My Betta is not eating.

[pettygil]

Lets go back to the beginning with just the betta tanks: You had two 6.5 tanks that were being used for Bettas and was having an ammonia issue later determined to be from the substrate. When you reduced feeding, changed the substrate and switched to Spring water, you stopped having ammonia issues. You ran out of spring water and then used your tap water which has chloramine in it and you started having ammonia issues again in the betta tank with the one fish. That fish has since died but the tank that held the one Betta is showing no ammonia, nitrite or nitrate.
Am I missing anything?

The only way you are going to reduce the nitrate level in the tank with 100 ppm nitrate is to do water changes with water with no ammonia or chloramine or do a 100% water change and replace all the water with water that has no chloramine or ammonia. Waiting is not going to make the nitrate level go down on it's own unless you have something like live plants using the nitrates. Doing a 100% water change in a tank with no fish will have no effect on the biological filter unless you leave it dry long enough for the materials to dry out. This is why you have the replacement water ready before emptying the tank.

I did a 100 percent water change on the tank that was empty with no fish.
My ammonia reads 0. I used tap water, instead of spring water, so water was not the issue like I thought it was. Also nitrates read 0. I added the tap water to an empty tank. No, you are not missing anything. I did some test on the tank that has no fish, but had fish like one betta. I just added tap water to my other 6,5 gallon tank and ammonia is reading 0 for now. I will keep an eye out on the ammonia card I have in the tank.
If i start to have ammonia, then I will have to use only spring water. I am waiting to see if my ammonia stays at 0.
Also i will feed betta 2wice a day, someone here told me to do that, so betta is not starving. Tanks are ready for betta. At least I hope so. I will keep an eye out for nitrates and ammonia.

 

[Andy Sager]

I did a 98 percent water change on the tank that was empty with no fish.
My ammonia reads 0. I used tap water, instead of spring water, so water was not the issue like I thought it was. Also nitrites read 0. I added the tap water to an empty tank. No, you are not missing anything. I did some test on the tank that has no fish, but had fish like one betta. I just added tap water to my other 6,5 gallon tank and ammonia is reading 0 for now. I will keep an eye out on the ammonia card I have in the tank.

The thing to watch out for is that if you have no fish or other ammonia source in the tank for too long, the biological filter will die off. When/if you do add another fish, your tank will need a boost of bacteria to re-establish itself. That can be done by adding a one time dose of Fritzyme #7 or adding some of the filter material from your large tank to the filter on the Betta tank. The way to know if your lost your biological filter is if you start to see ammonia building after introducing the new fish.

On another note, I thought in your earlier thread, you said that you tested your tap water and it registered ammonia in it? ( That would be from the chloramine from the city.) Did you do another test of your tap water recently?

 

[pettygil]

The thing to watch out for is that if you have no fish or other ammonia source in the tank for too long, the biological filter will die off. When/if you do add another fish, your tank will need a boost of bacteria to re-establish itself. That can be done by adding a one time dose of Fritzyme #7 or adding some of the filter material from your large tank to the filter on the Betta tank. The way to know if your lost your biological filter is if you start to see ammonia building after introducing the new fish.

On another note, I thought in your earlier thread, you said that you tested your tap water and it registered ammonia in it? ( That would be from the chloramine from the city.) Did you do another test of your tap water recently?

I still have some Fritzyme #7 left. I will add to the tank. The 6.5 gallon tank has gone a few months without any fish. I do have sponge in cycled aquarium. That I also can use. Also I added 6.5 gallons of tap water and it is showing 0 on my card for ammonia. Or do I need to do a liquid test? If the card is good to use, then I have 0 ammonia from the tap.

 

[Andy Sager]

I still have some Fritzyme #7 left. I will add to the tank. The 6.5 gallon tank has gone a few months without any fish. I do have sponge in cycled aquarium. That I also can use. Also I added 6.5 gallons of tap water and it is showing 0 on my card for ammonia. Or do I need to do a liquid test? If the card is good to use, then I have 0 ammonia from the tap.

Check the expiration date on the #7. If it's past the date, it's no good so do not use. Use the liquid test to see if it also shows 0 ammonia on your tap water.

 

[pettygil]

Check the expiration date on the #7. If it's past the date, it's no good so do not use. Use the liquid test to see if it also shows 0 ammonia on your tap water.

The expiration date for the fritz 7 is next year, so it's still good to use.
I'll have to buy the liquid test kit for ammonia and test for ammonia from my tap water. I do have ammonia test 1 but not test 2. I ran out.

 

[Andy Sager]

The expiration date for the fritz 7 is next year, so it's still good to use.
I'll have to buy the liquid test kit for ammonia and test for ammonia from my tap water. I do have ammonia test 1 but not test 2. I ran out.

 

[pettygil]

I checked my ammonia card and it's in alert mode. Looks like it is my water. Well it needs to cycle thoe cause I have not had fish for about a month. My other tank is cycled though. I will just use spring water. I'll have to buy some, next time I am at the store. It is better that way, much cleaner water than my tap water. I tried to get out of buying spring water, as you all can tell, but it is not working for my fish tank.

