General Betta Help: Water Temp, Plant, Food, Sad Fish?

[rrrr]

hi!

i bought a betta fish 3 days ago. i've been reading up about bettas since. it's pretty interesting! i've learnt a lot from many websites, but i still have a few questions i'd appreciate live help on:

i cannot afford a 2 gallon aquarium, let alone a filtre or a heater. i have no idea how much my fish bowl holds, but i will include a link with a photo of it below. it's filled with marble-like beads and i've added a fake plant to it. i guess the water is at room temperature. i've looked this up and water at room temperature runs around 68F to 77F. is this okay? is there any way i can warm the water without a water heater? i don't think holding it above my home heating system would be a very good idea!

the plant i have in the bowl is fake with a suction cup on the bottom. it kind of looks like long grass, and my betta likes swimming through it and just chilling amongst the strands. he sometimes has to push/force/swim hard to get out of them: is this dangerous? he looks like he likes hiding in there, sometimes he is almost upright in the middle of the plant (his head facing the bottom, and the body vertical!). should i remove this plant? is it worrisome? it is made my hagen for bettas.

i've been feeding him 2 little balls of hikari betta-gold every day: 1 in the morning and 1 in the evening. should i be feeding him more? i remember feeding them a lot more when i was younger, but this is what the pet shop boy told me to do. he is pretty small compared to the other bettas i saw at the store.

he seems pretty happy now, but sometimes he gets pretty unactive and either hides in the plant like above, or hangs around the top of the bowl, or down against the marbles. i might be paranoid, but is this normal? he's not sad, is he? i've had a case of suicidal golfishes jumping out of their tank before, i hope my bettas aren't cursed too!

also, when are they supposed to start blowing bubbles for the nests? does he need to see a female to start doing this? he hasn't yet, not at all. is it a sign that he is sad? he's flared around twice when i've put a mirror against his tank, but doesn't flare otherwise. he seems to have a huge fixation on the rounded edges of the tank and kind of pushes this part of the bowl with his head.

http/i42.tinypic.com/34xkwfa.jpg <- bowl set up
http/i43.tinypic.com/35cosbs.jpg <- antics with the plant

 

[Netty]

Hi and welcome to the forum

It's a shame you can't get a slightly bigger tank for him. You can pick them up quite cheaply if you look around abit.

He may be acting lethargic because of the temp of the water too. Ideally it should be around 80f. Perhaps you could get a small reptile heat mat. Just make sure you also have a thermometer so you can see that the temps are correct. If it gets too high you'll have to place something between the mat and the bowl. Also you'll need to be doing water changes every other day to try to keep the ammonia down to zero. Again a larger tank would be less work for you.

The hikari pellets are good but you should be feeding about 3 pellets twice a day. Once a week you can give him a treat of a few live or frozen bloodworm. Some people also have one day of no feeding at all. This all helps to keep their digestive system in good working order.

 

[keithp]

The plant could cause damage, i've had those and the ends can be very sharp and possibly tear the bettas long fins. If you could buy a live plant and keep it trimmed that would be better, just as long as it has some light.

Your going to have a hard time keeping that clean, I have a 3 gallon and do a water change once a week, any less and the water gets dirty, with yours i'd say twice a week for half water change. For me heat is not issue, but for you, possibly a plant light, only issue is it heats up the water very quickly and if you forget to turn it off could fry the fish! 70-80 F is best. You should buy this to moniter the temp, I have it and it works good, just stick it to the outside of the bowl. http/www.drsfostersmith.com/product/deta...00P_reptile.jpg Since I have no filter, I have no choice but to do weekly water change. It's ok for now, but at least get a 3 gallon soon for more room and less cleaning time. The tank doesnt have to look fancy, it just has to be the right temp, enough space so the fish can swim, and be kept clean. Also needs a cover!

Bloodworms and brine shrimp are excellent with the pellets. I buy frozen booodworms/brine shrimp.

 

[Kariann]

I still feel my 3 gallon is very small for my betta! If you can, please try to afford a bigger tank/bowl. I just had an undergravel filter for my 3g and had to do lots of water changing (given its not so hard with a small tank) but investing in a small filter and heater is definitely worth it Cherry is a very happy and active betta, if a little plain compared to the pics on here. Love him tho.

 

[LionMom]

Do you have a heating pad? Try putting the bowl on that with the pad set a medium to start, but you MUST have a thermometer to help you regulate the temp. of the water.

A small live plant like anubius, java fern, java moss or a moss ball (or any combination of those) will help "filter" the water and be MUCH better for him than the phoney bologna plant that is in there. Those are all low light plants and should be ok.

I think if that were my set up, I would do a 50% water change 3 times a week.

Look around at yard sales, consignment shops, in the classifieds, etc. for a used tank & equipment - they can be found on the cheap and both you AND your betta will be MUCH happier.

