New Fighter

[pauloh]

hi there i today purchased a male fighter, im a little nervous as i thought they were quite active mid to top dwellers, mine has spent quite alot of time swimming around the bottom of the tank and alot of hiding under rocks coming out now and then to the surface before heading down again, i tested the water earlier and read, nitrate 5.0, nitrite 0, ammonia between 0 and 0.25 (definately less than 0.25) and ph 7.6, is this behaviour expected of a male fighter or have i got something seriously wrong here

 

[ripil]

i wouldn't worry to much to soon. my male fighter took a few days to settle in. just coming up for air every now and then. then he was fine i'd say after around 2 days or so. they do keep them cooked up in my lfs so maybe all the new room is a bit over the top for him at first. i'd say see how he is tomorrow or the next day.

 

[pablothebetta]

I wouldn't worry about it. I agree with ripils_fishes, it will take time for him to settle down. In saying that, my betta does swim on the bottom of his tank, and in his old tank, used to actually sleep on the bottom. At first when I put him into his new tank (not long ago), he did spend time on the bottom of the tank, either hovering around or even resting down there. Now, he spends most of his time near the top (often on top of the filter in the upper right corner, cheeky thing ) or checking out his silk plants. He does still go near the bottom though, perhaps making use of the driftwood with live plants that are in there or exploring the lower areas of the silk plants.

Just out of interest, what's his tank like?

 

[pauloh]

juwel trigon 190, hes not alone, couple of swordtails and tetras, is this not a good thing? ripils, i cant figure out how to work the message thing!?

 

[ripil]

thats alright bout the messages mate or pm. its best to comment in the forums i find as you get everyones views. i've only ever kept one with guppies and mollies before and they were all fine. as swordtails are similar fish to them and tetras are shoaling i'd say its fine. your tank is a good size for them all too. how many tetras and swordtails you got mate?

 

[pauloh]

i have 5 neon tetras, 2 sword tails 1 male an female, 2 guppies, male fighter died today, i notice ur from norwich, im not far away!

 

[ripil]

i've had 5 neon tetras before and they didn't survive. think its best to keep them in large groups i'd suggest around 10-15 if possible. is the fighter any better now? cool you can come have some fry off me soon then yay

 

[pauloh]

yes mate love to! the fighter died on sat, i went and had the water tested at a pet store and they said the water ph is slightly high but all other levels are as good if not better than theirs, whats the best way to bring it down?

 

[lilfishie]

i wouldn't mess with pH, i highly doubt thats what caused him to die, what else did they test?

 

[the_lock_man]

I totally agree with Lil, don't muck about with pH. It will cause more problems long term.

Your problem could be one of acclimatisation - how long did you float the bag in the tank before releasing him, and did you add any tank water to the bag before releasing him.

they said the water ph is slightly high but all other levels are as good if not better than theirs,

As far as I'm concerned, there's only one "good" level for ammonia and nitrite, and that's 0ppm. If your levels are better than the LFS', it implies that the LFS is happy to have ammonia and/or nitrite in their water. Could just be salesman's patter, though.

 

[pauloh]

i do water changes but i also test the water myself once a week, i had them test it for a second opinion, i tested the water monday eve and ammonia was 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 5.0 and ph 7.2, i purchased the fighter from an aquatics dealer where i feel iv had quite a bit of bad advice, when i told them about the fighter they implied its most likely my water which is why i took a sample to the pet store for a second opinion, i floated the bag in the tank for 20 mins, then twice added tank water to the bag before gently letting him out

 

[ripil]

na your ph would be ok. they sell the fish tell you that you killed it and sell you another one. they probably were going to try selling you a ph balancer next. 7.2 is ok. my tank ran around 6.8-7.0 when i kept a male fighter. lived happy for around 4 months then died for no reason. how the tetras doing? thats a pretty good gauge on your water conditions. if they fade do a water change. i used to use them to know what was what for a while not the best way but i was new to keeping fish i didn't buy them for that reason either but it came in handy in the end. so whereabouts are ya mate as these guppies are slowly building up their numbers.

 

[pauloh]

hi mate im east dereham, my tetras do quite well the only time they fade is when i switch the light off at night, whereabouts in city are you