New Betta

[lycaena]

hi! just got a betta about a week ago, his name is Sashimi.
i bought him from petco in a itty bitty plastic cup i have him in a 2.5 gallon tank, alone, with some plants and a coral-ish thingy
he has a heater thing that is supposed to increase temp by 5 degrees more than the room, my apartment is about 73-75 ish
i read that bettas should be in temp around 74-82? he also has a small in tank air pump filter-
i also bought another betta from the same store for my friend, with same exact set up.
People at the pet store tried to tell me i only needed a bowl
but i thought that would be mean.

what im kinda paranoid about:
he kinda hangs around at the bottom? and sometimes he goes behind the filter and just hangs around there for a long time.
other times he is swimming around and showing off his pretty fins
is this normal? is he tired? am i worryin over nothing?

he also has a little belly/curved part, dont know if you can see it in the picture.
ive read that bettas can get constipated and die and i dont want him to die
i read to not feed him for a day and then give him a bit of a pea,
which i tried, he totally ignored the pea. and then later when i removed it and felt bad for him
i gave him a couple pieces of dry bloodworm.
does he look normal? am i stressing over nothing?
he is so pretty and i dont want him to get sick or die or anything because im a noob

halp!

he made what looks like the beginning of a bubble nest- i have been researching hehee.
also! what is his coloration called?
didnt know who to ask, and i googled and found your forum
thanks!

 

[Galanta]

Hello! Welcome to the forum! You have a beautiful betta with a great name.

OK. I'm fairly new in this business myself, but I can tell you right off that your betta looks nice and healthy. Yes, the little rounded part after the gills is where his stomach is, but it is supposed to be a bit rounded. You will be able to tell if he is constipated as he would be bulging there, not just rounded at the bottom, but bulging out sidewise sometimes to a point where his scales will actually stick out a bit.
As a note on the pea - did you cook it, peel off the shell and mince it really small? If it is too big, he won't be able to eat it. But your fish does not look like he needs to eat a pea, so if he doesn't want to, don't worry about it. How much do you normally feed him?

The fact that he rests in certain spots is also not necessarily a bad thing. They do not swim around all the time and like to prop them selves up on a leaf or filter, etc.

To make sure that everything is running well it would be good if you could measure the actual temperature of the water. You can get pretty cheap thermometers at pet stores or even if your household has one of these meat cooking thermometers you could use that.

The biggest concern I think is making sure that your water is all good. What is supposed to happen is that you "cycle" the tank before you put any fish in. I don't know how to do this, but I think there is a pinned thread on this in the general forum. Not sure what the standard thing is to do now that the fish is already in the tank,but for sure it will take extra water changes to make sure the water does not go toxic.

If you do not have a testing kit, just scoop out a little cup worth and take it to your fish store. Most of them offer free water testing and they can tell you if there is anything wrong with your water.

Sorry that I don't have all the answers, but wanted to let you know what I do know as I don't think you need to worry about him dying on you at any moment.

But do get your water checked as soon as possible as if the water is not right, it is harmful and can be deadly to the fish.

P.S. Your betta is a crowntail and the pattern is called marble. I believe he would be called a blue marble crowntail, but one of the more seasoned guys here might correct me later ...

 

[lycaena]

i did cook the pea, and i made it into small pieces like the size of his betta pellets
and i put 2 pieces in teh water and it was like he didnt know they were there then they sank to the bottom.
oh and i usually give him about 4 pellet pieces or a couple pieces of the dried bloodworms. i was told by someone at the store to alternate it
im glad that he is okay for now! ill have to run over to the petstore this week and get the testing stuff and a thermometer
thanks! im so relieved

 

[Galanta]

Yep, you did the right thing with the pea. Betta's can be picky eaters. Most people skip feeding for one day and then feed the pea. I believe you can safely feed 4-6 pellets a day. Pellets should be the main food as it is the only food that has the complete set of nutrients. Bloodworms or brine shrimp should only be fed about twice a week.

I am concerned about the water though. You did not cycle the tank, right? And he's been in the same water for about a week? If he has been in the uncycled tank for a week or more and if you cannot get your water tested within the next 48 hours max, I would do a 50% water change to be safe. I have my betta in a 3.5 gal container w/o filter and after 8 days there is definitely ammonia build up. Your tank is smaller and ammonia will build up faster. (This is just in the beginning. Once there is a proper balance between fish waste, plants and other beneficial bacteria, this will not be a problem anymore.

