Please help! My betta died

[cynqueen]

Hi everybody,

I am a 100% newbie to the world of fish and am not having an easy time of it! My son received a 1.7 gallon goldfish tank with neon purple gravel, an elite mini internal filter, and plastic plant as a gift from his grandparents.
The first goldfish died within 36 hours, the 2nd and 3rd faired not much better. After a horrible experience with the lps that sold it, we went to another lps and they suggested getting a betta.

We removed the filter and plant, and the betta did alright for the first week. Now please keep in mind that we knew NOTHING about bettas, only what the lps told us. So we did 30% water changes every week by siphoning from the bottom, but were not told about dechlorinators  or good/bad bacteria. We were basically clueless!

About 2 weeks in, our poor betta developed this white fluff on his side near his tail, and within 24 hours he was gone , even though we put anti-fungus treatment in the water and changed 100%. I then went to a 3rd lps, and they were wonderful! They spent 45 minutes just talking with us and explaining a bit about aquarium life and betas. They offered to help us with our water quality, will test it as often as we want for free (and we haven’t spent 1 cent in their shop yet!)

Now my son is heartbroken , and I am determined to learn everything I can about doing this right, so here come the questions!


Should I keep the gravel or have an empty tank?

If I have an empty tank what type of plant should I have? Silk or real? Can you have a real plant with nothing in the bottom of the tank?

I know the filter has too much current. Should I try to find a different type (keeping in mind this is a fairly small tank)? If yes, what types would you recommend?

If no filter is required, how do I do a 100% water change – what do I do with the fish while I’m emptying the tank?

What do you recommend to add to the water to keep the fish healthy? I have seen a lot of different products named and have no clue what to use.

What about adding salt? We have a snail (Gary) in the tank now – can he survive if we add salt to the water?

The water temperature in the tank is at 68F – from what I understand the tank is too small to put in a heater – what other options do I have to bring up the water temp?

We were feeding our betta flakes and freeze dried blood worm – he really liked the blood worm. I will invest in some real betta pellets.

Also, how do I sterilize everything so that when we do finally get a new betta, he is a happy and healthy fellow? This is an acrylic tank, can I just run everything under very hot water?

Anybody help you all can offer would be greatly appreciated & I apologize for all these questions!

Cynthia
Desperately Clueless!

 

[mm_simb]

Well, I'll try to answer most of your questions...

Should I keep the gravel or have an empty tank?

Some gravel in the tank is good although I'm not sure if it's absolutely necessary. I would think that it would capture all the stuff that the betta releases instead of having it float around.

If I have an empty tank what type of plant should I have? Silk or real? Can you have a real plant with nothing in the bottom of the tank?

If you have a plant and it's between silk and plastic, choose silk as it is softer and wont be so harsh on the fins. I'm not sure if you can have a real plant with nothing on the bottom.

I know the filter has too much current. Should I try to find a different type (keeping in mind this is a fairly small tank)? If yes, what types would you recommend?

In that small of a tank a filter is not necessary with frequent water changes.

If no filter is required, how do I do a 100% water change – what do I do with the fish while I’m emptying the tank?

You can remove the betta and put him in a small container. Anything clean will do. Just make sure you keep it covered since bettas can/do jump. A 100% water change can be done twice a week.

What do you recommend to add to the water to keep the fish healthy? I have seen a lot of different products named and have no clue what to use.

You should add a dechlorinater...like Stress Coat or anything that. You can ask the people at the LFS and they will tell you what different products you can use.

What about adding salt? We have a snail (Gary) in the tank now – can he survive if we add salt to the water?

You don't need salt in the tank and I'm not sure if it would harm your snail.

The water temperature in the tank is at 68F – from what I understand the tank is too small to put in a heater – what other options do I have to bring up the water temp?

Well, you can use a heating pad since the temp is way too low. You can also purchase a bigger tank like a 2.5 gallon and put a small heater in that. It would be easier in the long run. The temp should be from 76-80 degrees.

We were feeding our betta flakes and freeze dried blood worm – he really liked the blood worm. I will invest in some real betta pellets.

Freeze dried foods are really bad for most fish like bettas. The flakes aren't so bad as long as your betta likes them which not that many bettas do. I use Hikary Bio Gold and a small package will last you a really long time. To give him a variety of foods you can feed him live foods or frozen.

I'm not sure about the sterilizing though. Hope that helps a little.

 

[yeeviabetta]

Good job, mm_simb.

Here some of my addition.
Gravel is ok. It will decorating the tank. It just too much to clean later. LOL Make sure takeout extra food if there are left over by the betta. Don't let uneaten food flooding in the water or sink underneath the bottom gravel. This will create problems later especially toxicity like ammonia, nitrite and nitrate that will kill your fish later.

Always have an empty bucket to aged water. Aged water mean fill up the pill of water, add conditional (declorinate the water and other metal element) don't cover the bucket and let it stand at least for a day or two. The longer the better. When you want to used it, there will be a film on the top like dusk or oil film. Just filter it out with a tissus paper towel or coffee filter.

