Betta Behaviour

[jenjen_82]

Hi i purchased a betta fish on Monday and he was in a 5.5 gallon tank with 7 neon tetra. To cut a long story short I was mis advised in the shop as to what i could have in the tank and every time i looked on line I got a different story so i went with the advice of the guy who sells fish as that is his job after all right? Wrong! Over night 4 neon tetras died and i went bk to the pet shop (not the 1 where I purchased the tank) and they checked the water and said it was because of the ammonia levels she told me to clean the gravel and do a part water change which i did.

My betta fish seemed lethargic the whole time i had him and he was in the shop too. He also refused to eat. He was constantly sat on the heater. I went bk to the shop again and asked if this was normal and if there was anything I could do. I was told this is normal behaviour and that they very rarely eat. I even bought a 60ltr tank for him. I took some gravel out of ky bettas tank to out in the new 1 under the shops instruction, cleaned the gravel and did another partial water change I also treated the water for chlorine etc. Woke up this morning to my betta dead on the bottom of the tank very sad times and i feel so bad for him. He was beautiful he was denim blue and a redish colour on his fins and on the edge they were a petrol colour. I'm just interested to know if this is usual behaviour really as I don't think it is.

Thanks

 

[jenjen_82]

Also I have a filter and heater which varies between 24 and 25 degrees

 

[beanz8]

sorry to hear your fish died, sounds like ammonia poisoning but I am sure someone more knowledgeable than me will be able to help you.

 

[Fishy friend2]

I think that it was a mix of prolonged stress and ammonia poisoning, most likely he was stressed from the amount of ammonia, and from being in that little cup . for so long, I'm not suprised that the neons died To be honest, neons dont usually do well in newly set up tanks, just a little note. Next time let your tank mature before you add neons and cycle your tank before you add any fish. And Im so sorry for your loss Little fishy you will be dearly missed

 

[jenjen_82]

I had my tank set up for a week before I put any fish in and also took a water sample to the place where i bought my tank to be tested before i bought any fish. I never realised when I decided to get a tropical fish tank how much work it would be and also said to the guy who sold me my tank i only want a small 1 that's easy to look after. I now know small tanks are harder to look after then big ones. I feel so bad for the fishies and asked if there was anything i could put in to help get rid of the ammonia but was told adding chemicals wouldn't help. So frustrating because even though I only had him a few days I loved getting up on a morning n going down to see him :l still got 2 neon tetras (i hope not been down yet) gonna leave my new tank a few weeks before i add them to it. Thinking about getting some female bettas next time but will add the fish gradually this time

 

[Cossie1111]

I asked if there was anything i could put in to help get rid of the ammonia but was told adding chemicals wouldn't help.

Not true, seachem prime does a great job of removing ammonia.

 

[Fishy friend2]

To be honest, your tank still isn't cycled. Just because you left it running for a week doesn't mean it's cycled, and I think that you should also take the neon tetras back, as you can't really keep anyything in a five gallon tank, 5 gallons isn't enough to support a school of neons in my opinion. And I think that you should just go to Walmart and get like a 10 gallon tank, and then you can have a much larger variety of fish to chose from

 

[Rummynose]

I started off with a 10 gallon tank and now wish I had chosen a 20 gallon instead. 10 gallon is really not that much better than a 5 gallon, but a 20 gallon gives you choices!
I love my 30 gallon and am thinking of upgrading that one this comning summer to a 48" long tank! Longer tanks are easy to maintain and much better for the fish (unless you like fish that like tall tanks like angel fish).

