Newbie with the Betta Blues

[bettachick]

Hello everyone!
Well, I've owned bettas before and never really had any problems with them. I haven't had one for many years, and decided to get me another one. I bought him 2 weeks ago and he's got ick . As of now, I've got him in a 1 gallon tank with filter, and I'm planning to get another tank that my mother use to have, 5 gallons I think to put him in. Anyway, I'm putting a drop of QuICK Cure in his tank, and I'm hoping that this will help my little fellow. If anyone has any suggestions on how to help my little boy happier and healthier, I'd really appreciate it (I'm afraid he's depressed, my daughter laughs at me, but I love my animals and I worry!)
As soon as I get him feeling better, I've been given an octagon 35 gallon tank that I want to get up and going so I can adopt some female bettas along with some other fish that will live peacefully among each other. Again, all suggestions would be appreciated!! Thanks everyone! Have a great day

 

[siva]

Heat and salt would be the best way to cure him. Is there a heater in the tank?

 

[bettachick]

No, I dont have a heater and have been looking for one, but I also read on a site that heaters aren't good for small tanks because it will cause him to get too hot. So that scared me, but, I do have a thermometer in there and a light that heats the tank during the day, but I turn it off at night because I dont want him getting stressed by lack of darkness. And tomorrow, I'm going out to get some aquarium salt for him. Now, I'm going to try and get the smallest heater I can find, thanks to your advice Thank you so much for your help!

 

[Bettababe1011]

No, I dont have a heater and have been looking for one, but I also read on a site that heaters aren't good for small tanks because it will cause him to get too hot. So that scared me, but, I do have a thermometer in there and a light that heats the tank during the day, but I turn it off at night because I dont want him getting stressed by lack of darkness. And tomorrow, I'm going out to get some aquarium salt for him. Now, I'm going to try and get the smallest heater I can find, thanks to your advice Thank you so much for your help!

Bettas thrive in temperatures of about eighty. The lowest I set my Betta tanks at is 78 and that was only because it wasn't an adjustable heater. 78-82 is best IMO for bettas. I'd call over eighty two for very long periods of time overheated.

 

[melosu58]

Welcome aboard. We are glad you found us here at AA.

Moved to the FW unhealthy fish forum. More people will see it there.

 

[siva]

Well you would want the weakest heater, which isn't necesarily the smallest. The only heater I have that will work in a 1 gal is the tetra for 2-15 gals that they sell at walmart for about $15. It doesn't overheat a 1 gal, because it's a peice of crap. However, this would be a waste of $15 because it's only going to heat the tank to 78 max, and that's not warm enough to help with your ich. Your betta needs to be at atleast that warm of a temp contantly, with temps getting raised to about 86 during treatment. The heat is crucial to help advance the illness, without it, you'll have to leave the salt in for so long it will likely kill the betta. Getting the crappy heater now would not make sense because that fish needs a bigger tank really bad, and that heater isn't going to be good enough for it. You need a bigger tank for fishy right away, aquarium salt, and a heater with a adjustable dial. I don't see how without those three things you can properly cure him. The very best deals for what you need:
Walmart.com: Hawkeye 5 gal Tank Aquarium Kit: Fish
and
THEO Heater - 25W - UL Listed | Aquarium Heaters | Fish Tank Heaters | Aquarium - ThatPetPlace.com

 

[siva]

Oh and a heads up, whatever you do, don't add salt directly to the tank. It must be disolved in water first. You can follow along my ich thread here to help you with specifics, within it are other helpful links as well: http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...urgent-pls-help-me-150873-11.html#post1349579

 

[bettachick]

Thx to everyone for your help. I'm going to go ahead and get the 5gal tank, dial heater, and aquarium salt! I'd do anything for my little guy. And thanks again

 

[siva]

Oh he's gonna love it in there! And you'll enjoy him so much more too. If you have any questions/problems along the way with the ich just let us know

Also make sure to research fisheless cycling/nitrogen cycle so you understand what the new tank is going to go through. If possible, you can run the old filter in with the new filter for a while in the new tank, or if that's not possible take the filter media out of the old filter and put it in the new filter, even if it's not same kind of filter, make it work. If it's a cartridge take the fiber part off of the plastic frame and get rid of the carbon inside and wrap it around the new filter cartridge and pop that in. That way your new tank will mini cycle at worst. If you don't already have a freshwater master test kit, I'd strongly recommend you pick up one of those as well. You can order it from walmart as well for about $25. It might seem like a lot, but for one tank it's going to last a long time. I would also recommend Seachum Prime as your dechlorinator. Any brand is fine really, but Prime can come in handy in an ammonia/nitrite crisis.

 

[bettachick]

Siva, thank you so much for helping me out with my betta. I did exactly what you told me to do, and I have to tell youuu! He's doing soooo much better now. His ick is completely gone and I went ahead and got that crappy heater that you were telling me about from walmart, and you were absolutely right, it's a peice of junk. I also ordered the Hawkeye 5 gal that you recommended me to get from walmart and it should be here any time now (I can't wait ).
But again, I thank you so much for being a good friend and walking me thru on how to care for my little man I dont mean to talk so much but my animals are my family (corny, i know, lol) because they're always there for you, they have unconditional love for you no matter what, and I love them so much. When I come home after being gone for a while, he gets excited to see me, its so cute, he swims up and down and stares at me like a puppy ready to play fetch! I named him Patrick (LOL) because like Patrick on SpongeBob, he sleeps the best he can under a rock. He wriggles his head down and under a rock (Hahahaa!) the best he can when he takes a nap.
Ok, NOW I'm done raving about my baby.
Take care, and Thank You I owe you one!

 

[siva]

I'm thrilled I could help! I feel the same way about my pets. Bettas really are like little water puppies You are such a good fish mommy, Patrick is very lucky!