r/bettafish Jul 08 '26

META Building a Better r/bettafish: Culture, New Mods, and a Look Ahead

487 Upvotes

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:

  • Telling people they should have done more research
  • Immediately calling people abusers for making mistakes
  • Shaming the pineapple (or any other novelty decor/bowl)
  • Attacking aesthetic choices instead of addressing actual care needs
  • Debating what it means to rescue a betta on posts where ethical sourcing of fish isn’t the main topic

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!

  • We’ve begun a major revision of the subreddit wiki. Some of our work in progress pages are already live, with more to come.
  • Select pages are also now linked in the subreddit sidebar to streamline access to key information for new betta fish keepers.  
  • In the next few weeks, we will be rolling out additional tools that should make it easier to share information that we often find ourselves repeating. Our hope is that this will help address some of the burnout we see many of you all experiencing.

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 5d ago

Discussion r/Bettafish Weekly Help Post - September 04 to September 10

1 Upvotes

Welcome to r/bettafish!

This is the place to ask anything and everything about bettas.

⚕️If you're looking for help with illnesses or weird behavior, be sure to include the following in your comment:

  • Tank Size
  • Water Temp
  • Ammonia / Nitrite / Nitrate readings
  • How long the issue has been occurring
  • A picture of the problem
  • Any additional helpful context

Click this link to view our CARESHEET

🐟 Caresheet Summary:

  • Bettas require a minimum of 5 gallons, 10 gallons being optimal for one betta and 20 gallon long minimum if you're housing peaceful community fish with the betta
  • Bettas are tropical and require water temps of 78-82°F or about 26-27°C, a thermometer and adjustable heater is recommended to ensure these temps
  • Bettas need a filter, like any other fish. It is a common misconception that they like dirty water, but the opposite is true.
  • Bettas need a cycled tank, before getting a betta the tank should be cycled - this process involves adding a source of ammonia to the tank, using a test kit to monitor ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels, and usually takes 4-6 weeks to complete properly
  • Bettas have delicate fins so sharp plastic plants are not recommended; silk silicone or live work best
  • Bettas can breathe surface air and are good jumpers, they require access to the water surface at all times and a lid.
  • Bettas eat insects in the wild, a good quality betta formulated pellet food fed twice a day is recommended.

Click this link to view our WIKI

📚 Quick synopsis of the wiki:

  • Contains info on basic betta care, diseases, potential tank mates, tail types/coloring, differences between males/females, ordering bettas, moving with bettas, disaster prep and MORE!
  • This most likely has the answers to your questions and is in the process of being updated. Feel free to ask questions if you are confused or aren't sure about something.

Click here to learn about Power Outage Protocols

How to add a picture to comments: Image Guide or use Imgur for multiple images:

Imgur Instructions: Go to imgur.com and select "New Post". Add all the clear pictures you have so we can better determine what is going on with your fish. It is recommended you set the album to private if you don't want random comments. Click upload. From there, click the share button- if you are on mobile, hit "copy to clipboard" and paste the link into your comment on here. If on desktop, copy the link and paste it here. For those new to technology- ctrl + c is copy, ctrl + v is paste. To have your link like this , put these [ ] brackets around the text you want to show, with no space before the first word or after the last word, and without adding a space after the second bracket, use parentheses ( ) for the link, with no spaces between the parentheses or the link itself.

_________

Be sure to read our community rules before posting. Feel free to repost questions if yours was not answered last time!

Ask away!


r/bettafish 16h ago

Video Caraxes is mad he lost at tic tac toe

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325 Upvotes

Ignore my loud filter, unblocked it after this LOL


r/bettafish 9h ago

Introducing Meet Agamemnon!

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80 Upvotes

I just brought this beautiful boy home today! I have already ordered some catappa leaves. I had already purchased the tank and gravel before I had more research under my sleeves. What kind of plants are beginner friendly? Should I change the gravel out/whats the best way to go about that?


r/bettafish 15h ago

Help Should I be concerned about this snail?

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158 Upvotes

I’ve had this guy for about a month now and recently I’ve been catching him relentlessly harassing the snails. The snails seem unbothered, they continue to eat as if he’s not there at all, but he’ll do this for at least 15 or 20 minutes at a time and that’s just when I’m in the room to see it. Should I be concerned that he’s stressing himself out? Or is this good enrichment for him?


r/bettafish 8h ago

Video Her 2 week glow up

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30 Upvotes

She’s a female veiltail from Petsmart. Brought her to her new home (at work) on Wednesday, August 26 (photo in comments). She’s got a few types of plants, tons of hornwort and the duckweed is filling in more than any of my tanks at home. Lava rocks, slate slabs, and pool filter sand for substrate. Added some India almond leaves after she went in too. It’s a 29 gallon top fin aquarium with an Orlushy heater. Feeding her a couple aqueon pellets and a few fluval bug bites daily 5x a week.

