Disclosure: This new pet Betta fish post was sponsored by PetSmart through their partnership with POPSUGAR Select. While I was compensated to write a post about PetSmart, all opinions are my own.
“So we may be adding a new member to our family soon. And for those of you thinking congratulations are in order. Or that I must be crazy; let me spell this out for you. No, I am NOT pregnant again. Two children less than 16 months apart has cured me of that bug. The family member I am talking about is a new pet Betta fish.”
The above was written on my blog almost 4 years ago. I have archived my earlier blogging articles including this one. But this was a big deal for our family back then. Plus, we will never forget it. Since then, we have also added a golden retriever dog, Elsa, to our family. So, we aren’t strangers to pets in our home. Because of this, we still are a PetSmart family. Because this is where we go for all our dog’s needs. This includes food, treats, grooming, training, and more. Coincidentally on one of our most recent PetSmart visits, my girls ventured over to the fish side of the store. Then, they asked why we couldn’t get another fish.
I was on the fence at first. But then I decided that they are a bit older than they were that first time out. Plus we all learned from our earlier fish encounter. Back then I knew Betta fish were the easiest to maintain. But I still stayed away from Betta fish. Because as a kid I had these types of fish. See I found out the hard way that Betta fish can go after other Betta fish. So, Betta fish usually cannot be left in the same bowl together for this reason. On a related side note, this is how I ended up with about 20 fish. Plus I had a huge fish tank to go along with them. Why? Because my father didn’t have the heart to tell me one of my Betta fish ate the other Betta fish.
Thanks to a bit more research online specifically at Aqua Pet Pro to learn more. This time out, I actually ended up buying the girls one male new pet Betta fish for their hot pink girly fish tank.
Thankfully at this point, we have had no real issues. Plus, our new pet betta fish happily has been with us for a few weeks. He bypassed its fish predecessors from a few years back by far.
So, I am happy to share how we take care of our new pet Betta fish.
7 Ways to Care for Your New Pet Betta Fish
1. Pick out a new pet Betta fish.
There are a few things to consider when choosing a new pet Betta fish. These include color, responsiveness, fins condition or just being drawn to one over the other.
Honestly, I looked at about a dozen with the girls. And we couldn’t get past one pretty pinkish/red Betta fish. Why Because this fish appeared to be in good condition, as well as very animated, too.
Also you don’t want to put two male Betta fish together at all for the aggressive, obvious reasons. Therefore, I caution just sticking with one Betta fish. Plus one fish to start with is more than enough pet in my humble estimation for young kids.
2. Make sure to have a proper home for it.
They say a new pet Betta fish can live in a small bowl. But we decided to go with a small filtered tank that our Betta fish seems to be thriving in.
See I feel that a bit larger for fish is better as far as living space. So, that is why I recommend an inexpensive tank over a bowl.
Have a read of this post to find a decent 10 gallon fish tank filter for your tank.
3. Prepare the tank first.
Make sure that after you add tap water that you run the filter for a bit before adding your new pet Betta fish.
A cover isn’t necessary if you add at least 80% tap water. But better safe as a cover doesn’t hurt. Why? Because Bettas can be active and sometimes jump over 3 inches, as crazy as it sounds!
Plus you will want to buy a water conditioner, such as Prime. This is fairly inexpensive, but helps removes chlorine from tap water. Also, try not to use bottled water. Because it deprives your Betta of necessary minerals. Plus it is not fish ‘safe’. So treated tap water is both a cheaper and better alternative.
4. Now you are ready to add your Betta fish.
Slowly and carefully add your new pet Betta fish by tipping the container in which you received your Betta fish into the new tank. This allows the new water and old water to mix together. Also, this gives your Betta fish time to slowly acclimate to his new home and environment.
5. Feeding your Betta fish.
Betta fish primarily eat pellets and only 3 once daily. They truly don’t eat much. Plus, they are pretty easy as far as feeding goes.
6. Cleaning the tank.
This shouldn’t be done very often. Why? Because new pet Betta fish take time to acclimate to a new environment. But when you do, make sure to place your Betta fish in a container filled with old water while washing the tank.
Simply wash the tank with hot water. Because soap can hurt your Betta fish. You also want to leave about 25% of the old water in the tank and fill the rest with treated tap water again. Once this is done, then you can return your Betta fish to the tank.