 

[pettygil]

I just used friztz 7 in my tank, the one that has no cycle. And I Squeezed out the sponge into my uncycled tank. Do I need to keep the sponge in the tank, or just Squeezed the sponge, then put it back, in the cycled tank?

 

[Andy Sager]

I just used friztz 7 in my tank, the one that has no cycle. And I Squeezed out the sponge into my uncycled tank. Do I need to keep the sponge in the tank, or just Squeezed the sponge, then put it back, in the cycled tank?

I'm glad you finally realized the problem we figured out before is your water. When it comes to living things, any living things, short cuts cost lives. That's just a reality. You have to way the pros and cons of constantly buying spring water for these betta tanks or setting up a system to REMOVE the chloramines from your water before it goes into your tanks. ( We used Culligan brand filters for that in Florida.)
As for your sponge squeezings, that's all I ever used to instastart the biological filter so no need to keep the sponge filter in there as long as you have another filter in there that the microbes can colonize in. You should see the ammonia card go down to safe in the next few days. If it doesn't go down at all in say, 4-5 days, that should mean that your squeezings and Fritzyme did not have enough bacteria in it and I'd use some filter material from your 40 to wash just in the uncycled tank.

 

[pettygil]

Tanks for your help

I'm glad you finally realized the problem we figured out before is your water. When it comes to living things, any living things, short cuts cost lives. That's just a reality. You have to way the pros and cons of constantly buying spring water for these betta tanks or setting up a system to REMOVE the chloramines from your water before it goes into your tanks. ( We used Culligan brand filters for that in Florida.)
As for your sponge squeezings, that's all I ever used to instastart the biological filter so no need to keep the sponge filter in there as long as you have another filter in there that the microbes can colonize in. You should see the ammonia card go down to safe in the next few days. If it doesn't go down at all in say, 4-5 days, that should mean that your squeezings and Fritzyme did not have enough bacteria in it and I'd use some filter material from your 40 to wash just in the uncycled tank.

I just seen this on Amazon, how many of these 31 ounce will I need for a 6.5 gallon tank? Tanks again for all your help. Much appreated it. Never mind.. I do not want to buy 40 some bottles to fill up my tank. lol.

 

[pettygil]

My ammonia card is in the yellow again. This is after i used Fritz 7 and squeezed out my sponge in the tank. I am going to test Nitrates as well, looks like the tank maybe cycled. I am still going to use spring water because it is cleaner h20. I just thought I would mention it in the post, it cant be the water if now there is 0 ammonia. I would only use tap if I ran out of spring water, since my water is not the problem and the plants are not the problem. It had to be the gravel, which I removed from both tanks, then the ammonia was gone.

 

[Andy Sager]

My ammonia card is in the yellow again. This is after i used Fritz 7 and squeezed out my sponge in the tank. I am going to test Nitrates as well, looks like the tank maybe cycled. I am still going to use spring water because it is cleaner h20. I just thought I would mention it in the post, it cant be the water if now there is 0 ammonia. I would only use tap if I ran out of spring water, since my water is not the problem and the plants are not the problem. It had to be the gravel, which I removed from both tanks, then the ammonia was gone.

The reason there is no ammonia now is because the microbes in the Fritzyme and the sponge filter removed it by converting it to nitrites then nitrates. The ammonia in there came from the chloramines in your tap water so using it will continue to cause the same problems. Use the tap water for the 40 because you have more fish in there which made a larger biological filter and keep using the spring water for the betta tanks. That or you will need to keep more living things in the betta tanks than the 1 fish so that you create a larger biological filter bed.

 

[pettygil]

The reason there is no ammonia now is because the microbes in the Fritzyme and the sponge filter removed it by converting it to nitrites then nitrates. The ammonia in there came from the chloramines in your tap water so using it will continue to cause the same problems. Use the tap water for the 40 because you have more fish in there which made a larger biological filter and keep using the spring water for the betta tanks. That or you will need to keep more living things in the betta tanks than the 1 fish so that you create a larger biological filter bed.

My question is what can I put in the tank, along with the betta is my 6.5 gallon tank? I have a male betta, which can not be with other bettas, what is small enough to fit in my tank that betta wont go after? Are you talkin snails, or shrimp? Or can I keep another fish in a 6.5 gallon tank? How about a few cory fish, one or 2?

 

[pettygil]

I found this on goggle

I found this on google. Do you agree, or disagree? I have a 6.5 gallon tank.
this I found on google search.

"What Fish Can I Put in a 5 Gallon Tank With a Betta? Any peaceful fish can go in a tank with a betta. Some of the best species include Rasboras and Cory Cats because they're shy and relaxed. They won't pick fights with the betta and will do their best to avoid them."