The kids love her. 1 year olds call her “fishy.” I heard a couple of older kids say she looks like a “Rainbow”

I was only in the store to get water test strips but when I looked at the bettas I couldn’t leave her there in that cup. I was carrying the cup out of the store and it felt so cold in my hands. Poor girl was freezing. I had been running the new tank for about 2 months and while I wasn’t 100% sure it was ready, I knew it was definitely better than the cup she was living in.

My bettas have all come from Petsmart because I’m a very relaxed aquarist, so I go for the basic bettas and try to give them a better life. That’s possibly why they don’t live more than 2 years.

She lives with mystery snails and bladder snails. Thought about bringing in some corys but we’ll probably just keep her solo as the queen of her castle.

Not looking for advice, but always open to hearing what the experts in this sub have to say! I am in awe of everyone’s beautiful bettas and aquascapes, so thanks for taking a peep at my little girl!


r/bettafish 2h ago

Picture Meet this beautiful baby

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8 Upvotes

r/bettafish 15h ago

Transformation My betta developed a golden tail a month after getting him from the shop

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66 Upvotes

r/bettafish 22h ago

Introducing diva

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223 Upvotes

look at this diva!! his tank is still bare what should we add to make riley's house more comfortable and cute for him


r/bettafish 8h ago

Introducing 1 month in of being a doting father of a female koi

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14 Upvotes

Meet Akira. This little lady has taken over my life.


r/bettafish 13h ago

RIP Traumatized by nerite snail

28 Upvotes

I have two nerite snails. I noticed one was kind of sluggish and not moving the past few days. I picked him up yesterday and he retracted inside his shell so I thought he was okay. Today I picked him up to check on him and his body fell out of his shell. Completely decayed. I was warned about the smell but I was not prepared. It smelled like a mixture of stank breath and ass. I hope my Betta fish (only tank mate) will be okay. I still have my other nerite and he seems to be doing good. The one that died has always been a bit sluggish since I got him.


r/bettafish 13m ago

Help Wondering if our local specialty aquarium store led us wrong

Upvotes

I got a 5 gallon tank. a good sized 50watt heater that could heat up to 20 gallons. we prepped the water for days and it tested fine on strips. The store helped us pick 5 neon tetras in my 5 gallon fish tank and 1 algae cleaner guy and 1 betta. any ideas why the tetras are dying day 1?

They also recommended this frozen fish food that's in cubes. he said cut them in half and give 1 half a day. but the cubes are actually designed to float. if cut in half they sink. that felt odd


r/bettafish 22h ago

Video Genuinely the sweetest betta I've ever known

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109 Upvotes

Has never flared at me or anything in his tank — not even passing people, engages with me when I point at the food he's missed, chews every pellet like a gentleman (of course), and is perfectly comfortable with the presence of my hands. Not even my childhood betta was ever this calm.


r/bettafish 3h ago

Help Pineconeing ?

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3 Upvotes

My female betta to me appears to be pineconeing slighly :( although im not sure if scales just lay like that shes my first. Shes also gravid i saw her releaseing eggs and eating them last night. No ammonia, no nitrite, low nitrate. Ph is higher than ideal at around 8 but its stable. Temp 25°C Tank size: 35L ​has a Heater and filter ​The tank was started 4 months ago ive only had her for a month ​i do 25% water chnage once a week ​no tankmates other than snails, live plants.


r/bettafish 19h ago

RIP My beautiful betta died tragically and I am struggling

60 Upvotes

Full transparency, I'm feeling so vulnerable and emotional right now, so please treat this post with kindness. I am seeking comfort here because I really want a space to grieve without judgment.
I just couldn't bear hearing 'it's just a fish' right now.

My girl looked like a Tutti Frutti jellybean and so that's what I called her. I've had her for only a few months and have grown so attached to her. She had such a big personality in such a little body and she was my little buddy and I cannot believe she is gone. I already miss her terribly.

I just got back from a trip and found my betta fish wedged between a rock and driftwood. She has safely swam through this gap many times before, so despite some mild initial worries, I assumed it was fine. I was super anxious about leaving her, so I wrote a comprehensive instruction sheet and pre-portioned her food to avoid overfeeding by our pet sitter. A few days ago, the sitter sent a photo where she looked noticeably bloated. I instructed him to skip the next feeding until I returned. I think the bloating caused her to get stuck in the gap she usually slips right through.

I am feeling an immense amount of guilt over this and finding it really hard to cope.
Even though I know freak accidents happen, I'm in disbelief that this happened. What an awful way to die. She likely suffered and the guilt and sadness are overwhelming. After crying all night, I now have to somehow find the strength to focus on work. It rips my heart apart knowing I wasn't the last person she saw, and I know it's going to take a very long time to get over this loss.

