PROBLEMS PLZ. HELP

[monkeyman164]

THREE DAYS AGO I SET UP A TWO GAL TANK I INTRODUCED A BETTA FISH JUST YEATERDAY HE HAS A SHELL AND A NO FISHING SIGN AND A PLANT IN HIS TANK FAKE.

TODAY I WENT TO FEED HIM AT HIS USUAL TIME AT ABOUT THREE'O'CLOCK BUT HE DIDN'T EAT ANY OF THE FIVE PELETS I DROPED IN WHY. 8O

 

[Sati]

For the love of God, you or somebody who loves you needs to remove your caps lock key.

 

[CiRXSi]

Bettas can be quite finicky eaters (at least I've always had at least one that was). But most of all, he's in a new setting. This is extremely common. It may take I would guess 3-5 days before he gets "used to" and comfortable with his surroundings before he starts eating normally again. Don't worry about him going hungry, he'll be fine. I've heard (and maybe someone else can verify this) that they can go 10 days without food, and still be fine. ALSO, what's the temp in your tank? They like it warm. Good luck finding a heater for that tank. Make sure it's not sitting next to a window or AC vent.

 

[madasafish]

Hehe. Right on about the ALL CAPS, Holly.

When you start out a betta tank, you need to do frequent water changes.

I'm guessing you haven't heard of the nitrogen cycle... and cycling a tank. Look this up online. www.thekrib.com is a great resource.

Your betta probably isn't eating because ammonia levels in your tank have increased hugely since you put the betta in there (the fish breathes out ammonia through its gills as a biproduct of biological processes). The beneficial bacteria that changes the ammonia to nitrite and the nitrite to nitrate hasn't had the 2 weeks or so that it requires to cover all the surfaces of the tank.

1) Do you filter the tank? 2) Is the betta starting to lose color/look whitish? 3) Have you done any water changes yet? I'd recommend a 50% water change every day for the next 1.5 weeks. I know it's not a fun thing to do, but it means that ammonia won't kill the fish. Esp. if the betta looks white, or is breathing heavily, it is probably starting to feel the effects of high levels of ammonia in the tank. I'd advise you to buy an ammonia test kit from your LFS (should be about $8). This'll help you monitor ammonia levels in the tank over the next few weeks. You should aim for a level of 0 parts per million. If this level is maintained for a week or so, your tank is fully cycled.

But as I said before, you really need to read up on this subject if you haven't already. Allowing ammonia levels to increase will certainly lead to the death of your betta. I wish fish stores told customers this before they walked out with a tank and a fish...

 

[nervousdog]

For the love of God, you or somebody who loves you needs to remove your caps lock key.

LOL


He'll be ok if he doesn't eat for a few days. Fish don't always eat everyday in the wild if they can't find food. Most likely he's a little stressed. Like madasafish
said, water changes are the best thing you can do for him right now.

Rob

 

[Allivymar]

Actually, many folks with bettas don't use cycled tanks; they do frequent water changes as finding filters to fit a 1g is kinda tough. I don't know if ammonia levels would be that high after 3 days with one betta UNLESS a lot of food has been fed and not removed if not eaten, if its an exceptionally small tank (under 1g), or there is more then the betta in a small tank.

Do get the water checked just in case, but it may the fish is just being finicky, or is ill. Hard to say without more info.

 

[QTOFFER]

Moe, the betta I purchased at auction last week, didn't eat for the first two days.
I think he was ticked off about the rough, sloshy bus ride home.

I would keep up with the water changes like everybody suggested and offer food at around the same time every day - removing what he does not eat so it doesn't duck up the water.

Also get a high quality food like Omega One or Hikari. When I got my first betta, the lfs only had some no-name food which my bettas still snub to this day.