How to make my Betta fish happy?

Happy New Year! 2014!!! I’m going to try better to be helpful and as professional as possible with answering questions. But in this blog post, I’m going to share some of my thoughts, experiences, and advice buying a betta. I will also be posting more helpful information like health, behavior, and caring advice on betta fish in the future. But today, I will be telling you how I buy bettas after almost 4 years, and how they turned out.

Picture: Green and red veil tail male betta

To buy bettas, I would go any where they’re sold (mostly walmart). At my walmart, they sell other fish and betta fish, which by the way, all live in poor health conditions. Any way, all the bettas there are veil tail males so I don’t have a lot to chose from, but I get lucky a few times. They have blue, pink/purples, green blues, steel grey, black, and red. Most of the time, I don’t care about the color but other characteristics that make the betta stand out as unique. For instance, I got a white betta with a purple shimmer, a brown betta with a peach biocolor set of fins with spots, and a green and black sail fin halfmoon. These were all bettas I once owned they lived happy and long like any other betta with a good home. What I’m saying is, choose any betta that is unique to you. All bettas are special and are more than just labyrinth fish.

Not only do you have to choose a betta you like, but also choose a betta that is healthy and responsive. I tell you, every time I see a betta I examine its fins, color, and body form for any discolorations, fin rot, infections, diseases, and lumps. I then test its response. I take my finger or a pen and put it near its tank or cup. A good betta will usually respond by flaring vigorously at the object. If the betta is not responding or runs away in zig zags, the betta is stressed or its health isn’t very good. The betta needs to flare in order to prevent fin rot too. So, I take its cup and put it next to another healthy betta’s cup. Flaring means happy and a long, happy life at home, avoiding and sleeping means fin rot or a very short life. But it could be the opposite sometimes. The avoiding one could be the happiest and healthiest while the one that flared could sleep and stress and live a short life. But, that rarely happens, for me.

In my recent blog post, the new betta I got is very young and if I point at him with something, he darts to his cave. He does the same with females, but he’s healthy he will flare at his own reflection at night and blow bubbles all day. Plus, he dances at me when ever he wants me to feed him. It’s so adorable!

If you do this, you will have a happy and healthy companion for years to come. I will post another blog (betta fish knowledge) about betta fish tank requirements and how a betta will behave its first time home. Be sure to leave comments about what you think or how you chose your betta. Also, please rate my blog so I can improve next time. I hope I have helped with answering some questions or beginner betta owners wondering how to choose the perfect betta. Thnx for reading! :)