I just got a betta

[BetasRock]

Hello Im new to the board and ive just gotten a betta. Ive got my tap water in the new tank with 2 fake plants and a bubble stone in 2.5 gallons.....I'm lettin it run over night so that the water gets to room temperature in the morning i plan on transferring "Bert" into his new tank...a few questions...

1. Is it alright having a bubble stone in the water makin lots of bubbles in a corner?

2. If i feed him once a day 6-8 pellets of Aqua Culture color enhancing beta food enough for a dialy diet?

3. I plan on changing 1/4 of the water once a week is that enough?

Thanks -

BettasRock

 

[longhorn13]

first, welcome to the forum. second, did you use anything to dechlorinate the water?

 

[newfishies]

1. bubblestone - should be okay, depends on the individual betta, i think

2. i'm not familiar with that brand of betta food, but that many pelletts sounds like too many...i use hikari and they suggest 3-4, i thinkk...the bettas stomach is the size of his eye...also a varied diet is key to keeping him happy and healthy...frozen foods like bloodworms/brine shrimp are great!

3. it sounds like your tank is not cycled...so you would need to do more water changes than you are suggesting

a few other points... read the pinned topics at the top of the betta forum for more info... you should also get some dechlorinator for the water when you do changes...
the betta will also not like a variable temperature, so you may need to get him a heater if his tank temp fluctuates too much, or goes below 75 F

hope this all helps... there are a lot of very knowledgeable people who post on this forum and can probably help a lot more... don't be afraid to ask questions...

oh, yeah! welcome to the forums!!! (i think they like you to introduce yourself the the newbie section at the top of the home page)

 

[BetasRock]

We have well water and theres no chlorine in it...and if there is a small amount doesn't leavin it over night help get rid of it? thanks!!

 

[BetasRock]

thanks for the reply newfishies....I'm going to go to pamida tomorrow to see if they have a 25watt heater and keep it at 78...

 

[ral]

Maybe you could replace the air stone with a corner, undergravel or sponge (breeders filter).

 

[BetasRock]

ral-

yea i will eventually get a filter gotta wait for some more money

 

[ral]

You can actually wrap a 2 inch or 3 inch piece of foam material on right on top of the air stone, just above the air stone so that the bubbles flow through it. Maybe 2" or so of foam, and 0.5" think. This should foster some beneficial bacterial (similar to a spong filter, but less efficient I imagine).

But don't take my word for it. Am a newbie.

 

[Sorrell]

If you get a filter you can do about a 50% water change once a week, if you don't have one, you need to do 100% at least once a week

The food sounds like an ok amount, but divide it into two feedings

 

[yvez9]

the color enhancing food, IMO, should not be the fish's main food.

for bettas, either get frozen foods or Hiraki Betta Bio-Gold pelletts, they are expensive, but they are wll worth the money. They're the only pelletts i found that never sink and they won't foul your water.

Frozen is even better but is not necessary.

 

[Nuttygal! :0)]

Congrats on your new betta and welcome to the forums!!

Edit the bubble stone should be ok, but because bettas have long fins they find it difficult swimming in fast or moving waters, so as long as the bubbles are only in one corner and not disturbing the water too much then it should be fine!

 

[BetasRock]

Well i got up this morning and put his bowl in the new water for about 5-10 minutes and then i let him out into the water...he swam around lookin at everything checkint everythingout.....i came back 45 minutes later and hes all puffed out...hes even showing me his fin underneather his mouth. Is this normal? and he seems to be stayin at the same part of the tank also its a 6 sided tank so i hope he isn't seeing his reflection somehow.....i triied feeding him this morning and he took after it put it in his mouth then 3 whole seconds later he spit it back out...what do you think that means...not hunry doesn't like it?? well i have to go but please give suggestions!! thanks!!

 

[Nuttygal! :0)]

Yeah I think it must be that he doesn't like his food - try feeding him again later and tomorrow and if he doesn't eat then I think you'd be better off buying him a different sort of grub! Don't worry about him flaring - my betta does that all the time at first I thought he had caught sight of his reflection but then I realised that there is a big flower behind the tank on the wallpaper and he decided it might invade his territory so he would float there for ages staring at it with his fins flared up - silly thing! Oh, and about him sitting on the floor in one corner - maybe he's just a bit nervous about being in a bigger tank and he hasn't really settled in yet. Just keep an eye on him and post us an update if he shows any signs of illness!
Good luck! Hope I've helped a bit!

 

[RandomWiktor]

He might be a little spooked in the new surroundings, hence he's flaring and reduced apetite. It is normal for a fish to not eat for a few days after being put in a new environment. However, the pellet rejecting might mean that he is either full, or the pellet is too large. I've noticed with young bettas, a slightly larger pellet can result in rejection of the food, so if he's a youngling, try to find the smaller pellets in the mix and offer those.

 

[newfishies]

if the pellett is too big, you can break it in half with a fingernail.