Hope that helps and good luck!

 

[Honeythorn]

Firstly, sorry but I have to say, if you can't afford to care for the fish why did you get one ?

Secondly, these are tropical fish the same as say, gouramis. They need a filter and a heater, and at least a 5 gallon tank.

You don't have to buy all these things brand new. As Lionmom says, look around garage sales, craigslist, classifeds, ebay, for tanks and equipment. You can get things very cheaply indeed. I have a 30 gallon tank that came with a big fully working filter and only cost me £22. These things can be done and for less money than you think.

A cheap way to set up a temporary tank for your fish until you get a proper one, is to use a plastic storage tub like this one

Just get the most see through one you can find. They don't cost much, and you'll need one about 12 inches long, 12 inches wide ( front to back ) and about 10 inches deep ( take a tape measure with you ) . You can use that as a tank for your fish. It will hold a LOT more water than that bowl, and this means your fishes waste will be more diluted, and won't foul up the water so quickly. You will need to change half the water every week.

A cheap little filter like this CLICK ME is good for a betta. I know the price is in £'s, but it's not much more in dollars. That particular filter will need a small air pump to make it work. You can buy those cheaply too, try ebay.

That plastic plant will sooner or later damage your bettas fins. The hard plastic often has sharp edges that can catch the fins when the betta squeezes past ( and they do love to squeeze, all mine do ) You should get silk plants, they look a bit more realistic, and are much safer for your fish.

Seriously, I have a bowl exactly like that and the only thing it's good for is for keeping sugar in. Mine is actually full of moss. They are not meant for fish.

 

[squiremaster]

Hello to the forum for joining this forum. lots-o-fun.

 

[love4aquatic]

Hello to the forum for joining this forum. lots-o-fun.

ya welcome!! Netty and Bronzecat will be alot of help to you! as well as Honeythorn and many others!

(never listen to squiremaster, but if you do i would get a second opinion) lol

 

[rrrr]

thank-you everyone!

you're right, honeythorn. your rethorical question sincerely causes me to ponder my torturer ways. i must have been insane to think a three dollar fish would not require me to invest ~100 (tank, filtre, heater, déco) dollars! i understand that these fishes would rather live in a 5 to whatever gallon tank with everything you mentionned, but it is also able to survive (and thrive) in a more sobre enviorment, such as mine, where space is an important issue. i don't find it very aesthetically pleasing to have a huge dingy aquarium as the centre piece of my room. i have seen the places where they are bred - even the more expensive sorts, and they are in even smaller bowls than mine. please don't jump down my throat over having a betta fish in quite the standard fish bowl. i find it ridiculous to put a single betta fish in a 90 gallon tank, or whatever i've read up on here. do you realise the energy and monetary waste this entails?

i should have mentionned this in my first post. thank-you for your advice and alternative ideas. i will keep an eye out for these, but i am still reluctant to go out of my budget over this. i did look around a pet shop a few days ago when i was looking to buy something a little bit bigger than what he came in (a slightly bigger 'ballon' used for wine) and they only had up to 2L tanks, and they cost 17$+. i reckon my bowl has around the same capacity and cost me 3$.

as for the moss balls, i would like to get a small one and remove the grassy plant i have in mine right now, though my fish seriously loves the plant. he is always squeezing through and face planting in it. i don't think i could sustain a living plant in this small bowl though.

i changed his water today even if i could only see 3 little poos. he looks quite happy and lively. merci encore!

 

[Honeythorn]

I'm not jumping down your throat.

You don't have to spend $100 on tanks and equipment. Where you devised that notion I really don't know. I did mention you do not need to buy things brand spanking new from a petshop. The tub idea is simply a temporary measure until a nicer tank can be found. The tub will hold more water, which will dilute the waste and generally make the whole thing easier to keep stable. Which is in the interests of the health of your fish.

i don't find it very aesthetically pleasing to have a huge dingy aquarium as the centre piece of my room.

As for it not being an attractive centrepiece, this is a living thing, not an ornament to just look pretty and "cope" with the bare minimum.

If 2 L tanks are costing that much I'd seriously advise you look elsewhere. That is extortionate for a deathtub. Have you tried ebay or craigslist? Many secondhand tanks come with equipment included in the price, thereby saving you money,all you'd need to do is clean everything.

i find it ridiculous to put a single betta fish in a 90 gallon tank

So do I. No one suggested you needed to get a huge tank. 5 gallons will fit on a desk no problem. I have one on a small table in the dining room , see the hex tank in my signature . That tank cost me £5 secondhand. It has the filter built in. All I had to get was a heater and decor ( also cheap ) See? not hard at all. You just have to look for the deals instead of forking out loads of cash when you don't need to.