Betta Hex Bowfront Aquatic Greenhouseä by azgardens.com

CARE & FEEDING  

Betta’s can live in just about any type of small container, glass jar, small pot, or even a drinking glass given the proper nutrients.   Make sure your water level never gets more than a ½ inch below the top of your Betta’s home.  Bettas must have air at the top of their home.  In addition to gills, which allow Bettas to breathe underwater, they also have what is called a labyrinth organ.  This means that they can breathe "our" air and need room at the surface of their water in order to live.  However, Bettas are jumpers too, and you’ll need to be careful and cover the tops of your container.  Your Betta Hex Bowfront Aquatic Greenhouse comes with a lid with a drilled opening for your lucky bamboo to grow through.  Your new pet is going to need clean water and a plant in it’s home.  He will use the plant to rest on, and the plant will use the Betta’s waste to feed on. The rocks, or substrate, that is included in your kit is called Flourite made by a company in Georgia called Seachem.  This company naturally mines this product from the earth and is very high in Iron.  The quantity of Iron is not harmful to the fish, but balances out your little tank so the plants have enough nutrients to produce oxygen for your fish and keep the ammonia levels from the waste overloading.  The substrate will also hide the fish’s waste.   Water Changes: A 100% water change will not hurt anything, but is not usually necessary.  By simply dumping out 50% of the water once every 2 weeks, and replacing with fresh bottled water or drinking water is advised. The water should not be distilled.  Once in a while, add a small amount of regular tap water from to add back in some of the minerals we lose from bottled water.  Be sure and top off the tank as often as needed.  Snails:  We will usually put one small Nerite snail in every Aquatic Greenhouse, to help keep the sides of your tank clean, should it die, simply use your finger to rub away any algae.  Do this just before a good water change.   Ammonia:  As with any animal, their waste will produce ammonia, and if the water is left unchanged, it will poison the fish.  Feeding:  Bettas need to be fed as often as twice a day or as rarely as 2 times per week.  Yes, your Betta will feed off of the plants in the tank, but Bettas also need food that has fat and protein in it, so we have supplied some in your kit. This package of Hikari Betta Bio-Gold (if used 2x daily) should last you at least 2 to 3 months.  Use no more than about 4 or 5 grains of this food at any feeding.  Do not overfeed.  Left over food sitting in the tank will create ammonia.  Population:  A very strong word of advice:  You CANNOT put two male Bettas together! They are a very territorial fish and two males will spar until one will eventually kill the other. Don't keep a male with females either unless you plan on breeding them.  You should not plan on this little Betta hex as being a home for a huge school of fish.  This is a studio apartment enough for 1.  Betta fish are easy to keep.  Bettas originated in the stagnant, still waters of Thailand and because of the labyrinth, they can survive in very little, dirty puddles of water, however, since you are keeping these beautiful animals as pets, you probably don’t want them kept in those conditions.  Your Betta can live from 1 to 5 years.  There are many books at local pet stores, and so many websites concerning care of these fish.  Please follow the instructions mentioned herein and you should have a happy, healthy, thriving Betta who will reward you every time you come close to him by swimming, flaring and dancing to show you how much he appreciates the care you give him.  RESPECT ANIMALS

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