Content

• Steps
• Part 1 of 4: Choosing a Fish
• Part 2 of 4: Setting up your aquarium
• Part 3 of 4: Regular grooming
• Part 4 of 4: Dealing with Potential Fish Health Risks
• Warnings

Siamese fighting fish, or cockerels, are very popular as pets. They are easy to care for, and with the right conditions of detention, they can live with you for several years. In the wild, the average lifespan of such fish is two years. Nevertheless, when kept at home, the cockerel is able to live for four years or even more.

Steps

Part 1 of 4: Choosing a Fish

1. 1 Choose a healthy fish. Only purchase fish from a pet store or breeder that provides good maintenance for your aquarium. Of course, sometimes it is difficult to understand what the life of the fish was like before it was acquired. At the same time, it is impossible to know for sure what her age is and whether she is infected with any diseases. Sometimes fish in pet stores are kept in poor conditions, are stressed and can be sick. These factors can influence the early departure of your pet.
   • Healthy fish are usually more active than sick fish.
   • Note that there are no signs of physical injury.
   • Look for discolored spots that may indicate disease. But note that some varieties of cockerels are naturally spotted.
2. 2 Get a blue cockerel. Specialty cockerel foods contain ingredients that increase the color of red cockerels, but these same ingredients significantly increase the immunity of blue cockerels to disease. Red-colored stimulants are called carotenoids (orange dyes, like in carrots) and enhance the orange, red and yellow colors in the coloration of cockerels. However, blue individuals receive from them no more red tint, but a stronger immune system. Female cockerels even begin to give preference to blue males using these color stimulants.
3. 3 Buy a young fish. Many people don't even know the age of their fish. It is quite possible to buy a rooster that is already at the end of its life path, which will reduce the period of time that the fish can live with you. However, it should be noted that usually young fish are smaller, although this is not always the case. As the fighting fish grows older, it grows long fins, and the body becomes larger. While bettas can naturally vary in size, choosing a smaller fish is more likely to be young. If you want to be completely sure that you are buying a young fish, contact the Siamese fighting fish breeder directly.
   • Getting too small fry is also bad. They can more easily be shocked by a sudden change in conditions of detention.
4. 4 Pay attention to the condition of the water in which the cock is kept. See if the aquarium water is dirty. Look for food residues that may indicate that the fish is overfeeding or that it is not eating well. From the water conditions, you can easily spot signs of poor grooming, potentially shortening the life span of your future pet.
5. 5 Assess the condition of the rest of the fish. Just because your chosen rooster looks healthy, you cannot be completely sure that he will not pick up diseases from the aquarium water of the pet store. If it was kept in a common aquarium, it can also be infected from other fish. If you see that many of the fish around are unhealthy, then even your chosen cock may be sick.
6. 6 Do not purchase more than one fish at once. Despite the fact that sometimes it is possible to keep the cockerels together with other cockerels, all fish are somewhat different in character. To be completely sure that your fish will not be harmed, keep it in the aquarium alone and do not buy other fish for her for company, until you carefully study the issue of their compatibility.

Part 2 of 4: Setting up your aquarium

1. 1 Choose the correct size aquarium. Although many people claim to have a wonderful existence in small aquariums, these fish actually prefer water 30-60 cm deep, similar to the flooded rice fields where they usually live. Choose an aquarium with a volume of at least 8 liters so that your betta has enough room to swim. Smaller aquariums are not large enough for fighting fish.
2. 2 Plant some plants in your aquarium. Plants will be a wonderful addition to your aquarium. Many people choose artificial plants for their aquariums, as they do not require special care. Live plants, despite the need for care, can improve the quality of the water in which the fish is kept, by filtering and enriching it with oxygen. In any case, when choosing live and artificial plants, specimens with too hard or sharp leaves should be avoided. About them, the cockerel can injure its delicate fins. The following plants are safe for Siamese fish:
   • silk artificial plants;
   • live Thai fern;
   • live Christmas moss.
3. 3 Pour clean water into the aquarium. Water is one of the most important elements in your aquarium setup. Using water directly from the tap can kill your fish. Chemicals such as chlorine and other compounds used to purify tap water are very dangerous for fish. They can cause significant harm to the health of fish and shorten its life expectancy. For this reason, it is important to purchase a special conditioner for preparing the aquarium water before placing your pet in the aquarium. The water may also need to be allowed to sit for several days so that there is enough dissolved oxygen in it and the fish can breathe normally.
4. 4 Provide water heating (if required). The tap water usually does not match the temperature conditions that the cockerel needs.Since Siamese fighting fish are native to Southeast Asia, they prefer warm water. The ideal water temperature for them is 22-26.5 ° C. You may need to purchase an aquarium water heater to keep your fish healthy.
   • Warm water will make the fish more active and will also have a beneficial effect on its health.
   • Due to hypothermia, the cock may die.
   • When you first set up an aquarium and turn on the water heater for the first time, it will take some time for the water in it to heat up. Leave the aquarium with the heater on for a day or two before placing your fish in it.
   • It is also important to make sure that the water temperature in the tank matches the temperature of the water from which you are moving it, before placing the fish in the aquarium. Leave the bag or container with the fish to float in the aquarium exactly as long as it takes to equalize the temperature of the water, in order to avoid temperature shock when settling in, which can lead to the death of the betta.
5. 5 Match your cockerel with suitable aquarium mates. You can not keep a cockerel with absolutely any fish. Males are aggressive. Two males in the same tank will probably just kill each other. Despite the fact that female cockerels can sometimes be kept in purely female groups, there is still a risk that the fish will injure each other. Many people prefer to keep their males alone, but if you decide to choose peaceful companions for your fish, opt for compatible fish species, such as the ones below:
   • neons tetra;
   • ancistrus;
   • glass catfish.

