Finally Bought My New Betta!

[vear]

Hello everyone! So I had previously posted asking questions about setting up a Betta tank. I ended up buying a 5.5 gallon tank complete with hood, light, and filter I only needed to add a heater. I set everything up and it looked great. My only concern was the current from the filter.

I waited and waited and waited and I finally got the betta yesterday, I originally was going to get a halfmoon but ended up just buying a delta (i think...lol, i'm new to all this terminology so please forgive me). Anyway, he's bright red and his fins are beautiful! As soon as I put him in the tank he started swimming happily - probably couldn't believe his luck! (I bought him in one of those itty bitty containers with blue water!).

The substrate is black gravel which looks amazing since he's so red. I also was able to find him a bridge/cave type of thing. That was the hardest thing to find! They were all either too small, too big, too rough ::sigh:: I thought I'd never find something that would work. The ornament is not the ideal color for the tank but honestly I'm just happy I got him a little place to hide in.

The only thing is that I took the filter out this morning. The current is simply too strong for him so I'm either going to figure something out to reduce the current or i'm going without a filter. I had my guppies without a filter in a 5.5 gallon before and it was fine, I just had to do water changes more often. But I'm not sure what i'm going to do yet.

Thanks for reading, I know it was long, but I'm soo excited that I had to share!

 

[loraxchick]

horray for your new betta! and hes red (im a softie for the red guys).
to cut the filter, tie a piece of filter foam over the intake. should cut it down enough, depending on the model.
have fun with your new fish
cheers

 

[Betta_luver]

Congrats, he sounds very handsome!

The blue waters means that the water has this medication in it (I forget the name) that helps keep them a little healthier, from what I've noticed though it doesn't really work.

Also without a filter you will need to do 100% water changes to keep the ammonia down.

 

[OldMan47]

There are two common medications that turn water blue Betta luver. The first is methylene blue and the other is malachite green. Methylene blue is commonly used by breeders to keep eggs from fungusing when they are removed from the parents for raising separately. Malachite green is one of the commonly sold ich remedies. It is found in treatments like Nox-ich.

 

[vear]

Hey guys, so I have a bit of a problem now.

The betta is swimming around, flares up when I turn his lights on (because I guess he sees his reflection in the glass). I haven't been keeping the lights on for this reason. But, he even made a bubble nest!!! I couldn't believe my eyes!!!

The problem is this: he won't eat! I don't know what to do, he won't even look at the food. I've tried the betta pellets and frozen brine shrimp. What should I do? He'll swim by the food, but it's almost as if he doesn't know he's supposed to eat it. Any suggestions? Should I try feeding him something else? He hasn't eaten anything since I bought him (before xmas) and I'm getting pretty worried. How long can he even go without food?

Your help will be greatly appreciated!

 

[flip]

give him some time to settle in. they dont always eat the first few days. just remove the uneaten food after a while so it doesnt fowl the water. keep giving him the food and he should start eating soon!



edited for bad spelling

 

[Lacuna]

You could try soaking his pellets or food in garlic juice. I think the garlic smell stimulates their appetite, and it might encourage him to eat. But they can go a while without food, and I'm sure he'll eat before he starves. Good luck

 

[soph_betta]

Maybe try live food (i.e Brineshrimp) or Frozen bloodworm ect

 

[rebrn]

Hi I am having the same problem with my new Betta. He just won't eat pellets, but he will eat blood worms. Blood worms aren't the best solution for long term feeding (at least that is what I have read) so a friend of mine told me to try just regular fish flakes as that is probably what he was eating at the store. I called the store and sure enough he was getting fish flakes there, so I gave my guy some flakes and he ate them all up. What I am doing now is trying to wean him over to the pellets, I give him a few flakes (just a tiny pinch) and a pellet in the morning and then just pellets at night, so far it seems to be working well, he still goes for the flakes first, but he will now also eat the pellets. You might want to give that a try.

Also, as for your filter, I don't know which one you have, but I have the Aqua Clear 20 on my 5 gallon, It has the option of turning the flow down. I have set the filter to the lowest flow rate and put some panty hose around the intake to protect his fins, it is working great, the flow is just right. You may want to look into that as well. Also with the AC 20 you can customize your filter media, so you can take the media out of your old filter and put it into the new one that way you won't loose your cycle. You may need to cut up the old media to make it fit, but that is not a huge deal.

 

[natalie265]

I had to tie a sponge to my hang on back filter (non adjustable flow rate). This has helped immensely. I just hope it stays in place. It does seem like a precarious solution. You could just swap it out for a sponge filter if you have the money (they're pretty cheap).

 

[squiremaster]

does his tummy look bloated?

 

[vear]

No, his tummy doesn't look bloated.

About the filter, I may just get a sponge one, then I'll keep the one I have for the guppy tank. I do have an aquaclear, but it's for

I'll try the fish flakes and hope he eats them. I can also get worms since I feed them to my turtle sometimes. I didn't try the garlic juice yet because I had none... lol, but I'll try it too if nothing else works. Thanks for the ideas.

 

[vear]

I tried the flakes. At first he didn't want them, but I tried again this morning and he ate! yay. It'd been more than a week... I'm just happy he's eating something. Thanks for the advice!

 

[loraxchick]

thats good news
do you have a airpump? if so, you can MAKE your own sponge filter for practically nothing. all you need is some media and an old (small)fishfood container. if youd like instructions, let me know. ive made about a dozen of these and they work GREAT!!!
cheers
*edit to add:
dont worry if he wont accept pellets. i have a guy that only eats flakes and frozen bloodworms. ive hd him for over a year and have tried and tried to get him to eat pellets. he just wont. so flakes are fine as a staple if thats what he likes.

 

[Zenandra]

Congrats!! Becareful of flakes, they don't always contain the same nutritions as the pellets and they can cloud your water. Most bettas will become accustomed to pellets within a week or two they just need to settle in and when they're hungry enough they'll eat! Congrats on your new little guy! I hope you'll post some pictures