Just got a new Betta have ???

[freakinfishgeek]

So my 5 gallon QT tank that is went empty yesterday when its inhabitant moved in to the gold fish tank is now occupied again. My 5 year old convinced me to Princess it out and add one beautiful betta. I have had a bette once but in a tiny bowl. This is a 5 gallon tank with a whisper filter and long bubble curtain. It has one live plant one fake plant, one statue of the little mermaid, a ton of jewels, hot pink and purple gravel topped off with a castle in the corner. I have read conflicting ideas for water perameters for betta. I have haers they are fine at room temp and that they need mid 70's should I get a heater? Is the bubble curtain going to afftect him? Any good betta advice is welcome. I know not to keep anyone with him since they are feisty little guys. Oh and I know they are known for living in small spaces but so are goldfish and that is a big myth that causes them to die quickly is a 5 gallon tank a good home for him? Thanks he is in my little girls room I can't have himm belly up giving her nightmears!

 

[dkpate]

Ok, so the water needs to be around 80*F.
The tank needs to be 50% pwc'ed twice a week.
I would take the bubbles out.
Take a new piece of nylon, and run it over the decorations and fake plant, if it snags, take it out. You can also sand the rough edges of the decor if you want, (that's what I did).
Make sure the flow from the filter is not pushing him around. If it is, you can use a piece of plastic canvas from the craft store, and stick that in front of it to disperse the flow some.
The 5 gallon tank is great! You could even get a divider and put another betta on the other side. I have 2 bettas in a divided 5G.
People will tell you they are okay in the stagnant water because that's where they come from. NOT true. Wild bettas do not have long fins and do not even look like the bettas you buy in the store. It would be like saying we would be comfy living in a cave like our ancestors. Hope that makes some sense .
Watch the betta for the next couple weeks for fin rot, because that tends to happen to the ones in the pet stores.
Make sure you get him a good pellet, like Hikari, and remember, he might not eat for a few days, until he gets used to the new digs.
Congrats on the new guy! I wanna see pics!

 

[PinkSugar]

I'll just add a few bits of advice that have been really great for me with my bettas:

Bettas aren't big eaters, but they will beg for and eat WAY more food than is good for them. A good rule of thumb is feeding a portion of food the size of the betta's eye (which happens to also be the size of their stomach) twice a day. They'll beg and beg for more, but you have to be the strong one - they know no moderation!!! Overfeeding can lead to problems for the betta, like constipation, which they're prone to anyways, and even worse problems can develop if constipation goes untreated.

I, and many other owners, fast their bettas one day per week to give their digestive systems a chance to rest and/or deal with any blockages that might be forming.

I would also suggest feeding the betta frozen foods if you're able (probably not something your daughter will want to help with since we're talking bugs!). They're very close to a betta's natural diet. Frozen bloodworms, brine shrimp, tubifex worms, mosquito larvae (glassworms), daphnia and mysis shrimp are all great choices. The greater the variety you feed, the better! I have some reservations about pellet foods as they contain fillers that aren't really nutritious for the carnivorous betta (like wheat flour) and possibly dangerous additives (Hikari Bio-Gold, for example, contains MSG).

I keep my bettas in tanks 5 gallons and up, and the more water they have, the more feisty they are - they just swim and play constantly!! Keeping them in tiny containers is so cruel.

Other than that, I totally second everything dkpate said.

 

[dkpate]

I don't fast my bettas, I feed them the boiled, de-shelled peas once a week, which is a laxative for them. But I agree with the frozen foods part, freeze-dried bloats them bad. But only once a week for the bw's, because there are not enough nutirents in them for their main diet. And they LOVE bw's, so if you feed them often, they will refuse the pellets or normal food. Also, I soak my pellets for 5 minutes before I give them to the bettas. I feed mine twice a day, every day of the week. Pink is right, they are major beggars, and will actually do what I call "The food dance" which is pretty funny, but they don't need food . Depending on the size of the pellets after they are soaked, will show you how many to feed them. Mine get 3 per feeding .

 

[PinkSugar]

But only once a week for the bw's, because there are not enough nutirents in them for their main diet.

That's news to me, thanks for the heads up! And they're so dark colored, you'd think they'd be full of vitamins and good stuff. But I feed my little guy 5 different frozen foods during the week (all of what I suggested above except for tubifex worms, which I can't find in my local pet stores for some reason) so he's not getting bloodworms more often than any other food.

 

[dkpate]

That's good! This is information I have learned from a lady who has kept bettas for 30+ years, and been breeding for 15+ years. She makes her own food for them, (which I have no patience for ), and sets buckets out in the summer to catch mosquito larvae. Also, she uses garlic on/in all of her food, and her bettas have never had any diseases...I try to use the garlic as much as I can, because it seems to be an antibiotic for them, but it stinks my house up pretty bad haha!

 

[freakinfishgeek]

So (Prince) our new Betta is doing pretty good. I tested all the decor and sanded the roguh spots. I also reduced the bubble curtain to a little bubble tube like you see in 1 gallon death tanks Just for effect. I also turned the flow down on the filter. One thing I have noticed is that his fins are long and pretty but they look kinda clammped I thought they would losen up after getting out of that darn 8 ounce tub but they haven't much. They don't look bad just kinda clampped. Is that normal. Thanks for the food advice I was worried why he hasn't eaten yet!

 

[PinkSugar]

freakinfishgeek, I'm so glad to hear that Prince is doing well! As far as I know, the clamped fins might just be a sign of stress from the move to his new home (pretty much all fish are stressed by moves like this). That would make sense especially since he's not eating yet either. Assuming that you've checked the water parameters (ammonia/nitrite/nitrate), all is well with that and the temperature of the tank is nice and warm (78-80F) and stable, I might just keep an eye on Prince for now. He should recover from the stress of the move over the next couple of days.

