My First Betta! *pics*

[SouthernCross]

Hi everyone

Got my first betta today! Here's some pictures of him...

Here's two without the flash showing closest to his true colours... His fins are mostly a deep magenta pink with blue at the bases. His body is mostly a purply-violet colour with a bit of the pink on his head.



Here's one taken with a flash of him flaring - it's amazing what the flash does to changing their colours... I used the flash a couple of times because I find my camera just will not focus perfectly unless I use it.


After seeing the condition of fins of some of the rescues I see on here...I think he looks relatively okay! (Some at the LFS on the other hand looked a lot worse off...) His tail and stomach fins look good to me, but I'm a bit concerned about his dorsal...it goes up fine but all seems to come together in an odd clump at the end. It doesn't spread out and flow nicely like the other fins. I've circled the "clump" below. Also, at the back of his dorsal there looks to be a strand split away from the rest (rectangle).
Should I be majorly concerned about his fins (or anything else you experts can spot?) Anything extra I should do for him other than keep his water nice with lots of changes? Should his fins improve from having lots of space now, etc?


Here's his home. It's a nearly 5 gallon bowfront with a filter in the hood turned to the lowest flow. It comes out on top of where I stuck the plants. They need to grow up a bit more to block the current better (it did push him down a bit when he swam over the plants and directly under it). That particular plant grows like crazy so hopefully it won't take long. I'll probably add some more pieces once the holes I made in the community grow back in - my gourami wouldn't have been happy if I pinched too much more of his plant. I might add a different type down the other end near the uptake as well. Will probably add some small cories eventually too. I should add before someone asks, that its summer here at the moment - I'll be putting his heater in when things cool down a bit.


Behaviour question - is it quite common after activity for him to just sit on the bottom or on a leaf for awhile and rest? He scared me cause he as very still for awhile but then he was up and swimming around again...

Love to hear what you think. I'm also open to suggestions for names.

 

[Heather.]

Sorry I cant anwser your questions as Im new to bettas too..Id like to say he is a pretty boy And his tank is lovely..He will be a very happy little fish now.. x

 

[leighann]

they are both lovely boys! i especially like the first one, he is gorgeous!

 

[archamfr]

his fins are fine, just a little bit tattered in places u mentioned, but that will heal in time hes a lovely boi, and he must be very happy in his tank

oh and bettas are poor swimmers, so swimming around tires them out easy, so yes it is normal for him to take a breather now and again

 

[Jaded12]

Hes quite adorable!! The curly clumpy fins are usually caused by poor water quality, probably from what he was in in the lfs. Nothing to worry about, clean water and a bit of aquarium salt with heal those fins right up. I love his tank, its stunning!! And I'm sure he's grateful that you bright him home!

 

[Amunet]

oh and bettas are poor swimmers, so swimming around tires them out easy, so yes it is normal for him to take a breather now and again

Yeah.. you have to remember that most bettas have spent their lives in cramped cups where they haven't been able to develop their swimming. So he's probably just resting a bit before he goes crazy in his new space some more

 

[Phaedra]

Wow, he's just gorgeous. (Funny how that adjective suits bettas so well, isn't it?) He makes me think of a tie-dyed easter egg.
I love that patch of magenta on top of his head.
If I were you, I'd add a bit of aquarium salt to his water (1 tsp per 2 1/2 gallons of water) just to make sure that if his fins are a result of any disease, it will help him heal up smartly.

 

[fishboy619]

lovely betta, and nice tank,
needs more plants and decor in my opinion, looks a little bare if you dont mind me saying.

 

[SouthernCross]

Thanks for your responses guys!

they are both lovely boys! i especially like the first one, he is gorgeous!

Hey leighann - it's the same fish in all the photos! I wrote above that some pictures are taken with the flash (can see fins clearer) and some without (show his real colours). The flash sure can change a lot!

Hes quite adorable!! The curly clumpy fins are usually caused by poor water quality, probably from what he was in in the lfs. Nothing to worry about, clean water and a bit of aquarium salt with heal those fins right up. I love his tank, its stunning!! And I'm sure he's grateful that you bright him home!

Thanks Jaded12! It's good to hear these fins will get better. Will have to go get some aquarium salt for him - never used it before because I have cories in my community. Unfortunately he was probably the best-looking fin-wise there - the were kept in barracks and I noticed one had escaped into anothers barrack and they'd nearly torn each other apart. Although, at least when the assistant came to help me, he separated them straightaway when he saw. Stll felt sorry for them though. He explained they kept the barracks filtered which meant there were slight gaps which they sometimes squeezed through. I guess filtered is better than being left in 'cups' like you guys describe.

oh and bettas are poor swimmers, so swimming around tires them out easy, so yes it is normal for him to take a breather now and again

Yeah.. you have to remember that most bettas have spent their lives in cramped cups where they haven't been able to develop their swimming. So he's probably just resting a bit before he goes crazy in his new space some more

Ahh, that's a relief. Thanks a lot guys.

