New Betta owner. Hello >.o

[spicynoodle116]

Hello everyone. I just purchased a Crown Betta 2 days ago. At the moment, Im keeping him in a bowl with marbles and a plastic plant, but I'll definitely house him in a better environment of about 5gal, heater, filter, and more decorations very soon.

Ive never owned any fishes before, and dont know much about them, but Bettas look like a good place to start, plus I think they're wonderful fishes!
They're more interactive in my opinion, they dont just swim mindlessly like other fishes I always see.

I got some questions though about caring my Betta.

For water changes, Im doing 30-50% daily. I also use warm water because I know room temperature isnt enough to keep them warm. What I wanna know is do I need to condition the water again? Do I condition the new water only or condition the whole tank?

Hmm.. secondly, Im wondering is my Betta happy. He eats the Betta Pellets willingly, 2 times a day. Very active at times, swimming vigorously in the little bow. Iono if thats a good or bad sign. I notice he opens his mouth wide open sometimes as if hes yawning . I dont see any air bubbles though, only the ones near the plant due to when I do water changes. He doesnt flare that much too when seeing other male Betta / Mirror. Is he just less aggressive, or something else? That pretty much sums up his behavior, hope people with more experience can tell me if hes doing ok.

I see a Crown Betta in the store with very big fins which I think it looks good, but the tips were curly so it didnt look so nice. I was wondering do the fins get bigger as they age, because my Betta's fins are kinda small at the moment, but then again he looks like a young Betta.

For tanks, Im looking at the eclipse system 3 by marineland with 3gal. It comes with a lot of stuff. A heater isnt included, but I already have my eyes on one. What you guys think of this housing? Its about $45, good price range for me.

Thats all the questions I have at the moment. Thanks for reading!

He isnt as big as the picture shows, its due to the water! I dont wanna make it look as if Im keeping a big fish in a tiny bowl with no where to go >_<. Its better than how pet stores house them :(.

[cajunmomof4]

For water changes, Im doing 30-50% daily. I also use warm water because I know room temperature isnt enough to keep them warm. What I wanna know is do I need to condition the water again? Do I condition the new water only or condition the whole tank?

If you are changing this often I would simply draw enough water into a jug or bucket for the next water change, and let it sit, somewhere near where your betta is preferably, that way the water will be close to the same temp, and you won't have any chlorine in it if it has set for about 24 hours. No need to really condition then, unless you have just awful water.

Hmm.. secondly, Im wondering is my Betta happy. He eats the Betta Pellets willingly, 2 times a day. Very active at times, swimming vigorously in the little bow. Iono if thats a good or bad sign. I notice he opens his mouth wide open sometimes as if hes yawning Shocked . I dont see any air bubbles though, only the ones near the plant due to when I do water changes. He doesnt flare that much too when seeing other male Betta / Mirror. Is he just less aggressive, or something else? That pretty much sums up his behavior, hope people with more experience can tell me if hes doing ok.

He sounds like he is OK. He may be a little lethargic if he is cold his water temp needs to be in the upper 70's. I keep all my bettas at 78, because the heaters I use are preset.

I see a Crown Betta in the store with very big fins which I think it looks good, but the tips were curly so it didnt look so nice. I was wondering do the fins get bigger as they age, because my Betta's fins are kinda small at the moment, but then again he looks like a young Betta.

He is probably young and will def grow a bit if he is happy.

For tanks, Im looking at the eclipse system 3 by marineland with 3gal. It comes with a lot of stuff. A heater isnt included, but I already have my eyes on one. What you guys think of this housing? Its about $45, good price range for me.

That would be a good size, but I am not sure how much the filter disturbs the water on those, as i do not own one. Some bettas don't like much current at all. When i moved my betta, Pepper to a planted 2.5 gallon with a bubble, he was miserable and sat on the bottom as far as he could from the bubbler, so I moved him back to his filterless, 2 gallon bowl and he is happy as van be. I then put my orange betta Sam in the 2.5 and he loves it. as for a heater, you sgould get one. I use the tetra 2-15 heater from wal-mart they run about $14. They also carry another small heater at wal=mart that is $7-8 but I have heard they are not so great and will either not heat or overheat your water. I also saw yesterday at our walmart, that they carry tetra whisper tanks, these are really cute and are $19.95 for the 1.5 gallon and $35 for the 3 gallon. If you shop around you will find plenty or large container suitable for bettas. I even use a 2 gallon glass cooking jar for one of my guys. Good luck and nice looking fellow you have there.

[bettaboy]

Judging by his anal fin in comparison to his body, he is anywhere from 6 months - 1 year old.

His fins will not get much larger.

He also does not look like a pure Crowntail to me, but rather a Crowntail x Veiltail mix, or Crowntail x Delta mix.

Most likely Crowntail x Veiltail, since both are extremely dominant traits that seem their trying to overpower the other trait. Its especially noticeable because hes "spikes" are not evenly proportioned... so, yeah...



Also, if he doesnt flare this is an indicator he is a year old, possibly older since crowntails are notorious for their aggression. But then again, he looks like he is not pure crowntail so I dunno. Quite a toss-up with this one.

[Cody]

The Eclipse Tank will be perfect for a betta. The flow is very low on all eclipse models, which the betta will like. Like you said, you still need a heater, and a few extra lounging/hiding spots for him.

[JMeenen]

I also suggest the Eclipse

[spicynoodle116]

Thanks for the input :D

edit: Come to think of it, mine doesnt look like a pure crown at all compared to this photo from bettatalk.com



this is how the Betta I mentioned in my OP looks like.

[Flashygrrl]

Originally Posted by cajunmomof4

If you are changing this often I would simply draw enough water into a jug or bucket for the next water change, and let it sit, somewhere near where your betta is preferably, that way the water will be close to the same temp, and you won't have any chlorine in it if it has set for about 24 hours. No need to really condition then, unless you have just awful water.

Chlorine will dissipate but I vaguely remember herefishy saying chloramines won't so you may choose to use dechlorinator anyways.

[cajunmomof4]

Originally Posted by Flashygrrl

Chlorine will dissipate but I vaguely remember herefishy saying chloramines won't so you may choose to use dechlorinator anyways.

I did not know this, thanks so much!

[okiemavis]

Flashy is right, chloramines and other heavy metals will not dissipate the way chlorine does. Much of our water nowadays is not treated much with chlorine, and instead these other substances.

One thing that worried me was that you said you are adding WARM water to the bowl. While it is true that bettas need warm water, they can handle cooler temperatures for a period of time. On the other hand, dramatic changes in temperature can be extremely dangerous. I would not feel comfortable adding water that is more than 2 degrees different than the current water.