# Do Beta's prefer the light or dark?



## brwnidgrl15 (Jan 28, 2008)

I have a male Beta and was wondering if they prefer light or dark. He lives in a one galon tank with a filter a light and a little hiding place.=)


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## bettababy (Oct 12, 2006)

If the room your betta is in gets daylight, this can be plenty for the fish. Live plants will need artificial light in most cases. Be careful with temp fluctuations from a light fixture over such a small tank. The temp differences from light/dark can be drastic enough to cause death in any fish. Adding a heater to the tank will help to ensure that the dark hours are just as warm as light hours... and fluorescent lighting puts out much less heat than incandescent. Is there one long bulb in this light fixture or 2 small screw in bulbs?


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## brwnidgrl15 (Jan 28, 2008)

it looks like a night light bulb my room is always the same temp because i have my own heating system and when i touch the water it feels perfect swimming water for me its luc warm.
p.s. is there anything other then the pellets that bettas could eat?


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## bettababy (Oct 12, 2006)

First of all, it sounds as if it's possibly incandescent, which will fluctuate the water temp drastically enough to cause harm in a betta. Without a thermometer, there is no way to know how much of a fluctuation is happening, or even when. Fingers don't make good thermometers.
It's good that the room temp is warm, but that also will not keep the water stable in temp, so a thermometer is very important, I would strongly suggest you invest in one. The stick on ones go on the outside of the tank/bowl, above the gravel line and below the top water line. They're easy to read, accurate, and inexpensive. Look with one that has a range from 70 - 90 degrees. These are your danger zones... but anytime you see a fluctuation of more than 1 degree, this is reason to be concerned and hard on the fish.
For other foods you can try daphnia, live black worms, frozen blood worms, live or frozen brine shrimp, and small ram's horn snails. Most bettas will eat most of these foods, and if they are alternated (a different food each day) you'll be sure he's getting the best in nutrition.


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## Blaxicanlatino (Jan 28, 2008)

Dis may be a stupid question but... How do you feed the betta frozen food like frozen brine shrimp?

I usually feed mine that hakura bio gold, triop shrimp pellets, and fresh dead young triops


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## bettababy (Oct 12, 2006)

Not a stupid question. The only stupid question is the one that isn't asked. Take a small cup, fill it with about 1/2 - 1 inch of water (if from the tank or bowl that's better as it will be room temp and no chlorine from the tap). Put a very small amount of the frozen food into the cup and let it sit for about 15 minutes. The trick is to be sure it's completely thawed and not cold when you feed it to your fish. When it appears thawed, add another 1/2 - 1 inch of tank/bowl or luke warm water, to raise the temp slightly. Let sit for another 5 minutes. If it's something like brine shrimp you can strain it through a net, pouring the water down the drain and putting the food into the tank/bowl. I will pour the whole amount of water into my tanks/bowls, but I do daily water changes, so the waste is accounted for. 
Does that help?


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## Blaxicanlatino (Jan 28, 2008)

ooohhhh 8) thanks. is it weird that my betta fish makes poping sounds when i enter the room???


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## bettababy (Oct 12, 2006)

Not at all weird. You're learning about how interactive a betta can be when it has attention and love along with proper care. Bettas are smart, social, and I have seen pepple train them to jump through hoops and such for their food. I won't suggest people do that as its not easy and can lead to a fish jumping out of a tank/bowl when you're not there to watch it, but the point is, your fish is interacting with you, sounds to me as if you're doing something very right!


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## Blaxicanlatino (Jan 28, 2008)

tight!!! 8) 
what kinda betta you have?


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## bettababy (Oct 12, 2006)

I have had many over the past 10 yrs... bred many... right now I have a simple red male betta splendins that is about 4 1/2 yrs old... and still going strong!


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## brwnidgrl15 (Jan 28, 2008)

thx all im buying a thermometer asap 
also wat kind of face does ur beta make while making popping sounds?


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## bettababy (Oct 12, 2006)

Honestly I must say, I've never paid much attention to any possible changes in "facial expression" because fish don't have facial muscles like people do, where they can control expression outside of moving the eyes and opening the mouth. If you watch, you will probably see your fish appear to bite at the water's surface or take in air, which is what causes the sound.


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## Blaxicanlatino (Jan 28, 2008)

the fish just makes a plain neutral face. They begin to gain personalities and socialize wit owners!!! 8)


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