Simaese fighter fish

[redrobbin]

I am looking into the possibility of getting one of these amazing looking fish.

I already have two fish tanks and was talking to the fish keeper at pets at home today as I have always been amazed by these fish. Pets at home by me have just started stocking these and they look beautiful. She acted knowledgeable but she seemed to give conflicting advice on what I had previously read so I'm going to ask the same questions here.

What size tank would this fish suit comfortably? Not looking to upgrade so I want to get it correct and not have to get a bigger set up 6 months down the line.

I have a sturdy cabinet set up in my office that is next to electric but it will need internal filtration.

What setup would best suit this fish, does it need places to hide? Can it have a planted tank or would silk plants work?

Do I need to be careful about what decor goes into the tank because of the flowing fins?

What food does it eat? I have seen specialist betta pellets but the lady in pets at home said tropical pellets are best?

We spent a lot of money on a tropical set up from Pets at home followed all their advice regarding what to buy and we had a Japanese fighting fish and some of those tiny ones with a little blue stripe (whatever they are called) all were dead within 2 months. Do you have an independent pet store or specialist aquatic centre nearby to give you some better advice and probably buy healthier fish from.

Yes I have a very good LFS that are very knowledgeable. I will pop in and bend their ear.

Don't worry I won't be purchasing any fish from pets at home after a few years ago them selling us 2 fancy goldfish for a 30 liter tank telling us they won't grow any bigger. Yeah right, we ended up upgrading to a 250L tank within two months.

I will never buy fish / animals from them, just go in for food occasionally now.
I do not want to make that mistake again.