Theresa, I mainly wanted to caution you on the live food idea.. I once had a betta and I only fed him blood worms that I kept in the refrigerator and he ended up getting a HORRIBLE disease where their scales stick out and it's literally kidney failure and there's nothing you can do! This only comes from bad bacteria in live food so I just don't think it's worth it anymore. You can do frozen blood worms and use a toothpick to drop individual worms in. But he only likes "Betta Bits" by top fin anyway and it's SAFE! I know it's like 6 years later after your post but still wanted to comment. I rescued a male betta from co-worker who was keeping him in a bowl with NOTHING in it and kept forgetting to feed him. So many people don't realize that these hardy fish can survive in those conditions but they only thrive in heated, filtered aquariums with things like live plants, etc.. They're naturally from a hot region so they like their water 78-82%. So many people beg to differ on this because they have had "happy" bettas that live for a year, but guess what? They can live to be 7 YEARS OLD but only if they are well cared for and not just surviving. I set him up with 2.5 gallon heated and filtered aquarium and have had water tested, etc... He's so HAPPY! I even ordered something called Indian Almond Leaves from an aquarium supply website and put them in my tank and he LOVES THEM! They're not only an aphrodisiac for bettas but they mock the same environment that they are from where these leaves fall in the water. The leaves are REALLY good for the water quality and they build bubble nests under them. Anyway, my male betta has just been so happy and giddy (with his nice aquarium, live plants and mirror hanging there so he can take on himself!), I felt he was ready for a girlfriend! So I started a 10 gallon aquarium that has a divider in case they don't get along, and I haven't moved him over yet until the aquarium has fully cycled. But in meantime I brought first female betta home and was going to let her be first one in the 10 gallon, but I let her sit in his aquarium while I was doing some stuff and they totally seemed FINE! So I risked it and released her in the 2.5 gallon that he's in and they're GREAT! He's just duking it out with the mirror and seems to be showing off for her! She seems kind of interested too! They both keep going under the floating leaf at different times and it seemed like he was working on the bubble nest after I put them together! I'm having so much fun!!! I'm going to get 2 more females and they can all live in 10 gallon with tons of real plants for them to hide if there are issues. ;)

chels19, don't listen to some idiot who advises you to callously flush your fish away. It seems you're doing something right with your betta. In fact, I recently purchased some Blackwater Extract for my betta. It will discolor the water (dosage is 1/2 tsp. to 2 gallons of water) but it contains peat that lowers the pH and adds vitamins. Please check your water's pH, and for nitrates and nitrites, hardness, etc. Take a sample to your nearest pet store, they should be able to test your water and make proper recommendations. I'm glad your betta is doing better. TammyPie

Well thank you for all this information. I have a Beta, I assume with all its colors that it is a male. We rescued him from Wal-Mart in a tiny cup. Poor fellow. My husband wasn't sure if he would survive. We have had him for a year. How long do these fish live? Also our Beta is very moody. I swear he is dead laying on the bottom of the our 1 gallon plant bowl. But when I check and feed him he lifts himself up to go for the food. When I clean out the water and bowl, I always use stress coat treatment. I will try using warm water next time. My Betta is just inactive. I feed him around 4 tiny pellets almost once a day. We do have cats that like to eat the water plant leaves. But the Beta doesn't seemed stressed over it. Of course I chase the cats away from the bowl. The cats are not interested in the fish but the greenery. Please let me know if this is normal for a Beta or is he heading for heaven. Thank you, Theresa

The rules in our subdivision require that a tank over a certain size (maybe 20 gallons) be buried. Our is over 300 gallons and it is buried. It was no big deal. Excavated the hole when digging the foundation. Poured a concrete pad and inserted bolts. Propane company dropped tank (with sacrificial anodes) into place and chained it down. Hole was backfilled with sand when the house was backfilled. The line runs underground (with safety tape over it so it doesn't get dug up) and there is a very small metal box where the line comes out of the ground and it connect to the back of the house. It's no big deal, a small shrub would completely hide it. The propane company owns the tank (so they say, I never signed anything) and they don't charge for it, but I am only supposed to use them for fills (it's only been filled once in two years). Our utilities are underground and our phone and power meters are on the side of the garage, not highly visible. The transformer is in the woods. The meters and boxes on the house are not bad looking at all. A small metal box for phone and cable, a meter mounted on another metal box with the shutoff for the electrical. They are barely noticeable, but we carely planned where they would go.