I just posted a new profile for bettas - hopefully it'll have some information that's useful! http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f29/betta-splendens-125922.html#post1072115

dkpate, that's SO awesome that you've got a total betta expert to get info from! I'm definitely jealous! I'm thinking about trying the garlic juice, adding a bit to my little guy's food - I love garlic, so I don't mind the smell, but I feel bad for anyone else who has to come into my house after I've been cooking with it!

 

[dkpate]

Geek~ his tail will get better with cleaner water. They are just clamped from being in that little dish and disgusting water...yuk! So glad he has a home with you now!

Pink~ I love the garlic too, but no one would ever come to my house haha! And it's pretty much irristable to the fish and good for them! I just chop up the freshest garlic cloves I can find and put them in a cup of tank water, then I soak the pellets in there.

Oh, and where in BC do you live? I live about an hour and a half from Nelson.

 

[freakinfishgeek]

What is the garlic good for? Is it just a good thing to give them once in a while? I got the most expensive betta food at the LPS thinking that would mean its the best but its flakes and that superised me. I was wondering if I should do the garlic thing since he is new and seeming to have been kept in some nasty conditions. He is sure feisty though poor guy needs to be putting up with all the princess decor in his tank. I hope he starts to eat soon. Do they scrounge around for food all day like goldies cause I worry he won't know when I feed him if he isn't at the top of the tank. I know it always takes my other fish a while to figure out the routine. Its so sucks that I can't have more of these guys since they are so amazingly beautiful. Are the female as aggressive? I am going to start a small community tropical tank and thought about a female bette in there. I have also read on here that neon tettras do good with a bette since they are so fast. Any thoughs?

 

[dkpate]

The garlic seems to be an antibiotic for them, and they LOVE the smell and taste of it. You can feed it to them that way every single day. I only feed mine Hikari betta pellets, and a few frozen bloodworms and boiled, de-shelled peas once a week.
LMAO @ the princess tank! HAHAAAAAA! (He has to be feisty for it, ROFL)
Mine never scrounge around looking for food, they are at the side of the tank where I feed them whenever I go near the tank. They remember where their food comes from! HAHA! I do have one betta who comes to the front when I am there, but I have to feed him a little further back in the tank because of the duckweed, and I just wiggle my finger in the water by the floating pellet and he sees it, and comes bombing over to eat/attack.
Some females can be agressive, just like some males are more aggressive than others. And I would be more worried about the betta than the neons, because the betta is not fast enough to get away from the fast nippers. If you have a bigger tank, you can get like 5 females and then some corys. (10G's or so)

 

[freakinfishgeek]

I do happen to have an empty cycled 10 gallon. I have been waiting to stock it cause I couldn't decide what to get. If I go with the 5 females should I put in one at a time or all 5 at once or all the betta and the corys at once? Same thing with heat and decor water perameters ect? I heard that betta can handle a cycle pretty well. This tank has been cycled but its been empty for a few weeks. I have kept the filter and heater going and added a bit of ammonia now and then but it will probably mini cycle when it gets new in habitants. You are a wealth of info I am going to give everyone garlic juice for dinner! I have been concerned about my golides. I just added a new guy and sometimes that throws everything out of wack! Thank you so much!

 

[dkpate]

I would put all 5 in, or they will have some trouble establishing a pecking order. That is also why you get an odd number. Then later on, I would get the corys, if the tank can handle the bioload.
LOL, you are gonna soak the pellets in the garlic juice right? Not just give them garlic juice? LOLOLOL!
I have read your post about Miss Fanny and the new guy. Poor girl, boys never leave us alone!

 

[PinkSugar]

Pink~ I love the garlic too, but no one would ever come to my house haha! And it's pretty much irristable to the fish and good for them! I just chop up the freshest garlic cloves I can find and put them in a cup of tank water, then I soak the pellets in there.

Oh, and where in BC do you live? I live about an hour and a half from Nelson.

Fabulous, thanks for the tips on the garlic! I'm gonna try that in the next few days!
And I live in Vancouver, so we're pretty close to each other! That's awesome, whenever I'm on these forums, I always think of everyone else as being super far away, like in Australia compared to me, or something.

I heard that betta can handle a cycle pretty well. This tank has been cycled but its been empty for a few weeks. I have kept the filter and heater going and added a bit of ammonia now and then but it will probably mini cycle when it gets new in habitants.

I would put all 5 in, or they will have some trouble establishing a pecking order.

I'm gonna have to argue with this one a tiny bit. I'm a huge advocate of the fishless cycle since cycling can be SO rough on fish if you're not absolutely OBSESSIVE about testing and water changes, and when you talk about some fish being able to "handle a cycle well", that sets those fish up for living through HORRIBLE conditions while people cycle their tanks with the fish. Some people are good about water changes, but others aren't, and fish like danios who now have a reputation as being "good for cycling" are bought almost like disposable tools and killed during the cycling process.

With a tank that hasn't been stocked for a while, even with the addition of bits of ammonia, I feel like suddenly adding 5 fish could almost be setting you up for a whole new cycle. From almost no bio-load to 1 fish per 2 gallons of tank size right away. I know it's hard since the bettas do need to be added together in terms of territoriality and aggression, but if it was any other fish, it would be suggested to stock slowly, like 1-2 fish at a time.

I'm not sure how it goes in terms of compatibility, but I know corys are pretty docile, and I'd add them first, since you might only have 2 or 3, then test the tank super regularly and change water to control ANY ammonia spikes, then look into adding more fish. Or try to do a small fishless cycle just to get the tank going again (or to make sure that it's still going, in case the cycle has lasted) so that it's better able to handle the bioload of 5 fish.