 

[Damo76]

I was about to search for a post on Bettas when this popped up.
One of my Betta tanks went cloudy when I dropped some decorative stones into my tanks. I'm guessing this particular tank's plant had a lot of build up. I will have to wait to get some help to test the water parameters which is very difficult with only the use of one hand.
After reading through all the comments and picked up on a couple of things. I didn't see mention of a water ager or dechlorinator. In Australia, they are used to help set up normal paramaters and remove ammonia, NH and chlorine. Therefore it is relatively safe to use our tap water in my area but you still need to keep your 'nose' out when they do a chlorine burst.
I will admit, I've been lazy in Betta care as I've seen them kept in just a bowl with water. I at least had a live plant in substrate. I found having a heater was destroying any plants causing them to rot away. Instead I removed the heaters, bought new, softer plants for my Bettas to rest on. I play with them a couple of times a day to peak their interest.
I've not had any success with tank mates as they have attacked and killed catfish and even large snails!
Another thing I've been keeping track of is their eating habits. According to on packets directions - 2 or 3 granules once a day. The next packet said at least 5 twice per day. Luckily any uneaten ones rest on the plants which makes for easy removal.

 

[Andy Sager]

I found this on google. Do you agree, or disagree? I have a 6.5 gallon tank.
this I found on google search.

"What Fish Can I Put in a 5 Gallon Tank With a Betta? Any peaceful fish can go in a tank with a betta. Some of the best species include Rasboras and Cory Cats because they're shy and relaxed. They won't pick fights with the betta and will do their best to avoid them."

I agree but with a caviat, the tank needs to be set up for the other fish to get out of the way of the Betta which means lots of small leaf plants and hiding spots. The only cory cats I suggest that can go in a 6.5 gal tank are the 3 pigmy cory species: Corydora histatus, Corydoras habrosus and Corydoras pygmaeus. I disagree that the other smaller species will do well in that small of an aquarium because you don't have enough space to have enough of them to make a school. 3 of one of the pygmy species I posted can do fine in a 6.5 gal tank. ( You want the same specie, not 1 or 2 of different species.) Then there are snails. ( Shrimps can get eaten by the Betta. ) The big problem with tanks that small is that it's easy to overload them. This is why Tetras and Rasboras, even the smaller species, are touchy in a small tank. They do better in larger schools which means they should be in larger tanks. Many of the smaller Rasbora and Tetra species that can fit in a 6.5 are only available for purchase in sizes that are just right for a Betta to eat. If you can get them in larger sizes, you have a chance. That means not getting them sight unseen. If you get sent " large" ones that are still so small that the Betta can eat them, you don't have a choice but to probably lose them.

 

[pettygil]

I just bought pigmy for my betta tank.

I agree but with a caviat, the tank needs to be set up for the other fish to get out of the way of the Betta which means lots of small leaf plants and hiding spots. The only cory cats I suggest that can go in a 6.5 gal tank are the 3 pigmy cory species: Corydora histatus, Corydoras habrosus and Corydoras pygmaeus. I disagree that the other smaller species will do well in that small of an aquarium because you don't have enough space to have enough of them to make a school. 3 of one of the pygmy species I posted can do fine in a 6.5 gal tank. ( You want the same specie, not 1 or 2 of different species.) Then there are snails. ( Shrimps can get eaten by the Betta. ) The big problem with tanks that small is that it's easy to overload them. This is why Tetras and Rasboras, even the smaller species, are touchy in a small tank. They do better in larger schools which means they should be in larger tanks. Many of the smaller Rasbora and Tetra species that can fit in a 6.5 are only available for purchase in sizes that are just right for a Betta to eat. If you can get them in larger sizes, you have a chance. That means not getting them sight unseen. If you get sent " large" ones that are still so small that the Betta can eat them, you don't have a choice but to probably lose them.

I just bought these pygmy fish off of ebay, Would betta eat them. I hope not cause I spent 50 dollars for these fishes. I have 2 sep tanks to put 3 in one tank, and then 3 in my other tank.
6x Pygmy Cory Catfish - Corydoras pygmaeus - Live Fish (.5" - .75") from the picture they look big enough.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/195529960185
I looked up how big betta can get on google and it says Betta fish grow to be no longer than 3 inches.

 

[pettygil]

The link is not working, I'll post the link to the fish I just bought, or betta yet I just post the photo.
The fish look big enough, that the betta can't eat,

 

[Andy Sager]

The link worked fine for me.
No the Betta shouldn't try to eat the catfish because they are a shape that the betta probably can't get into it's mouth vs say, a rasbora brigittae which is a longer sleeker body.
You have to judge the fish based on the mouth of the fish you are concerned about. A 10" fish with a 1/2" mouth will not pose the same danger that a 2" fish with a 1" mouth would so the size of the fish in question is irrelevant.

 

[pettygil]

Thanks for your reply.

The link worked fine for me.
No the Betta shouldn't try to eat the catfish because they are a shape that the betta probably can't get into it's mouth vs say, a rasbora brigittae which is a longer sleeker body.
You have to judge the fish based on the mouth of the fish you are concerned about. A 10" fish with a 1/2" mouth will not pose the same danger that a 2" fish with a 1" mouth would so the size of the fish in question is irrelevant.

Tanks for your reply. Now with this being said how often do I need to do a water change in my 6.5 gallon tank, with the fish and, the cory fish. Can I use tap water, or spring water? Tanks for your reply.
I checked my ammonia today in the tank and it reads 0. It's been 3 days without a wc. I still i have to get my fish on the 30th of this month.