Life plant are great because they will elliminating nitrate, nitrite and ammonia low. I can tell from the greenest of the plant. Look at all my container. I just flood those plant and betta love it and sleep there too like a hammock.

You can throw away the filter. LOL As long as you change the water at least one a week. Feed the betta according. If you skip a meal sometimes, it wont hurt the betta anyway.

You can add a small amount of salt and it is better.

Put a small heater and the water temperature stay in 78 to 80 is the best.
Else turn up your home temperature to 80 degree F like me. LOL

Throw away freeze food. They just junk food by the way. Hikari betta gold is good. Feed some fresh or frozen food. Flys that don't know how to fly is good too. They reminds me like fleas. jumping around. LOL

You can used antibacterial dish soap to clean the plastic tank.

Your question always welcome. If you want some freebies, I got some. You just send the shipping cost. Pm me if interested.

 

[Elise]

To "sterilize" the tank, run it under VERY hot water to kill all the bacteria. That's what I've been doing and it's worked well for me.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

I would actually clean the tank out 2-3times a week, a non cycled tank that small will just build up too much ammonia in it if only cleaned once a week.
The size tank you currently have is only suitable for bettas at best and no other fish, its complicated to explain but basically 1-2gal tanks are only realy suitable for bettas and no other fish although the bigger the tank the better, although if you go for a 5gal or larger i suggest you start looking into cycling tanks in the articles at the top of the beginner section as doing 100% water changes all the time in 5gal+ tanks isn't very practical.
Goldfish simply can't live in small tanks and need much bigger tanks to survive.
I agree though with all the other posted info so far.

 

[AlexsDaddy]

I use distilled white vinager and hot hot hot tap water to steralize my tanks. A bare bottom tank is easiest for a small tank that you are going to be doing 100% water changes in. It's easiest because after you have taken the betta out of the tank, all you have to do is carry it back to the toilet, or sink, or where ever you dump the water and dump it out, then give it a quick rince under the tap and you're good to go. It does look better with something in the bottom though. It's really up to you on that.

 

[eudielynn]

I'd also think about yeevia's offer of a freebie. The ones he breeds are much healthier and better quality than the ones you'll find in your local pet store. They'll stand a much better chance of a long healthy life.

 

[cynqueen]

Hi again,

Thanks everybody for all your help!!! I think his is what I will do:

• Remove the gravel, to make cleaning easier
• Remove the filter as well
• Purchase some Hikari betta gold food
• Purchase a silk plant
• Sterilize the tank & test my water. From now on I will do 100% water change 2 times a week.

Still a few more questions:

In order to acclimatize my betta when I first purchase him, I have to slowly add my tank water to his water right? So I dump out a bit of his and add some of mine? I am a bit unclear on this process. Won’t all the water changing stress him out?

When I do my water change and remove my betta from his tank, do I put him in a cup in old tank water or new tank water? Do I scoop him up in a net or try to catch him in a cup? Which is less stressful?

mm_simb - I am still a bit unclear about heat. – what do you mean by “heating pad”? Something that would go under the tank or in it?

For the plant – should it float around on the top? If not, I assume I should get a plant that is high enough to reach the top of the water level?

Yeeviabetta – thank you very much for the “freebie” offer – I didn’t realize you could ship fish through the mail?! Do you know how much it would cost to ship a fish to Canada?

Don’t know if you can tell, but I am very nervous about this – I really don’t want to hurt another fish!!!!

Again, thanks everybody for all your help…. And your fish are all beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!

Cynthia

 

[AlexsDaddy]

Sounds like a good plan.

When you acclimitize your betta, the first thing you will want to do is float the cup/bag in the tank for 15-20 minutes to ensure the water in the cup/bag is the same temp as what is in the tank. After he is adjusted to the temp, start the water acclimitation by dumping 10-15% of the fish store water and putting about the same ammount of tank water back into the cup/bag. Continue doing that every 15 minutes or so untill you are sure that there is little to no fish store water left in the bag/cup. Never put water from the fish store into your tank. Always dump it into a cup or the sink or a bowl or something. that way you prevent the risk of introducing a disease into your tank.

When you do a water change it is usually better to try to scoop him out with a cup. Using a net will mess up his slime coat. A good way to do that is to put the cup in the water then drop some pellets in the cup to bribe him in there. Keep him in the old water untill the tank is clean and refilled, then dump out all the old water from the cup that you can before putting him back into the tank. This ensures that there is little to no ammonia going back into the tank. Make sure the cup is covered at all times. They can and will jump. One important thing to remember when doing WC's is to make sure that the new water is the same temp or as close as you can get it to the old water. The way I like to do it is fill the kitchen sink with hot water and let my gallon jugs with the fresh conditioned water sit in the hot water till it's the same temp. I keep a seperate thermometer just for that, but with only 1 betta you don't really have to have a seperate one. It usually only takes a couple minutes to do if you fill the sink almost all the way.

