Introduction and Need urgent help

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irinasopas

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Hello.

My name is Irina, I love fish. I have an aquarium with guppys, bettas (3 females and 1 male) and others.

My female betta is egg bound and I don't know what to do. PLEASE HELP ME.
 

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Male bettas should never be in a tank with ANY other fish.
 
How is your female acting? Why do you suspect she is egg bound? How often and what do you usually feed her? It is possible that she is just constipated, in which case feeding her a thawed pea should help. She does look rather chunky in your picture, but most females do once they are of a mature age.
Could you perhaps get a top view picture of her? If the scales are sticking out, kinda like a pine cone, then it may be too late. Pine coned scales means an internal infection called drospy, the worst nightmare for any betta owner.

Would you mind telling us the size of your tank? Having a male betta mixed in with females usually ends badly. Some people have gotten away with it because of a large planted tank. Also, if you don't mind me asking, how long has the aquarium been set up with all the bettas together?

The majority of people recommend having male bettas kept in their own tanks, with no other mid to top level swimming fish. Males are rather aggressive towards females, especially when the male want to breed but the female is unwilling. Many people have mixed males with females only to have them fight and kill each other. I would give the male his own kingdom, simply for the safety of your females.

I noticed you have a bubble eyed goldfish in the picture as well. You might not like hearing this but all goldfish are cold water species, where as your bettas, guppies, and pleco are all tropical. Goldfish prefer cooler temps, around 70 degrees Fahrenheit, and your tropical fish like it a toasty 76-80. They are not compatible and I would move the goldfish to a different tank, preferably one that is at least 29 gallons, with no pointy/sharp decorations that could pop his eye.

I know this sounds like a lot to ask for, but fish keeping is often more complex than most people seem to think.
 
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Male bettas should never be in a tank with ANY other fish.
Cooledwhip is correct, bettas are highly territorial fish. Also betta females need to be in groups (or herds) of 6 or more, have you done this? (unless there is only one female) also how big is your tank, parameters, kh/gh, and what are all the fish in the tank, this will all conclude to if the fry will be able to live in your tank or in a separate tank.
Also goldfish cannot be in the same aquarium as tropical fish, they are coldwater fish and do not like the same parameters as guppys or betta splendens. As the above poster said, they need a large tank to themselves.
 
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Well before I buy all the fishes I talked with a specialist and he said me the male betta can live with others, he can't live with another betta fish. Mine is doing well, there aren't fights, everybody eats, and everybody is in one piece. And at the petshop who is also specialized in fishes the betta male was living with other species and a lot of female bettas. I'm feeding 4 times a day with a very reduced quantity like 2 flakes crumbled at time. They are 11 at the aquarium. The other female bettas don't have this belly. I'm sending a top picture. Well a lot of people who has bettas said that she is ovulating. So I will put the gold fish away because of the temperature not beause they're fighting haha. I already put the female betta away from the others and she will be on diet too. But help me. She is fat or ovulating?
 

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They are living together about 15 days. 1st I bought the betta male and one female. Than after 15 days I talked with the specialist and bought the others. I observed the behavior, and there is nothing wrong, there is no aggressiveness from any of them. I do that a lot of times in a day sit and watch specially when I feed them.
 
And only tomorrow I can tell the size of my tank because I'm from Portugal, we use different measures. I need to convert it and here is already 12pm
 
I'm not seeing pine coned scales so I say she's just full of eggs. My females are also pretty chunky. I don't see any reason to separate her from the others, doing that can cause more problems. She may be attacked when you decide to put her back with the others. It won't hurt to feed them all a few cut up peas, just to help with any possible constipation.

I would not take a pet store employ's word very seriously. Half the time they are just trying to sell you fish, and the other half they don't even know what they are talking about. Here in the United States, I have only come across a few people who actually knew what they were talking about. Certain species of bettas can be together with both genders, but bettas splendens (which is what most people have) can not live peacefully together. Seeing as how it's only been a couple weeks, it's highly likely that problems between the male and females will arise. The fat female has a few tears and a small chunk missing, which really could be caused by any of the other bettas.