 

[jenjen_82]

All but 1 of my neon tetras have died too I now have a 16 gallon tank now which I'm currently setting up I'm also getting advice for this tank from a family member who has sucessfully kept tropical fish in the past. He is going to help me sort it out n hopefully it will be all ok this time

 

[Fishy friend2]

I have a 16 gallon tank with, 12 neons, 1 male betta, 1 male guppy, 2 male endlers, 6 pygmy cories, and some shrimp

 

[jenjen_82]

I have a 16 gallon tank with, 12 neons, 1 male betta, 1 male guppy, 2 male endlers, 6 pygmy cories, and some shrimp

Are your betta and guppy ok together? I was wanting maybe another betta or a few females, a guppy, 2 mollies, 2 small catfish and some tetras, I liked the black tetras and some more neon, I wad also thinking of a few mountain minnions I think they were or minnows I can't remember the name or some zebra dinos, they wernt called that in the shop thou

I'm not going back to pets at home thou if i can help it seems as she told me betta fish rarely eat or move

 

[Fishball7]

The 5.5 gallon couldn't support the bioload of the neons and betta hence ammonia spike. For a non-planted tank, 3-4 weeks is usually what it takes for a tank to fully cycle. A week is not enough, especially if there's been no ammonia feed for the tank. Cleaning the gravel would have made it worse in the long run because the bacteria would have started colonising there. A better way would have to be changing a third to half of the water every two days. 5.5g is still too small for neons though. Oxygen deprivation might be a contribution as well in the small heated tank. That's the basics of it. Then there might be water parameters differences and acclimatisation issue. The way pet shops and LFS generally keep betta in small cups deteriorates their health, so that would also be up for consideration.

Betta are great fish that eat a lot and move a lot when they're happy. Their required space is far larger than what most pet shop and LFS staff might think.

Good luck with your bigger tank!

 

[Rummynose]

An empty tank can not cycle without an ammonia source. Once you add fish, they are the ammonia source. That means you are doing a fish-in cycle. If you are doing a fish-in cycle it is extremely important to measure your ammonia levels 2 times a day, and by doing water changes you want to keep the levels as close to zero as you can. Even if it means doing 50% water changes twice daily.

If your family member can give you some of their used filter media you could have an instantly cycled tank which would be much better for your fish and a much easier start into this hobby for you.

Zebra Danios are fast swimmers and need a longer tank than your 16 gallon. Mountain Minnows are cold water fish, so they would not be compatible with your Betta, since he needs a heated tank! Do a little research on Betta companions. You could keep him with African Dwarf Frogs, but they could potentially injure your Betta, you could keep him with shrimp, but he could eat them, you could keep him with Otocinclus, but they should only be added to a tank that has been running for at least 6 months, you could keep him with guppies, but he could hurt them, or snails, but he may not like them!

Some Bettas are not accepting of tankmates at all, some can be pursuaded by adding them last to a tank and adding lots of plants and hiding spaces. If you want to add tankmates after you already had your Betta in the tank, remove him, change the set up of your tank, moving things here and there, add the new fish, then add him last!

I have my Betta with 5 Kuhli Loaches and they are getting along very well. I had him with a snail, but he torpedoed the poor thing and I had to remove it! Some people have great success keeping their Betta in a community with other fish, it really depends on the Betta's personality. You have to have a plan B ready in case it does not work out and you have to separate them. Hope that helps!

 

[jenjen_82]

I only know 2 ppl (i think) that have fish 1 has a fish which is like a snake (#136###) and the other person has a normal tank set up but lives in Leeds where as I am in huddersfield. If i did get some water from a existing tank how much would I need. Could I not put some in from my existing tank with my lone neon tetra or would that not be a good idea?

 

[Rummynose]

I only know 2 ppl (i think) that have fish 1 has a fish which is like a snake (#136###) and the other person has a normal tank set up but lives in Leeds where as I am in huddersfield. If i did get some water from a existing tank how much would I need. Could I not put some in from my existing tank with my lone neon tetra or would that not be a good idea?

Getting water from an existing tank won't do you any good, what you need is about 1/3 of their filter media or less. The bacteria lives mostly in the filter. You could ask for some used gravel, but filter media would be best. Just make sure that the gravel or filter media is kept wet in some used tank water. If bacteria is allowed to dry out it dies!