Part 3 of 4: Regular grooming

1. 1 Create a maintenance schedule for yourself. Without constant proper care, your fish will die prematurely. Remember that fish cannot tell you that they are hungry or that the water in the aquarium has become dirty. To maximize your betta's lifespan, you must provide him with constant grooming. By making your own aquarium maintenance schedule, you will help yourself not to forget anything important.
2. 2 Feed your fish well. Feed the fish regularly. In this case, it is important to choose the right food for her. Many pet stores sell specialized food for fighting fish, but even then it will not be superfluous to check the composition of the purchased food. Avoid using foods that are predominantly fishmeal.
   • Many males do not like flake food.
   • At the same time, in most pet stores on sale you can find granulated feed for cockerels.
   • Frozen and frozen foods such as bloodworms and brine shrimp are excellent additions to pelleted feed for cockerels.
   • Feed your fish live food whenever possible. Research has shown that specialized dry pet food products start to have a negative impact on fish health when they exceed 25% of the daily diet. Only some males manage to get into such conditions of detention in which they are constantly fed with live food. But while it can be expensive and time consuming to feed your fish with live food, there are significant health benefits to the betta.
   • Get an automatic fish feeder in case you are planning to go on vacation so that the fish does not starve to death while you are away.
3. 3 Change the water in your aquarium regularly. You will need to periodically make a partial water change in your fish's tank. At the same time, the scale of water change depends on the size of the aquarium, as well as the presence or absence of a filter and living plants in it. Special test kits can be purchased to check the condition of the water. With them, you can be guaranteed to provide your cockerel with clean and healthy living conditions that maximize his potential life span.
4. 4 Don't forget to clean your aquarium. Algae can build up on the walls of your aquarium and need to be removed in order to maintain the quality of the water and good visibility for observing the fish. The rocks and sand in the aquarium will also need to be cleaned or replaced periodically. Waste from fish that accumulates at the bottom of the aquarium can provoke disease and destroy it. Filters can solve the problem, but even if they are available, you may still need to periodically clean the bottom of the aquarium from waste using a siphon.
   • Buy an aquarium siphon that will allow you to collect dirt and water from the bottom of the aquarium and drain it directly into a bucket.
   • Purchase a long-handled magnetic or regular glass scraper for your aquarium glass so you don't have to get your hands wet when scrubbing the algae.
   • Do not use soap to clean the aquarium. Good physical cleaning (no chemicals or detergents) is usually sufficient.
5. 5 Play with the fish. Because of the rather impressive display of fins in aggressive cockerels, many people like to use mirrors to force the cock to fluff up his fins and open his gills. Using the mirror too often can stress the fish. At the same time, if you use it in moderation and periodically, it will not harm the cock. Research has shown that although the winners in betting males tend to consume more oxygen, there is no significant effect on the health of the fish from displaying fins. If you show the cock a mirror, this will provide him with some physical activity, and also make him less aggressive towards other fish (through a kind of stimulation).

Part 4 of 4: Dealing with Potential Fish Health Risks

1. 1 Do not ignore the symptoms of discomfort. In many cases, the health of a fish can be judged by its appearance. There are many symptoms that can indicate the disease. Examine the fish periodically to make sure it looks healthy. This way you don't have to watch your fish suffer from serious diseases afterwards. Look for the following symptoms:
   • loss of appetite;
   • the desire to itch against stones or plants;
   • laying on the bottom of the aquarium;
   • swimming upside down or on the side;
   • white excrement;
   • tarnishing of color;
   • the appearance of white spots.
2. 2 Check the water quality. You can check the water quality yourself using tests purchased from the pet store. You can also take a water sample and take it to the pet store for analysis under the supervision of a professional consultant. Performing a water analysis is one of the best ways to determine the underlying source of fish health problems. It can help identify water imbalances that are causing your betta to feel unwell.
3. 3 Maintain the water temperature in the aquarium at 26.5 ° C. If the water is too cold, the cock may get sick. It is best to keep the aquarium at a temperature of 26.5 ° C, which is by no means optimal for many diseases. This will slow down the development cycle of certain diseases, such as ichthyophthyroidism, and will also help strengthen the fish's immune system.
4. 4 Clean the tank and change the water if the fish is sick. Unsurprisingly, your entire tank is contaminated if your fish gets sick. In this case, do not be too lazy to clean the gravel and the walls of the aquarium, as well as change the water in it. Do not use detergents when doing this, as they can kill your fish.
5. 5 Separate the cock from sick fish or fish that may injure him. Not only cockerels are capable of offending other fish, they themselves can suffer from the attack of aggressors and, like any other animals, pick up diseases from each other. For this reason, it is important to isolate healthy and diseased fish from each other. It is helpful to keep a spare quarantine tank on hand for such an occasion.

Warnings

• Do not place rocks or shells in the aquarium that you purchased from anywhere other than a pet store, otherwise they can compromise the quality of the aquarium water, which, in turn, could kill your fish.