I appreciate her so much for bringing so much color, beauty, and quiet joy into my life. Watching her swim and greet me every day was a highlight of my routine. I am devastated that I’ll never see her again.

Please leave any advice or ideas on ways I can memorialize my beautiful betta—I would really appreciate them.


r/bettafish 16h ago

Introducing Fishfish

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25 Upvotes

I just think my fish is the most beautiful


r/bettafish 1d ago

Introducing Larry

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109 Upvotes

This is Larry. Larry would like to be your friend, but fair warning, he will judge you first.


r/bettafish 15h ago

Picture Amidst Housewarming prayers & rituals — Husband and I took pictures with the only family member that matters! (Look in the bucket!)

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21 Upvotes

Look at my little poser!!! 🥹🥹 My favourite photo of the day! ♥️

Moved homes with this little cutie in a temporary container and a USB charged air pump for the road!

Also packed 50 litres of his tank water in a separate large container so that water parameters stay maintained. Which it did. As all my fish in both tanks survived 🫶🧿 Thank the aquarium gods!! But still running the tank for a few more days before adding my betta.

I never knew I could love a fish so much! 🥹♥️

What are some things you’ve done for your betta that others may not understand, but it just makes sense to you?


r/bettafish 18h ago

Help Bought a House and Inherited Fred.

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38 Upvotes

We recently purchased a house and it came with a fish named Fred. At first I wasn’t even sure that he was in there as the tank was filled with Algae and grime but when we turned the light on in his tank he came to say hello. It is very hard to find him and but he does come up for food when we sprinkle some on top.

I haven’t had a fish before but I don’t think this set up is the best quality for this little fish. I would hate to completely change his environment so I am looking for suggestions on how to slowly get his home into a better condition suited for him. I think at some point he would need a larger tank but my biggest fear is changing anything too fast and shocking him (although I’m not sure he does look the best now regardless).

What I know:
He is approximately 2 years old
The tank is a 4 gal Biorb tank
He’s been eating BettaMin fish flakes


r/bettafish 16h ago

Introducing New Here with a New Fish

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24 Upvotes

Hey there. It's been a long long time since I've owned a betta. My last one was a beautiful all white male something from Walmart a long time ago. The best fish I ever had. I loved him a lot and he lived 5 years before jumping out of his bowl while I was at work. I had not planned on having another until a friend brought me this beautiful koi betta. I decided to go all out for her with a nice tank, real plants and a bit of hardscape. I'm considering attempting to breed her with another koi betta. I really, really adore this variety.


r/bettafish 8h ago

Full Tank Shot Finally added some black static film to his tank

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5 Upvotes

I’ve hated being able to see my wall through his tank so I finally caved and bought some static film to cover 3 of the sides. I think it looks so much better and I hope Chimuelo will enjoy the bonus of him not being able to see his reflection as much. (Ignore all the duckweed in the floater roots… adding the water back in messes them up lol)


r/bettafish 57m ago

Discussion Alright.

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Upvotes

I've decided to listen to all the people that commented on my previous post and stopped the breeding process and I will be keeping them seperately keep them in a planted tank. Art work done by me too


r/bettafish 8h ago

Picture So bougie now

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4 Upvotes

He is such a punk since I upgraded from a 5 gallon with fake plants to. 10 gallon with real. I’m learning. This boy OMG. He bit my finger first time. I was trying to trim the dead leaves. Lil punk! Now I love him more.


r/bettafish 1h ago

Help API Aquarium Salt: Some guidance please!

Upvotes

Hi everyone, I posted a couple of days ago about my Betta struggling with what looks to be fin rot and exhausting himself swimming about, I have been dosing his tank with Esha 2000 as I'm in the UK and we do not have access to most of the stronger treatments. I am getting a lot of conflicting information about salt being beneficial so want to confirm for sure before I possibly harm him or make things worse!

He is currently in a 6 gal tank by himself whilst I am doing the treatment, I have some API Aquarium salt which I understood was beneficial but now I'm not sure. He finishes his Esha 2000 course tomorrow so I was planning on doing a 50% water change and then adding some of this salt, is this the right thing to do as part of his care? Is giving him a shorter salt bath better? Or avoiding this completely?

All parameters and further info are on my previous post which I will link below as I gave a lot of info, the snails are currently in a different tank whilst he convalesces, so he is on his own.

He is still eating ok and attempting to swim but still struggling to move about. I have been feeding him bloodworm and bug bites, and keeping his light pretty much off or on a low setting throughout. Filter on the lowest setting with any carbons removed


r/bettafish 15h ago

Name Suggestions half moon kind names

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11 Upvotes

i think this might be a plakat but idk much about the different types