This is Thumbelina! We also call her Venus (she has 2 mystery snail tank mates named Jupiter and Pluto). She’s feisty, full of spirit and is a very curious lil lady. I’ll be changing out her substrate and adding another plant sometime this upcoming week (meant to do it sooner) – got the water tested and everything is looking great so far! If anyone has any tips, I’m all for it! I want to be the best fish mom for this gal. At some point I’ll probably get her a bigger tank too.
I also have another tank set up with plants getting ready for a male betta by the end of this week (the tanks are apart) so stay tuned for another introduction soon!
P.S. I’m new to fish keeping but have been doing a lot of research on bettas to make sure I’m doing things right. I want my babies to live their best lives! Please be kind but do extend some constructive criticism if you have any – I’m always learning. Thank you!
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Posted by onabanona
2 Comments
She’s very pretty! Just be mindful to watch your water levels this month, as your tank will begin cycling.
Are you planning on breeding the male and female? If so I would wait a while and do a lot of extensive research, and prepare to have a LOTTT of babies. Breeding is not recommended for beginners :>
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She’s so pretty! Welcome home Thumbelina!
I know you’ve got some plans to get a bigger tank, but it’s really not something that can wait! You also definitely need your own water testing kit. Water quality is something you need to monitor daily with a new tank because it can be unpredictable and hurt your fish within a matter of hours, *especially* in a very small tank!
just adding a few more things that *are not optional* and will injure or kill your fish within days to weeks if not provided, in case you haven’t heard them yet:
– a heater (bettas are tropical fish and their immune systems have a hard time fighting off even opportunistic environmental infections when not around 78-82F/25.5-28C)
– 5 gallons of water just to themselves with no other tank mates, or larger if you have snails or shrimp or other fish with them
– a filter (do NOT change the “cartridge”/media! just rinse in used tank water if they start getting too clogged for water to flow)
– regular water tests
– food that includes a little variety like frozen mysis shrimp or daphnia
she will really enjoy the plants you’ll add!! Good luck!