Lightly Medicated | Assorted Betta (Betta splendens)

What “Lightly Medicated” means

This is the same animal as our non-quarantined listing, held briefly in our systems and given one short prophylactic course — a light treatment for ich and for internal and external worms — then observed eating in front of us before it goes home.

A light course knocks the parasite load down. It does not guarantee full removal, and we will not pretend otherwise. Ich is only killed in its free-swimming stage, and a short treatment window can miss cysts entirely; worm burdens can survive a single dose. Clearing an animal takes the full quarantine window — 40 to 90 days depending on the species — which is exactly what the Quarantined listing is for. This tier buys you a lower parasite load and a fish we have watched eat, not a cleared animal.

We condition the fish on our end. Every animal we medicate is brought back onto prepared food on our own systems and is eating before it leaves — in practice it is rare for a lightly medicated fish to ship out and arrive sick. Do the same at your end: get it eating in your aquarium before you count it settled.

When it ships

Plan on 3–5 days on our systems for the treatment course, and it does not leave until it is eating. If the animal is not already in our systems we source it first — allow up to two weeks for it to reach us before that clock starts. From the day you order, plan on roughly two and a half weeks in total.

The guarantees

• Shipped orders: 24-hour live guarantee from confirmed delivery.
• In-store pickup: 7-day live guarantee — bring a water sample from your aquarium so we can test it before your livestock goes home with you.

Want the full program — treated, observed, confirmed eating, and covered for 28 days on pickup? That is the Quarantined listing. Run your own quarantine and just want the fish this week? The non-quarantined listing is cheaper still. The whole ladder is explained in Quarantined vs Non-Quarantined.

Bettas get labeled a beginner fish and a solitary fish in the same breath, and both reputations are a little misleading. Betta splendens is a labyrinth fish that breathes surface air through a specialized accessory organ — genuinely low-maintenance on the aeration front — but it’s also intelligent, food-motivated, and considerably more interactive than people expect from something sold in a cup. They recognize individual keepers, learn feeding routines quickly, and respond to attention in a way most fish don’t.

Males build bubble nests at the surface as part of their natural breeding behavior even with no female present — a floating cluster of mucus-coated air bubbles anchored under plant leaves or floating plants. This is completely normal and a reliable sign of a healthy, content male. A betta that builds nests is a betta in good condition.

Wild B. splendens originated in shallow rice paddies, irrigation ditches, and slow floodplain streams across Thailand and surrounding countries — warm, often oxygen-poor water where labyrinth breathing became an evolutionary advantage. Famously intolerant of other males and often other long-finned males of any species, but plenty of quiet, fin-safe community tankmates (small corydoras, small tetras, snails, shrimp) work alongside a single male without issue.

Scientific name: Betta splendens
Origin: Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam — rice paddies, slow streams, flood plains, and irrigation canals
Water parameters: Temp 76–82°F · pH 6.0–7.5 · GH 5–20 (adaptable)
Tank requirements: 5 gal minimum (10 gal preferred); must have access to surface air; no tight lids without ventilation gaps
Diet: Carnivore — quality betta pellets as staple; supplement with frozen bloodworms, daphnia, and brine shrimp
Compatibility: Males must be kept alone or with carefully chosen fin-safe tankmates; no other male bettas
Husbandry note: Bettas in cold water (below 76°F) are slow, prone to illness, and rarely display. A small dedicated heater is not optional — it’s what the difference between a fish that thrives and one that slowly deteriorates looks like in practice.