7. Have fun with your new pet Betta fish.
Betta fish actually do come to know their owners. So it helps if you spend time in their presence and they are in a space where they have some face time with you. For this reason, we actually put the tank in our girls’ bedroom. Because they just love the added company, too. You can also help entertain your betta fish with fun toys.
There you have it: 7 simple ways to make a Betta fish into a very low-key but new pet member of your family.
For more Betta Fish help, please check out this infographic below now:
Melanie Loveday Madamba says
Awww. We had some betas YEARS ago!
Confessions of A Mommyaholic says
Yay for Bettas and will say they are relatively easy to take care of in my estimation.
Erin Dwyer Dymowski says
Love fish as family pets!
Confessions of A Mommyaholic says
Aw, me too!! 🙂
Christine Walker says
Aww, this made me miss our old Betta. He lived with us for several years and really did learn to know and love my son. It was devastating when he died. Thank you for these tips, I’m sure they’ll be useful to many families!
Janine says
Happy to share tips and very sorry, Christine to hear about your Betta fish, but thank you for sharing with me here today.
Christine Callister Walker says
Our Betta was a great pet!! We loved it!
Confessions of A Mommyaholic says
Aw, glad you loved your Betta fish, Christine 😉
Lauren Baker Cormier says
A fish is a good starter pet. We’ve been talking about getting a dog (your golden is beautiful!), but we still haven’t pulled the trigger because we know how much work they are. Maybe we should see how well the kids take care of a fish first 😉
Confessions of A Mommyaholic says
I agree about a fish being a great starter pet and thank you for the kind words about our dog, Elsa too 🙂
Kristen Miller Hewitt says
I needed this, I killed our betta. oops!
Confessions of A Mommyaholic says
Like I said been there and done that myself in the past, too!
Amanda || Growing Up Madison says
We are on Betta #2. Madison has always wanted fishes and we used to have a big tank when she was younger but no one wanted to take care of the fishes. I finally broke down around the end of last year and got her a Betta and left the responsibility of feeding to the kids. Big mistake. Betta #1 died and so I had to secretly replace #1 with #2. The good thing about Betta’s and gold fish, they are easily replaceable and you can’t even tell the difference, so she has no idea. Great guid for those wanting a fish.
Janine says
I couldn’t agree more and they are definitely easy and relatively expensive (as well) to replace if need be! 🙂
Meredith Spidel says
We’ve never had one and this is great to have because I’d have no clue!
Confessions of A Mommyaholic says
Aw, yay and so happy to help you. Hope you can get a Betta fish soon, too 🙂
Meredith says
Fantastic tips! My kids are always asking for a fish and I’m clueless, so this is such a help! Thank you 🙂
Janine says
So glad once again to share some tips with you and hope you can try to get a Betta fish for your kids soon, too now 🙂
Diane Roark says
Janine,
Kids and pets just go together, and I have found out the hard way moms do all the work. My kids did not help much when they were home, and now they are at college. Do not get me wrong; I believe every kid needs a pet. A PET, not a house full! We currently have two dogs after loosing my baby girl last November. Our oldest dog is an 8-pound toy poodle. He will be 18 years old this year and requires so much work. Every morning we wake up to a huge mess. He has to be hand feed and pick up and taken outside because he cannot walk. We have had so many animals over the years including fish. Our Betta fish did not survive hurricane, Katrina and everytime my son sees one reminds me that I owe him a fish. We could not take it with us. That was over ten years ago, and he is in college. Moms just cannot win! What we will do for our kids and animals.
I too LOVE Petsmart! What would we do without all their help, products, advice and grooming services?
Best wishes with your fish!
Blessings,
Diane
Janine says
Aw, thank you Diane and I know exactly what you mean about kids and pets – they just do go together! 🙂
Kristen says
I killed our betta fish. I never had time to clean the tank. Poor thing…I need to take your advice!
Janine says
Aw, Kristen, I am not going to lie, but I have also killed my fair share of fish in the past and that is why I had to do my research better for this time out now!
Kathy Radigan says
So cute! We have had a few Betta fish! They are beautiful and it was always sad when they went to the big fish tank in the sky! right now we have about 7 tropical fish but I would totally think about another Betta one day. Great pet to start out with. Thanks for the tips!
