How to Transfer Betta Fish From Cup to Tank
As an ornamental fish, bettas are loved by many fish keepers. Like many other aquarium fish, bettas require special care in the aquarium, especially when transferring fish from cup to tank. When you first take your bettas home (usually in small cups or plastic bags when you buy them from an aquarium store), do not put them in a new tank. First, you need to get used to the new environment so that your fish can survive the transition from a cup (or plastic bag) to a tank.
Procedure to transfer Betta fish from cup to tank:
Betta Tank Accessories:
- Bettas especially have places to hide for female betta fish, so providing a hiding place in your aquarium will help keep your fish happy.
- If you plan to cram your betta tanks with any plants, use only live plants or plants specially formulated for beta use, as hard plants can damage Betta’s beautiful but delicate fins.
- You can also add aquarium gravel or sand to the bottom of the tank, but this is not completely necessary.
- In other words, they thrive better in aeration tanks as long as air bubbles are used to diffuse the airflow.
- Betta aquariums must have some kind of cover to keep the fish from popping out.
- Tanks should not be more than 80% full. Because when these fish get excited, they can jump out of water 3 inches above the surface. You want to make sure your pet doesn’t get injured by bumping into the tank lid.
Betta tank sizing:
- Bettas are rather aggressive fish, but that doesn’t mean your pet must absolutely live alone.
- Males Bettas tend to fight similarly to other male and female bettas, male bettas can be added to one common tank for other aggressive fish species.
- On the other hand, up to five beta females can be kept contemporaneously in relative harmony in a typical tank called “sorority”.
- The fighting problem comes into play when two males are in the same tank, or whenever a male betta fish is placed in a common tank with other betta fish such as cichlids, tetras or barbs.
- The tank size is determined by the number of fish you want to keep. One beta lives happily in a tank, and three or four females need a well-planted 10-gallon tank to provide a sufficient amount of personal territory.
- It’s a good idea to first familiarize your beta with the aquarium before putting the fish in it. This is done through a process called floating.
- Once the water is ready and conditioned in the tank, place the Betta on top of the water (while in the bag at the store).
- When you bring the Betta home, transfer the water and fish in a plastic bag.
- Floating the bag gently accustoms the fish to the temperature of the water in the tank, which reduces the initial stress.
- The bag should float for about an hour.
- After this time, add a little tank water to the bag and float a little more to give the fish a chance to adapt to the change.
- After about 30 minutes, the fish can be released into their new home.
How to clean a Betta tank:
Bettas love to swim in clear water.
- The tank should be thoroughly cleaned once a week using fresh, clean water and an aquarium.
- Do not use soap to clean any part of the tank or its accessories as trace amounts of soap can be fatal to this species of fish.
- Also, remove and replace about 20% of the water in your tank every week to get rid of toxins.
Advice:
In the same tank you should not keep two male bettas. They will fight to the death. If the filter is too strong, turn it off until you find a way to block it. Bettas do not like running water and are stressed out when they encounter moving water. Reduce stress by turning off the tank lights as you adjust to your new tank. You can actually install a water filter, but to reduce the flow of water, keep the filter low or put a sponge filter in the outlet.