Betta Questions

[kadkins20]

I recently added a female betta to my 15 gallon which has been up since... late september

The tank now has 4 longfin danios, 3 black skirt tetras, a rubber lip plecostomus, and a female swordtail and of course the new betta

and theres a mystery snail too

i don't have a cover for it and i live in western washington, so it gets fairly cold in my house, but i try to keep my room temperature above 65 at all times, and the tank is just below 80 and fairly constant even when it does get a little colder.

I was wondering if the female betta would have any problems with any of the fish in the tank - i've heard that tetras can be fin nippers, and i wasn't sure if the betta would be aggressive toward any of the other fish. So far i haven't noticed any problems except that she seems to be more shy than i would have hoped. Should i get tall/floating plants to give her more high-water hiding spots?

I was also wondering if she will have a risk of getting pneumonia since the tank is uncovered and i live in a cold environment

 

[x0x.love.you.x0x]

it would be suggested to get a heater

 

[LauraFrog]

Fish can't get pneumonia, but their metabolisms can slow down and make them generally ill... I won't bore you with the mechanics of it, but in short the best thing you can do for them is to get a heater, they will all appreciate it.

 

[wilsonnw8]

Fish can't get pneumonia, but their metabolisms can slow down and make them generally ill... I won't bore you with the mechanics of it, but in short the best thing you can do for them is to get a heater, they will all appreciate it.

Yes a heater and look out for the female getting her fins nipped by the tetras, in the mean time when you do water changes I would replace the with warm water to try and gradually heat up the system, if you do this every day at the same time at least they will gain some relief, heaters arent that expensive on ebay

 

[bronzecat]

Hi

I'm guessing that they do have a heater.......otherwise there aint no way the water could be just below 80 and the room 65 degrees. Just not possible without a heater

Lots of plants would be good It breaks their line of sight, and allows fish to hide if they want. You dont want the temperature to drop below 77/78 if you can help it.

 

[Athena]

Contrary to a comment above - you should always try to keep water temps the same when doing a water change - i.e. not adding water that is much higher or lower in temp than the current tank water. Changes in water temp can cause fish to become stressed and sick.

Also - not sure if you're aware of this or not but Bettas are jumpers - so if at all possible see if there is a way to get a lid for your tank or you may just find that your Betta escapes the tank and would be upsetting to find her on the floor dried up.

My female Betta has jumped a few times when I've taken off the lid for water changes and landed on the glass ledge and she also jumps up for food sometimes when she's excited - I'm pretty sure that if I had no lid at all she would have been a gonner by now.

Food for thought...

Athena

 

[wilsonnw8]

I specified every day at the same time in order to get some continuity in temperature, I have read this can be done , if at the exact same time with a lot less stress, It is thought to be due to it being the replica of an increased amount of heat at certain times of day in the wild i.e. The sun in different positions.
Of course the real answer would be to get that heater. I personally try to keep my fish at a steady temp all day and night but this is a difficult situation

 

[bronzecat]

Ummm......I know the OP hasn't been back online yet, but the simple solution is a perspex sheet of plastic to pop over the tank

If they haven't got a heater, I wanna know the secret of getting the water temp over 10 degrees higher than the environment Would save me a fortune

 

[kadkins20]

Ummm......I know the OP hasn't been back online yet, but the simple solution is a perspex sheet of plastic to pop over the tank

If they haven't got a heater, I wanna know the secret of getting the water temp over 10 degrees higher than the environment Would save me a fortune

I do indeed have a heater, i just don't have a cover - and I've heard of labyrinth fish getting pneumonia in colder areas of the world when the air above their tanks gets to be much colder than the temperature of the water (normal fish of course can't get pneumonia). But I've only heard of pneumonia being a problem for gouramis, especially for the fry as they start to grow their labyrinth organs. Since bettas are similar in that they have labyrinths, i wanted to know if this should be a concern or if im just delusional.

Contrary to a comment above - you should always try to keep water temps the same when doing a water change - i.e. not adding water that is much higher or lower in temp than the current tank water. Changes in water temp can cause fish to become stressed and sick.

Also - not sure if you're aware of this or not but Bettas are jumpers - so if at all possible see if there is a way to get a lid for your tank or you may just find that your Betta escapes the tank and would be upsetting to find her on the floor dried up.

My female Betta has jumped a few times when I've taken off the lid for water changes and landed on the glass ledge and she also jumps up for food sometimes when she's excited - I'm pretty sure that if I had no lid at all she would have been a gonner by now.

Food for thought...

Athena

but even if they can't get pneumonia, this is reason enough for me - ill get right on that piece of plastic

now for the plants... i dont have an air pump for this tank, only a hang on back filter. The only plants I've managed to keep alive in there are a java fern and a crypt plant of some kind. I tried a java moss but it got all covered in algae and died. If i can't get a floating/tall plant that's exceptionally easy to keep alive, ill get a plastic one - but I'd much prefer the look of a live plant... any suggestions?

guess i should add that im relieved to know that there shouldn't be any major tankmate problems. So far I haven't noticed anything but if she gets picked on i can easily move the tetras

 

[bronzecat]

Hi

Java ferns are good If you can find any, floating Frogbit is really nice. Sort of like a mini lilly pad

 

[Syphoniera]

I have a type of Hygro (which came as floating, rooted leaves in with some other plants I'd bought at a pet store,) which stays alive in almost any circumstance, grows like a weed, and makes a nice forest over time, so there may be more plants which can handle even low light than are generally considered.
Since they grow bottom to surface, spread and leaf out, they give fish a lot of privacy - I'm hoping this will trigger the memory of somebody with one, lol, because I did think I'd identified it by pictures online some time ago, but really can't think of the name, although I believe at least some other varieties of Hygro exhibit the same sort of hardiness.
I brought some cuttings for a tank a friend of my brother's had set up, a 10 gallon with a measly 15 Watt light, and saw it a while later, doing quite well.
But various creeper-type plants seem to do fairly well even in lower light tanks, so you might want to keep a watch out for aquatic creepers generally, as long as you don't mind the ammonia-sucking water roots they always seem to grow.
The hygro, by the way, grows even right under the HOBS in various tanks, something many plants seemingly can't handle.
I adore the stuff, and so do my fish.

 

[Honeythorn]

Surface plants such as Water lettuce are good, and you could try Aponogentons, which get tall and have many long crinkly leaves to hide in and rest on. Moss balls are a low light plants ( actually a form of non invasive algae ) , you just chuck them in and leave them to do their own thing.