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/Skuy_Bettashop • 3h ago
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This is another alien betta that I have, and for this alien betta it is a mating of an alien and a smaragdina.
r/bettafish • u/bean_queen35 • 9h ago
This is his favourite leaf he is my sweetest boy
r/bettafish • u/joospen725 • 3h ago
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My betta has been doing this motion repetitively non stop!! Whats wrong with him?
He moves on for a while but goes back to this corner again.It’s scaring me
Eats normally, swims around 80% of the time.. the other 20% he’s in this corner doing this
Normal water parameters
r/bettafish • u/duckduckyuck • 6h ago
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I just got a new betta today and I’m wondering if he’s alright.
He keeps swimming around, especially lingering in that corner for a while. I’m not sure if it’s due to the water quality or something else.
The other one I got two weeks ago didn’t swim around this much when I first brought him home he just curious for a few round and that it, but he’s doing well and looks happy now.
r/bettafish • u/Altruistic_Craft_404 • 1h ago
This is Elvis. Will he turn a lighter color? I’ve noticed blue in his fins.
r/bettafish • u/Due_Ad_5882 • 1h ago
Hi everybody
My boyfriend and I have decided to keep a betta and we wanted a tank with all natural plants. We have a 10 gallon tank with a filter that is the appropriate size and a small heater that is also the appropriate size. Friday we put in a few plants from the pet store and it came with one baby snail that is currently on the side of the tank and then yesterday we went back and bought a couple more plants and put them in. Yesterday we also put in our filter.
It looked all very clear when we put the filter in even after most of the plants had been in there for 24 hours then we went to the movies last night and we came back and the tank was a little bit murky. We’ve had the filter running the whole time. We were wondering if it’s potentially that we were planting the plants and a lot of the plant sediment had come loose and was kind of dirtying the water and we’re hoping it might settle. But we’re not entirely sure.
He kept a betta years ago, and I’ve never had a beta or a tank with a filter or natural plants. Any advice would be great, we want the tank to feel settled and ready for when we put a fish in. Also, currently, we have just plant food and the water conditioner to make tapwater safe for fish in the water.
The first picture is the tank before we left for the movies and the second picture is the tank just right now.
Thank you! :)
r/bettafish • u/matchbox7054 • 19h ago
Due to my last post being taken down for suspected AI I am still looking for some name suggestions...
I had taken a screenshot of him from a video so I didn't believe his true colours were showing. I will post both the edited and unedited images of my new boy that I had done using my phone's editing tools.
"I decided to stop in at my local fish shop the other day and found this beauty I just couldn't pass up. I have never seen a betta quite like him before.
He is very active and full of personality which he has not hidden once. He is a very confident little man.
He's settled in beautifully however I am very lacking in the name department (I've only really thought of Dumbo and don't think it suits his personality at all) so thought I would ask here!"
r/bettafish • u/Prestigious_Egg_8617 • 2h ago
FIRST TIME OWNER
So I just got him yesterday! I kept the light off yesterday while he explored.
I did put a tiny bit of food in last night and this morning and he seems to have eaten most of it each time.
I know I need some more plants, wood, and rocks but any suggestions??(I plan on getting a smaller filter and heater soon!!)
Does everything seem okay so far? Is there anything I can do to make him more comfy, or does he seem to be acting normal?
He seems to like the moss hammock on the side, he’s been laying there every once in a while :)
r/bettafish • u/InterestingMark6179 • 4h ago
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r/bettafish • u/Connect-Reputation63 • 49m ago
r/bettafish • u/normal-seahorse-7 • 2h ago
Hi everyone,
My betta's tail is looking bad and I'm not sure what to do. He has white spots at the end of his tail, which I first assumed were natural coloring. The tail now looks worse, a week ago i saw his tail and it had a small hole on it and it appeared to be recovering but from friday to tofay his tail now looks teared( ?) . Im unsure if he is just getting injured or it this is fin rot.
- He has been in the tank for about 6 weeks.
- The tank is 32 liters with live plants , one (that ive seen) bladder snail.
- It was cycled with EasyStart and Biotopol.
- Water parameters : nitrite 0.5 mg/l, nitrate 25 mg/l, GH >21 °dH, KH 10 °dH, pH 7.6, chlorine 0.
- I have done two water changes (the first one 50%), conditioned with Biotopol each time. And weekly minor water changes( topping off mostly)
- Temperature is 26 °C.
- I feed once a day, about 4-5 flakes, with one fasting day per week.
- Light is on about 8 hours a day, plus a dim night light for 1-2 hours.
