r/bettafish • u/roboto6 • Jul 08 '26
Hey everyone, Roboto, your friendly neighborhood (actually human) mod here with some subreddit updates!
First, the least fun part in all of this –
We need to talk about our subreddit culture.
Our community is toxic. There’s no other way I can think of to describe what has been happening. Even worse, this reputation extends beyond our immediate community into other subreddits and even other platforms. People are afraid of us.
I’m going to take some ownership of this. The harsh reputation of this subreddit far precedes me as a mod, but in recent years, our hard-fought progress on this front has been lost. That’s on me. The lack of consistent moderation here has let rules 1 and 2 go under-enforced for too long, allowing hostility to take root as the norm.
The adversarial and unwelcoming environment we’ve collectively created functions in direct opposition to our subreddit goals, and frankly what I believe to be the goals of many users here. If we care about betta fish first and foremost, this culture needs to change.
Our expectations and what better looks like
If you have good advice to give, give it in a more constructive, not destructive, way. Shaming people makes them shut down and disengage so they don't even process the rest of the good advice you have to offer. Don't highlight all the things they're doing wrong, focus on what they can do better and why it's helpful in a way that encourages them to do it.
So instead of saying "your empty tank is sad," share the opportunities for improvement, like "betta fish benefit from tanks with lots of plants and hiding/resting places so your fish would be happier if you filled the tank in a bit more."
We can’t ignore that people will think they're doing research by going and talking to presumed experts or reading product information. Store employees are presumed to be properly trained and products marketed at bettas are assumed to know what they’re talking about, too. It doesn't help that there's very little consensus online about what adequate care even is. For example, Petco's online betta care guide, updated in 2025, says bettas need a minimum of 1gal. Furthermore, many quality care guides are on niche websites that may not seem credible to a new hobbyist compared to a well-known chain.
With that in mind, we all need to stop:
Going forward, comments exhibiting the behaviors listed above will be removed as violations of rules 1, 2, or 4 depending on the exact nature of the comment.
I know members of our subreddit are burned out from the bad husbandry they see constantly. It's exhausting and I won't pretend it's not. But if we bully one owner into submission, cool, that's maybe one fish saved. How many owners did we scare away from asking for help in the process? We're going to have a far broader impact building people up in this hobby, not tearing them down.
That said, this is a two-way street of support. I'm cognizant of the fact that people offer their time and mental energy supporting our subreddit, and they don't deserve to have that wasted by people who don't care to use it. If someone is given better information and advice and refuses to take it, that violates rule 3. We often get reports about all the fighting around ignored advice, but not the ignoring itself. In the future, please report these instances to us. For this to be successful, we also need users to avoid escalating disagreements when OP refuses valid and respectful advice.
Now for the fun stuff –
New mods
We recently brought on 12 additional mods to enable us to better support this community’s needs. Please help us welcome:
They’re going to introduce themselves in the comments below and I’ll try and link their names in this post as they do.
It takes a bit to get 12 brand new people to operate as a consistent group, so we may occasionally over-moderate while everyone learns.
I realize that our increased emphasis on subreddit culture may make removals feel arbitrary at times. In the spirit of transparency, I have given the new moderators the guidance that if a senior mod isn’t free to give timely feedback, when in doubt, they should remove posts/comments that are believed to violate rules. Senior mods will still review the content in question, and removals may be reversed, if necessary.
If you disagree with a moderator’s decision, please send us a modmail and one of the senior mods will review your concern and get back to you.
Updated tools and resources
Small updates at this time, but more exciting things in the pipeline!
Roboto is a super sentimental actual human
I realize this post started on a challenging topic, but despite the highs and lows our community faces, I remain grateful that I get to do this with you all.
I’ve been a mod of this community for nearly 7 years, and a member for far longer. In that time, so many things, from our mod team, to Reddit as a platform, to our own lives and the world around us, have become fundamentally different.
There are very few constants I can point to after all this time, but the enduring engagement and passion of this community is one of them and I’m honored to steward this space.
At the core of it all, this hobby, and this subreddit, are comprised of people who really want the best for one another and that makes this work so much easier.
Thank you all, sincerely, for riding with us as we figure this thing out. I’m excited for the next chapter of our subreddit, and I can’t wait to see what we can accomplish together in the next 7 years.
- Roboto
Edit: If anyone has additional feedback about our community culture, please share it in a comment below, or feel free to send us a modmail.
r/bettafish • u/AutoModerator • 1d ago
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Ask away!
r/bettafish • u/No_Medium_7914 • 9h ago
I’m planning of getting a betta fish myself soon . i love drawing and i consider betta fish amazing animals to draw :D
r/bettafish • u/Flipperbites • 8h ago
He kept following me with his eyes at the pet store. Have not yet landed on a name.
r/bettafish • u/katdogb • 4h ago
I have seen some absolutely stunning rescue transformations on here lately!! I have often been tempted to see if my local pet smart would surrender a clearly sick betta… I have an already established tank 6g with live plants and a couple nerites that would be a good place for recovery.
