BETA FISH THERAPY

submitted by Rebecca Neeley of Methodist Healthcare, Skilled Nursing Facility on February 25, 2002

What is the activity:

Beta Fish Therapy is a one on one/in room therapy. Beta Fish are very "socially oriented" creatures. For this reason are perfect to use for animal-assisted therapy.They see in color, which sometimes makes it possible to get their attention with certain colorful objects. They are very inquisitive and constantly interested in what is going on around them! It has multiple outcomes that may be expected including, lowered blood pressure, decrease in depression, reminiscences of animals that patient may have had in the past.

Instructions on how to facilitate the activity:

The facilitation of the activity is quite simple...once you have "Beta" in his new home just put him on the cart and take off for room visitation, but there are a few things you need to know about putting the bowl together and the care of Beta.

First, place artificial plant in bowl, then add marbles. Next, fill bowl with tap water that is between 70-80 degrees F (it is a good idea to purchase an aquarium thermometer). Add appropriate amount of Stresscoat (product removes the chlorine from the tap water). As simple preventatives, add a tsp. of Aquarium salt to water. This helps Beta's gills function more effectively. Add a few drops of Aquarisol to guard against ICH. After all has been added to water, place Beta in bowl.

After the fish is set up, it is simple :) one on one individualized therapy from here! You can get as creative as you'd like.. Beta fish are special in the way that you can even try to teach it tricks. For example, jumping up and take a piece of food off your finger.. patients will think that it's SOOO GREAT!

Materials: Clear/glass bowl or vase, Male-beta fish, fish food, tap water, small artificial aquarium plant, colorful flat floral marbles, aquarium thermometer, Stresscoat Water Conditioner, aquarium salt, Aquarisol drops(guards against ick infection), small cart for transport of fish, Rubbermaid rubber shelf-lining to put on top of cart for non-slip surface, and a small fish net.

Materials Needed: Male Beta Fish, clear glass bowl or vase, colorful flat floral marbles, small artificial aquarium plant,

Contradictions: It may sound like a lot of trouble for upkeep of the fishbowl and beta fish, but it really isn't!

Special Considerations:

Cleaning the Bowl - Always clean bowl with WATER ONLY and just use a soft washcloth to wipe off the residue on inside of bowl and rinse well.

Wherever you plan to keep Beta, it should be in a draft-free location and not in direct sunlight; fish are very sensitive to sudden temperature changes and will get sick very quickly if subjected to extremes.

Wherever you plan to keep Beta, it should be in a draft-free location and not in direct sunlight; fish are very sensitive to sudden temperature changes and will get sick very quickly if subjected to extremes.

Feed the Betas twice a day, 7-8 pellets at a time. You might want to start out with less and see how much your individual fish wants to eat.

Change water once a week.