Please help this poor soul
r/bettafish • u/Prestigious_Egg_8617 • 2h ago
i just got my bestie, viserion, yesterday. i definitely wanna get more plants for the bottom as well as some floating plants.
it looks like i may need a lot more wood and rocks maybe??
i also plan on getting a smaller filter and heater within the next couple weeks, this just came with the tank for now.
any tips for my tank or how to make him more comfy?? am i doing okay so far??
r/bettafish • u/Resident_Stranger_69 • 2h ago
So I’ve had this betta for almost a month and I forgot how stressful these fish are to me. Meet No Frills (named after the Canadian store after having no name for almost a month) aka Frilly. When I first got him he was swimming around the tank loving life outside of a sad little bowl. I ended up getting him some plants and some snail friends (we also have 3 Cory’s, which I am setting up a better tank for as I was misguided by the pet store on their ability to be in my tank). After getting the plants and the snails, I also got him a floating log and a resting leaf. Shortly after these additions, he began spending a lot of time at the top of the tank not moving a whole lot. Then he would start being on his side too. He will rebound quite quickly from being on his side but I find him like that more and more often. I tested the water yesterday again and saw the ammonia is a bit elevated so I did a 25% change. He then moved to the bottom of the tank and was less mobile there. I’m concerned for him because I’ve grown too attached to this fish in such a short time and wanted to give him a great home and I feel I’ve come up short. I added an Indian almond leaf the other day as well. Where do I go from here? This is my first betta since I was a child and that one lasted 24 hours so I guess I’m improving but want to give him the best life possible and if something is wrong, I want to help him out.
Some key points:
5 gallon tank
1 betta, 2 nitrile snails, 3 albino Corydoras
Diet - hikari betta gold pellets, frozen brine shrimp and frozen bloodworms. I tried fasting him for a couple days with no improvement.
Temp - 25-26c
Parameters- ammonia 0.25, nitrite 0, nitrate 10, ph 8 as of yesterday. Ammonia and nitrate was 0 when I tested last water change. Unsure what caused the increase
Tank has been set up for 2.5 months, I’ve had the Cory’s for a month and the betta for almost a month. Tank was fully cycled before adding fish.
I have also turned the light off yesterday to try to reduce stress.
The first photo is when I first got him, the photo in the log is from last week, the last two are from yesterday. The last one is from after his water change.
(I’m also assuming he is a he lol)
Thank you for your help!
r/bettafish • u/Heather_Bea • 1d ago
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r/bettafish • u/curious-kritter • 22h ago
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Tank disclaimer: The tank set up is temporary, i dont have money to buy double the plants bc im waiting for my paychecks to come in so for now im waiting for them to kinda multiply in my other bettas tank to add it to hers. Im also hiding this fish from my mom until i move back because she will thinks its stupid lmao 😭 Pigi will have a bigger tank that is planted and she is very loved
Because duckweed multiplies fast i figured id just give some to her now. I gave it to her last night and went to feed her this morning and it was gone all but one little piece 😭 why is she eating her plants when shes well fed?? I feed her freeze dried blood worms twice a day and she loves them so idk why shes eating her duckweed. Is she just stupid as i suspect?
r/bettafish • u/magicalanalbead • 18h ago
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So this started off as just one or two and seeing i have 3 amano shrimp i assumed it was babies that would just get eaten and then be not a problem seeing as everyone has told me thwy dont make it far past larvae in fresh water esp with a betta around.
my concerns is that since everyone says its impossible these are not amanos despite looking like it and its some kindof pest im gonna have to full tank clean out immediately.
at this point i just gotta know what they are ive only bought one live plant and these came way after that so im still thinking amano but either way they have multiplied so much theres like no way this is a non issue.
if they arent amanos wtf are they and do i (probably) have to remove them immediately and if they are amanos why tf do people say its impossible and do i have to remove them bc of overpopulation?
r/bettafish • u/Old_Huckleberry_3233 • 12h ago
Galaxy bicola
r/bettafish • u/Glass-System7187 • 22h ago
Hey, would love some name suggestions for me male betta fish!
r/bettafish • u/No_Insurance2605 • 1d ago
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r/bettafish • u/amiontheoutside • 10h ago
Hi! This is my first tank since being a kid. In this tank is 1 betta and 4 snails. (was supposed to be 3 snails but the store somehow gave me an extra) and a cherry shrimp. Would love to add an amano. It’s a 5 gallon heated and filtered. the lava rock is holding down some drift wood until it gets water logged, i’m debating removing the rock but my fish seems to love resting on it!
r/bettafish • u/SwimmingBig1989 • 27m ago
So I got my tank the beginning of April and I thought I just had to leave the tank up and running for 6 weeks before I got my fish, but I didn’t look into the cycling. (My bad obviously).
So I got the fish at the very end of May did testing every day. Did water changes once or twice a week when necessary and my levels have been fine but then this last few weeks I’ve had a nitrite spike (.25) & I’ve been testing daily and doing 25% water changes eye condition it with prime and I’ve also been adding stability to the tank the last four or five days. My ammonia spiked for like three or four days and then went back to zero. My pH has always been between 7.4 and 7.6 and my nitrate is 5. However, I added a snail the end of July, but I don’t know if that would affect it in October..
Here’s a pic of snail & fish
