My betta.. wanna help me?

[ammer]

Bettas... aren't they a lovely little fish?

I'm having a bit of confusion with my ..slightly new male betta though.

So I got him a while ago.. maybe two months? He was in this crappy little 1/2 gallon tank and, me being ignorant at the time [my grandma has gotten me Fish, his name, as a suprise] I didnt realize it was going to be all.. yeah, to take care of, so my poor Fish got a mild case of Fin rot. Not good. I noticed it because he was depressed and his tail was funky and... yeah. So I put him in a gallon tank, got him cured, and my grandma has now gotten me a [slightly used] 30 gallon tank! wee! I got everything cleaned properly and some aquafresh to make sure the tap water is safe and some ammo stuff for the amonia.. I think everything's good, because Fish is in there now, and he seems to be doing fine with the filter and everything.

Ok, so I now have some new fish, too.. if they need to be listed just ask and I will, but I want to get to the point.

I have a couple questions now, dont worry..

A. Will Fish be fine in the 30 gallon community tank with these fish? They arent being rough with eachother [besides the pecking order ] but I dont want him to freak out because of the large space.. he seems to be doing fine now, though.

B. Fish gets hungry.. like all fish do. When I come by he swims to the top in hopes of some food, and of course I dont overfeed him [only once a day, enough to eat within 5 minutes. yay for me.] but.. here's the strange part. He'll go up, eat the food, keep it in his mouth for a while, and spit it back out. Sometimes he'll go back and try to eat it again, but most of the time he leaves it be. Is this normal? He eats the blood worms, but when I try to give him the regular food.. like.. these pellet things, he spits them back out. They almost look too big, but even when I make it smaller he doesnt eat it. Of course he eats... but I just want to make sure he has his nutrition.

 

[D347H]

My betta, Spider-man, does the same thing. Most of the time he will hold it in his mouth, then play with them, but mine eats what I give him. He's not really picky about what I give him.

Maybe you just spoiled him with the blood worms and that is all he will eat.
Think about it, if someone gave you steak all the time, then gave you a dog turd to eat, would you eat it?

You might end up having to just feed him blood worms.

 

[BettaBoyz]

hello and welcome to the forums Ammer! ^^ i'm also an Ammer, or so my friends call me.

firstly, if the 30 gallon long or tall? Bettas breathe surface air and so need to be able to get there anytime. if it's tall perhaps some very tall silk plants would help, if not he should be fine.

some Bettas are... picky. Donahue and Pierce won't touch Betta Pellets, Donny doesn't like Brine Shrimp Pellets, and Pierce won't eat flakes. as a result i've got three foods; Brine Shrimp Pellets for Pierce and Shorty, flakes for the Brat Pack and Donny and Betta pellets in case i find a Betta who likes them.

also, some tankmate suggestions for Fish to be happy.

tetras, danios, rasboras, cherry barbs, loaches, corydoras catfish, apple snails, angelfish, swordtails, platties, mollies. that's all i know of, but there's probably loads more. no fin-nippers please, or his pretty finnage will be ripped to shreds, and more fin rot will snap out. some tetras are fin-chewers, some are fine and some are the fin-chewees. it's not any one strain, just tetras in general. i have a bully Silver-Tipped, two calm Black Neons and a calm Neon and two chewee Neons.

 

[canis_lupus]

hey! um my female betta did the same thing while she was in the 10 gal community tank she didn't eat 4 2 weeks, got ick and i moved her to a 1/2 gal and now she is super happy, she even makes bubble nests! i think she was stressed, but u're boy might just b a little scared by the huge tank and he should come round and start eating well

 

[wuvmybetta]

Hi ammer

Congrats on your new tank what kind of fish did you add?... be careful not to add too many fish too quickly or Fish will be miserable. There's an article on cycling a tank in the beginners section just in case your interested. Hope everything goes smoothly for you & your little guy

 

[MAM]

your betta will be okay with some tankmates, just make sure you don't put in anything with fancy finnage, as some bettas will mistake them for another betta and may try to kill them. and make sure you have plenty of plants and such for hiding places for your betta.

 

[akhtar]

hello!

im sure there is no problem, try changing the fish food!
he might not like that one!

so help him out,

and when he swims to the top, just give him a flake or 2, then he'll be happy thankyou
regards Qays