Info on Betta water monitoring

[lostnconfused]

I've never known anyone who has had a betta tank or bowl to monitor there tank/bowl. I did run a test on mine today though, and did a water change (I changed all the water, its a 1 gal..) should i have changed all the water? Are they as affected by the ammonia as other fish? Also, my betta has a blue/purple body with same color fins with red in them also, but his head is white/spotted... he's one of those ones that you get at wal mart in the little cup (poor things) so I dont know if he has some problem, or if some look that way. I've seen some like that, then i've seen the ones with the same color head.Any advice?thanks

 

[echoofformless]

Bettas are just as sensitive to ammonia as other fish. In some cases, even more so.

Always change 100% of the water if you keep a betta in a bowl without a filter. You should do that at the very, very minimum once a week.

Now, make sure you keep the water next to the betta's bowl so the temperature is the same. Try to use water from the same consistent source to ensure that it's parameters won't be too different. (ph, hardness, etc)

What I do is actually to have extra bowls to make the change a snap. You dechlorinate the water, pour it into the empty bowl, net the betta, and just put him right in. Then you empty and clean the dirty bowl and just use it in the rotation next time around. Less stress on the fish and less work for you.