Janine says
I truly agree with you Kathy and sounds like though you have a good handle on pet fish, too though. Thanks also for sharing for me today, as well!! 🙂
Seana Turner says
Pretty amazing that these fish actually come to know their owners! My sister had one of these fish when here girls were little and I think they all really enjoyed it. I only had goldfish, but they lived a pretty long time. We also had 2 of those frogs that live in a fish tank of water – that is a long story!
Janine says
Sean, would love to hear that story sometime, but are that it is pretty amazing about these fish knowing their owners 🙂
Bill says
We had one when my son was growing up. That experiment didn’t last long. 🙂
Happy Monday my friend.
Janine says
I know the feeling, Bill as I said I have had my fair share in the past, too. Happy Monday once again, as well 🙂
karyn @picklesINK says
Aw, he’s a gorgeous colour! We had a beautiful blue betta for years who was originally the centerpiece at a friends’ wedding (cool idea right there – fishbowls with glass pebbles and bettas in her wedding colours!) We named him Eddie The Eagle The Fish after our favourite Toronto Maple Leafs goalie (there’s an age test for all you hockey fans). We actually had him in a communal tank – they will live happily with smaller schooling fish like neon tetras. Enjoy!
Janine says
Love that you got such a gorgeous fish as a wedding centerpiece from your friend and awesome name you chose, too!! 😉
Erin Curlett says
Thanks for this! I had a betta fish in college and managed to kill him within a week It was so sad and I felt like such a failure. It’s good to recognize what I could have done differently in case the kiddos want one someday.
Confessions of A Mommyaholic says
You are so welcome and I totally killed a Betta fish when I was much younger way before kids, too. So, let’s just say this was my own way to try to do things differently this time out, too 🙂
Alison Tedford says
My son loves his fish!
Confessions of A Mommyaholic says
Aw, yay to fish!! 🙂
Dara says
Gabbie wants a Betta!
Janine says
Aw, I hope Gabbie gets one soon!! 🙂
Jen says
So my 8 year old is begging for a Beta! I am almost ready to say yes and I love the tank you picked! So cute! Great tips too. I think I will make sure she reads this so she is ready for her job of caring for our new family member 🙂
Janine says
Jen, so glad this can help you all out and hope that your 8 year old is able to get a new fish soon, too!! 🙂
Jennifer | The Deliberate Mom says
This is awesome – and so informative.
My oldest daughter will have to care for a “small living animal” next year as part of her science curriculum. I’ve been considering a fish because it’s just so much easier than a hamster or bunny.
It may seem odd, but I pinned this to my Deliberate HOMESCHOOLING board for future reference.
Thanks so much!
xoxo
Janine says
Thank you Jennifer for pinning to your homeschooling board and seriously so glad you can use this hopefully there for future reference now!! 🙂
Whitney Lang Fleming says
We have one that we have kept alive for a year. I can’t believe it.
Confessions of A Mommyaholic says
I hope now with these tips I will be as successful, too 🙂
eli@coachdaddy says
We’ve never tried Bettas. After successful runs with goldfish, we traded up and went for mollies and platys. The mollies proved too tough to keep up, but the platys – and danios – are living the good life now. Good luck with your fish! Wait, what’s his name?
Janine says
The girls named him (yes finally a boy around here), Olaf – who’d have guessed! LOL 🙂
Leslie says
This brought back so many memories. I had a couple betta fish in college, though sadly they didn’t last too long. Looks like your daughters are doing a great job with this one. Hopefully it will last quite a long time!
Janine says
Aw, thanks Leslie and I know I have had my fair share of not so lucky moments in the past and got my fingers crossed this time out! 🙂
Jen Kehl says
Oh no…. I cannot do this…haha! I killed a whole tank of fish once!
Confessions of A Mommyaholic says
Shake my hand as I did this during Hurricane Sandy, too sadly! But hoping that now that I have taken time to do a bit of research will have better luck this time 🙂
Rabia @TheLiebers says
Our fish tank has gone through a few changes. We got some advice from a less-than-helpful pet store person who told us that a Tiger Barb would be okay with the rest of our fish. Turns out he beat them all up! We took him back and got a snail instead!