Heating pad. Some people use reptile heating pads to put under their gallon tanks or bowls to keep the temp steady. I have used a 25 watt adjustable temp heater in a 1 gal tank before, but that was only after a 1 week trial period with no betta to make sure that the temp stayed steady. If you don't have a thermometer, think about getting a floating thermometer. They are a little more accurate then the ones that stick on the outside of the tank. The ideal temp is between 76-84F. I like to keep mine around 80F.

For the plant, that's really up to you. If you do choose to get one that floats on the top just make sure your betta can still get to the surface to breath. Always go silk when getting plants for bettas. Plastic ones can sometimes tear their fins.

Don't worry about being nervous. We all started somewhere and with all the help you can get here you will do fine. The biggest thing is don't be afraid to ask questions. Everyone here on this board is more than happy to help and there are a lot of very knowledgable people here. GL and HTH!!

Edited to add some stuff.

 

[abstract]

just to add my two cents....i don't think i would do 2 100% water changes each week...i would do a 50% in the middle of the week and a 100% at the end of the week max (although bettas can handle it, it is way overkill to do 2 complete water changes in a 1.7 IMO)...

you def. should set up a heater and maintain it around 78 degrees (as others have suggested)

the best way to keep the bottom of the tank clean is to remove any uneaten food (5 mins after feeding) and any waste daily with a turkey baster - that should keep the ammonia levels down

another quick note - never dump water into your tank from a fish store...when you get a new fish acclimate it as you have been adviced (adding your water every 10 mins or so for 30-45 mins max), but don't pour the water in, only the fish...this will help you to avoid any of the nasties from pet store water

hth

 

[mm_simb]

I think it's just easier to do the 100% water changes but I you can just do a 50% one day and then 100% at the end of the week.
Scooping him up with a cup is the best thing. I tried the net thing and it just made him really stressed.
If you're thinking of adding a silk plant and actually want it to be at the bottom with the leaves floating up you can get some plant weights. I think they sell them at most LFS.
You can also get a product like Blackwater Extract or Indian Almond Leaves. I have blackwater extract and it's really great. It calmed down my paranoid betta that same day.

Believe me...you'll learn a lot in just a couple of days. I can't believe all the things I know when I've only been here for a few months.

 

[Synirr]

Just a side note... if you want to add gravel, it's not really as big a problem as a lot of people make it out to be. All my bettas have some kind of substrate in their tanks (gravel, marbles, or stones) and all you've got to do is swish the water around and rinse the bowl out more than once to make sure all the poo is gone. I personally think the aesthetic appeal of gravel is worth the bit of extra effort, and some of my boys like digging around in it searching for any food they may have missed (there's never any down there, mind you, but it gives them something to do )

 

[cynqueen]

Hi again,

Okay I have gone out and purchased pretty much everything but the fish (although they had some beautiful bettas at the lps!!!).

I purchased Nutrafin's Betta Plus water treatment, aquarium salt, stresscoat & Hikari betta bio-gold (not cheap!!) and a silk plant.


I have added the betta plus and aquarium salt to my water - should I also add stress coat? Is there any easy way to help the aquarium salt disolve (kinda big chunks)?

I tested my water and everything seems to be okay. Have sterilized all the old stuff and will hopefully purchase our new betta this weekend (son will pick him out )

I am also still trying to find a min-heater (saw some on the internet that are 12.5W), but none at lps nor at wal-mart).

My lfs also suggested I purchase this little moss ball to suck the impurities in the tank. I figured if I'm doing 100% water changes that this would be unnecessary - any thoughts?

Again, thank you thank you thank you all for all your help ... I am keeping my fingers crossed that this will be a good experience!


Cynthia

 

[mm_simb]

I have added the betta plus and aquarium salt to my water - should I also add stress coat? Is there any easy way to help the aquarium salt disolve (kinda big chunks)?

I tested my water and everything seems to be okay. Have sterilized all the old stuff and will hopefully purchase our new betta this weekend (son will pick him out )

I am also still trying to find a min-heater (saw some on the internet that are 12.5W), but none at lps nor at wal-mart).

My lfs also suggested I purchase this little moss ball to suck the impurities in the tank. I figured if I'm doing 100% water changes that this would be unnecessary - any thoughts?

Yea, the Hikary pellets are not that cheap. But I bought mine with my betta 2 months ago and still have some left. lol..Just feed them small portions through out the day. I feed mine 3 pellets 2 times a day. Or 2 pellets, 3 times a day.
If you added the water treatment thing you do not need to add stresscoat. So when you finish the water treatment stuff you can start using stresscoat. I don't think there are ways to make the little crystals dissolve. But when you have your betta be sure to let them dissolve before putting your betta in there.
If you do 100% water changes that moss is not necessary.
You might also want to get a little thermometer (sp?) for the tank so you can know what temp the water is. I've always had bad experience with the ones to stick to the outside of the tank. I have one that you stick to the inside of the tank with some suction cups...or you can also get the floating ones.

 

[AlexsDaddy]

If you stir the water the salt will dissolve faster. Walmart sells a heater for small tanks called the Jr. heater or something like that. I don't like it though cause the temps not adjustable and you still get temp fluctuations.