Betta fish, also known as Betta Splendens and Siamese fighting fish can be popular pets because they are friendly, interactive and can have low costs for maintenance and care. Betta fish can live for up to four years and there are some simple steps that you can follow in how to take care of betta fish so that your fish will stay happy and healthy and with you for a long time.

Before you purchase a betta fish, an important point to remember in how to take care of betta fish is what equipment that you will need to make sure that your betta fish remains healthy. You will need:

1. A 5-10 gallon fish tank

2. A filter

3. A heater

4. Water conditioner such as chlorine

5. A fish net

6. Betta fish food which is high in protein

7. Smooth stones or gravel which cover the bottom of the tank

8. Ornaments to decorate your tank as well as places for betta fish to rest on so that they do not drag their fins on the bottom of the tank and leave them prone to fin rot.

Once you have all of these items, then you are now ready to know how to take care of betta fish. The first important step in how to take care of betta fish is to prepare the home of your betta fish and you should take some of these points into consideration:

When choosing a home, you should remember that in the wild betas come from Thai rice paddies and they are capable of living in quite shallow but spacious environments. When choosing a tank for your betta, you should remember to give your fish a good sized tank to help prolong life expectancy and more water is obviously better. If you are keeping your betta fish with other fish then you should use a tank which holds at least ten gallons of water. And remember- larger fish tanks will enhance the betta’s quality of life.

You should also decorate your betta fish tank and you should remember that one of the betta’s better known features is that it can breathe oxygen in the air and the water so you do not need to worry about aeration. You should decorate the tank with colored stones or gravel, silk plants and even a cave structure so that the betta can hide, remember the more creative the living space the happier the betta will be. Add a filter and a small heater to take care of betta fish.