1. Fish
A healthy Betta splenden will be in clear water, be vibrant in color, have no bloating, not have an eye protruding more than the other, not have small white/yellow/red lesions, and have no missing scales. Male fish will have a longer tail fin. You can not house more than one betta in a single tank, so you’re only buying one fish.
2. Aquarium
You need an aquarium that holds at least 1 gallon of water, with a lid. However, it is recommended to get a 2.5 gallon tank if you are a new aquarium owner. Thoroughly rinse anything that you place into the aquarium.
3. Heater:
If you do not buy a heater, your fish will die very quickly, even if you live in a temperate climate. If you live where it gets over 90 degrees where your fish will be kept, you may also need a cooler.
For tanks under 5 gallons, you can get a preset heater, but do not purchase one that just puts out a constant wattage. If your aquarium comes with a constant wattage heater or even a preset heater, do not use it. All constant wattage heaters are unsafe and most preset heaters are nearly as unsafe. Additionally, “automatic” or “emergency” shutoff does not mean that it is a preset heater, it just means that it will try to shut itself off before starting a fire if you leave it outside of water.
A good preset heater for tanks under 5 gallons is the Fluval P10.
For tanks 5 gallons and over, you’ll want to purchase the appropriate watt heater with a thermostat from Eheim Jager.
4. Hide:
The fish needs a place to hide. These typically are decorations with a hole big enough for the fish to go into. Make sure that it is safe (for the fish, not the decoration) for the aquarium. It is easier to clean ones with an open bottom. For male bettas, the hole should be at least 1.5 inches wide, but preferably two inches. Female bettas can usually make do with a one-inch hole, but larger is better. Rinse thoroughly.
5. Plant:
Your fish will also want a plant to hang around to feel safe. Use silk or silicone plants, and not plastic plants, as they are safer for the betta’s long fins. Rinse thoroughly.
6. Rock/Gravel/Substrate:
You can use river rock from Dollar Tree, or pea gravel from Home Depot or Lowes. However, you will find many options at the aquarium store. Please make sure that whatever you buy is safe for aquariums. Painted rock made for aquariums is safe, but it doesn’t hold beneficial bacteria as well as unpainted rock. If you buy painted rock, it’s best to get products that also contain some unpainted rock. Rinse thoroughly.
7. Food:
Buy betta pellets that are red in color from carotenoids being added1. Common carotenoids are beets or astaxanthin. If it’s just red from paprika or food coloring (all Tetra products), don’t buy it. If you are buying a baby fish, they make micro/mini pellets, but adult fish are easier to manage for new aquarium owners. If you are purchasing an opaque white or iridescent (a.k.a. dragon scale) betta, you will want to get a betta pellet where the first ingredient is wheat instead of fish meal or soy.
8. Siphon/Gravel Vacuum:
You can purchase a plastic aquarium siphon with a grate over the sucking end (so as not to suck up fish), and a bulb to start the siphon, for $6 on Amazon. Do not purchase a regular siphon, especially one that you would have to start with your mouth, as fish do sometimes carry diseases that can be spread to humans.
9. Bucket:
You don’t want to use the same bucket that you use to clean the house because the bacteria from the fish can be unsafe for humans and animals2.
10. Water:
The best thing to purchase for your fish is natural spring water from the market. You can usually purchase it in one-gallon containers for around $1 per gallon. Even if you don’t always use spring water for your partial water changes, it is good to invest in it for the water that you start the aquarium with. Do not accidentally purchase distilled or purified drinking water.
If you plan on using city tap water, you will need to purchase a dechlorinator such as Seachem Prime or API Tap Water Conditioner. The dechlorinator must be added to the water at least 5 minutes prior to the fish.
If you have unchlorinated well water that is not softened or filtered (reverse osmosis, for example), you do not need to buy any kind of water conditioning product, but spring water is still better.
If your water is filtered or softened you must purchase minerals to add to the water such as Seachem Replenish. The minerals should be added to the water prior to the fish. You will also want to get a betta pellet with iodine added.
Optional Items:
Filter: Using a filter is an advanced topic and is covered in a separate guide. They are not necessary for first-time aquarium owners. If you get one, you still need to do regular partial water changes. Also, when someone talks to you about “cycling your tank”, they’re not referring to just cycling the water through the filter, but rather they’re talking about establishing a nitrogen cycle which is an advanced topic covered in a separate guide.
Thermometer: To measure the temperature of your water. A digital IR thermometer is accurate and inexpensive. Note that the surface temperature is likely to differ from the temperature near the heater.
Bubbler/Bubble Stone: There is no research that says you need a bubbler, but there is some evidence that a bubble stone is more effective than a bubbler at adding atmospheric gases to the water. Having a bubbler when your heater goes out can actually be bad for your fish as the water can become supersaturated with air and your fish may get the bends. A bubble stone will speed up the establishment of a nitrogen cycle.
Net: You may want to purchase a small net for transferring your fish between containers. You won’t use it initially, but you may want to have one in case you need it.
Medicine: If you live in the US, API Fin & Body Cure will solve most minor bacterial problems and will be nice to have just in case. API General Cure will solve most minor parasite problems. Seachem Kanaplex will cure more serious bacterial infections. Indian Almond Leaf extract will help with torn fins and other dermal issues. Some products that have been proven to have NO beneficial effect and a waste of treatment time and money are Melafix and Bettafix3.
Sanitizer: If you are starting a new tank because your last fish died, you should sanitize the tank and everything in it with Tetra Lifeguard before putting the new water and new fish in it.
Water Test kits: It is important to do regular partial water changes or your fish will get sick and die. The chemical that usually gets toxic first is Ammonia. You can purchase ammonia test strips or even a tank alarm such as the Seachem Ammonia Alert that sticks to the inside of the tank. However, if you want to be a good fish parent, you’ll want to do regular water changes so you don’t really need any testing equipment.
If you are very interested in accurately measuring levels of the common unsafe chemicals, comparing those chemicals between two bodies of water, or seeing whether your tank has an established natural nitrogen cycle, you should purchase the API Master Test Kit. They are complicated to use. The most common errors are not adding the second chemical when measuring ammonia or nitrate, trying to measure your nitrate when your nitrite isn’t zero, not holding the dropper bottles exactly 180 degrees upside down when counting the drops, not counting drops accurately, or not filling the test tubes up to exactly the 5ml line.
Literature Cited
1 Clotfelter, Ethan & Ardia, Daniel & Mcgraw, Kevin. (2007). Red fish, blue fish: Trade-offs between pigmentation and immunity in Betta splendens. Behavioral Ecology. 18. 1139-1145. 10.1093/beheco/arm090.
2 Novotny, Ladislav & Dvorska, L. & Lorencova, Alena & Beran, Vladimír & Pavlik, Ivo. (2004). Fish: A potential source of bacterial pathogens for human beings. Veterinarni Medicina. 49. 343-358. 10.17221/5715-VETMED.
3 Shivappa, Raghunath & Christian, Larry & Noga, Edward & Law, Jerry & Lewbart, Gregory. (2015). Laboratory evaluation of safety and efficacy for MELAFIX® (melaleuca cajuputi extract). Journal of Exotic Pet Medicine. 24. 10.1053/j.jepm.2015.04.020.