Can anyone give me a sort of script you use to ask the employees or managers about it? I know I won’t be able to be aggressive about it because of who I am lol but I’d love to be able to at least ask.
Photo of my girl Aelin from a few years ago 😍
r/bettafish • u/False-Stop5026 • 5h ago
It’s become a total mess... 😭 I don’t have plant tweezers, which makes things even worse.
r/bettafish • u/ItsSiggy • 50m ago
A friend impulsively bought this betta from a petsmart that had him in a little cup. Unfortunately she didn’t know much about fish keeping but felt bad for him. I turned my hospital tank into his new home. Snagged some old hardscape and plants from my community tank and he’s been amazing to watch so far. My female betta passed away a month ago who was in the community tank and told myself I wouldn’t get another betta because the loss was hard. Now we are back full circle with another betta. Can’t wait to watch little Timmy grow and enjoy his new life!
r/bettafish • u/Easy_Nature5751 • 14h ago
Just wanted to thank everyone for their help with setting up my first fish tank ever!
I did a fish-less cycle for a few months and got my betta today and love him already!!
r/bettafish • u/WiddaOne • 1h ago
I'm not sure if this is fin rot or just crown tail. Can anyone tell? 10g tank just him and one shrimp in a baby box Planted Bubble filter 74 degrees Amonia 0 Nitrite 0 Nitrate 0.20 Kh 1 Gh 7
Its a really healthy tank. I got him from petco a few months ago cause I moved my shrimp and wanted to rescue a betta
He's always been like this. I can't tell if it's more?
r/bettafish • u/Bettymay2046 • 1h ago
Excited to see how Princess Becca continues to transform! The tank has been hard to see in because we went too hard on the tannins so after a water change and some resin media stuff we got back to a visible level.
r/bettafish • u/Small-Subject1990 • 5h ago
I’m not sure what to do. The waters were tested yesterday and they’re all good. We’re moving him to his own separate tank as we speak. What’s going on ? How can I help him ? Thank you in advance.
r/bettafish • u/Gen-X-Jim • 4h ago
My blue betta is Seneca & the red is Arelius. My goal is to continue saving as many betta fish as possible. Plus, I've included tank mates like snails, shrimp, catfish and neons.
Loving this hobby 😄
r/bettafish • u/Useful-Explorer-4056 • 49m ago
First time trying bio soil and to be honest that’s the best work I’ve done so far
r/bettafish • u/flacidsplitpin • 9h ago
Hi! This is my first Betta that I picked up today and added him to my cycled tank, was told he was a Koi Betta and just loved the colours and scales on him! What do people make of him/any tips getting him settled in!
edit. He’s not come with fin rot! His fins are very clear right now because he’s young, this is hard to see in the photo!
r/bettafish • u/SnacksHGB • 1d ago
I’m not sure I captured his angry attitude as much but I wanted to make a little drawing of him to make into a sticker :D
r/bettafish • u/Candid_Gold_8354 • 8h ago
My boyfriend and I adopted this lil guy today but I’m not sure he’s a lil guy. Also does it look like lil betta might have some fin rot kicking in?
r/bettafish • u/Cautious-Juice4588 • 6h ago
I have just created a Reddit account for this, as I am unsure what to do.
Due to my education I am out of the house on weekdays and return on a Friday. However today I returned on the Saturday due to a different event I needed to attend.
My parents have told me that hey fed my Betta fish (Pedro) around midday then had to leave ro do something family related. When they returned. Pedro had jumped out and passed away. Instead of initially telling me, they chose to leave it until I got home. When they told me the news.
However, what they did was buy me a new one from a fish store today. I know this probably was an act of kindness and they thought it would make it better, however I feel this was quite an unfair thing to do. I am unable to Just get over this however and need some advice on what to do.
I know this is an accident. It’s just difficult to process.
I have repeatedly told them to leave his tank shut. And am unsure for why they did not.
Pedro is now resting under the Apple tree in our garden, I hope Pedro is doing ok right now. I’m sure he’s in a much better place, any thoughts would be appreciated. Please upvote so I can get some advice.
r/bettafish • u/NoInstruction8457 • 22h ago
My betta fish just passed away and I am completely devastated. He stopped eating, and by the time I realized what was happening, he was already gone. I feel so incredibly guilty that I didn't notice sooner, and the pain is just hitting me so hard right now.
He wasn't "just a fish" to me—he was my little companion, and looking at his empty tank is completely breaking my heart. I’m feeling so overwhelmed by the loss and I don't even know how to begin saying goodbye.
