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Changes in my lineup

720 views 4 replies 3 participants last post by  mjoy79 
#1 · (Edited)
Sigh... so over the last couple of weeks I've decided that I may have "collected" a few too many bettas since I started this obsession in July. I love everyone of my girls and guys but I started getting a tad overwhelmed with the tailbiters and the couple of my guys who were getting sick. I have 4 tailbiters and 2 of them have been sick. I've nursed the sickies back to health and they're doing fine but I have still decided that 15 is too many for me, especially if maybe the reason a couple of them were getting sick was because keeping up with so many tanks was too much. So I offered to rehome my 2 recent purchases (Jin and Sayid) to my sisters. At first neither of them were sure so I offered to my mom as well. She went for it and since then one of my sisters says she wants one. Both my mom and sis just want a refresher on how to care for bettas. There was also this white & lavender "king" at Petco that I kept seeing there for at least a month or more. He's beautiful and I'm surprised he sat there that long. So I went and picked him up today to be a surprise for my mom - since she's kind of expecting 2 bettas. My mom loves purple & lavender.
Here is a pic of him compared to my giant HMPK. He appears to be about 6-8 months old and I wonder if he'll get any bigger because he's not too much bigger than Sayid and one of my CT's Ross. He seems smaller than Chandler was - who seemed like he was borderline "king". He was a VT.
I've been putting together "betta kits" to include with my rehomed guys for my mom and sister. Each includes a 2.5 gallon tank, a heater, filter, glass stones for substrate, fake plants and hidey places (terracotta pots) and glass lid.
I'm sad to see Jin and Sayid (maybe not their names anymore) go but I'm glad they're going to family that will really care for them and I'll see them again. I hope they will bring joy to my sister and mom!
 

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#2 ·
don't let tail biting stress you out too much. :d i don't let it bother me at all, even though Ichi destroyed his beautiful green-blue tail. he seems happier, and more active, with his short tail, so i just keep up with water changes and watch for fin rot.

as for the rest of them, i hope your sick ones get better. x:

its' really nice of you to offer your mom and sister some of your bettas. :3 i hope they're happy with the ones you give them. x:
 
#3 ·
:D Yay! Wow. I love Giants. I would kill for one.

Let me know if you are looking to rehome others (with the betta kit) Because i'd be happy to take one! :3

How could my parents resist if it came with everything?
 
#4 ·
It wasn't so much the tailbiting - which I had gotten used to with Joey, Sawyer and Jack. But then Justin did. I think I jinxed it because I was saying how proud I was for him not touching his long flowing HM tail. It wasn't long later that he finally took his agression out on it. I believe it was aggression from sharing the divided 20g for awhile. He is now in his own 3G after being nursed back to health. He looked near death last week. he had lost all his color and was very lethargic and struggling to breathe. He's better now and got his personality back, which is what I really care about - but I would still love it if he let his tail grow back too!
 
#5 ·
This is what I plan on giving to my sister and mom for refererence. Am I missing anything major?

Bettas are tropical fish. They require temps between 76-84 to thrive. They can survive in slightly lower temps but that is when they tend to get lethargic and if they are too cold it is painful, stressful and uncomfortable for them. They breathe through their labyrinth organ. They periodically go to the surface for air. Without air they will drown.
Bettas can live up to 7 years. A healthy betta most likely will live 3-5 years, in most cases.
Bettas sleep. Usually they will sleep at night and explore during the day. It’s good to have plants and places for them to hide since they don’t have eyelids. They feel more secure with places to hide.
It’s generally recommended to keep betta in tanks no smaller than 1.5 gallons for several reasons –
Ease of care of the tank. Tanks smaller than this require many water changes to keep the water clean for optimum health of the fish. Bettas like to explore and they are less bored with room to swim. It’s also easier to heat tanks larger than a gallon since most heaters are designed for at least 2 gallons.
2.5 Gallon tank & water changes
If the tank is filtered, it requires less water changes. A 50% change once a week works. Without the filter, I would do a 50% change at least twice a week. I would keep at least a gallon jug with treated water ready to go – although the water temperature will be different. The flow of a filter can sometimes be too strong for a betta. But you can baffle it with aquarium sponge.
I would recommend a 100% water change about once a month, where you rinse the gravel/stones and decorations with hot water. Never use soap. Hot water will do fine but the soap residue can kill the fish.
Feeding
Bettas are pigs. If overfed they can get very bloated and lethargic (but yet they’ll keep eating!). Overfeeding on a regular basis can lead to disease.
Best food is pellets with lots of vitamins and protein. I use New Life Spectrum pellets (as recommended by experience betta keepers). They are color enhancing pellets. All my fish are bright and beautiful and a few of them are developing color on their fins that wasn’t there when I bought them! 4-6 pellets per day is good. Spread out between 2-3 feedings. I usually do 3 pellets in the morning and 3 at night.
I also occasionally treat them with frozen blood worms (thawed of course!). They all love them but again, if overfed they will get too big. 1 bloodworm as a treat is best, I’ve discovered. Only reason I suggest that is because bettas love variety in their diet. Freeze dried foods are good for occasional snacks as well but not as regular meals. Other people even feed their bettas mosquito larvae or flies. But I’m ok with the prepared food from the pet store J
Water conditioner is a must – it removes chlorine and other harsh chemicals that are in tap water that will kill fish.As far as water conditioner (treater) goes – I have gotten to where I only use API’s Stress Coat now. It conditions the water and keeps the betta’s stress level down. But any water conditioner works fine.
 
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