Do Betta Fish Make Good Pets For Kids?

It was 3 a.m., and I couldn’t sleep. I was thinking about our fish, the beautiful betta dubbed Pumpkin by my seven-year-old daughter, who’d coveted him for months before we conceded. We were determined to do right by Pumpkin. Bettas need at least five gallons to thrive, so we opted for ten. We bought a variety of high-quality foods, including flakes, bloodworms, daphnia (or water fleas, which act as a natural laxative) and mysis shrimp.

Before bringing Pumpkin home, we kick-started what's called the nitrogen cycle, getting the balance of chemicals and good bacteria just right for our fish. And then it was time for our first water change. That’s when things went down the drain, along with the beneficial bacteria I too rigorously siphoned from the bottom of our tank’s gravel.

The test kit we purchased showed that the water was spiked like the punch at a holiday company party. Toxic nitrite made it unsuitable for a person or beast. The local pet shop said to protect my fish, I’d have to continue to do water changes to decrease the toxicity until the water stabilized. I could also add a chemical to temporarily detoxify the ammonia and nitrite that, in high concentrations, could cause buoyancy issues, gill burns, damage to fins, lethargy, decreased appetite and death.

So, here I was at 3 am, gently siphoning out some more water, just as I’d done before bed.

Betta fish are not easy pets

You see, keeping a betta is not easy. No matter what a pet shop clerk says. No matter what the friend of your kid's friend says about their thriving betta in a bowl. No matter that they’re marketed as the goldfish of our kids’ time. The quintessential starter pet with brightly flowing fins is found by the dozens, floating in tiny cups lined up on your pet store’s shelves.

Their care is often misrepresented due to a common myth that claims wild bettas live in muddy puddles in Southeast Asia, thanks to a labyrinth organ that allows them to breathe atmospheric air along with oxygen processed through their gills. “Although they are sometimes found in these spots,” says Susanna Ogle, an exotic vet at Harvest Pointe Vet in Edmonton, “that does not mean it’s their main habitat or where they’re healthiest.”

Almost 50 percent of the fish appointments at Harvest Pointe involve betta fish, which Ogle says speaks to the strong bonds people have with them. And while their care should not be left to young children—it’s far too difficult—kids can benefit from seeing the amount of responsibility involved in keeping a betta, says Ogle. Many older children, especially, love bettas and often come to see Ogle with detailed logs that show their tank’s water parameters.

Bettas are highly intelligent

Bettas are beloved for good reason; not only are they beautiful, they’re also highly intelligent and can recognize their owners, defend their territories, and even learn tricks. This superior cognitive ability means they do better with at least five gallons of filtered, heated water full of enrichment, such as plants and décor, according to a recent Cambridge University Press study. Even with the extra space, they’re also better off without a tank mate, as their scientific name, Betta splendens—which translates to beautiful fighter—insinuates. All of this equates to far more expense than one might expect. Forget the bowl and mini ornament. We spent at least a few hundred dollars on the initial setup.

Maintaining water quality is a full-time job

A bigger tank also helps with juggling the complexities of maintaining water quality, says Ogle. If you have a really small space, toxins build up much quicker. But it’s also imperative that the tank establishes beneficial bacteria so that random toxic spikes do not occur between water changes.

If you Google “how to cycle a fish tank,” you can spend hours swimming through the depths of conflicting reports. The gist is simple: eventually, enough beneficial bacteria develop to convert toxic ammonia and nitrite into less toxic nitrate. But in practice, there are many ways to get there. You can do a fishless cycle by adding an ammonia source (either something like fish food or liquid ammonia) or by using medium (some old gravel or part of a filter) seeded with beneficial bacteria from a healthy, established tank. Or you can do a fish-in-cycle, but you’ll need to carefully monitor your water either using test strips or a liquid test kit, because an imbalance is often why fish are injured or die in a new tank.

Cleaning the tank requires expert-level care

Once the tank is established, you need to be careful not to over clean like I did. You might also crash your cycle if you: replace the filter (even disposable filters can be reused by cleaning in old tank water), clean the filter in chlorinated water, over feed your fish (they only need as much food as they can eat in about a minute; the rest should be taken out of the tank), or forget to put chemicals in the water to remove chlorine, according to betta rescuer, Jess Pfeifle of Betta 4 Betta Rescue.

Pfeifle has rehabilitated fish from individuals who struggled to provide adequate care, along with big box stores—the cramped conditions can lead to health issues for bettas. The pet industry often treats them as disposable—our pet store gave us a guarantee we could get another one if ours died in 30 days—Pfeifle says that whole narrative is toxic.

“You want to foster respect for life. So, you’re setting your fish up for success, and you’re setting your child up for success,” she says, adding that for fish to not just survive but thrive, we need to look beyond just the quality of the water.

What bettas need to thrive

Bettas are native to Southeast Asia, and while the species you commonly find in big box pet stores have been selectively bred for hundreds of years, they still do best with elements from their original natural environments—heated water, live plants and hiding spots included. They may be domesticated, but Pfeifle says she likes to tell potential pet owners that their role will be closer to a zookeeper. After all, you’re recreating a habitat, not simply an enclosure, says the Pfeifle, who wrote a kid-friendly ebook to help new betta keepers.

Deciding on décor for the tank was one of my child’s favourite tasks. But there were many considerations—sharp plastic can damage delicate betta fins. Real plants or soft silk ones are the best choices. And bettas love little caves where they can rest.

Jaime Bechberger, of Betta Life Rescue and Sanctuary in Ontario, recommends decorating a fish’s tank over a period of weeks by really observing the betta’s behaviour. Each fish is different—some may like resting or hiding spots in certain places.

As for Pumpkin, eventually the water parameters stabilized. He wags his fins with delight, coming to the front of the glass for his favourite treats, carefully delivered one-by-one by my daughter. The excitement over Pumpkin’s arrival has dulled for my kid, but my enthusiasm has increased so much that we now have a second tank cycling. It’s a lot of work, but like any pet, it’s worth it.

Betta care tips, if you're ready for the responsibility

• If you’re committed to properly caring for a betta, look into adopting one from a local betta rescue rather than buying from big box stores, where they’re often kept in poor conditions before purchase.
• Always gently acclimatize a betta to a new tank by floating its container in the new tank for about 20 minutes and then gently pouring a small amount of water in before releasing it into its new home.
• Beneficial bacteria often live in your filter, so only replace it if it’s completely falling apart. Otherwise, you can rinse it in some old tank water, but never in untreated tap water.
• Be careful when you clean gravel. Many experts recommend just cleaning one section at a time during each water change to maintain the right balance of bacteria.
• Never completely remove the water from your tank during a water change, and never remove the gravel and rinse it. It’s generally recommended for a 10-gallon tank to do a 25 percent water change every two weeks or a 10 percent water change every week. Always treat new water with a dechlorinator, and always try to match the temperature to the existing water.