Editorial policy
What we publish, how we check it, and what we refuse to do.
Last updated
Our editorial stance
We recommend the minimum conditions that keep a betta healthy, not the minimum that keeps it alive.
Most betta content online describes the conditions a betta can survive. We describe the conditions a betta does well in. Those are different numbers, and the difference is the reason this site exists.
In practice this means we never recommend a tank under 5 US gallons, we never describe a heater or filter as optional in a tropical setup, and we do not soften those positions for a product recommendation.
Who writes here
Every article is written by Bun Berka, who keeps 4 tanks in Riverview, Florida. He is an experienced keeper, not a veterinarian, and the site says so wherever it matters. Where a topic needs clinical knowledge he does not have, the article says that plainly rather than guessing.
How we source
We cite primary sources: veterinary literature, animal welfare organisations, university extension publications, and manufacturer specifications. We do not cite other betta blogs as evidence.
Health articles carry a source list. If the evidence on a question is thin or contested, the article says so rather than presenting one option as settled.
First-hand testing
Water parameters, cycling timelines, portion sizes and equipment behaviour are reported from our own tanks. Photographs of tanks, fish, symptoms and equipment are real rather than generated, and where we recommend gear we have not personally run, the article states that explicitly.
Use of AI assistance
We use AI tools to help draft and edit. Every article is then edited, fact checked and approved by Bun Berka before publication, and the first-hand observations, photographs and measurements are his own. We do not publish unreviewed machine output, and we do not present generated images as photographs of our tanks or of fish disease.
Decorative illustrations may be AI-generated and are labelled as such. Photographs of tanks, fish, symptoms and equipment are real.
Corrections
If we get something wrong, we fix it and say that we fixed it. Substantive corrections are noted on the article with the date. Email [email protected] and include the URL.
Advice that could harm an animal is treated as urgent and corrected ahead of anything else we are working on.
Updates
Care guidance changes. We review published articles periodically and update them, and the article header shows the last updated date. An updated date on this site means the content changed, not that a script touched the file.
Review and contributors
A volunteer reading committee checks articles and is credited by name and date on the ones it approves. We also commission writing from keepers, breeders and aquatic vets, and we pay for it. Contributors keep their byline and are held to every standard on this page. Both routes are described on the reading committee page.
We do not accept unpaid guest posts, and we do not publish anything submitted to place a link.
Commercial content
Some articles contain affiliate links, disclosed at the top of the article before any recommendation. Affiliate relationships never determine our recommendations, and we will not recommend equipment that conflicts with the welfare stance above, regardless of commission.
We do not publish sponsored posts, paid guest posts, or paid links.