Caring for your favorite and beloved betta fish during the winter season is challenging for many owners. Often, sickness or death of their beloved betta fish, which they have kept for 6 or 8 months, can occur suddenly due to the onset of winter. While they may think it’s due to diseases, the root cause is the winter season itself.
So here we are to help you keep both yourself and your betta fish warm during the winter months. We cover care, tank setup, and things to monitor for your betta during winter.
Let’s start now!
Why is winter problematic for betta fish?
When it comes to winter days, there is usually less daytime and more nighttime, which alternates the environmental temperature. Depending on your geographical location, the duration and beginning of the winter season will differ.
Betta fish typically prefer to live in water temperatures ranging from 25 to 28 degrees Celsius. Water that is too cold, below 24 degrees Celsius, can greatly affect the active metabolism of your betta, leading to significant problems.
During the winter season, the climate tends to be very cool and chilly, causing the temperature of your betta tank, whether it’s 2.5 gallons, 5 gallons, or more, to decrease below the betta’s usual conditions. This is why we need to provide additional care for betta fish during winter.
Betta Fish Winter Season Care:
By ‘additional care,’ I mean taking precautionary measures to keep the tank warm throughout the winter climate. Try not to engage in betta breeding during these cold days, as the success rate is low, and raising betta fries is also challenging. Here are some care tips for your betta fish during the winter:
Tank setup for winter:
So setting up your tank is the first step to take during the winter days. Follow these steps:
- Place the tank in a warm place in your home.
- Place an aquarium heater
- Avoid frequently opening the tank lid, as it may cause the escape of warm air.
- Get an aquarium thermometer and monitor for any temperature drops.
- Avoid placing the betta fish tank near any vents or windows.
- When changing water, replace a small percentage of it with lukewarm conditioned water.
Water parameters:
The change in water temperature during this cold weather season can lead to adverse health effects such as fin rot, stress, pop eye, and fungal infections. Therefore, maintaining quality water parameters throughout the season is crucial. Here are some things you can do to maintain good water parameters for your betta during the winter season:
- Adding an aquarium light can increase the daytime period for your betta.
- Having a light can also help keep the air warmer. The increased daytime can boost the betta’s metabolism rate.
- Ensure a good filtration setup. Consider using multi-stage filtration such as sponge, carbon balls, and ceramic balls to improve water quality and promote beneficial bacteria growth.
- Keep a water parameter checker at home to monitor water quality regularly.
- Always aim to maintain low nitrate levels in your betta tank.
Modifications inside the planted tank:
If you have a planted betta tank, it’s important to take additional measures. Caring for a planted tank during winter is a separate topic itself. Since the water temperature in a planted tank can affect plant growth, including CO2 and fertilizer intake, it’s crucial to maintain proper care.
Neglecting the plants care can lead to fungal and bacterial growth inside the tank, ultimately affecting the betta fish, especially its fins and eyes. During the winter season with your planted betta tank or bowl, consider trimming and removing plants that require extra care. Once winter is over, you can add the plants back.
Feeding strategies in the winter:
The cool temperature can reduce betta metabolism, so it’s important to pay attention to feeding your betta during winter. Neglecting feeding strategies during winter can lead to diseases like a bulged stomach, hernia, and other adverse health issues. Follow these feeding instructions for your betta:
- Soak the pellet before feeding it to the betta (soak in a separate container) this will limit the spitting behavior.
- Avoid feeding any live or frozen food during the winter season.
- First, add one pellet and observe your betta’s interest. If it shows the usual interest, add a second pellet.
- Space out pellet feeding with intervals.
- Engage with your betta during feeding by playing with it using your hands or sticks.
- Feed up to 4 to 5 pellets per feeding and allow time for your betta to play and digest the food well.
- Ensure that the heater is turned on at all times.
Things to monitor in betta fish during winter:
Even though you’ve implemented all the care tips mentioned above, there will always be outlier cases in which your betta fish may fall victim during the winter season. So it’s better to avoid those situations by monitoring a few things in your betta during the winter seasons.
Note: Due to winter, the temperature can drop, causing bettas to jump out of the tank (In some cases). Keep an eye on them and cover the tank/bowl to prevent this. Introducing a heater helps maintain a stable temperature.
Stress:
Stress in bettas is common, and most betta owners will experience this behavior while keeping the fish. They might wonder, ‘Why did my betta suddenly become stressed?’ But the reality is it’s common for betta fish to experience stress.
Adding betta play toys such as caves, floating logs, tunnels, or more can keep the betta lively and happy inside the aquarium, ultimately enhancing the tank’s decor. Consider adding anti-stress medications to the tank, but be sure to consult with a vet about the dosage.
Signs of Betta Sickness in Winter:
Look out for any signs of sickness. Major symptoms include lying on the bottom, swimming abnormally, bloated stomach, inactivity, white spots, and more. If you notice any of these symptoms, start treatment immediately to recover your fish as soon as possible.
Bloated stomach diseases are common due to a lack of metabolism, which can be avoided by adding a heater to the tank. Infections such as bacterial or fungal can be cured with appropriate medicines.
Betta fish winter care checklist:
- Tank Setup:
- Place in a warm area.
- Use an aquarium heater and thermometer.
- Avoid placing tanks in vents or windows.
- Water Quality:
- Ensure proper lighting and filtration.
- Monitor parameters regularly.
- Maintain low nitrate levels.
- Betta Planted Tank Care:
- Trim and remove high-maintenance plants.
- Feeding:
- Soak pellets before feeding.
- Avoid live or frozen food.
- Feed small amounts at intervals.
- Engage during feeding sessions.
- Keep the heater on consistently.
- Monitoring:
- Watch for signs of stress and add up toys or decors.
- Address symptoms promptly and treat it priorly.
Final words:
As a fellow betta lover and keeper, I understand that winter poses unique challenges for keeping your betta healthy. I believe I’ve shared all my experiences and important tips to ensure your betta fish stay warm and healthy during the cold winter days. The key secret of care is to invest in an AQUARIUM HEATER for your betta fish and maintain good water quality – that’s all it takes. With these measures in place, you won’t need to worry about the seasons, and your betta will happily swim around.
I hope this post has provided you with valuable insights into caring for your betta fish during the winter months. Feel free to share this post with friends and family who also have bettas and could benefit from this information.
If you have any doubts or need clarification, don’t hesitate to comment below. Until next time, happy Betta-keeping!
Thanks for reading, Signing off, Thaha