Males and females are only put together when spawning, and after the female lays eggs she is removed. As evidence, here is a picture of the damage caused by my male when I spawned this female.
afterbreeding.jpg

I highly recommend either returning the male or moving him to his own tank.
 
A male betta is not compatible with any tank mates. That's that, they fin nip and chase when your looking sometimes, and sometimes when your not looking. This is a true fact, we didn't lie to you. feeding four times a day isn't a necessarily good or healthy schedule especially when its two flakes for your amount of fish, that's only about 1 flake per fish which isn't enough to provide thriving health. you should feed two times a day, not a lot and not a little. what food do you feed them? guppy's and bettas (and goldfish) have completely different diets. also your "specialist" obviously isn't a "specialist" a person who works at Petco (example) isn't qualified for the section he or she works in. a male betta with any female betta is a death wish, your female betta isn't getting fat with the amount you feed, so its either that or a parasitic infection within the stomach region. Female bettas constantly (even if you don't see it) pick at male bettas fins or his skin, you may not see the damage though. and If your tank is a 5-10 Gallon aquarium with the fish you have its to much even if its just the bettas (like I said males should live on there own and female need at least 6 other female bettas to thrive with, so they don't pick on eachother). I think you said you where returning the goldfish to the store? that's a good start, before you get a pet you should do immense research, nowadays people neglect to do this. And media doesn't help, i.e. you cant have a goldfish in a bow or else it will die, goldfish are supposed to live up and over 7 years, even more than 10 sometimes! They are a whole different "genre" of fish. As well as bettas.
 
here is a betta caresheet I made just for you :) :
Tank size 5-8 gal (20-30 L) for 1 fish
Temperament Aggressive to other bettas
Diet Carnivore
Temperature 77-83°F (25-28°C)
pH 6.8-7.5
Length 2.4 inch (6 cm)
Betta fish are naturally found in Thailand and Cambodia, usually in small ponds, rice paddies and slow moving rivers with lots of thick vegetation. To be able to survive in these areas, where the water often dries up to small puddles in the dry season, Betta fish have developed the ability to jump from puddle to puddle and breathe small amounts of oxygen from the surface using something called the labyrinth organ.
This is likely what spawned the myth that they can live in small amounts of unfiltered water, like cups and vases.

Betta requirements
Contrary to belief spread mainly by pet stores, Betta fish cannot live in a cup, and won’t ‘freak out’ in larger spaces. They are tropical fish that require a heated, filtered and preferably rectangular tank of at least 5 gallons with a lid. Bettas can breathe air at the surface, so they should always have the possibility to do this. To make them feel safe, a planted tank and calm tankmates are recommended.

Tanks like the ‘Betta peace lilly’, wall mounted bowl, tiny “aquaponics systems” and “self cleaning tanks” are not proper living space for a betta and should always be avoided.

More information about why betta bowls are bad can be found here.
More information about proper betta aquariums, equipment and tankmates can be found here.


The Betta’s upturned mouth reveals what it likes to eat in the wild: insects that have fallen in the water. Mosquito larvae, zooplankton and occasionally small amounts of vegetable matter are also in the wild Betta’s diet.

In captivity, Bettas should be fed a varied diet, consisting of high quality Betta pellets like Omega One Betta Buffet Pellets or New Life Spectrum Betta Formula and other foods containing animal protein, like mosquito larvae, bloodworms, brine shrimp and small live shrimp.

Be sure not to overfeed your Betta. Although they are great at begging for food and seem hungry all the time, they only need a small amount of food once or twice a day. Skipping a day, for example when you’re away, is not a problem.

More information about what a good betta diet looks like can be found here.


Although most guides list building bubble nests as the best indicator for whether a betta is happy and healthy or not. However, even sick bettas in tiny cups will sometimes do this, so whether your betta makes bubble nests or not says nothing about its condition. A healthy, happy Betta is curious and active, and will usually flare when confronted with a mirror. Other signs that your Betta is doing well are begging for food, getting excited when you enter the room and patrolling the tank.

