New Betta Owner... A Few Issues...

[DannyBlackbourn]

Hey there I am new to keeping a betta and was wondering about a few things...

He has been in the tank for 2 days now and seems rather happy...
However he doesn't seem to want to eat.

I have tried feeding him 'TetraMin' and some other tropical fish flake which i got with the tank but he doesn't seem to want these.... I did catch him nicking one of my amano shrimp food pellets though, but that was only the once...!

I haven't currently got the money to buy any other foods at the moment but will do very soon, could anyone suggest a food in which betta thrive on?!

Also my heater is kinda rubbish and I can only get it to sit at 22oC, is this too cold for him? I was going to buy a new heater when I get some income anyway, but was wondering about a suitable temp where my amano's and the betta will be happy!

Sorry to be such a newbie but I just want the best for my Betta

Any help would be appreciated

 

[Oscar Betta]

Lots of time bettas will not eat at first. Keep on trying to feed him different foods and seeing if he will eat them.

 

[Rezatii]

I would say a good temp is between 25-28, Also a lot of bettas refuse flake, preffering pellets, depends what they were raised on I guess, but if you can and your income permits try him on pellets, if not I guess if he gets hungry enough he'll eat flake, I'm not sure, XD

-Rezz

 

[DannyBlackbourn]

Right I thought I would try something...

So i got little breadcrumbs and put a few in the tank...

He ate them!

Hope this is ok for him though?

 

[OohFeeshy]

Not on a permanant basis, there's not a lot of nutritional value.

From the sound of it, he prefers pellets to flakes (which isn't that uncommon). So maybe try a pellet food (something like Hikari betta pellets).

 

[DannyBlackbourn]

Okie doke,

I get some money tomorrow so I will go and buy him some proper food!

I was thinking about moving him to my smaller tank (where my Guppies and a khuli loach current reside)
Its 30L and has a decent heater!

What are Betta's like with a bubble pump?

The other tank has a smaller filter which doesnt produce as much current also which maybe better for him?

Do you think this is a good idea? or should I keep him in the current bigger tank?

 

[Luke_emma_23]

Hi welcome to betta keeping, i would leave him in the tanks he is in & just swap the heaters over, the one you have in his tank may be better in a smaller water volume.
bettas dont usually like bubble pumps but you could try him, he may like to play in the bubbles for a few mins each day.
if the filter flow is too strong try directing the outlet towards the back of the tank or place the heater directly infront of it.
my boys all love Hikari betta pellets which I buy very cheaply off Ebay, then they get a couple of bloodworms each once a week as a treat.

 

[DannyBlackbourn]

Hey and thank you

The heater I have in my 13 gal tank is quite big and would look stupid in the smaller tank which has the smaller heater in...

So may just wait and buy a new heater soon...

I think Hikari Betta pellets are a definite item on my next shopping list along with the heater and maybe some new tank mates... Corry's possibly!

 

[jasminekiddell]

Hey Danny, At first with my new boy he wouldnt eat for a while then when i bought some hikari betta bio gold pellets he loved them! Its really good food for them and they like it! My tanks are kept at 26. But a lower wattage heater takes logner to warm up. Frozen foods such as daphnia,bloodworm,brine shrimp,chopped up pea etc should only be fed once every few weeks.
Whats in your bettas tank? Tankmates,objects etc?

 

[DannyBlackbourn]

The 13gal Betta tank has the following;

Male Betta... Auron
5x Amano Shrimp
2x Large Moss Balls
A fake wooden root tree thingy, which has a hole in the top he likes to go in.
A plant, which I don't know what it is but it is like loads of long blades of grass, which I caught my Betta sleeping in this morning.

I have sand Substrate which has some free floating Xmas moss (Basically the little bits that fell from my moss wall I transferred to my other tank...)

I am using a Fluval U2 filter and a useless huge heater, which I have managed to finally set at 22oC. (It has a heat dial but no way of telling what temperature the water is until you leave it and keep testing.

 

[jasminekiddell]

Sounds pretty good can we see a picture of his tank?

 

[Amberleaf]

All my Bettas prefer flakes. Most don't, though; most like pellets, but in Mr. Wimpy Fish's case, all of the pellets were too big for him! ^^; XD

 

[DannyBlackbourn]

I will get a picture of the tank up very soon, Haven't got a decent digital camera

 

[DannyBlackbourn]

Got a few pics of my tank and Auron
Sorry about the quality... it's a really old and crappy camera!

This is my tank in it's current set-up. Would like to get some more decor, plants etc... oh an a decent background lol! just using spare bits of my wallpaper at the moment.

This is a picture of Auron this morning Have noticed he has made his first bubble nest
He also seems a lot more friendly today

 

[stickylove]

Okie doke,

I get some money tomorrow so I will go and buy him some proper food!

I was thinking about moving him to my smaller tank (where my Guppies and a khuli loach current reside)
Its 30L and has a decent heater!

What are Betta's like with a bubble pump?

The other tank has a smaller filter which doesnt produce as much current also which maybe better for him?

Do you think this is a good idea? or should I keep him in the current bigger tank?

wouldn't put him in with the Guppies tbh....

mines in a community tank and doesnt mind the air stone i've got in there, he prefers flakes to pellets, and he gets frozen food once every 10 days...