Betta Looks Unhealthy

[j3sqh1]

my moms friend recently gave us her beta fish to take care of while she’s traveling. i don’t know anything about fish whatsoever, but this poor fish looks unwell and is also in a very small tank . it’s only a little more than a gallon. there is only a heater, no filter, there was a plastic plant that i took out since i didn’t want him/her getting hurt. i am completely new to this, so tell me what i should do in terms of caring for it. i have some pellets, how often and how many should i give a day? i asked my mom if i could go get a 5 gal tank, some live plants, gravel, a filter, and a light, but she refused. i just feel so hopeless since idk how i can help him/her. do za

 

[Ram419]

As the tank is already very small, I'd at least fill the tank water up a bit more to the top. You could get a catappa leaf for pretty cheap.

 

[MaloK]

It's possible to keep a betta with no filtration.... But, Frequent (every day) large water changes with conditioned and right temperature water. The addition of plants like hornwort, water sprite, or java moss. will help a little with waste. But make the place a lot more inviting for him. Maintaining the temperature around 78-80 F. And minimized feeding. The pellets you have seems pretty big, don't give him more than the size of one of his eye. if it's 3 pellets give him this twice a day and a fasting day per week. let nothing uneaten left in the tank after a meal.

Continue relentlessly trying to make your mom understand that, it is not a sustainable long-term solution.

Providing proper care will be difficult. And the well-being of the fish neglected.

It is widely considered unethical in the whole aquaria hobby to keep a fish in less then ideal conditions.

 

[Ram419]

Doing daily water changes, or maybe every every other day, on this small of a tank isn't that big of deal. You wouldn't have to if you had a filter of some sort but that's the reality.

Temp is harder I guess if your room temp can't keep it at the temp it needs to be, but looks like you have a heater so good there.

 

[j3sqh1]

thanks so much, but i don’t know what more i can do. i sent his to my mom and she replied with “” i guess there’s just no persuading some people

It's possible to keep a betta with no filtration.... But, Frequent (every day) large water changes with conditioned and right temperature water. The addition of plants like hornwort, water sprite, or java moss. will help a little with waste. But make the place a lot more inviting for him. Maintaining the temperature around 78-80 F. And minimized feeding. The pellets you have seems pretty big, don't give him more than the size of one of his eye. if it's 3 pellets give him this twice a day and a fasting day per week. let nothing uneaten left in the tank after a meal.

Continue relentlessly trying to make your mom understand that, it is not a sustainable long-term solution.

Providing proper care will be difficult. And the well-being of the fish neglected.

It is widely considered unethical in the whole aquaria hobby to keep a fish in less then ideal conditions.

 

[j3sqh1]

Doing daily water changes, or maybe every every other day, on this small of a tank isn't that big of deal. You wouldn't have to if you had a filter of some sort but that's the reality.

Temp is harder I guess if your room temp can't keep it at the temp it needs to be, but looks like you have a heater so good there.

also, what water should i put for the change?her friend only gave me a small container which is enough for only one change(they’re gone for 8 days). i only have tap water, do i boil it first to get rid of chlorine and other stuff in the water?

 

[Ram419]

It depends on the source water. So say you have well water you don't really need to treat for chlorine or chloramines on new water. But if you have water treated by a municipality you would want to use a water conditioner that treats for chlorine/chloramines. My source (tap) water is treated with chloramines and it also has quite a bit of ammonia in it as well. I use API ammo lock to treat the ammonia and chloramines.

 

[j3sqh1]

It depends on the source water. So say you have well water you don't really need to treat for chlorine or chloramines on new water. But if you have water treated by a municipality you would want to use a water conditioner that treats for chlorine/chloramines. My source (tap) water is treated with chloramines and it also has quite a bit of ammonia in it as well. I use API ammo lock to treat the ammonia and chloramines.

unfortunately i don’t have a water conditioner

 

[Ram419]

unfortunately i don’t have a water conditioner

Cheapest bottle of ammo lock you can get is like $7 on Amazon. Surpised the owner didn't give you some to take care of the fish while you had it.

 

[j3sqh1]

Cheapest bottle of ammo lock you can get is like $7 on Amazon. Surpised the owner didn't give you some to take care of the fish while you had it.

she told me that i don’t need to chance the water at all for the 8 days

 

[MaloK]

thanks so much, but i don’t know what more i can do. i sent his to my mom and she replied with “” i guess there’s just no persuading some people

What more can you do !?! How about, not listening too... She's traveling at the moment ?..

What a great time to sneak in a nice inexpensive "Real" betta setup...

When she comes back, tell her the other tank started leaking and you replaced it in a hurry.

And Smile when you tell her

If she's mad at you tell her it's the fault of the "guy" on the forum. You can put everything on my back (except the bill).

also, what water should i put for the change?her friend only gave me a small container which is enough for only one change(they’re gone for 8 days). i only have tap water, do i boil it first to get rid of chlorine and other stuff in the water?

If he has only one water change a week at the moment in that tank, there is no wonder why he doesn't feel good.

Boiling water for 15 minutes will work with chlorine but not for chloramine, It would be better if you get a tap water conditioner for aquariums. You can check the site of your city and maybe able to find what is used.

If you need to go to the LFS to get water conditioner, Bring a sample of your tap water and the water her friend gave you. and ask them to test the General Hardness, Carbonate hardness and Potential Hydrogen.

And ask them to give you the numeric results. So you will be able to compare both before you start changing water. If the water have large difference or your water is too hard, you may need to go slower to not shock the fish. or even refrain even more if your water is too hard compared to the tank.

 

[Ram419]

she told me that i don’t need to chance the water at all for the 8 days

It's possible. As long as you aren't overfeeding. You'd only really know if you could test the water to make sure the nitrates weren't getting too high. I'm not too sure about no water filteration/movement and how that affects the parameters.

 

[j3sqh1]

my

What more can you do !?! How about, not listening too... She's traveling at the moment ?..

What a great time to sneak in a nice inexpensive "Real" betta setup...

When she comes back, tell her the other tank started leaking and you replaced it in a hurry.

And Smile when you tell her

If she's mad at you tell her it's the fault of the "guy" on the forum. You can put everything on my back (except the bill).


If he has only one water change a week at the moment in that tank, there is no wonder why he doesn't feel good.

Boiling water for 15 minutes will work with chlorine but not for chloramine, It would be better if you get a tap water conditioner for aquariums. You can check the site of your city and maybe able to find what is used.

If you need to go to the LFS to get water conditioner, Bring a sample of your tap water and the water her friend gave you. and ask them to test the General Hardness, Carbonate hardness and Potential Hydrogen.

And ask them to give you the numeric results. So you will be able to compare both before you start changing water. If the water have large difference or your water is too hard, you may need to go slower to not shock the fish. or even refrain even more if your water is too hard compared to the tank.

my moms friend is on vacation, i’m just temporarily taking care of her fish. my mom wont let me get anything