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I got a new betta! Any advice?

  • #21
actually if yah got nothing living in the tank you can not cycle it.....no fish waste means no bacteria will show up to eat it......gotta have the waste present to get the bacteria......
 
  • #22
good point rattler. yes, you need a waste source. right now, the newest method involves dumping a feeding amount of fish food into the water, and allow it to foul up--let the bacteria do their thing. another alternative is using an ammonia source (be creative) and dumping that into the tank, and wait it out as well.
 
  • #23
with bettas its not as big of a deal i dont think, especially if you keep them in a regular aquarium and not a lil tiny bowl....a healthy betta can make it through the spike while the bacteria establish provided there is enough water....and as someone said, if its a planted tank, the plants should take up most the ammonia before it becomes a problem...

there are other species of fish that are touchy though and you really do need a correctly cycled tank or you risk stressing out the fish and it getting sick and possibly dieing....
 
  • #24
Uh it is definitely still a big deal. Ammonia is still an irritant with nitrite being even more potentially fatal. I recommend fishless cycling for ALL fish. Any measurable amount is too much.

Do you have a test kit? A liquid one is definitely preferred as strips are unreliable. You should be doing water changes whenever ammonia and nitrite get over .25 ppm, which is just the lowest point the API tests measure...API is generally the recommended test kit btw.
 
  • #25
@jpappy: firmly agree with you. the methods i described before are in the pretext of using no fish.
 
  • #26
Oh, I did not know about cycling tanks. There are no living plants as the puny little LED light it came with couldn't light up the whole tank. It does receive light when the overhead lights in our basement come on, because it’s in the family area the overhead lights are one quite often. We are planning to do a 25% water change weekly, would that be enough to help keep the Ammonia down until the tank is cycled? And the tank is filled up about 2 inches below the rim, but has a lid onto, and I don't think he can jump out. And I'm assuming if the betta has built a bubble nest, he is adapting well to the new tank?
 
  • #27
Uh it is definitely still a big deal. Ammonia is still an irritant with nitrite being even more potentially fatal. I recommend fishless cycling for ALL fish. Any measurable amount is too much.


if that was the case, Walmart couldnt keep the dang things alive long enough to sell.........
 
  • #28
if that was the case, Walmart couldnt keep the dang things alive long enough to sell.........

I never said it was always fatal but it can still cause gill damage.

Just because a fish can survive poor water quality doesn't mean it should be subjected to it...thriving vs. merely surviving...

---------- Post added at 08:12 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:11 PM ----------

Oh, I did not know about cycling tanks. There are no living plants as the puny little LED light it came with couldn't light up the whole tank. It does receive light when the overhead lights in our basement come on, because it’s in the family area the overhead lights are one quite often. We are planning to do a 25% water change weekly, would that be enough to help keep the Ammonia down until the tank is cycled? And the tank is filled up about 2 inches below the rim, but has a lid onto, and I don't think he can jump out. And I'm assuming if the betta has built a bubble nest, he is adapting well to the new tank?

You would have to be testing in order to know for sure if it is enough. I'd do every other day to be certain but I strongly suggest getting a liquid test.
 
  • #29
I was getting crickets and noticed that they have crowntail, double tail, etc. females as well as males, so can I keep one or two females in with a male in a 1/2 filled ten gallon full of plants and branches? I don't want to have to separate them at any time - can they be safely kept together permanently or only meeting to breed then they have to be alone again?
 
  • #30
@swords: you're approaching pro-territory. yes it can be done. initially there will be quite a few skirmishes between the male and the two females, and even between the two females themselves (it is probably better to have more than 2 females, at least 4). the male will hopefully establish alpha dominance, but the females also need to establish a hierarchy as well--the dominant female will be the one that ends up spawning the most with the male. by buying multiple females, the aggression between females spreads out.

key is to plant heavy and make sure that hiding places are abundant. there have been cases where multiple males may be kept together, but the only way is if they were siblings and the father was still present in the tank (as the alpha dominant male). if you remove the alpha male, the whole tank goes to hell.
 
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  • #31
aint always the males that fight.....right after laying egs one time i had a female beat the heck out of a the male and shred his fins.....

I never said it was always fatal but it can still cause gill damage.

Just because a fish can survive poor water quality doesn't mean it should be subjected to it...thriving vs. merely surviving...

do some water changes daily and the betta will get through it fine while it cycles the tank......
 
  • #32
yeah, i've had plenty-o that happen during many failed breeding attempts. females spar slightly with males to test their aggression to ensure the future of their offspring. usually a good strong nip and good chase puts females into submission, it's usually the pansy males that end up getting beaten up.
 
  • #33
Maybe I'll just score some Aphyosemion australe I love those little orange killies - no trouble with males or females at all and lots of little stomachs with eyeballs after a while.

Anyone ever order live fish off Aquabid?
 
  • #34
@swords: yes i have. mixed experiences, does depend on the seller.
 
  • #35
I have one! Bettas are cool fish. Very hardy and easy. These guys live in rain puddles in the wild. The main thing is to not overfeed. I feed mine about 3 times a week with Hikari Gold. Water changes about once a week. Let the water sit out overnight in a pot and add a betta specific water conditioner as directed. I rinse the plastic plants and gravel with as hot of tap water as I can stand and fill the half gallon bowl up with the water change mix. "Blue" seems to love it and starts blowing a bubble nest within a day or two.

He was my 30th birthday present to myself. Cool fish.
 
  • #36
aint always the males that fight.....right after laying eggs one time i had a female beat the heck out of a the male and shred his fins.....

LOL! Are we talking about fish or humans?
 
  • #37
Need some Help!

Guys, I need some help. Yesterday me and my dad did a water change, around half a gallon or so. Today, looking at my betta, i notice his rear fins looked ragged and brown, and kinda falling apart. Is it fin rot? We may not have left the water alone with the cleaner in it long enough, would that cause this sort of damage too?
is it fin loss or is a fin rot?
DSCI0552-1.jpg


DSCI0551-1.jpg
 
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  • #38
Looks to be fin rot...did you get a liquid test kit yet?

What type of "cleaner" are you using?

At this point lots of clean water is the best it can get.

Btw, they hardly call what they naturally live in "rain puddles"...

Occur in standing waters of floodplains, canals, rice paddies (Ref. 12693) and medium to large rivers (Ref. 12975)

from fishbase.org which is a site based on actual research, not hearsay from misinformed hobbyists.
 
  • #39
We didnt have a liquid kit, but we did have a solid strip kit. I figure I will pick one up today as we are running by petsmart. I checked the soild one, and everything except the ph was fine. the ph is 7.8, which is a little too high. I'm wondering if when the water was changed its changed the ph or something like that and burned his tail. I just checked it again this morning and it had droped down to 7.2 after we put some ph down in the tank. We are using API Stress Coat Fish and Tap water conditioner. Here are some current photos. He is still eating, and active moving round the tank.

DSCI0547.jpg


DSCI0546.jpg
 
  • #40
i would recommend you laying off the tap water for a while, maybe switch to dH2O for a bit. mineral and chemical content from tap water could be causing the fin rot (im not just talking about chloramines)
 
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