It's offical: I'm a sucker for a fishy face

[bluerose]

A blue female betta's fishy face, that is.

She was flopped on her side in her cup, not really swimming well, and looked very lethargic. All the other bettas in their cups would at least move a bit if you gently tapped the cup, and stay upright- she would kind of flicker and then go back to being limp and on her side.

She's drip acclimating to her new mini-betta digs right now- it's a tiny 'tank', but better than her cup... and I'm hoping that if she makes it I can eventually intro her to my community tank. We'll see. If not at least she will have passed in clean water (her cup has fuzz growing on the bottom of it- it's bad).

Oddly enough I had just bought a teeny tiny terra-cotta pot along with a bigger one as decor for my main tank- the little one is now holding some nicely dirtied gravel and a few tiny sprigs of anacharis in the betta 'tank'.

Will be doing daily 50+% changes... I can use dechlor tap, spring, or water from my tank- any suggestions on which is the best? I can do a mix as well. Also where would be best to put her- would the windowsill work OK or would that really promote algae growth? Anywhere else I'm afraid the water would get too cold thanks to the AC.

Thanks guys... I'll let you know if she makes it overnight.

 

[Zagz]

Congratulations on the new betta, can't wait until you get pictures up. Glad you rescued her.

 

[bluerose]

I just added her to her new house.

She's not on her side so much and she's breathing a lot more than she did in the cup. I added her a little sooner than I should have (only doubled the water level) but the cup was so disgusting I couldn't leave her in there any longer. I checked pH levels first and they were pretty similar, so I took the risk of moving her and so far she's doing better.

I'll get pics tomorrow sometime- the light's bad now that it's dark outside.



I gave her one piece of betta food- not interested. Swims away from it actually (hey, her tail fin works!!!). Odd...

 

[bluerose]

She made it overnight.

I'm getting more and more inclined to think she was so limp at the store because her water quality was just awful. She's actually darkened in color from royal blue to a really dark sapphire color.

All her fins are working now (she would only move her pectoral fins yesterday) and she's moving around her little territory, poking at the anacharis, looking at the tank next to her (my 8gal)... she'll still tip a little on her side from time to time but she doesn't just lay there like she was yesterday.


So some general betta questions as I've never had one before: Do they tend to rest up at the top a lot? I know they breathe up there. How much current is too much? Is it normal for them to stay still and move their pectoral fins quite frequently?

Thanks

 

[onisagi]

They tend to rest on top if assisted by floating leaves, but i don't think i've ever seen them rest on their side without any aid. Unless they have constipation and have gas thats making them not be able to swim upright. Bettas like really calm water, pretty much non-moving. I'd go with pretty much still water, to not stress or tire them out. If they look like theyre swimming gracefully, then they're fine. Too much current would be when you seem them working hard to swim against the current, or if theyre actually swept around. Bettas do move ther pectorals pretty fast, but only at certain times, ie when they see competition/food, otherwise they shouldn't be on high alert like that unless theyre stressed.

 

[bluerose]

She's getting more and more normal as the day goes on. She goes right after her food when I drop it in there, moves around, pokes at the plants- seems to be a pretty normal fishy now. She still occasionally tilts to one side or the other but she fixes it pretty quickly and doesn't just lay there. HOORAY!

Now... to work on getting the current on the tank slowed down so she can move in.

Pictures are forthcoming!

 

[RJRofFL]

Hello bluerose,

I'm so glad things are working out. You are to be commended for this, and I nominate you as "Betta Mom of the Year!"

I'm sure you've heard this, but it does work. Take a pea and cook it (the microwave is OK) but not till it's soft, only firm. Remove the skin and cut into tiny pieces. Feed what she'll eat in 2-3 minutes and discard the rest (the pea not the betta).

This is a good treatment for constipation and also in general.

Best of luck with the "finned girl." And, again, congratulations.

Bob

 

[fearlessfisch]

Awww.... I love these kinds of stories. Yay that she is doing so well. I'm sure she really appreciates her own, clean apartment.

Love to see the pics.

 

[bluerose]

Pics aren't great- most of them were the camera's reflection... but here are a couple.

The background I put her against is a dark navy- she's really pretty dark for a female betta (the ones that I've seen at least).

 

[bluerose]

I gave her a few bits of a pea- she ate the first chunk that fell into the water but the rest sank and she hasn't gone after them... I'll have to get them out unless she eats them. (whoops- there she goes!)

