New Betta owner :)

[Easystreet]

Hello all,

My name is Jason I recently on a whim spent about 65 bucks on a 1 gallon tank set up for my new betta friend.

His name is Hachimataro. (Hachi for short)

The space I wanted to keep Hachi was on my desk. where I spend most of my time when I am home. I live in Northern California (Bay area) and share a two story house. My desk is upstairs. My roomates have 1 Cat, 5 Cockatiels and 1 Giant Scarlet Red Macaw. Only the cat is able to roam the house. The birds are kept in one of my roomates rooms. We have a loft upstairs and thats where all our computers and desks are. It stays pretty warm up there pretty much 24 hours a day.

I quickly realized that 1 gallon was not nearly enough for my new buddy. My roommate felt the cat might get curious and jump up there and swipe him. When I got home that night I noticed a good amount of water was missing. I instantly assume the cat has been playing in it. I go straight to the Pet store and pick up an Eclipse Corner 5 (5 gallon tank) for Hachi complete with new plants and decorations (85 bucks) I set it up with 1 silk plant with big leaves so he can lounge and two tall plastic plants for him to hide behind and swim through. There are also 3 terracotta soldiers in there. I put the dechlorinator in the water and let it run for 24 hours.

When I was ready to put Hachi in the water I scooped him in a plastic bad and put him at the top of the tank for about 45 minutes. (Mistake number 1) I then just dump poor Hachi into the water complete with old water. He seemed a bit pissed about that. I noticed his gills puff out a little bit. They looked like he flared but they got stuck out. Well I had not noticed that before so I only thought he was having a reaction to the water in the tank. OY! I didn’t panic though. After work the next day I went out and bought a test kit (ooof 32 dollars) I tested the water and everything looked fine but Ammonia. Hrmm this had me worried so I scooped up some water and went straight to this fantastic aquarium shop for them to test it again and to get advice on what to do.

They explained a tanks cycle to me. Ammonia > Nitrite > Nitrate. I asked what might be the cause of the gill flare up and they said it could be the ammonia in the water irritating them. Turns out I had a little ammonia but nothing to be completely concerned about. He said it was normal for a brand new tank. When asked what I could do they said let the tank do its thing.

I watched little Hachi and sure enough by the third day he was back to normal. He has always been a good eater. At first I had flakes. Then I learned Flakes are not so good and read the little balls (pellets) are better. Now I find out those are only better then flakes but still not very good. He doesn’t seem to mind at all he loves the pellets. I don’t think I want to raise blood worms and I am scared of getting frozen. I did buy him stress coat last night and some freeze dried Brine Shrimp as a treat. I didnt know the Brine shrimp was basically cubes that you broke up. I thought it would be individual shrimp I can pick up with a tooth pick. I am not sure how much of the cube stuff I should give him. I gave him a tiny tiny bit and he didn’t seem to like it. I will try again.

Ramble much? Sheesh sorry. Just excited about my new friend. I find myself wanting to do anything and everything to make Hachi happy. He seems happy. He always builds his bubble nest. Unfortunately the Eclipse filter seems to take it down shortly after he builds it. Gives him something to do.

Oh my question. I want to get rid of the plastic plants and buy 2 more silk ones to put in there. He has only been in the new tank since last Thursday. I am worried about my hands adding something to his tank and stressing him out with changing his environment for the 4th time in 2 weeks.

btw I list the prices of stuff because all my friends think I am crazy because I spent XXX amount of money on a 3 dollar fish. Well as all of you know, they become more then "Just a X dollar fish". I treat Hachi the same I would a Cat or a Dog...Heck I even talk to the little bugger. OY! I am betta crazy. I want to get a Crown Tail but I am putting a cap on my spending right now.

Well thanks for listening.

Jason

 

[eudielynn]

Jason,

We never get tired of hearing about bettas. That's why we come here!!! As long as you use a good brand of frozen bloodworms you shouldn't have a problem. I wouldn't feed him too much freeze dried food though. It can cause them to have swim bladder problems and even if you don't know what it is, you don't want him to get it. You should also try giving him a pea from time to time to keep him from getting constipated. The pellets and any dried food can do that. Just microwave a frozen pea in dechlorinated water for 10 or 15 seconds and then put it in cool declorinated water to cool off. Peel off the outer shell of the pea and give him the insides. It may take a couple of times to get him to try it, but most of them love peas once they are used to them.

Good luck with your new friend and keep us posted on how he is doing.

Geez, forgot to answer your question. As long as you don't have lotions or chemicals on your hands you should be okay.

 

[mm_simb]

Freeze dried foods are not really recommended for fishes because they can cause a lot of problems. I just bought some frozen bloodworms and I find them a lot easier to give than the freeze dried stuff. You can just get a little cube and put it in dechlorinated water until it melts. There will be tons of little worms in the cup and you can just drop a few in. The only bad thing is that you can't freeze them again so if you want, you can just cut a little piece of the cube and try it like that instead of throwing a bunch of them away.

I think he should enjoy the silk plants instead of the plastic ones. It shouldn't stress him out that much since you have the stress coat in the water. Just make sure you wash your hands and arms very well before sticking them in the tank. Hope that helps some

 

[alabaster]

Sounds like you care more about your fish and dedicate more time and money to them than do 99.99% of people who buy bettas. Congratulations! A five gallon is a great size for a betta, and I'm sure he's grateful you're willing to provide for him so well. You did well to buy him plants and a decently-sized tank (to see examples to the contrary, simply look at any of the eBay rants in this forum about sellers who peddle tiny cramped tanks as a gimmick for children) You did everything right, and that you care that much about your fish speaks well of you. Not many people are responsible and intelligent enough to understand that just because you can buy a betta for $3 doesn't mean that you don't need to care for it properly. Well done!

 

[BettaMomma]

Welcome to the forum - it sounds like you're spoiling your little boy rotten!!
I have fragrance-free (almost everything-free) liquid hand soap at every single sink and I wash, wash, wash and rinse my hands like crazy before I go near any of my tanks. I stopped using any kinds of lotions or perfumes and most cleaning agents cuz i'm so terrified I'm going to get them into one of my tanks.

I would say the enjoyment he'll get out of his new plants will far outweigh the stress of having your hands in his tank for a few seconds.

Good luck with your fish - he sounds like he's gonna live like a king!

psst - careful, if you hang around us too long you'll catch some kind of illness....
MTS
MBS
HTGABN
etc.

lots of them



(MTS - Multiple Tank Syndrome)
(MBS - Multiple Betta Syndrome)
(HTGABNS - Have To Get Another Betta Now Syndrome)

 

[daudy_dojo]

true true i have now ... 4 bettas cause of this site wich isnt a bad thing... and now cause of me my BF wants a betta

 

[BettaMomma]

I have 16 all of a sudden.