Janine says
Oh man boo to bad advice, but yay to happy snail instead though 🙂
Aunt Gloria says
I’m sure you will all enjoy your new addition to the family. Great idea for the girls to enjoy another pet. And this one doesn’t require walking! Have fun…..lots of love…..
Janine says
Aw, thanks Aunt Gloria and couldn’t have said it better myself. Love you too xoxo
Rea says
Ohhh so cute! I remember I’ve always wanted to have a pet fish. When I was a kid, all my cousins have big aquariums and colorful fishes and I envied them but I never really had even just one pet fish. Hehe. For sure your girls are thrilled!
Janine says
They totally just love their new fish, Rea 😉
Aunt Gloria says
I left a previous post and hope you saw it….anyway….enjoy the new addition to the household. I’m sure it will be fun for the girls. Love……
Janine says
Aw, thanks and I did see and respond to your last comment, too xoxo 😉
The Pinterested Parent says
I actually can’t believe that you just posted this. I just told my little that we would get her a beta for her bedroom. That is too funny. I will bookmark this for later.
Janine says
Aw, great minds think alike!! 😉
Chris Carter says
I bought my Cass a beta fish years ago, and oh my gosh- the weirdest thing happened. I swore our fish was depressed. I know, I know…
So I told Cass we needed to talk to it A LOT and encourage it every day.
We did.
It died.
lol. She sobbed and sobbed. It was traumatic for us all.
Seeing your post, makes me want another one. They are such cool fish!!
Janine says
Aw, poor Cass and that just broke my heart reading. Seriously, wish I could get her another myself that would make it for years now and put a smile at the very least on her face. Hugs <3
Comedy Plus says
I’ve had the worst luck with fish. Why? I don’t know, but it’s been so bad I won’t even consider fish. As for that lab…now that’s another story.
Have a fabulous day. ☺
Nellie says
quite honestly I am a TERRIBLE fish keeper, I had a few as pets when I was a kid and I couldn’t do it, they all died 🙁 I wish I could have done better!!
Janine says
Like I said, I definitely have had my own not so good issues in the past. So doing this research, I was hoping would help me this time out, as well as others, too 😉
Tamara says
Aw, that photo of Elsa just kills me. She’s adorable.
Linz will tell you that she had a betta fish she was quite fond of, and he lived for awhile. Sam.
It’s nice to share tips for a good life because pet loss is always hard for kids. And parents!
Janine says
Aw, thanks Tamara and smiling thinking about Linz’s fish, Sam, too 🙂
Kenya G. Johnson says
I’ve thought about getting just the one betta. Even though I’ve managed a full tank I am scared of getting just one fish. I’ll refer back to this post if I ever take the plunge.
I’m giggling about how pink that tank is.
Janine says
Aw, Kenya you know my girls, myself and pink, LOL!! 🙂
Jessie, FlusteredMom says
My daughter and my little brother both had bettas when she was five. My daughter’s fish died; she bawled, “I wish I would have taken out Uncle Bobby’s fish to pet instead!”
Janine says
Aw, I was totally picturing your girl saying this and sadly fish have a way of either outlasting them all or sadly not making it at all. Sorry to hear that hers was the latter case.
Kristi Campbell says
We had bad luck with fish but the tanks sure are pretty to look at. Congratulations on your new family member, Janine!
Janine says
Aw, thanks Kristi and Like I said earlier totally had our fair share of not so good luck here with fish in the past though, too sadly.
Bev says
What a beautiful fish! Good to know about them being aggressive toward each other if we ever get one.
Janine says
Thanks Bev and I know the aggressive behavior is something to definitely keep in mind.
Cynthia says
I had a Betta fish when I was growing up. Um…I can’t tell you exactly what happened to it – I have no idea! LOL. I do know that it didn’t live as long as I thought it would. So…when I got older I tried goldfish. They were a little more…I dunno…interesting for me to take care of because they grew so big. LOL.
Anyways, hope you’re well!
Janine says
Goldfish are definitely interesting and my own brother had one that we named, Fatty, as yes he did grow to be pretty large and well fat, too! Hope you are well, too and hugs to you 😉
Robert says
That’s so cute! I’m currently looking for a small tank for my grandson, the only problem is he wants a goldfish…
Let’s see how it goes. Thanks for sharing your experience!
Bob
Janine says
Aw, hope it goes good and got my fingers crossed now 😉