Broadheath Bettas
Recommended Betta Care
A step by step guide
Welcome!
Whether this is your first Betta or you’ve kept them for years, this simple guide combines essential beginner-friendly advice with best practices from years of breeding, raising, and shipping these stunning Siamese fighting fish.
Following these guidelines will help your Betta live a long, healthy, colourful life. Often 3–5 years or more with excellent care.
1.
Setting up your tank
(Preparatory Work - Do This BEFORE Buying or Receiving Your Fish )
Prepare everything well in advance and cycle the tank fully before your fish arrives, see our Tank Cycling guide . Confirm readiness by testing, not by counting days.
25 -30 litres
Minimum
- larger is strongly recommended.
Larger volumes make water quality easier to maintain and give your Betta room to swim, explore and display natural behaviours.
Tank Size
Live or silk plants (Anubias, Java Fern, Cryptocoryne), floating plants, betta hammocks, caves and Indian almond leaves (catappa) for tannins and hiding spots. Improve water quality and reduce boredom.
Plants & Enrichment
Lid (Essential!)
Bettas are excellent jumpers and can leap out !
Filtration
Gentle flow only. Choose a sponge filter or low-flow hang-on back filter with a baffle.
In the wild, Bettas live in still or slow-moving waters like rice paddies - strong currents stress them
Lighting
Low-to-moderate. Provide a natural 8–10 hour
day/night cycle. Bright light is not needed.
Heater & Thermometer
Bettas are tropical fish and need warm water. Aim for a stable temperature of
24°C – 27°C (76°F to 80°F)
Use a reliable adjustable heater (roughly 1 watt per litre / 3.8 watts per gallon). Always monitor with a thermometer.
Substrate & Decor
Soft sand or fine gravel. Add smooth decorations with no sharp edges that could tear delicate fins.
Water Quality & Cycling
Water quality is the most important factor for Betta health.
7.0
Neutral
(6.5-7.5)
0
Ammonia & Nitrite
<20
24 -27
o
C
Temperature
Nitrate
Below 10 ppm best
Cycling
Never add a fish to a new tank.
Use fishless cycling (ammonia dosing or bottled bacteria). Test daily with a reliable kit (API Master Test Kit recommended) until ammonia and nitrite read zero for a full week. Tap water must be dechlorinated — chlorine is toxic. Partial water changes of 25–30% weekly (or more in smaller tanks) keep parameters stable. Monitor pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate regularly.
2.
Tank Acclimatisation & Essential Care Following Postal Delivery
Settling in your new betta
Your betta has travelled a long way. The first few hours should be calm and unhurried — but the most important preparation was completed before delivery: a fully cycled, suitable tank, ready and waiting.
Someone must be present when your parcel arrives and you must unpack your fish straight away. Transport bags are for travel, not housing, and the water inside deteriorates from the moment it's sealed. Don't leave the box to deal with later as it is very bad for your new betta and may invalidate your Live Arrival Guarantee
1.
Fully cycled and tested, with ammonia and nitrite at zero and the heater stable at 24–27 °C, lights off, room quiet.
Have the tank ready
2.
Look before you open
Keep the sealed bag dim and upright, and check your betta over promptly.
Looking good? — go onto step 3.
Not sure? See our [Fish Health & Welfare Guide] before opening the bag.
3.
Match the temperature (if needed)
If the bag and tank differ noticeably in temperature, float the sealed bag for around 10–15 minutes to reduce the difference. This adjusts temperature only — skip it if they're already close.
4.
Transfer your betta gently
Use a clean fish cup or a soft, fine-mesh net and place it straight into the tank.
The transport water should not be added to your aquarium — discard it.
5.
Leave it in peace
Lights low – Don't feed immediately; once your betta is swimming normally and starting to explore its tank, offer a very small amount of food. Don't worry if it refuses its first meal or hides for a day or two — that's normal.
Need a Little Help?
Your betta should settle into it's new aquarium without difficulty, although every fish responds to a journey and new surroundings slightly differently.
If you have any questions about settling-in, feeding, behaviour, appearance or general wellbeing, our Fish Health & Welfare Guide explains what to check, when further help may be needed and how to contact Kieran for general advice.
[View the Fish Health & Welfare Guide →]
6.
Settle a New Arrival Before Introductions or Breeding
Your betta will have been in transit for a while and may need time to recover.
Keep it in a quiet, fully cycled aquarium and monitor its appetite, breathing, colour, swimming and general condition.
Do not introduce it to other fish or use it for breeding until it is eating normally, behaving confidently and showing no signs of stress or illness. Many bettas settle within a few days, while some may take a week or two. Judge readiness by the fish’s condition rather than the calendar.
Bettas are carnivores. Feed high-quality betta pellets or flakes designed for them once or twice a day — only a few pellets, or what they finish in about two minutes. Bettas have very small stomachs, and overfeeding is the most common mistake: it fouls the water and can cause digestive problems.
Dried pellets swell as they absorb water. Soaking them for a minute before feeding stops them expanding inside the fish, which helps avoid bloating.
Variety keeps them healthy and interested. Try giving frozen or live foods as an alternative: bloodworms, brine shrimp, daphnia two or three times a week
Feeding
3.
