Same old questions? New Betta owner.

[rykitten]

Oh yea, if you choose to add salt, you must add more with each water change. The only way to get salt out is to change the water. Salt does not evaporate out.

Hey! I see you all in here . . . please feel free to add your advice too!

 

[BronzeWolf]

This is my opinion.

Minimum 2 Gallon Tank ( I like the palpens)

25W heater eco/visitherm or Hagen Compact, all with thermostats, all these heaters are shorter in length and fit a small tank... you wont boil your fish !!!

Digital thermometer which you just stick onto your tank about $1

70% water change if your tank is unfiltered, once a week, buy dechlorinator such as "Fresh Start" and add required dose, if you have hot water put a bit in and mix with cold water, check with your thermometer so that your fresh water is about the same temp as the water in the tank.

A Gravel Vac with a siphon and a mesh sock.

Low lighting potted plant or floating plants such as Java Moss, Java Fern or Riccia, bettas nestle in them and go to sleep or lie on the leaves, plants add to the quality of water introducing oxygen. If you dont want to get real plants, then get silk plants, NOT plastic plants.

Feed your betta every other day, this helps to keep the tank clean (the more you feed the more waste your betta produces) I feed mine Hikari Micro Pellets a good pinch full, and once or twice a week mosquito lavae/bloodworms or brine shrimp just to give variation to its diet.

Optional 2-3 cories, they are bottom feeders and help to keep the tank clean too and also are tankmates to your betta, if you feel he is lonely.

Hope this helps some

 

[stewartsthebest]

i feed mine 3 times a day, one pellet

 

[Draven]

Thanks Bronze. Good to hear a slightly different opinion. I'll be heading to the store tonight to check out my local options and taking a list of notes with me. I'm really excited to get Nelson into a new home. I hope to do it this weekend while I let the water adjust to room temp in his new home over the next couple days.

 

[Draven]

With regard to changing his water for the new tank. I know I need to do it slowly for him. My idea is to get a 1 gal tank, and an additional container (suggestions?) that I can store more than 1gal in to keep as change water. The change water will be pre warmed (by room temp) and contain salt and dechlorinator.

To introduct him to this new home, should I stick him in the cup (with the hole) he came in and let it float in the new water to let it adjust to the temp. Also, mix in part of his current water, with part of the new water in the cup?

If so, how long until I can fully introduce him to the new home/water?

 

[cutecotton]

i haven't read through this entire thread, but yes when you add your betta to the new tank you should let him float in his litlte cup (or some other caontiner) with his old water. Let the coantiner sit in the new tank for about 30mins so that the tempreature can be equal on both sides, and then slowly pour him into the new tank with his old water (unless you had problems wiht your old water).

 

[Draven]

No known problems with the old water. Other then it's untreated and came from the pet store. So I'd like to get him into pure clean water. Or would it be better to include it for balance?

 

[cutecotton]

personally ia lwasy include the old water even from petstores, i dotn' think it's much of a difference since it's not a lot anyways i use it so he doesnt' stress out too much with adjusting

 

[james..]

No, never put water from the pet shop in with your water. It might contain diseases, any experienced fish keeper will tell you to do so.

Also, pH doesn't really matter much for bettas, make sure you slowly adjust the pH in the fish bag with water in your aquarium, it might take several hours, but you will never have to worry about "adjusting" the pH again. (If you want to know why, the buffers they sell at fish shops "pH up, pH down", don't really work. They are temporary and can damage your fish, so that's defiantly unwanted! Don't even bother with them!).

When I mean add your water with the fish bag's's water, Let the bag float for around 15 minutes for the temperature to equalise, then measure the pH of your water, and your LFS's water (or ask them to tell you) and add around a cupful of water until the pH levels are around the same, then realised the betta but don't add any of the water in the bag. Drain it into a fish net which is over a bucket, then quickly pop your fish into the tank.

 

[BronzeWolf]

I sugget you float your cup in the tank for a while so that the temps match and then with a fish net scoop your betta out and put him in his new home, dont add any of the water in the cup into your new clean water.

 

[Draven]

Bettas don't require an air pump since they goto the surface for air every now and then, correct? I'm thinking about getting the Aquaview 1gal and just deciding what extras come with it I wouldn't need.

Any tips on gravel? Or is it all pretty much the same? (I doubt that)

 

[cutecotton]

bettas dont' need air pumps since they breathe on teh surface, you were correct on that one.

i dont' know about the gravel, i dont' think they're really picky about it but i have about an inch of gravel on teh bottom of my tanks.