Silk vs Plastic Plants for a Betta: Which Actually Damages Fins?
Silk plants are the safer default for betta fins, but not every plastic plant is dangerous. Here is the actual edge test and when each one works.
A field guide for betta keepers · September 2026
Bettas are bred well
and kept badly.
We recommend the minimum conditions that keep a betta healthy, not the minimum that keeps it alive. Everything here runs on 4 tanks in Riverview, Florida, and is checked against veterinary and welfare sources.
Read the guidesIdentify a sick betta
Illustrative composite. Male bettas must not be housed together.
Latest guide
Browse every guideRecently published
Do Bettas Get Bored? Enrichment That Actually Helps
Bettas are curious and explore. What genuinely enriches a tank, what is marketed as enrichment and is not, and why mirrors fail the test.
Cloudy Betta Tank Water: What Each Kind Means
White haze, green water and grey cloud have different causes and different fixes. How to tell them apart and what not to do.
Betta or Goldfish for a First Fish?
A betta needs 5 gallons. A goldfish needs far more than most people expect. Why the easier-looking fish is the harder one.
A Complete Betta Setup Under $100
Everything a betta genuinely needs, with nothing decorative. What to buy, what to skip, and where spending less costs you more later.
Betta Sororities: What They Require and Why They Fail
Five or more females, twenty gallons, dense planting and a spare cycled tank standing ready. An honest account of an advanced setup.
Changing a Betta Tank Temperature Without Shocking the Fish
Whether the tank is too cold or too hot, the danger is the speed of the correction. How fast is safe, and what to do in a heatwave.
Browse by topic
- Betta care basicsI have one. Now what?Everything a new betta keeper needs in the first month, and the myths that cause most of the damage. If you were sold a bowl and a fish in a cup, start here.
- Tank setup and equipmentWhat do I actually need to buy?Tanks, heaters, filters, lights and plants, tested on real setups. We never recommend a tank under five gallons, and we say when we have not personally run a product.
- Water quality and maintenanceIs my water actually safe?The nitrogen cycle, water parameters and testing, explained without hand-waving. Most betta deaths are water quality problems wearing another name.
- Feeding and nutritionWhat and how much do I feed?Bettas are carnivores, and most are overfed. We give portions as a countable number of pellets rather than a vague pinch.
- Health and diseasesSomething is wrong. What is it?Symptom-first identification and treatment, sourced to veterinary and welfare literature. We give honest prognoses, including when a condition is usually fatal.
- Types, behaviour and breedingWhat kind is mine, and what is it doing?Tail types, colours, and what betta behaviour actually means. Plus tank mates that work, and the ones sold to you that do not.
Start here, in this order
New keeper? Do these one at a time, not all at once.- Get the tank rightFive gallons minimum, and never a bowl. Everything after this is easier if you get it right first.
- Heat it and filter itBoth, always. Neither is optional for a tropical fish, whatever the kit box says.
- Cycle it before the fishThree to six weeks with the tank empty. This is the step nobody at the shop mentions.
- Learn the numbersAmmonia and nitrite must read zero. Almost everything that looks like illness starts here.
- Feed far less than you thinkTwo to four pellets, once or twice a day. It looks like nothing, and it is correct.
Already have the fish and no cycled tank? Most people arrive here that way. It is recoverable, and it is not your fault. How to cycle a tank with the fish already in it.
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