Am I taking care of my betta right?

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mybettanorman

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Mar 23, 2017
Messages
3
Hi,
I'm not too sure if this is the right forum for this, but here we go (I'm new here).

Five days ago, I got my new male betta. In the past, I haven't been the best with taking care of fish, but this one I really want it to live. He's in a one gallon tank (and I do realize this is cruel to the fish and I'm getting a new tank tomorrow) with a small heater, some substrate, and two silk plants. Because it is in such a small bowl, I've been doing ten percent water changes everyday with a conditioner.

Three days ago, I tested the water condition. The pH was 6.8, the ammonia level was 0 ppm, the nitrite was 0 ppm, and the temperature was 79 degrees fahrenheit. I wasn't able to test the nitrate.

For the first few days, he was doing well. Nothing out of the ordinary, I think. But today, I noticed that he was kind of jerking around for a few seconds and then swimming normally. He doesn't lay at the bottom though, but he does just stay at one position for a while near the surface and then move again after a couple minutes. He also has these weird, black gills. Is this normal for bettas?
 
I've never seen my bettas jerk around. Absolutely get a bigger tank, I've never kept mine in anything smaller than 5 gallons. Id say the absolute smallest you can go is 3.5. the parameters seem fine. hanging out near the surface is normal for them and on occasion, laying down on the bottom for a little while can be normal too. make sure those silk plants have wide enough leaves than they can rest on them! their fins are big and heavy in comparison to their bodies and they like to rest, especially near the surface of the water. you should definitely get a small filter too, if it's in a little tank like 5 gallons or less, try to get a sort of weak one. they need the air flow and the filtration but again, their fins are long and heavy and fighting against too much water flow can be stressful for them.

i hope he does well! make sure to keep him nice and heated, that's the biggest mistake betta owners make. (i work at a pet store and you wouldn't believe the ignorance and stubbornness of people who want an easy, quick fish)
 
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