I added a male betta to my 5 gallon Fluval Spec V 10 days ago.
So far, he seems to be doing good - very active, flaring, eating like a pig.
How long after adding to a new tank will betta's die? In other words, when can I feel safe and give my guy a name, thinking he will make it?
It's a pretty heavy planted tank. He seems to be having a great time swimming through the plants, under driftwood etc....
I don't want to name him, and have him die right away. How long till he is out of the normal range of dying from stress of moving from cup to tank etc????
My tank is filtered and cycled. Reading consistent last 14 days - just a trace of ammonia, no nitrites, 5-10 nitrates. I did fishless cylce with filter seeding and plants - with ammonia.
I'd say if he isn't showing any signs of stress he's going to be just fine. No tail biting? Stress stripes horizontally down his body? Color fading? Those are the most common indicators of stress.
Same here- I'm afraid to name them in fear they will die.
I think he will be fine. (Cross my fingers not to jinx anything lol). Sounds like he is healthy! If he is eating well then that is a good sign(:
(but I had a little girl betta who lasted with me 2 days...last week actually. the ammonia got her..she was perfectly healthy)
If anything, I think the betta has more color than he did when I brought him home. He sure is active, swimming in and out of the plants and stuff.
And, he seems so hungry!
I bought Hikari Betta Bio-Gold pellets for him. The package says 5-10 pellets 3 times a day. That is 15-30 per day. I have read on various betta sites to only feed 2-3 pellets per day... But wonder if the pellets are bigger than what I have. 2-3 and 15-30 per day is a HUGE difference! He gobbles up 4-5 pellets and still looks for more. The last few days I have been feeding 3 times a day, 3 pellets each time, but he still seems so hungry. He looks thin to me, compared to online photos. I am wondering if the pet store did not feed much so the cups would stay cleaner. I also bought frozen bloodworms, and he attacks them with a passion. I plan on getting some frozen brine shrimp. The store did not have any when I was there a few days ago.
I think he gets a fair amount of exercise in the tank. Certainly better than betas in bowls or jars.
So, after you get a new fish there is no specific time period to get through where you feel like the fish has adapted and is going to survive?
The way to know if a betta is healthy, first and formost, is to know how to do water changes, for your tank size, and maintain a regular water change schedule, and make sure you have a consistant water temp at 78-79d at all times, and plenty of hiding spots, be it silk, real plants, and hiding caves, as long as you have these 3 things in place, your fishy will thrive:) Heater, and thermometer to watch for accurate temp.
And for food the better the pellet the healthier your betta will be, feeding 2-3 pellets, 2-3x a day is fine, It is what I do, and have been doing with all 6 of my fishies, and I use the Hakari, and Omega One for nutrient value, if the first 3 ingredients on the food indicate (meat, fish, or something of that nature) rather than wheat, filler it is a good pellet.
The water test numbers have been consistent - 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 5 nitrate. It is a 5 gallon, filtered, cycled tank. Every week, I take out 3 gallons for water change. I do have a heater, and keep the water at 80 degrees. There are a lot of live plants in it, as well as driftwood. The betta is the only fish in the tank. i have two or three tiny pond snails that rode in on the plants. No algae. I have some filter material over the output from the pump to cut the flow.
Do you recommend having a variety of good quality pellets, rather than just feeding one brand?
Here is a link to a video I took of the betta last night. Pass over the first 60 seconds - I was experimenting to see if the video camera would focus in on the plants. It didn't. A local fish club member gave me all the plants, and I needed to photograph them so I can have him ID the plants. Didn't work with the Flip camera! But, it did pretty good on the betta.
I think he is a veil tail, but the cup he came in said Crowntail. He's kind of a light reddish orange with lavender areas.
I didn't pick him on his looks or color - but because he was the most active. I was in the store 3 times that week, and he was the most active all 3 times. (I marked his tag so I would know I was seeing the same fish each time)
At the end of the video, he goes into what I think is a wisteria. He "hangs" out in the top of that plant all the time, like he is resting.
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A local fish club member gave me all the plants, and I needed to photograph them so I can have him ID the plants. Didn't work with the Flip camera! But, it did pretty good on the betta.
