betta fish cups

[fishwish34]

Hi,
How long can betta fish stay in that little cup you buy them at the pet store in? I realize that they must be in a larger tank, but if you brought them home, acclimated them to your water in the cup, and changed the water frequently, would they be okay for a day or two? I have a 1.5 G tank, a filter that has been running for about 2 weeks in my cycled, larger tank, and a heater, but no gravel. I somehow managed to lose the 25 lb bag of gravel I bought for my other tank...how, I have no idea. So, I need to buy the gravel for the betta tank, and put it in, and then I was going to let it run for a day in order to make sure the temperature is right. I'd really like to just make one trip to the pet store, but I'm not sure if that's possible...
Also, for you betta people, what do you feed your betta fish? Regular fish flakes? Those special betta pellets?

Sorry to be so long winded! Any information is appreciated!

 

[riseabovethesun]

I'm not positive how long they can stay in cups, I'd like to say an extra day couldn't be too damaging, but who knows how long they have been stuck in the cup. I did notice some stores have some decent sized cups though (not that it's much better, but a hair) you could always put the betta in just a larger piece of glassware/tupperware thing for a day after figuring out the water situation.

As for food, I have info! Bettas eat meat! Mine loves blood worms and sometimes has brine shrimp (frozen not dried) they can get use to eating flakes if it is all that is given to them, but it really isn't a good diet. And I'm not positive what's in the betta pellets...

 

[Newman]

The betta pellets are arguably the same as goldfish pellets if you look at the hikari brand (Doom pointed this out earlier). Personally I feed the betta bio gold pellets by hikari as the staple diet. a store bout betta should eat those no problems. they may not eat flake but if they are hungry they will eat just about anything (mine eats spirulina flakes and even marine flakes but this is because he gets to swim around my community) but they should love bloodworms, especially frozen, and frozen and live brine shrimp. Also one time a week you can try to feed him a tiny piece of green pea, defrosted and without the shell obviously. this pea theoretically helps clean out the digestive tract. idk why bettas like them since it pure plant matter, but they sometimes just do. I also recommend not feeding the fish once a week for the same purpose as feeding him the pea. can probably reduce chances of constipation.

you can get away with keeping him in the cup for a few extra days if you need to.
Do you know what a betta will really appreciate? a 200gallon tank filled 5-6" with water

 

[unwritten law]

those bettas live in those cups for months.,.. you should see what they are shipped to the stores in.. bags with just enough water to cover.... we feed our bettas once a week when we change the water on the cups and we give them blood worms.

 

[Newman]

you should see what they are shipped to the stores in.. bags with just enough water to cover....

This is crazy! I was very surprised when my betta order from Thailand (thats right I bypassed the LFS lol) arrived with exactly what unwritten law describes, tiny bags and very little water. betta cant really turn around in there!

 

[Thyra]

Bettas apparently are pretty hardy fish from my experience. They really don't seem that energetic, for lack of a better word. Mine was in a 1 gallon bowl for almost 2 years before I read on this forum it was a no-no. I spent over $50 upgrading him to a 2 1/2g tank with filter, heater, light, substrate, etc. It took over a month before he started building bubble nests again - which he did daily in the vase. I read that bubble nests are a sign they are happy. Maybe they just feel more secure in smaller confines. Mine eats anything I give him.

 

[bassbonediva]

Hi,
How long can betta fish stay in that little cup you buy them at the pet store in?
Also, for you betta people, what do you feed your betta fish? Regular fish flakes? Those special betta pellets?

I've kept a few of mine temporarily in their little cups for several days while they're tank was being readied with no problems at all.

As far as food, I feed HBH color pellets (not a huge selection around here unless you want flakes, but none of mine will touch flakes and I hate how messy they are), supplemented with brine shrimp and bloodworms as a treat once a week.

Do you know what a betta will really appreciate? a 200gallon tank filled 5-6" with water

I have an interesting idea about doing something similar to this...

Bettas apparently are pretty hardy fish from my experience. They really don't seem that energetic, for lack of a better word. Mine was in a 1 gallon bowl for almost 2 years before I read on this forum it was a no-no. I spent over $50 upgrading him to a 2 1/2g tank with filter, heater, light, substrate, etc. It took over a month before he started building bubble nests again - which he did daily in the vase. I read that bubble nests are a sign they are happy. Maybe they just feel more secure in smaller confines. Mine eats anything I give him.

Ummmmmmm...must have just been your betta. All of mine are SUPER active in their larger (smallest is 6 gallons, largest is 10 gallons) tanks. Even Emmett, who is in the 6 gallon, is constantly zooming around. IMO/E, the larger the tank, the happier and more active the betta.

 

[fishwish34]

I'm sure a betta would love a 200 gallon tank...but I don't have that much space! Or money...The reason I want to use the 1.5 gallon is that I already have it--someone gave it to me awhile ago. But if isn't really appropriate for a betta, then I'll probably just get rid of it. It will have a heater and filter, if that helps at all.

 

[ValRasbora]

a 1.5 is fine as long as you are consistent with water changes and if they have a filter and a heater.. My betta imbellis pair live in a 15 gallon paludarium (see my sig for a link) but it's been lowered to about 7 gallons / 8". Recently[-ish] they've had fry!! Bettas prefer vast, shallow areas. If you look up rice paddies on google images you'll see what they actually live in. Often I'll go into a grocery store and see XL fruit bowls that would be absolutely perfect for a betta since they're very generally biig and low... one of these days I'll have to get one and turn it into a planted betta tank!

Anyways, on to your question.
Yes, generally bettas can stay in those cups for a couple days. I once bought a betta for my friend's birthday (don't worry!! I bought all the equipment and my friend was prepared!!) and I was carrying Oswaldo (his name was later changed to Violet... pfft) around while I did the rest of my shopping, he was in his little 3" baggie with 1" of water grumpily peering out of my pocket. He was fine, they are very hardy little fish! Just be sure to do lots of water changes and keep him somewhere with a steady temperature.
I feed my bettas a variety of foods... betta flakes, freeze-dried bbs (i ran out a while ago though), live bloodworms, live mosquito larvae, even VERY finely chopped eathworms (beware, it's quite disgusting).

Good luck with your new betta!