Betta Plant

[ReMz]

ayayay. you have a dilemma going on.

That is not normal betta behavior. you already know, but that bettas should not bet kept with gouramis and possibly any other fish.

That sort of behavior could be stress or it could also be a bacterial infection.... or both. keep a close eye and update us on what the betta is doing.

My advice, buy a 1 gallon goldfish bowl, and put the betta in that (treat the water of course). as long as the temp is room temp (above 70) things should be fine. Just isolate that betta in a small, treatable tank in case you see something odd. Add the appropriate amount of aquarium salt to the 1 gal tank while you are observing....... and by observing, watch the betta in a 24 hour period as much as you can and if lethargy is a common trait, you may want to treat for bacterial infection.

*How i catch my bettas*
Fingers at the top of the tank for distraction. While they are focussed on your fingers slip a small cup behind them and use the air/water suction (DROP THE CUP FASSSSSST). Quick, easy, and they can't get away if you do it right . 5 second maneuver.

 

[liz2]

He actually does sound like an unhappy betta. As you have moved him he should perk up. IMO they really dont like big tanks. I have one boy I only got last week, he was in a bowl (temporary) really sulky didnt eat. I then moved him to a plastic container (small!!) near the other bettas and within 12 hours he had made a bubble nest and was eating. Unfortunately i couldNT leave him in the container as there really was no room. He was in the middle of my work surface. I got him a nice aquacube with a heater, really pretty set up, and he is sulking again....

 

[Bblou]

I moved him last night into a 5 gallon tank.

He is still hiding a bit, not swimming around, but hes hidind up by the filter rather than on the floor. How do I treat him for bacteria?


Weirdly aswell, after moving the one sponge from each filter around to spread out the media, both my tanks dropped to 0 ammonia, 5 g to no nitrite and the 20 g dropped in nitrite aswell!

dont understand lol

 

[fergalthefish]

my betta sits in plants and sometimes on the bottom and he's on his own - surely its just cos they're lazy!!!!

 

[ibbledibble]

I moved him last night into a 5 gallon tank.
Weirdly aswell, after moving the one sponge from each filter around to spread out the media, both my tanks dropped to 0 ammonia, 5 g to no nitrite and the 20 g dropped in nitrite aswell!

dont understand lol

in the big tank there are lots of fish adding ammonia constantly, in the smaller tank there is only one fish, so much less ammonia being produced. presumably the bacteria level on the single bit of sponge was enough to deal with the current levels in the little tank. so that may be cycled already! (keep an eye on it to make sure though) and i guess you other tank is getting there too, but just needs a bit more time before its completely cycled. probably just coincidence of timing with the big tank.

 

[newfishy]

well bettas produce much less waste then other fish, ibble is right, there was probebly enough bacteria on the small chunk of sponge to take care of the bettas waste. the other tank may just be close to finishing its own cycle so with a few days more of checking you might be good to go.

your betta sounds stressed cause of the other fish then the move, if he is still acting sulky, I would treat him for an internal infection, internal infections seem pretty commen to bettas...around me anyways.

 

[Bblou]

how do I do that?

He does seem a bit brighter today... isnt hiding behind the filter.

still not swimming about much though.

The built in mirrored backing on the 5g tank seems like its going to be a problem as bazil is flaring at himself now.

any suggestions on a way to cover the mirror up?

my lfs had backing paper but the mirrors inside and so then they sugested fish silicone, that can be used under water... I didnt like the osund of that

I was thinking about seeing if I could get a thin sheet of plastic to slot down behind the gravel and tape to the very top of the tank.


my LFS, where i bought bazil (well it isnt my lfs, its quite far but i like it better than the close one because they wouldnt sell me fish until i drove home and got a water sample) said they think I should breed him because he is so pretty.

What do I need (I am aware I would firtly need a female betta lol) to breed? equipment wise? and what is it likely to cost me?

I am not ready to do it yet... I want to make sure both tanks are cycled and that bazil isnt ill first!!!

just curious

My boyfriend even sound a little bit interested in the idea of breeding him!

 

[newfishy]

if he sees himself I would try arrangeing a ton of plants along the back to hide the mirror as much as possible. any anti-internal bacterial fish med will do. Comes with instructions on the packaging.

breeding is fun and neat when you get babies, but very time consuming, can be difficult, a bit costly, and sometimes, even if you have everything set up perfect your fish mutilate each other, eat eggs or babies, or have massive die offs of babies for the slightest infraction in care.

you need seperate tanks for male and female, because they can only be together during spawning after they are very well conditioned.

A 10 gallon spawning tank, I found out a 20 long spawning tank works better for my fish...much much less agression.

live foods for fry...MC and bbs.

a large growout tank...I use my 20 long and then 2 very large clear tupperware containers. hold about 25 each.

then individual jars to hold all the males....and a way to keep all the jars warm.

and thats just some of the equipment needed, theres a sticky of commenly asked question at the top of the page, have a look and it goes into detail about the time and effort that goes into breeding.

 

[Bblou]

there isnt really enough room to put plants in... its a really weird shaped tank!!

Ill try a sheet of plastic or summit.

 

[newfishy]

hmm...then I would try going to an arts and craft store and picking up some plastic needle work backing...comes in a few differnt colors, I use it in black as tank dividers, cuts to fit very well and you can use small suction cups tied with fishing line to hold it in place...its also only like .35 cents per a pretty large sheet.

 

[Bblou]

good plan! ill have a look tomorrow