4.
Lighting, Decorations, Plants & Enrichment
8–10 hours daily supports a natural rhythm and live plants.
Lighting
Plants & Decor
Lush planting provides cover, resting places and opportunities to explore. Choose smooth decorations without sharp edges. Live plants can absorb some nitrogen compounds, including nitrate, but they do not replace regular water testing and changes.
Enrichment
Bettas are intelligent, inquisitive fish and benefit from a varied environment. Provide plants and cover, resting places at different heights, safe objects to investigate and gentle interaction at feeding time. Occasional small changes to the arrangement can also encourage exploration.
A mirror is not necessary for everyday enrichment. It is perceived as a rival and triggers an aggressive display rather than play. If you choose to use one, keep the exposure brief and infrequent, and remove it if the fish remains agitated or continues searching and flaring afterwards.
If several bettas are housed in adjacent tanks, prevent them from remaining in constant view of one another. Use an opaque divider, leave a gap between tanks or reposition them if repeated flaring occurs.
Environmental enrichment—including plants and structural complexity—has been associated with fuller swimming behaviour and altered aggression in captive bettas, so it is a better foundation than repeatedly provoking territorial display.
5.
Tank Mates
Bettas are territorial. Keep no more than one male betta in an undivided aquarium—even a large, heavily planted tank does not make male–male cohabitation reliably safe.
In a suitably larger, well-planted aquarium, some peaceful companions may be suitable:
-
Snails suit many setups, although an individual betta may investigate or harass them.
-
Shrimp may coexist where there is dense cover, but this is never guaranteed; some bettas will hunt them.
-
Corydoras are highly social fish that should be kept in a group. They need considerably more swimming and floor space than a 25–30 litre betta aquarium provides.
Choose calm species that are unlikely to nip fins, intimidate the betta or compete excessively for food and space. Compatibility depends on the companion species, aquarium size and layout, and the temperament of the individual betta.
Introduce tank mates carefully, watch all fish closely and continue monitoring them over time. Be prepared to separate them promptly if there is persistent chasing, fin damage, hiding or difficulty feeding.
Do not introduce tank mates or attempt breeding until your betta is eating normally, behaving confidently and showing no signs of stress or illness.
Female bettas are sometimes kept together in large, heavily planted aquariums, but sororities are advanced, high-risk setups. They can become unstable even after an apparently peaceful start, and aggression, injury or losses may occur.
They are not recommended for beginners or for anyone unable to separate every fish immediately if problems develop.
6.
Regular Maintenance & Health Checks
Daily
Observe behaviour, appetite, fin condition and swimming.
Feed, observe, check temperature
Weekly
25–30% partial water changes with dechlorinated, temperature-matched water. Vacuum substrate lightly. Test parameters
Monthly
Rinse filter media in old tank water only — never under the tap — and trim plants. Avoid stripping the tank down; the filter's microorganisms live on those surfaces, and over-cleaning sets the cycle back.
Healthy Signs:
-
Bright, even colour — deep and consistent, not patchy or washed out
-
Alert and responsive — comes to the front when you approach, watches movement outside the tank
-
Fins carried open and flowing — not clamped tight to the body
-
Controlled, purposeful swimming — moving where it means to go, holding position easily
-
Steady breathing, with occasional trips to the surface for air (that's the labyrinth organ doing its job — perfectly normal)
-
Good appetite — interested in food, eats readily
-
Clear, bright eyes and smooth, unbroken scales
-
Solid, dark faeces
-
Exploring and resting normally — bettas nap on leaves and in caves; a fish tucked up somewhere comfortable isn't necessarily unwell
-
Bubble nests — males often build rafts of bubbles at the surface. Not a requirement, but usually a sign of a content, comfortable fish
Faded colour, clamped fins, loss of appetite, ragged fins, gasping, or flashing (rubbing against décor or substrate) — test the water first — most problems trace back to water quality, and it's the quickest thing to rule out. If the water is fine and your betta still isn't right, see our [Fish Health & Welfare Guide].
Early action prevents most issues. Quarantine new fish when possible.
Warning Signs
7.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
-
Never keep a betta in a bowl, vase or unheated tiny tank. This is the most persistent myth about the species — bettas are tropical fish that need warmth, filtration and space, exactly like any other
-
Avoid temperature or pH swings.
-
No strong currents, copper-based medications unless specifically advised, or cleaning with soap or household chemicals on anything that goes in the tank — residues are harmful to fish and to the filter's microorganisms.
-
Stability is paramount— consistent parameters equal a happy, long-lived Betta.
-
Adding your betta before the tank is fully cycled — this is the single most common cause of losing a first fish."
Preparation is Everything!
By preparing your tank properly, settling your betta in calmly after delivery, and maintaining excellent water quality, you’ll give your Betta the best possible life. As a breeder and supplier, I’ve seen the difference proper care makes — healthy, vibrant fish that display their full personality and beauty.
If you'd like advice on your specific setup, test-kit recommendations, or just want to check something — get in touch. WhatsApp is quickest, and Kieran is always happy to help
Happy Betta keeping!