fairly new to bettas

[ashleynicole]

i feed him aqueon betta food pellets and topfin freezedried bloodworms and occasionally a portion of frozen pea thats been microwaved and cooled to room temp. i also feed him twice a day a bit of both

Just a suggestion about the food, betta's are primarily carnivorous so if you want to feed a little bit of a pea only do it once a week.

Also freeze dried foods should only be fed as a treat, 1-2 times a week, and for bettas it is reccomended that they are soaked for a little while before you feed them because they can cause bloating. It would be better to get some frozen blood worms and if you want you can feed them every other day and feed the dry pellets on opposite days. Mine get bloodworms about twice a week. And I only feed mine once a day, and each betta only gets two pellets per feeding. Unless you are conditioning to breed them, feeding once a day is plenty, and you can even skip feeding 1-2 days a week.


And yes you are doing a good job with the water changes. whoever suggested not to do water changes was giving bad advice. Yes keep the filter in so that bacteria can colonize in it, bacteria live in the filters, substrate and on the walls, not really a lot of bacteria floating in the water. even 100% water changes in a 1 gallon tank are not going to stress your betta out. The last time I had a betta in a small tank like that I did 100% water changes 3x a week. One fish is going to have a relatively low biolaod, so the ammonia won't cause any toxicity issues for about 2 days if you have at least 1 gallon of water.

Yes betta's have a labyrinth organ and breathe air from the surface. This does not mean they don't get harmed from ammonia building up in the water just like any other fish.

Good luck with your betta, they are one of my most favorite fish.

 

[dancersmama79]

thank you... im open to all the advice and information i can get as i am just starting out... i tried to keep bettas a few years ago but they both died and when i talked to the people at petsmart they said it might have been because they were only eating pellets and i was changing all their water and not just part of it but back then i just had each of them at separate times and in a bowl with no filter and didnt know much about them.

 

[tarpon]

Over doing water changes makes water quality bad...

This is 100% false.

Also, a water change may cause momentary stress but its only for a short bit and a fish can get used to water changes, where just letting a tank sit will cause levels to rise creating continual stress that causes diseases, especially in a cycled tank.

There is no possible way on this earth that a water change will make water quality worse unless youre dumping in used toilet water

But i do agree its your choice, if i want to buy a puppy and starve it (illegal) , its my choice. Its my puppy. You always have a choice

 

[tarpon]

And yes bettas are anabantoid so they dont need any oxygen supplementation. Thats what gives them the ability to live in those tiny cups. but they do need filters (as you have) to maintain safe water levels.
Youve done research and arent just listening to the dumb things the petco/smart people will tell you, so i think your betta will be just fine

 

[dancersmama79]

im not one of these people that only listen to the first person they talk to. i research it out on several sites and ask questions as i have here. from what ive heard im doing the right thing by doing frequent water changes and watching his behavior and his appearance for any signs of changes as any good "mom" would lol Ive also noticed a few discolorations come up on his cheeks one dark on one cheek and one a whitish color on the other. the one on the top of his head still is patchy but not getting worse. hes still acting his same old self and still reacting to me when i get his attention. ive not noticed any changes in his fins or his body or eyes or breathing or anything like that just the spots and they seem to be located around his head.

 

[dancersmama79]

i also wanted to ask when i do water changes since hes in a 1 gallon tank for now with a carbon filter should i rinse evrything in his tank as well as the tank itself or let the bacteria build up on those things? Ive heard that good bacteria attaches to those things as well.

 

[Sisserydoo]

I personally don't rinse plastic plants and decor unless it gets really ugly with gunk. I don't know if you've ever walked around bare foot in a river, but there is a layer of slime on everything! I think it's good for fish to have some of that in their tank. Just my opinion of course

 

[dancersmama79]

thats what i was thinking cause i know fish need a slime coating and i was thinking its probly beneficial to them for the things in their tank to have that too.

 

[Hholly]

Only rinse your filter when it totally blocks water flow.

 

[tarpon]

I personally rinse my filter pads before they block water flow bc alot of gunk can build up on it. As long as you rinse it in tank water itll be fine.
You should make sure you keep your filter media wet with tank water while doing water changes. If it dries out thats bad news for the cycle

 

[ashleynicole]

I would wipe down the sides gently if they get to gunky, just make sure everything is rinsed in old tank water so you don't kill the bacteria. You can swish the gravel around in old tank water as well without disrupting the bacteria too much.


When I had a betta in a 1 gallon, I poured him into a vase, swished the gravel around in some of the water, dumped out the water. Wiped down the inside with a clean papertowel,.then refilled with treated water.

 

[dancersmama79]

I have stones in the bottom right now until i get the 5 gal then ill make it more fancier with pretty gravel and plants and more stuff. i figured since there is limited space in the one gal 2 plants and stones and a small internal filter and a temp guage was fine to start with. i know its not much space but me and my daughter have been needing a pet since our dog died last yr she was more like my child than a dog... abd sissy asks for her all the time so i bought the fish for her as a christmas present and since im a single mom and she will be starting school in jan after she turns 3 on the 1st it will give me a companion, something to care for and as a mom i guess i need that lol i have every intention on keeping him in a very well invironment and eventually getting tankmates for him and taking good care of him

 

[ashleynicole]

Sounds like your doing a great job.

 

[Sisserydoo]

I hope everything turns out alright for it. They are great little fish with big personality

 

[Sicklid-collector]

Welcome! Thanks for joining us!

Hi mate it sounds like white spot my betta male fish had it it's parasites well he had all White spots on him he stopped eating n he went all discoloured I treated him with eSHa exit from my local pet store which only cost me £3.89 but make sure it's defo White spot first before treating the last thing u want is to treat the fish with wrong medicine

 

[dancersmama79]

Hi mate it sounds like white spot my betta male fish had it it's parasites well he had all White spots on him he stopped eating n he went all discoloured I treated him with eSHa exit from my local pet store which only cost me £3.89 but make sure it's defo White spot first before treating the last thing u want is to treat the fish with wrong medicine

My lil guy only has one profound white spot on his head and ive noticed some discoloration on his cheeks but not white. hes still acting the same and eating the same just showing the physical signs... i just dont want it to turn into something major... ive heard about the pimples but he dont have any bloody veiny stuff or anything and he doesnt have anything that looks like Ich this just looks like a white patchy spot on his head... thanks for the info

 

[Hholly]

It sounds like it could be fungal.

 

[dancersmama79]

so should i treat with something like melafix? Also have a question about stress coat and stress zyme can you use stress coat as a water conditioner and should the stress coat and stress zyme be used together or should the stress zyme be added for instance every few water changes?

 

[dancersmama79]

if i treat with melafix how much do you use in a one gallon tank? sometimes the dosing can be tricky

 

[Bettababe1011]

Use bettafix. It's basically melafix, but fir bettas, who need a lower dose, I believe. Then I would jut follow the directions.