 

[loraxchick]

hi and welcome!
your new boy is gorgeous. a lovely marble crown tail. lovely guy!!!
to answer some of your questions
it is normal for them to rest...sometimes for long periods. and they do pick their favorite spots, often on top of a heater or behind a filter etc (tucked away somewhere quiet i suppose)...and then take a few laps for regular patrol only to go back to their spot.
he looks nice and healthy, his fins look great.
when and if you do take your water for a test have them write the values down for you and post them here...we will let you know if everything is fine. dont go on the basis of the store testing and then telling you its fine...have them write it down!
his belly is looking a bit bulbus, good you tried the pea. keep trying...eventually hell probably figure out its food and eat it. he is still fairly new in that set up so there usually is a bit of an adjustment period for bettas (they tend to sulk a bit when newly introduced until they get used to things).
something to try in the meantime would be to soak the dried bloodworms until they are soft before you feed him. less likely to cause constipation issues that way. you might want to consider getting pellets as his staple and only feed the bloodworms as a treat. if you notice his tummy getting bigger and bigger then its time to think about feeding (if you feed too much, too little, what type of food you feed etc.) keep trying the pea trick ever few days or so, he eventually will get the idea that it is food (and then probably go crazy for them like my guys do).
so keep us updated...hes a handsome dude! and dont be alarmed if his coloration changes dramatically...marble coloration is notorious for sudden changes in color, often times very dramatically
all the best with him...he's purdy
cheers

 

[lilacamy931]

He's pretty! Let us know the results and how he is. He is very lovely.

 

[lycaena]

okay so now we have another problem. i went to my friend's and visited her fishy, and im a little worried for him. i brought him home with me to see what you guys think
the ends of his fins are a little...curly? is this fin rot? and if so what should we do?
he is really scared of my camera i had to scoop him into a cup to get a couple decent pictures, I dont know if you can tell.
right now im getting dressed to go to the petstore to get water testing stuff for sashimi.
here are pictures of the other fish
is something wrong or is that just how he is?

 

[Forestpisces]

HA!!! Your friends betta looks exactly like my Radish (i'm sure anyone who has seen his pics will agree)

Anyway, to me it looks like a healthy betta, the clear parts at the ends of his fins are fingrowth, this will eventually colour up to look like the rest of him.

Finrot can be spotted by ragged black tipped fins that appear to disintegrate rapidly,

Of course i'm going to say he is lovely

As is your lovely blue marble CT (blue for now anyway lol)

 

[lycaena]

HA!!! Your friends betta looks exactly like my Radish (i'm sure anyone who has seen his pics will agree)

Anyway, to me it looks like a healthy betta, the clear parts at the ends of his fins are fingrowth, this will eventually colour up to look like the rest of him.

Finrot can be spotted by ragged black tipped fins that appear to disintegrate rapidly,

Of course i'm going to say he is lovely

As is your lovely blue marble CT (blue for now anyway lol)

phew! /wipes sweat
im gona go by petsmart and buy somethin to test both their water
and ill let yall know how it comes out

 

[lilacamy931]

best of luck, sure he hasnt swiped radish off you when you werent looking forestpisces! LOL

 

[lycaena]

okay so bought the testing stuff, and testing both tanks:

friend's fish tank:
Ammonia: 2
ph: 7.6

Sashimi's tank:
Ammonia: .25
ph: 7.6

bad? what do i do

 

[lilacamy931]

Right the one that has 2 of ammonia, is bad as it can damage the fish permanently, the 0,25 also needs to be sorted. Do water changes on both with dechlorinated water and try to get those results down. Ammonia shouldnt be present but the 0.25 is not as serious as the other results.

 

[lycaena]

do i change out all the water? or liek half of it?
and what about the ph?

 

[indigoj]

half to begin with. then another half on the one with higher ammonia. do this at least twice daily until ammonia is 0 consistently for at least 3 days.

 

[lycaena]

oh goodness i hope theyll be okay

oh also, both tanks are at 82 degrees, i got them thermometers too

also also! just changed out half of the water of each tank, and retested the ammonia.
is it too soon to do it?
sashimi's says 0 now
and sushi's says either .25 or .5 i cant decide. hehe.