Got Two For .99

[newfishy]

well my husand and I were at walmart today grocery shopping and were in the fish isle because I needed more water condioner for my guppys and platys. and saw these two very pathiticly sick little bettas in cups so filthy it was hard to see the fish. my sister was looking for a few more females for her sorority tank, so i though i got them and brought them to coustmor service, raised a fit with a manager about the living conditions (both girls didnt look like they would make it out of the store alive) so they gave me both the fish for 99 cents.

well they are now at home in the spare 5 gallon with a heater, with rocks and a cave to hide in, I used water condioner a bit of aquarium salt and a little melafix. they have a very tight fitting lid as well. I will seperate them if they get well and decide to bicker.

my sister came over to see them and says they are both juvinal crowntail females, and she thought they looked pretty stressed.

the girls are now swimming some, but mostly resting. they are going to my sisters as soon as they are well and grown out a bit.

my question now, what else other then keep their water super super clean and feed them sparingly to not polute the water, what do I do with bettas? no flamming please, I just want to take good care of them...well if they live through the night that is.

 

[nemosworld]

feeding nice foods (i recommend hikari or atison's), a small sponge filter bubbling away and doing a partial water change every week. maybe some java moss or a nice silk plant too otherwise, you seem like you're doing a great job

 

[Bubblenester]

I would probably do a daily partial water change (full changes might stress them out too much). If you have a local fish store, pick up some frozen bloodworms and spoil them a little!

Depending on how badly they are doing, you may want to drop the water level to make it easier for them to come up to breathe... but only if they're having a lot of trouble.

Good luck with your little rescues!

 

[newfishy]

What exactly is a sponge filter? I have two small whisper bubbler filters and two small extra air pumps with tubing and bubbler stones. I can juryrig just about anything.

 

[Bubblenester]

What exactly is a sponge filter? I have two small whisper bubbler filters and two small extra air pumps with tubing and bubbler stones. I can juryrig just about anything.

It's just a sponge with a place to connect airline tubing. They're perfect for bettas because they provide a little bit of water movement, filter out some debris, and provide a home for nitrifying bacteria, all without creating enough current to bother a betta. You should be able to find them at a local fish store or one of the corporate pet stores... I'm pretty sure I've never seen them at Wal Mart.

http/www.aquariumguys.com/aquarium-sponge-filters.html

The yellow "round dual action foam filter" is what I use in my 2.5 gallon tanks, because it's really small.

 

[Amunet]

Are you talking about one of the whisper filters for a 1-3 gallon? Comes with it's own air pump, costs 10dollars?
One of those should be just fine. I use one in a 3 gallon tank and it creates very very little current.
Be careful using the melafix w/ bettas. You only want to use half or less than half the dose.
I hope they both make it!

 

[newfishy]

yup thats exactly the filter I was talking about, I had ran into some heater issues today, but that is fixed now. I had though it was a good idea to dose light on the melafix, thanks for mentioning it.

Oh and I have named them.....juliet and ophelia, my husband dosnt get it...lol