Printable owner manual
The tank is cycled before the fish goes in. Everything else is detail.
A 54-page printable manual with tank, heater and lid, a fishless cycling walkthrough, the water numbers that actually matter, feeding without overfeeding, choosing a healthy betta and quarantine, eight health pages with the medication rules, and a power outage plan.
Not sure yet? Download the first 5 pages free, contents page included.
- 54 pages, print or view
- Beginner friendly
- No external links inside the PDF
Edition 3.1
Oct 2026 路 54 pages
Care-sheet roulette
- A bowl on a desk, room temperature, no filter
- "Add the fish and the tank will cycle itself"
- Fin rot treated with whatever the pet shop had on the shelf
- Flakes twice a day, and a bloated betta by month two
This guide
- 5 gallons minimum, heated, filtered, cycled and lidded, with the reason for each
- A fishless cycling walkthrough, step by step, started while the fish is still in the shop
- Fin rot, ich, velvet and columnaris, with the medication rules and the aquarium salt limits
- A pellet staple, a feeding schedule, and why a betta stops eating
What's inside 路 54 pages
Everything from first setup to daily routine.
Tank, heater and lid
Tank size, type and where it goes, the heater and thermometer, filtration and gentle flow, substrate, plants and decor, and cleaning.
The nitrogen cycle
The nitrogen cycle and fishless cycling, fish-in cycling and a stalled cycle, water testing and hardness, water changes and conditioner.
Health and red flags
Red flags and testing the water first, finding a vet, fin rot, ich and velvet, columnaris, swim bladder, dropsy and fish tuberculosis, and medication rules.
Diet
The feeding schedule, pellets and the food chart, treats and the never-feed list, why a betta stops eating, and body condition.
Handling, arrival and behavior
Handling, body language, flaring and bubble nests, enrichment from the research, choosing a healthy betta, quarantine, tankmates and fry.
Owner tools
Setup checklist and targets, emergency card, budget and shopping list, first 30 days, symptom reference, power outage plan, pet-sitter sheet, and the logs.
Every page, section by sectionThe package's own contents page, all 54 pages of it. Nothing here is a teaser for something sold separately.
Getting Started
- How to Use This Package
Profile
- Quick Profile & Cost Overview
- The Species, Size & Lifespan
Housing & Environment
- Tank Size, Type & Where It Goes
- Temperature, Heater & Thermometer
- Filtration & Gentle Flow
- The Nitrogen Cycle & Fishless Cycling
- Fish-In Cycling & When a Cycle Stalls
- Water Quality, Testing & Hardness
- Water Changes & Conditioner
- Substrate, Plants, Light & Decor
- Cleaning & Hygiene
Feeding
- Diet & Feeding Schedule
- Pellets, Protein Foods & the Food Chart
- Treats & the Never-Feed List
- Why a Betta Stops Eating
- Body Condition & Portion Control
Handling & Behavior
- Handling: Net, Cup & Never Bare Hands
- Body Language, Flaring & Bubble Nests
- Enrichment: What the Research Says
- Common Mistakes & Myths
Arrival & Life Stages
- Choosing a Healthy Betta & Bringing It Home
- Quarantine & the Hospital Tank
- Tankmates
- Males, Females, Bubble Nests & Fry
Health & Common Issues
- Red Flags & Testing the Water First
- Finding a Vet & When It Is a Vet's Job
- Fin Rot, Regrowth & Clamped Fins
- Ich & Velvet
- Columnaris
- Swim Bladder, Dropsy & Fish Tuberculosis
- Reading Waste, Breathing & Oxygen
- Medication Rules & When a Fish Will Not Recover
Quick Reference
- Setup Checklist & Targets
- Emergency & Quick Targets Card
Owner Tools
- Budget: Setup & Shopping List
- Budget: Running Costs
- First 30 Days
- Symptom Quick Reference
- Daily, Weekly & Seasonal Routine
- Power Outages
- Travel, Transport & Moving
- Pet-Sitter Sheet
- Owner Log
- Equipment, Water Change & Vet Log
- Enrichment Checklist & Log
Reference
- Glossary, A to F
- Glossary, G to M
- Glossary, N to Z
- Sources
- Where the Sources Disagree
- Version History & About
Take a look inside
The pages that keep the water at zero.
Click a page to see it at full size. The contents page is complete; the others fade out where the paid content starts.
The first 5 pages, free
Pages 1 to 5 as a PDF: the contents page and the opening pages before the care sections start, so you can see every page the full package covers.
Who this is for
- New betta owners who have not bought the tank yet, which is the right time
- Keepers with a bowl or an unheated tank who want to fix it this week
- Anyone whose betta looks unwell and wants to test the water before medicating
What it's not
- Not a substitute for an aquatic-experienced veterinarian
- Not a live website mirror, a clean printable package instead
- Not a subscription, one purchase and every corrected edition is free
What changed
This is edition 3.1.
Bought before? Re-download free from your library.
- 3.1, Oct 2026. Now 54 pages. Costs: every item priced and rounded to the nearest $5; setup $150 to $360, running costs $10 to $25 a month, the budget now over two pages. Other changes are wording only.
- 3.0, Oct 2026. Rebuilt on the current outline, 53 pages. Safety: weekly water change 25 to 30%; float 20 to 30 minutes, slow mixing past a 10掳F gap; ich by heat to 86掳F (30掳C) with an air stone for two weeks, or aquarium salt at a tablespoon per 5 gal; fishless cycle dosed to 3 ppm, done when a full dose reads zero in 24 hours, 4 to 6 weeks and up to 8; fish-in action line 0.1 ppm, a third of the water, 50% or more if climbing; hospital tank 10 to 20 gal, bare; tankmates need 10 to 20 gal, ghost shrimp past 1.5 in, sorority at 10 gal with cover; no heat source in an outage; a bag no more than a third water; pellet about 35% protein and 5% fat; aquarium salt for ich only, fin rot dosed to a label or a vet. Costs: setup $105 to $280 before the fish, $110 to $310 all in. Other changes are wording only.
- 2.2, Sep 2026. Safety: quarantine 30 days minimum; salt ended with repeated water changes once the infection clears; aeration first in a blackout; fish-in action line 0.1 to 0.25 ppm. Other changes are wording only.
- 2.1, Sep 2026. Spacing rules only. No words and no figures changed.
- 2.0, Sep 2026. Safety: feeding window 1 to 2 minutes. Costs: running costs $10 to $25 a month, $120 to $300 a year.
- 1.0, Sep 2026. First edition, 36 pages. Replaced by 2.0.
Ready when you are
Betta Fish Care Package
54 pages. PDF. Print it or keep it open on your phone, tablet, or computer. Yours the moment you check out.
Edition 3.1, published October 3, 2026. Paid through Stripe. The download link arrives on the next page, and it stays in your library for as long as the package exists, always as the current edition. Not a substitute for a vet.
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The free betta fish guide is still free
This package is the same research as our betta fish care guide, reformatted into an offline manual with the checklists, logs, and triage tables the web pages do not carry. Read the free guide first and buy this only if you want it in your hands.