fish bowl

hey everyone! ocean conservation and marinelife expert jaclyn friedlander here and today we are going to talk about betta fish! these low maintenance fish are often keptas pets by people of all ages. while they are often found in homes since they can toleratepoor water quality of varying temperatures and small tanks, they were originally discoveredin south east asia.

they are often called siamese fighting fishand this name came from the olden days in thailand when fish fighting was popular. sopopular in fact, that the king of siam had the sport regulated and taxed. it is a common misconception that the rootsof a plant in the same vase will sustain betta

fish, but that is 100% false. betta fish pelletsare the best choice of food for pet bettas as they are carnivores or in other words,meat eaters and betta pellets provide a nice combination of brine shrimp, blood worms andvitamins. another common misconception is that bettafish need sunlight. putting a betta in sunlight is harmful for 2 reasons. number one, it canheat the water to dangerous temperatures and number two, algae loves sunlight and puttingthe water in the sunlight will most likely result in an algae overgrowth. one thing bettafish do need is a gulp of air every so often, so it's important to leave a little bit ofbreathing room at the top of a betta bowl. betta fish bowls should always be looselycovered because bettas are known for jumping

out, but that cover should have several airholes so the water in the bowl stays oxygenated. it's best to choose a fish tank specificallydesigned for betta fish. in captivity betta fish generally live twoor three years but in the wild they can live well into their teens. they prefer to livealone and are not good community fish. if you have other betta fish questions, leavethem in the comments section below and if you want weekly ocean and conservation information,click subscribe. see you next friends with fins friday! thanks for watching.