Betta Sick!

[rikkitiger]

Im freaking out a bit my betta ruby is usually housed in a five gallon mason jar. It started to act differently just a couple days ago, not eating. I change the water every three days. So recently ruby has not been eating at all. She has been very sluggish and just kind of floats at the top sometimes. Today i noticed she is completely white as opposed to her beautiful dark red. She is not speckled, just white. It is creeping me out! I have a ten gallon tank with another fish in it, king george is the male betta in there and i have a snail too. So just now i switched ruby to the ten gallon and george to the jar, i havent had time to change the water for george though, i will right now in fact. I am going to leave ruby there at least overnight. His gills are puffed out a bit and he just floats until i touch him. I thought he died several times but he just floats.... Is there anything i can do? Is there a diagnosis?
Sorry, my betta ruby is a he

 

[guppy2002]

sounds pretty bad. that has never happened to my bettas before.
but id say put ruby back in the jar. it might be a little better for him. but i dont know whats going on

sorry!

 

[rikkitiger]

Thanks for trying. Im going to give ruby a bit more room for the night, but i will watch for illnesses in other fish.

 

[Blondielovesfish]

Is there a filter on his 5 gallon tank?
What are the water parameters (ammonia, nitrite and nitrate)?
What do you feed him?
Have you added anything new to his tank?
 
If you can, could you please post a picture. It might help with the diagnosis.

 

[rikkitiger]

im sorry. ruby died last night. it was sad but not unexpected with his illness.
 
my mom's work is now giving me their betta because they never have time to take care of him
 
I don't know the parameters on my other tank, do you know if I can get a cheap way to test that at walmart?
 
the tank was not filtered. it was a mason jar, is there any way I could get a small enough filter for a five gallon mason jar?
 
I was feeding ruby pellets
 
do you know if aqua safe or a betta fizz tablet is better to condition water with?
 
ruby wasn't in the sun at all. I am thinking the water was too cold? I don't have a thermometer for that tank but am working on getting one.
 
feel free to tell me if there is anything I messed up- I definetly don't want to next time
 
also, how would I go about cycling a five gallon mason jar with a fish in it?

also, is it ok to feed betta fish mealworms? because I have them for my frogs

I have pellets, but I was just wondering

 

[rikkitiger]

Can somebody please answer?

 

[Wildbetta]

Sorry to hear that Ruby did not make it,  
 
Ok as far as the mealworms, I would not feed them to your bettas.  Even the little ones are a bit big for a betta.  
 
On a jar I would not suggest a filter as you will just be better off doing 100% water changes every 3rd day.  A thermometer and heater are required to keep your betta healthy.  So if you do not have those for the jar, I suggest you get them soon.  Sluggish behavior in a betta is normally because the temperature is too cold and they are pretty stressed because of it.  
 
I do not believe Walmart tests water.  It would be best for you in the long run to buy a liquid test kit.  Places like Petco and Petsmart test water and most local fish stores should as well.

 

[rikkitiger]

Thank you for the answer! I am headin to walmart for four things:
Another thermometer
I put squishy (my new betta)'s jar in the sunlight. I find with my ten gallon this works well to heat the water, and i do have a backup heater for both the jar and the tank for winter time.

Does walmart sell a tester? Ill look online. I live in a desolate town with no fish store sadly and am limited to that and k-mart

 

[EllieJellyEllie]

Ok, the sun wont do. Heater needs to stay on 24/7 at 78-82 degrees

 

[Wildbetta]

The sun is not an accurate way to heat your tanks.  It can get too hot and then cool down too much once the sun goes down.  The important thing about the heater is that is able to keep the water at the constant temp of 78F min and it won't be fluctuating which is what the temperature does when there is not a heater in the tank.  I do not believe Walmart carries the liquid test kit that you need so you might need to purchase it online if you do not have another type of aquatic store close by. 

 

[rikkitiger]

Ok. Is there a heater that will be small enough for the tank? I am afraid it will overheat too easily. Thats what my ten gallon did when i had the sun and the heater. I know the un isnt enough but the combination made it 90 degree
Would this work? I just found out tank is a bit short of five gallons. I tested it for four gallons.

Heater:
http/www.walmart.com/ip/Marineland-Filtration-Shatterproof-Mini-Aquarium-Heater/20834499

 

[rikkitiger]

Oh nevermind! I just looked and my second heater that i have is hooked up now
It is for two to ten gallon

 

[tunagirll]

Hi there, sorry about Ruby

 
I have a small tank for my betta as well and here is what I have set up, hopefully it helps!
 
25 litre tank (~ 6 gallon)
Aquaone 100 filter set on low
55W heater set to 26 degees C (ambient temperature is 16-22 degrees C) - they are tropical fish and need warm water to be happy
It's also planted but that isn't necessary, however your betta would probably appreciate a few plants, fake or real

If you cycle the tank first then you won't need to constantly change the water, just a partial change once a week or as required when nitrates get too high.
 
A healthy betta will be reasonably active and alert, bright eyed and bushy tailed (so to speak), nice erect fins. He should explore his environment and eat like a greedy little pig

 
The most common causes of death for bettas are dirty water and the diseases that result from dirty water, and overfeeding (both from too much food and dirtying the water). A high quality betta pellet is best, they don't do well with flakes. I use Attison's Betta Pro but you might find that a bit extravagant - I feed 5-7 tiny <0.5mm pellets twice a day to give you an idea. Avoid frozen worms because although bettas love them, the conditions they are packed in can be unsanitary, and you might unwittingly introduce disease into your betta tank.
 
Your current holding tanks/jars - it sounds like your betta had an infection and it killed him. Sterilise the jars thoroughly before attempting to use them again

Avoid using strong chemicals as the residue will contaminate the water afterwards.
 
Keep the water clean, can't emphasise that enough - it's dirty water that kills bettas most often. If you don't have a test kit, pick one up to check what your water is doing. You should also add dechlorinator to water and preferably bring it up to the same temperature as your betta's water before doing your water changes, to minimise stress to your family member

 
Hope this helps