When provided with the right kind of aquarium, Bettas are gorgeous fish with a huge personality towards both their owner and their tankmates. If you’d describe your Betta as ‘boring’, then there’s probably something wrong. Sick or unhappy Bettas show symptoms like lethargy, paleness, fins rotting/”melting” away, hiding, scratching or being skittish.
http://velvetdragon.com/bettas/caresheet.html <--- more in depth care

As for your goldfish:

Tank size 100 gal (380L) per fish
Temperament Peaceful
Diet Omnivore
Temperature Seasonal
pH 7-8
Name:



Carassius auratus, single tail goldfish. This includes common goldfish, comet goldfish, and shubunkin.

Goldfish natural habitat:
The goldfish as we know it does not naturally appear in the wild. Its ancestor, the Prussian carp, is mainly found in Asia.

Goldfish appearance:
Single tailed goldfish can be told apart from fancy goldfish by their tail (surprise, surprise), but also by their body shape. While some fancy goldfish types do have a single tail, they have a much rounder body than actual single tail goldfish. Single tails come in almost all colors, including yellow, orange, green/brown, calico and white. They have a long, torpedo shaped body that is similar to that of the Prussian carp and can grow quite large; up to 12 inch (30 cm) is sometimes seen!

Determining the gender of a single tailed goldfish can be a challenge, especially when they’re kept in a pond. However, it’s not impossible! Most males grow small white bumps on their operculum and pectoral fins; it has many a beginning goldfish keeper worried about disease, but it’s actually just a sign that your goldfish is ready to breed. During breeding season, you’ll also notice the females getting much rounder and being chased continuously by the males.

Goldfish requirements:
Single tail goldfish requirements come as a shock to many people. These fish can grow very large, which makes them unsuitable for life in a goldfish bowl or aquarium. Contrary to what most pet stores will tell you, they will not grow to the size of the container they are kept in. As mentioned before, if you’re wondering why exactly bowls and small tanks are not a good home for your goldie, check out Why goldfish bowls should be banned.

So what is a good environment for your single tail goldfish to thrive in? A pond!
Unfortunately, due to their size, activity level and need to live in groups, these fish are not aquarium fish. They should be kept in a pond year round with at least 2-3 other goldfish. The pond, at least around 300 gallons (1135L), should be filtered with a pond filter that has room for biological filter material or very lightly stocked and filtered using lots of aquatic plants. I’d recommend the first option, because it’s much easier to keep a pond balanced with a good filter.

If you filter your pond well and go for around 100 gallons (380L) per goldfish, the fish will be able to thrive and grow to their true potential without the ammonia levels getting out of control.




And if that's not the type of goldfish you have, than you must have Fancy goldfish which surprise are even more difficult to keep :)
http://www.aquariadise.com/caresheet-fancy-goldfish/
 
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I feel like this was one of those threads, where someone posts a question, gets an answer, but doesn't improve the things that are worse in the aquarium.. your average person :l really disappointing
 
Morning dear! Sorry it was late here in Portugal I fall asleep. I'm reading all now and printing. Also openning the links. I hope I can absorve all and give to my fishes a better space to live. I'm going to the petshop after read all to buy a thermometer, thermostat for the bettas and a new aquarium for the gold cheeks. I read in one of the links you send me that he is really a bad mate for bettas hahaha. I'm ignorant what concern to fishes but I'm all open to learn, and don't worry I won't disappoint you. I really like my little swimming pets and will do the best I can to make they live long, happy and well.

Do you have fishes?
 
I have a 65 Gallong awuascaped dutch style aquarium (ada), with discus and cardinal tetras, a 5 gallon shrimp (CRS), another 5 gallon aquascaped planted jungle aquarium (also ada)
 
I have a 65 Gallong awuascaped dutch style aquarium (ada), with discus and cardinal tetras, a 5 gallon shrimp (CRS), another 5 gallon aquascaped planted jungle aquarium (also ada)
Do you have any pictures of that tank? Just curious.
 
Do you have any pictures of that tank? Just curious.
No, I would say hey ill take one, but I don't upload images on here anymore (that's why I moved my journal to another forums, PlantedTank, you've been there lol)
 

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