update and marveling...

[zerlinafish]

So, day 6 with My Betta Ernesto and day 4 with his neon buddies, and they are all still getting along.

I did a 50% water change today and siphoned out what I could of the food for the neons. This food sank so fast, that the little guys had no chance to get it! I am trying flakes for them today. Ernesto is eating his pellets and keeping them down now...the BRAT! I also added conditioining salt to the water (the prescribed amount) along with the regular Betta conditioner. The PetSmart fish guy suggested this to help their color and the amonia stress between water changes.

I think that the only way to truly get it all the food out is to do a full change and wash out the gravel. I want to do this once/month and keep the weekly 50% changes. Is this too much? Will this stress the fish to take them out once/month?

Now for the marvelling: My husband found an adorable small sunken ship and we took out one of the plants (there are still plants in there) and sank the ship to the bottom. Ernesto, the Betta promptly investigated and swam right on in and peeked his head out of the hole...yesssssssssssss.

Anyhow, all is well. I would appreciate input on the frequency of water changes (50%/wk and 100% once a month).

[Dtld9]

Have you gotten a bigger tank or are you still using the 3G?

[koolbetta]

is the betta mean to the neons like does he chase them out of the way or does he stay away from them basically does he like them and what size of a tank are they in and do you have to feed them seperatly the reason im asking all these questions is because i want to get some fish to put with my male betta in a 10 gal. tank and im unsure on which ones

[iamntbatman]

I would advise against ever removing/washing out the gravel as well as against doing 100% water changes. The gravel is home to much of the beneficial bacteria in your tank, so washing it out can cause huge water parameter fluctuations that can be deadly to your fish. I would stick to no more than 50% changes at one time. You can use a turkey baster or gravel vacuum to suck up uneaten food and fish waste, but I wouldn't really suck all of your gravel clean...ever. Thoroughly cleaning maybe a third of your gravel with the gravel vac during each water change ensures that you're never removing all of the good bacteria at once.

[zerlinafish]

I am still using a 2 gallon tank. I know I know, bad fishie mommy...

Please don't flame me

I have been admonished so many times on here for that, that I asked the fish guy (who has been keeping fish for 20 years) at my PetSmart about a larger aquarium (I was looking at a 10G), and he said that I need not bother. As long as the water quality was ok (I have a continuous ammonia tester and test strips for acidity, nitrates, hardness, alkilinity and chlorine), that I was good to go. I asked him about a bottom feeder, and he suggested that I could get one that grew to no more than an inch or two. I will get one on Tuesday, and that will be IT...no more fishies. He did, however set me straight on the water changes and said the same thing Batman did.

So, does Ernesto chase the neons? Yes. Does he bite them? I don't think so. Has he killed one? No. Might he? Maybe. It is beautiful to see them all swim, though...and Ernesto even gives me some bubbles!

I saw a new betta at the store today too...amazing fins. Very different from the usual ones you see. Anyhow...thanks for your concern for the fishies, and I hope to still be able to ask questions on the forum in the future!

Zerlinafish

[onefish2fish]

PLEASE DO NOT GET ANYMORE FISH!

a general rule of thumb is 1 inch of fish per 1 inch (of max size of fish)
if you do infact have a 2 gallon fish tank or bowl or whatever it is, just having your betta fufills this rule.

i suggest looking on craigslist.com for a 10gallon fish tank, it most likely will be used but will be cheaper then petsmart. you should be able to pick up a tank itself anywhere from $0-$15-20, alot of times people give their tanks away if you keep your eyes open

a 10 gallon would be minimal for the amount of fish you wish to keep. as for a "bottom feeder" i hope your petsmart employee did not recomend a plecostomus (pleco) which almost all varieties reach 18''
- im thinking he's talking about a otto fish which are indeed smaller but require some buddies (shoal/school) in order to really be happy, as well as being sensitive to water conditions..

i think your best bet would be getting a 10gallon,some gravel, small filter, and do a "fishless cycle" for a few weeks, if you dont know what that is, google fishless cycle, or there is informative threads about it on here.
then id acclimate those fish into the 10 as soon as it is cycled.
maybe get 2 more neon tetras and be DONE with adding fish to that tank.
-its your tank your rules, but i think you'd be more successful this way

[Flashygrrl]

I second that. You cannot cannot cannot fit anything else into that teeny tank no matter what the store guy says.

[onefish2fish]

whoops, the rule is 1inch (of the max size of the fish) per 1 gallon of tank water.. ofcourse there are exceptions, but thats a general rule to follow

[koolbetta]

i got my 10 gal tank for 11 bucks at petsmart and its glass