I added a BUNCH of plants to the main tank this afternoon- hoping they will grow up nice and big and between that and fiddling with the filter, I can get the current altered/slowed down enough so she can live happily in the main tank.

 

[plecoperson]

She looks good, and I bet she's happy. How kind of you to want to help her, and fins crossed over here that she makes it.

 

[Menagerie]

Lovely betta--she's a beauty!

 

[bluerose]

She eyes me whenever I take the lid off the 'apartment' (thanks to whoever coined that term in regards to her tank!), no doubt looking for food. Silly betta. She also got VERY hoity-toity with me when I changed part of the water earlier.

Apparently she has a liking for the bits of pea I gave her earlier. She's down there nudging gravel around to get the last of it.

Now she just needs a name. The tank fish don't have names (with small schools of neons and glolights you just can't tell them apart, although I could name the cories as they have very different markings)...

I'm open to suggestions.

 

[An t-iasg]

Pretty fish! Maybe your membername here would suit her?

Feeding peas is a great idea. I feed pea pieces to my betta once a week as a preventative for bloat. My betta is as excited to get peas as he is to get bloodworms! I use a little paring knife and hold it like a pencil - that seems to help in getting the pea cut small enough. Try to cut the pieces the size of their pellet food and they will accept them better.

It's also not unusual that a betta is "finicky" about new food. One new betta I had didn't eat for a week, until he decided to sample the pellets. Keep offering the staple food (good choices: Hikari or Ocean Nutrition betta pellets) that you want her to eat and she'll get used to it. Bloodworms (I like Hikari freeze-dried ones) are a good treat twice a week.

I have only had male bettas, and they are constantly moving their pectoral fiins. They move these fins under a bubble nest to keep water flowing under the eggs. My bettas were never bred, but I've noticed that the males' pectoral fins are always moving unless they're asleep. I don't know if females' fins also move constantly. If they do, I would think it's ok. My betta also likes to hover at the top of the tank frequently, but he likes to hide down among the plants too. He sleeps at the top of the tank in his moss bed.

 

[bluerose]

She's still a perky swimming fishy. She spends quite a bit of time looking at the fish in the tank next to her though. I don't blame her, the 'apartment' is really way too small. I just need to cut the current in half or so (if my estimations are correct... it does 88GPH... 400L/H flow... this is in an 8 gal!) and then she can move in.

 

[bluerose]

OK... after significant screwing around with the intake and output on the filter... I got it slowed down enough that I was willing to put her in and see how she did.

She's figuring out where the high and low-current areas are in the tank and is moving around accordingly.

I'm thinking though that I'll put in a 'betta bed' (soap dish with java moss isn't it?) up somewhere for her, if I can find the moss...

So far everyone is being very civil- she occasionally darts towards the tetras if they get too close and they flit away. Everyone seems pretty happy, although she gets peeved with Mazda (the really neurotic/freaky cory cat- it zoom zoom zooms around the tank.. hence the name) if it gets too close.

 

[An t-iasg]

I'm sure she'd like a betta bed! I got a new plastic soap dish with suction cups. I have used regular java moss, taiwan moss, and fissiden moss in the bed. The taiwan moss grows the most and looks the "fluffiest", although the fissiden is nice too.

 

[bluerose]

Hm. I'm going to have to see if I can find any moss. Might be a bit of a task. Where did you get your soap dish if I may ask?

Miss betta is having some difficulties staying out of the current... she finds spots where she's fine- but then moves and ends up getting shoved around (the output is at the top of the tank and wide). Need to work on a betta bed ASAP so she figures out where she can rest (there's a corner at the top that's calm and I can also drop her food in there so the tetras don't nab it).

I really don't like this filter and may end up replacing it (not sure how well the jerry-rigging will work long-term anyway)... the lid just won't accomodate a HOB so it's tricky to find a filter that'll work.

 

[Purrbox]

For that 8 Gallon you might want to look at one of the mini canister filters meant for reptile aquariums. It might be easier to setup the input and return with on of those since there isn't room for a HOB. Keep in mind that Canister ratings are generally based off when the filter is empty so the flow shouldn't be as bad when full of media.
501 Turtle Filter
Rapids Mini Canister Filter

 

[RJRofFL]

Since she is so fond of them, I vote for naming her "Pea-Pod".

My corys are named "Larry", "Moe", and "Curly".

Bob