I just bought a betta fish today... Have no idea how to take care of one...

I have a round fish bowl.. My friend said to put bottled water in it, not distilled. My question is: is there a difference between purified water and distilled, or are they the same? Cause I have Aquafina bottled waters...

Second question.. I'm told if I put a plant in it, It means they can stay in there for months without me changing water... I have a bamboo plant, already in it's vase.. Do I just plop it in there with the water it has, or do I have to wash it and put it in new water? (that sounds like a stupid question, but I really have no clue)

and If I have to change the water how often should I change it?

Is about food: I bought some pellets for it, the lady said feed them one pellet once a day... That seems like so little, is she correct?

also I was told depending on what you feed them they can change colors?

Sorry for asking so many questions... I just want to make sure I dont end up killing him.

-Ferdinand

Hi Ferdinand,

Welcome on board. Where are you from? I am asking where are you from actually is to find out the water condition near yr place. As i know, the water from pipe can be the drinking water in US and some other countries. But this is not apply to Malaysia.

You can use RO water or mineral water or rain water to keep yr betta. Betta normal is tough and able to survive in any water condition. If you scare of water is not clean or safe for your betta. Perhaps, you can get a bottle of antichlorine or a bottle of water condition. Just follow the instruction at the bottle to dose.

About the plants...i got no idea what bamboo plant you talking about. But make sure that is aquatic plant. Some aquatic plant will grow inside yr bowl very well. But not those plant which we grow outdoor.

About the food for betta, it is depending on what is the size of yr pellet. If big, one piece is good enough. If small n thinny one. you can give few more. But make sure your betta finish it. Otherwise the left over will turn into ammonia n kill the fish.

And yes...some hormon pellet available in market to enhance the color of fishes. But i m into biotope or natural habitat. I believe you give them a suitable water condition n environment. they will grow healthy and color will turn out nicely.

Do look up these website for care of bettas:
http://www.plakatthai.com/index.html
http://www.bettysplendens.com/articles/home.asp

There is a difference in distilled and purified water. In the layman’s point of view, distilled water is very very pure water (i.e. contains no solid impurities, and little, if any electrolytes = minerals, salts etc), made through distillation, where the water is boiled and the condensed steam collected to result in distilled water (in rough sense). This is not so suitable for aquatic life to thrive in.

Purified water is water where the more solid components of impurities, like bacteria, silt, etc has been removed, but leaving the mineral content untouched. One example of purified water is water purified through Reversed Osmosis. It is very pure, but not up to that required by science labs. Bottled water should be ok for use. If you’re not sure, then add in some anti-chlorine or water conditioner, just as Dom said.

As Dom mentioned, use only aquatic plants, and not land plants. Some examples are Elodea, water hyacinths, water lettuce, water ferns etc. Do note that some of these plants are classed as aquatic weeds, and so be careful when and where you dispose excess plant materials. Never flush then down the drain, or release them into water ways. Turn them into mulch for your garden instead.

Water changes depend on the situation. Generally, once every 4-5 days would be best. Change the water as soon as it seems cloudy, or smells. If it smells, that is usually quite bad, meaning that the fish has been overfed, leaving uneaten food particles to rot and turn the water anaerobic (oxygen depleted).

The rest are as Dom said.