My First Betta already stole my heart

[Cyndih70]

Sushi!! I asked multiple friends for suggestions in naming him and after watching him for a little more that a day, I decided Sushi was a cute name.

So, this is day 11 of having sushi.

Day One...bought Sushi, bought 1 gallon aquarium, Tetra Flakes, water treatment, couple decorations and off I went.
Logged into BettaFish forums and learned I had already started off on the wrong foot.
Day Two...Brought home a 3.5 gallon tank, small non-adjustable heater, a floating log, Omega One Pellets and freeze dried bloodworms, some BettaFix and a thermometer. Set everything up and transferred Sushi over. He exhibited signs right away of being stressed. He wouldn't eat anything I gave him.
Day Three... Still not eating. I put 2-3 pellets in the morning and 2-3 pellets in the evening. Don't think he's touching them.
Day Four....Doesn't seem to be as active as I thought I betta would be. Gonna keep an eye on him and see if he starts perking up.
Day Five ...He just relaxes on the bottom of the tank. Does this a lot. Still not eating, that I'm aware of. He noses around the bottom of the tank alot, so maybe he is scavenging.
Day Six...Behavior is the same. Thermometer is showing a temp of under 75 and this heater is suppose to keep the temp at 78. So, it's obviously not doing its job. Still not showing sign of eating (once again, might be scavenging)
Day Seven... 100% water change. Water was filthy at the bottom. Combination of leftover food and poo. Added a dose of Stress Coat to water.
Sushi seemed to be happy with the water change. Added a Whisper Quiet 3 filter. Hoping that helps with keeping some of the food from dropping into the bottom. I don't think Sushi likes it much. He's such a small fishy, he's getting pulled around by the intake. Still not eating from top of the tank anyway.
Day Eight ... Exchanged heater out for a 50 Watt, adjustable. I am keeping it at around 80-82 degrees. Really thinking he likes the heater. It's his new favorite resting spot.
Day Nine.... seemed like a good day for Sushi...he was a little more active, but still being pinicky about food. Started soaking in garlic water. Still didn't seem overly excited about food.
Day Ten .... Had a great morning. He was swimming about and showing off a bit. Dinner feeding time, he stared at a piece of garlic soaked pellet for about 1 1/2 minutes. Flaring a bit and finally nipping at it. I don't think he ate it though. I found it floating in his log later. Temp in the take is running about 82 and in the evening, he gets very sluggish again. Just sitting at the bottom of the tank.
Day Eleven .... This morning, his color seemed off, he just laid on the bottom of the tank and his breathing seemed extremely labored. His gills looked like he was struggling. Took a sample of water to Just Fish (local store) and had it tested. No problems there. Took a video of Sushi's behavior and showed it to the store owner. http://youtu.be/Zy8j5pfifvE He said he wasn't really sure what to make of it. The breathing didn't look right, but his skin looked ok. Maybe it was something internal. He told me to try BettaFix. Which I did. I came home, turned off the filter and the light, stirred in the appropriate amount of Betta Fix and Sushi actually perked up. He started darting up and down the tank. Top to bottom. Twitching a bit when he swam, but swimming nonetheless. Made me happy. I almost wonder if he just hates the filter. Because while the filter has been off, he's just chillin' at the top of the tank, instead of the bottom of the tank. Could it be that he doesn't like having ANY current in his water?? Guess I'll keep watch and we'll see!!

[Jakiebabie]

How is Suchi doing? How about an update?

[Cyndih70]

So...today I did a 100% water change. Added API Stress Coat and Epsom salt to the water and Sushi has been fairly active today. He's doing something really cute. He goes up under the water thats flowing back into the aquarium, from the filter and nipping at it. It's so darned cute to see him flare up and jump at that water. Hehehe.. I put a few flakes in for dinner and one freeze dried Shrimp and hasn't overly excited about it. Hard to tell if he's eating or not. He's definitely not one of those Bettas who knows when it feeding time and waits to gobble it all up.
En toto .... he's doing much better today!! I seeing a happy lil Sushi!!

[Cyndih70]

Another wonderful day in the life of Sushi the Crowntail! I've come to the conclusion that Sushi prefers flakes. He was showing absolutely zero interest in any pellet food, even when I soaked it in garlic water. He's also not overly fond of bloodworms. So, lucky me...i have a finicky eater on my hands! Each lil fishy is definitely an individual, with different likes and dislikes!
He loves playing around the filter. Its just so funny to watch him swim up and nip at the water flowing into the tank and swim the current as it pushes him down a little. I honestly and truly believes he is playing! Love it! I do believe after all my days of worry, that I now have a happy Betta boy!

[Cyndih70]

As I sit here watching Sushi play in his 3.5 gallon, heated, filtered tank...I can't help but feel true sadness at the thought of someone keeping a sweet fishy, in a lava lamp or a vase or tiny container that hangs on a wall. It just breaks my heart, on many levels. I mean, Sushi is swimming around and literally playing in the water flow from the filter return. He swims thru the current and does little dances through it, like he's truly having fun. I hurt inside to think of a little Betta being stuck in some confined space, where he can't breathe or eat right, let alone play and swim. What really needs to start happening are these companies that produce these products, should be ashamed of themselves and they should spend more time selling products that will benefit the lives of these fish, instead of torturing them. Its just senseless..... I'll get off my soapbox now!

[Bethydan]

My little sister goes "Blech! Fishy death traps!" when she sees glass bowls. I have one betta in a 20-gallon. So I might go a bit overboard on the more-room-the-better principle. But he is a King. And he loves the filter, too. I have the heavy flow stifled so he's not being buffeted around by the current, but he insists on hanging out where the water current is heaviest. He even builds his bubble nests there. It's not like he doesn't have TONS of other places that are much calmer to do this.