Wow, he's just gorgeous. (Funny how that adjective suits bettas so well, isn't it?) He makes me think of a tie-dyed easter egg.
I love that patch of magenta on top of his head.
If I were you, I'd add a bit of aquarium salt to his water (1 tsp per 2 1/2 gallons of water) just to make sure that if his fins are a result of any disease, it will help him heal up smartly.

An easter egg! I guess I can kind of see it! Thanks for the salt tip, Jaded12 mentioned it above but I wasn't sure about how much to use.

lovely betta, and nice tank,
needs more plants and decor in my opinion, looks a little bare if you dont mind me saying.

Yes, I agree actually. I'm propogating the plants in my other tank - need them to grow in a bit more before I steal them for the betta. Was thinking maybe two more strands of the hydrophila polysperma (whats in there now) to bunch that out a bit more and help to control the current flow (silly fella keeps swimming in it...although maybe he likes playing in it, I don't know) and another plant down the other end behind the rock/near the uptake. Maybe some creeping jenny, its nice and a different shape.

I'm open to any other decoraton suggestions! Oh, and he still needs a name! I've heard a lot of people talking about using mirrors to get their bettas to flare - should you get them to do that everyday? How long should you expose them to a mirror for? Wouldn't want him to exhaust himself! He was flaring at the mirror-back of my ipod earlier, so I've seen him do it - I'd never really seen a betta flaring before - fantastic! I can see myself now wanting to get more tanks for more bettas....argh the dreaded MTS

 

[SouthernCross]

Another few questions in addition to what I wrote in the post above -

Feeding - I bought him Nutrafin Max BettaFood - which is mostly a flake with some dried blood worms mized through it. I've only been giving him a piece at a time, dropping it in front of him to watch him eat it so it doesn't all float everywhere and sink and make a mess cause he won't find it. I've usually been feeding him twice a day - and by doing it this way it takes awhile, say 10 minutes but I'd say he would only get a half dozen small flakes in this time. Is this enough? He's been eating straightaway since I brought him home which I'm pleased with, I read that some new bettas won't want to eat for awhile...

Also I have some pellets for tropical fish that my community fish aren't all that fussed on - would it be okay to try the betta with these pellets too (just for something different...)Also, my community fish love peas, should I be giving the betta the occasional veg? Peas okay, or wouldyou recommend any others?

Are there any meds I should get to have on hand for a betta?

Thanks!

 

[Phaedra]

Here's one of my favorite resources for info on betta feeding, with great example pics:
http/www.bettatalk.com/food.htm

Remember that their stomach is only about the size of their eye. It sounds to me like like you might be feeding him too much, unless he's just a VERY slow eater. Generally, it's said you should only feed them what they can eat in about 3 minutes. You have to be careful because some bettas (like mine) are total pigs and will totally overeat.

I feed Darby about 6 tiny (to me) pellets of hikari bio-gold in two feedings a day (3 in the morning and 3 in the evening) and I think his belly is just a little round, so I'm dropping it to 5 a day after he's been fasted (I've decided Sunday is the easiest day for me to remember). But he'll scarf his three pellets down in under a minute if I let him.

Be mindful of over feeding, because it can cause swim bladder problems and worse.

 

[SouthernCross]

Thanks for that link Phaedra, it was really helpful! He's not as round as the ones that site described as being too fat. But he may have been a bit skinny when I brought him home only two days ago. Given his stomach is only as small asyou say, I probably am offering him a bit too much, so I'll cut that back. He was a very slow eater though, it took awhile to catch his attention. The site says they usually don't like flakes, but he's having no qualms eating these Nutrafin Betta Food flakes so I guess they'll be all right. Are there any other particular brands/types of food you guys would recommend?

To anybody else still reading - I still have unanswered questions about getting him to flare, pellets/vegies, and meds to have in my posts above if anyone can help with those

And he's still nameless!

Thanks

 

[Phaedra]

Always glad to help when I can. I've also read that bettas don't tend to like flake food, but then again, I've read around the forums a bit, and some people say their bettas will eat nothing BUT the flakes.
When I was doing my research for what to feed Darby, the consensus seemed to be hikari betta bio-gold pellets, so I bought him some of those and some frozen blood worms for a treat every couple of days. I learned that variety keeps them happy and will encourage health and coloration, and I know that the hikari pellets have lots of protein and other added goodies specially formulated for bettas, so I feel pretty happy with them. As for Darby, he's probably eat a bottle cap if it was small enough.

As far as names for your little beauty... Hmm. What about Paas? Considering his coloration, Paas is the most common makers of easter egg dye around my area. It's the best I can come up with right now lol! Then again, you're talking to someone who named their betta "Darby O'gill"

 

[SouthernCross]

Yeah, I might get some of those pellets and try him on those too just to mix it up a bit.
I just tried to feed him a tiny piece of pea (my other fish LOVE it) but it sinks straightaway and he didn't see it even when I dropped it right in front of him - is there any good way to feed bettas veg?

 

[Phaedra]

Did you mush it up a bit? I haven't fed Darby a pea yet, so I'm not experienced, but from what I've read, most people shell the pea then give it a good mushing before putting it into the tank.