plus it swells up once inside fish - their eye is as small as their stomach so they get constipated down the line. I once caught a little moth and went to feed it to a female betta in a gigantic sword planted globe - she was in it as she was a super jumper, lol. Before I got my hand down near the water she flew out of the water and got her "bug". In the wild they are insect eaters. So find frozen such as worms, mosquito so on and mix it up. Feed a pinch (let it thaw) (I chop it up with knife while frozen, use my finger tips to warm up and tweezer (blunt nose so not to hurt betta) and let it hang over water, she notices and that's it. One meal a day is fine, but I offer a pinch of flake plant food for digestion in later afternoon (much better then dried pellot, put one in water cup and see how huge they get and full of filler foods like wheat and crud)... I also now grow my own worms so on (found on aquabid, ebay) a small amount of work to feed my fish the proper way. Socks, your table food is probably much better (but may need vitamins to round out, they make fish vitamins) as most of the waste from our meat markets and cats/dogs killed at pounds are sold to commercial dog/cat/fish suppliers. Not all, but unless you really check the source, you never know. That's why I grow my own fish foods. Or second best is frozen, then flake. The betta when feeling secure and offered the right foods will eat. (they can go a while before starving but again pellet food is, well would you eat it, lol.

I've had many bettas over the years. They often become friendly, inquisitive pets. I keep my current guy in a 10-gallon heated, filtered tank with lots of live plants and 4 zebra danios and 3 catfish. Everyone gets along fine. Try keeping your pet near where you hang out (like next to where you watch TV at night, or eat breakfast in the morning)... they will stare at and interact with you for hours. I've been able to teach them to swim through my wedding ring (they love checking out shiny/sparkly objects) and eat dried bloodworms from my hand. They can be very slow and subtle as they prowl around the nooks and corners in the tank, but my current one seems to love to swim in the strong current from the filter - he'll swoosh back and forth many times in a row, purposely swimming with all his might into the current and being swept down to the bottom of the tank, and then back up again, back and forth, over and over again. It must be good exercise, because he's incredibly buff! Great little pets with few demands. Susan

A few snips from the web: ---------------------------------------- Symptoms: pale, gray or dull; stays at the bottom of the bowl only coming up for air Possible diagnosis: cold, stressed, vitamin deficiency Remedy: BettaMax Prevention: prevent stress; add vitamins; don't overfeed; maintain constant temperature in the 72� - 80�F. -------------------------------------------------------- DISEASE: BACTERIAL INFECTION the red sores typical of advanced bacterial infections GENERAL INFO: If the betta�s water becomes fouled with uneaten food and fish waste, if it is not well filtered or if the jars are not kept sparkling clean, then bacterial bloom will occur. Bettas with a deficient immune system (when a betta is stressed, because it was scared, or moved or shipped, etc� its immune system will become deficient) will catch whatever is lurking in the water, including the bacterias. They will have a "bacterial infection". VERY CONTAGIOUS!! SYMPTOMS: Betta may have clamped fins, lay at bottom or at surface, not eat, lose its color, turn gray, barely swim around. In more advanced cases, its body may start developing red patches, open sores and all kinds of nasty looking stuff. (Even holes in its head!! YIKES!!) TREATMENT: Do a full water change for jars or a 70% water change for tanks. (To get rid of some of the bacteria present). Clean filter, change filtering system, remove any uneaten food rotting, or any dead fish!!! Salt kills bacteria, so there again, adding salt would be beneficial: Add AQUARIUM salt (1 tablespoon per 5 gallons) (and NOT table salt, duh!!) immediately. Isolate any bettas with symptoms if in a community tank. You should also treat the whole tank. There is a wide variety of antibiotics available for fish. REMEMBER: if the carbon in your filter is less then a week old, remove it!! The carbon would otherwise absorb all the medication and you would be flushing your money down the tube. Oh, and did I mention money?? Yes, brace yourself, cause your little fishies are gonna cost you a bundle, medication can get pretty darn expensive!! If the sick bettas are small fries, I truly recommend using Tetracyclin. It has never let me down before. If older, you might try Tetracyclin, or Marcacyn I and II combined, or whatever you find at your store. Go for "broad spectrum" antibiotics, though. Follow manufacturer�s instructions and don�t stop the treatment until your bettas are well again. If betta is jarred, then as usual, figure out how much water your jar contains and divide the quantity of medication accordingly. Capsules are easier then tablets, because one can open a capsule and just sprinkle a tiny itsy bit of powder in jar. Tables, you will have to first crush, then divide. Well, have a blast!!! Oh, and did I mention that both Methylen Blue or Maroxy are very efficient bacteria killers? They seem to prevent the blooming of bacteria and often, if the infection is mild, a simple srop of either of these two products will cure betta. Further more they are INEXPENSIVE (yop, I figured you would like that part!! :)) ) ----------------------------------- Google search with more info linked below: Here is a link that might be useful: google

Hi If you're serious about raising them the tough part is providing for the fry. They are incredibly small and require infusoria as a first food The best way is to use a 10 gallon tank about half full keep it in the low eighties with a cover to keep the humidity up . Be sure the female is ready and remove her immediately after the spawn. A few floating plants will give her a place to hide and help maintain the nest. The male will tend the eggs until free swimming then remove him and start struggling with providing food for several hundred 1/16 inch fry lol The advantage to the 10 gallon is you can add water as they grow of course when they start to show sex differences they will need to be separated which takes under 2 months . Males will all need individual containers but females can be kept together (usually) lol It's an interesting experience but requires a LOT of work. good luck gary