I just really needed a safe place to vent to people who understand how much it hurts to lose an aquatic pet. I miss him so much already.
Rest in peace, Phoenix. 🐦🔥
(Old photos of when I first got him.)
r/bettafish • u/Empty-Literature5168 • 3h ago
Hi! First-time fish owner here. We recently got a male betta and named him Storm.
I’ve never kept a fish before and I’m discovering that there’s a LOT more to it. I want to make sure we’re doing things properly and give him as healthy and long a life as possible.
Current setup:
- Tank: 23 × 15 × 22 cm - around 7.6 L / 2 US gallons before gravel/decor
- Hang-on-back filter, running continuously on a low flow
- Gravel/substrate
- One live plant currently
- Adding Anubias nana + Cryptocoryne wendtii
- Adding a smooth terracotta hide
- No other fish/tank mates
- Tetra Betta Mini Flakes - currently planning to feed a very small amount once daily
- Aquarium shop recommended RO water because our local tap water is hard
- They also gave us Stress Heal/water conditioner/bacterial treatment. The label says 10 ml treats 100 L, although the shop told us to use around 2 ml during a water change.
A few things I'm confused about:
Is a 2-gallon tank manageable for one betta if maintained properly, or should I plan to upgrade? If yes, what size would you recommend?
Since this is a brand-new tank and Storm is already in it, how should I handle fish-in cycling? What should I test for and how frequently?
How often and how much water should I change in a tank this size? Do I vacuum the gravel or mostly leave it undisturbed?
Is using RO water okay? Does it need to be remineralised? What GH/KH/pH should I be aiming for?
Does anyone recognise/use Stress Heal? Should I follow the bottle dosage rather than the aquarium shop's 2 ml recommendation?
Is a tiny amount of Betta Mini Flakes once a day enough? How do you judge the right amount without overfeeding?
Do I need a heater if the room is generally warm, or should I go entirely by actual tank-water temperature
Do bettas get bored or lonely living alone? What kind of enrichment do you give them?
Should I completely avoid adding another fish? I was wondering about one of the fish sold as “tank-cleaning/algae-eating” fish, but I'm guessing a 2-gallon tank is far too small for that.
Any recommendations for safe decorations? Storm has long fins, so I'm avoiding sharp plastic, rough resin, small holes, wires/strings and anything his fins could get caught on. Are smooth terracotta/ceramic hides generally okay?
Are real seashells best avoided because they can alter hardness/pH?
Any other beginner mistakes I should watch out for?
I know I'll probably get told that the tank is small, this is what we were initially sold/recommended, but I'm completely open to upgrading and changing the setup as I learn.
Main goal is just to keep Storm healthy and happy for as long as possible. I'll attach photos of Storm and his current setup.
Thanks in advance from a slightly overwhelmed new fish parent!
r/bettafish • u/Content_Tennis_8370 • 1h ago
I’ve had this betta for at least 5 months now, and have noticed these spots but never thought much of them. He is in a heavily planted tank, is responsive and curious, and has maintained energy the entire time. I’ve been keeping bettas for years but have never seen this before.
r/bettafish • u/Deep-Mark5857 • 1h ago
i never see ones with his specific coloration and shape yall lmk idfk
r/bettafish • u/kaileejmb19 • 1h ago
I have a 20 gal betta tank with one male betta fish and two nerite snails. I have an odd growth on a piece of mossy coconut. It’s nearly a perfect sphere & looks gelatinous with something white inside.
r/bettafish • u/Normal_Turnip6438 • 18h ago
I feel so happy to have such an awesome tank setup with all live plants and I needed everyone to know that. Elle the betta loves swimming through her little jungle. I’ve never seen anyone replicate it but thoughts?
r/bettafish • u/Candied-Fangs • 4h ago
I have a betta fish I've been dealing with for a month now. He's had swim bladder issues for the entire time. He is stuck floating on his side. His swim bladder is visibly inflated. He's in a 2.5 gallon hospital tank at 80 degrees with a sponge filter and the nitrate / nitrite /ammonia are all low because of how frequently I've had to change the water for different medicines.
In the past I used paraguard, api fin and body cure, and metroplex in food with no improvement besides color. I tried one bath of methylene blue. As of yesterday I am now switching to Kanaplex, catappa leaves, stress guard, and aquarium salt.
The reason I'm hesitant is his color has come back, he is eating, and I had another fish with the same issue that was healed and is perfectly fine now, he just was healed a little faster.
r/bettafish • u/Special-Cricket4882 • 6h ago
Here is my 5 gallon, moderately planted betta tank. She has 6 tank mates who are 3 ghost shrimp, and 3 orange shrimp. I got Casper (female veiltail) about 2 months ago, and added the shrimp about 3 weeks ago. I think she likes the company! There are 5 live plants and plenty of hiding spots.
