glumshoe:

baesexydemon:

glumshoe:

I’m… really torn between buying a betta that looks healthy and beautiful (my favorites are halfmoon plakats) from a store I like, or trying to acquire an unloved, possibly ugly one for free and attempting to nurse it to health with medicine and good care, partly so I feel like I’m doing something objectively kind and partly so I can get some basic experience dealing with sick fish.

Why not both

Setting up one tank is expensive enough. I definitely don’t have the money for two.

Bettas really don’t need complicated setups. You can have a very happy betta with just

• Tank (5gal or more)
• Lid
• The cheapest light you can find (for moss)
• Heater
• Any substrate
• Java moss and/or Java fern
• Depending on quantity of above, driftwood, rocks, and/or other suitable structures to add hiding places
• Maybe some catappa or live oak leaves for tannins

and that’s it. The above plants are extremely easy to grow, especially Java moss. Just put it in a tank with the fish and keep the light on for a few hours a day. I know you’re going for an all-out fancy planted tank, but bettas don’t need all-out fancy to be happy, they just need clean, warm water and a few places to hide. 

They especially like having something that’s just below the surface of the water that they can flop on. Take a plastic leaf from a fake plant, stick the base into a suction cup, and suction it half an inch below the surface of the water or less. Your betta will happily flump on it.