Betta in the wild would eat insect larva like mosquitos etc so they need a diet that mimics that. Betta flakes are good as a staple but the more varied their diet, the better. You can get bloodworm in jelly, Tetra make it in little tubes that you squeeze out into the water. They should go down pretty well as a treat Live food once in a while will be good for them too.

Getting the right amount of food can take practice, I would start out with a small pinch of food and see how he goes.

Don't know if there's anything else to tell you about bettas, they like it warmer than most fish, about 25C is good. Also, don't hold a mirror up to the biorb, it does look funny when the fish flares its fins but it stresses it out.

I would do as much reading as you can about fishkeeping so that you can avoid any potential problems, here's a step by step guide to water changes that you might find useful- LINK

Sorry a few more questions regarding betta fish. Don't want to mess this up!

When i was looking at the fish at the pet shop the assitant said that tropical fish flakes would be fine for the betta. But i have been reading up and they prefer mosquito larva, shirmps and worms etc. But If you don't want to go down the live feed route or frozen live feed. You can feed them freeze dried blood worms. So shall i take back the the tropical fish flakes and pick up some freeze dried blood worms and some betta pellets instead?

Also i have read not to feed them one day a week to help them clear out their system.

And not to over feed them. Which is obvious but what is a 'feed' for a betta? How much is enough. It says as much food as they can eat in 2 minutes so do you give them a little and they eat that really quickly you give them a little more until the 2 minutes is up?

Anything that you think that is important that i know please point it out, even if it is blindingly obvious as i am new to this!

(I do know to remove any uneaten food after the two minutes)

No problem, hope it goes well! Can't believe the box says only 24 hrs, fish tank manufacturers are unbelievable

Thank you That article is very helpful. Especially reagarding the cycling of the tank. Will def be leaving it longer than the 24 hours advised on the box!

Also the infomation on cleaning and not changing the filter.

Thanks again

OK well. If you are VERY careful then you will be able to keep just one betta in there but you will need to do a few things.

1. Chuck out the biorb instructions. They are a work of pure fiction, the company seem to think that biorbs have some kind of magical powers and the laws of nature do not apply to them. This is rubbish. Have a read of this- LINK

2. Make sure you do a proper fishless cycle. As I said before, this can take up to 6 weeks but it's VERY VERY important especially in a small tank like a biorb. Instructions how to do it are HERE

3. Good luck and enjoy it!

I wont be bale to return it. I purchased it online and i've opened everything and set it all up already. Its already been running for a day.

Littlemissbliss, please try and return the biorn. they really are not all they are cracked up to be. the filtration currents confuse the natural swimming patterns of some fish, and tbh, they really are not worth the money!
you could get yourself a really decent tank for the money you have just spent, so do try and return it!

Any chance you can still return the Biorb? For the same money you could get a much better and bigger tank that would be more suitable for a betta.

They are often kept in small tanks or sometimes glass cubes in a pet shop, however this is temporary and is not suitable for long term care.

Bettas are anabantids which means they have a special organ that allows them to breath air from the surface. In the wild this helps them survive the dry season in small pools. Unfortunately many people think that this means they can be kept in those kind of conditions permanently. TBH I thought betta vases were illegal I haven't seen them in the UK for years thank god. There are so many reasons why they are awful, if you have time have a read- LINK

Oh no Haven't been on mumsnet for a while as have been busy and have ordered and received the biorb 30l and set it all up with plants etc....

Haven't bought fish yet as leaving the tank for a week before adding the fish as recommended in the pet shop.

I am only going to get ds a single betta. Not gold fish as i first thought.

Is is cruel to keep a single betta in a biorb?

In the pet shop they are kept in a small box tank with a single plant. Also i have read that people keep betta in vases? So would have though a 30l tank for such a small fish would have been great?...... Oh no.

I'm planing to do a 20% water change weekly. I don't mind the hassle of cleaning the tank and changing the filters.

Fish are the only pets that i'm happy for ds to have as i really dislike dogs and cats. (the neighbours have a cat which ds talks to through the fence, so that's enough for me! lol)

Not really sure what to do now.
We can't afford another tank.

Get as big a tank as you can afford whether its for goldfish, a betta or tropical. Goldfish are quite dirty fish so actually need more space than tropical. I would advise a tropical tank, with adequate filtration and a small heater. Then get some easy to keep community fish like Platys. The advantage with livebearer fish like platys and guppies is that they give birth to live fry and if you have a few plants in the tank a few of the babies will survive and grow up. A nice intro to the facts of life for DC.

My son has a tank in his room, with a few platys and guppies and was thrilled when he saw the babies.

You must keep up your weekly or fortnightly water changes though, when you clean the filter, no matter which fish you buy. It is quite true about setting up the tank before hand to mature the filter but there are several ways to do this.

Get a good book on the subject and read the fish forums. Can I recommend initially Fishkeeping for Dummies, or the Tankmaster series on Coldwater fish, or tropical fish?

They arent as easy as you think to keep, I started with just one tank, realised it wasnt big enough and at one time I had 5 tanks running as I had read up on the subject and realised I needed more space. Do get some live plants too. I used to think you could just put a goldfish in a bowl and clean it weekly, but these days that has been found to be cruel. The bowl distorts the fishes view on the world, its cramped, he can only swim round and round, and he has to live in his own excrement if you dont have a filter.

Avoid the biorbs though, unless you want some dead fish to explain to the children. When I downsized my fishkeeping, I did it so I could get the family a much wanted puppy. Despite what you think, the puppy is less trouble!!

If you want to know anything else, please get in touch.