Hi Everyone! I have afew Q's...

[Noobalva]

First of all, i wanna say thanks because just reading the forum stickies alone taught me so much about these great little fishies.

Soo i got Sherlock last Friday and let me tell you...I LOVE HIM (at least im pretty sure it's a him lol)!! Other than a scruff on his head that i saw yesterday, i think he banged it on something, he seems really active and healthy so far -- i put some stress coat to help heal his head and a little aquarium salt just in case.

A couple of days ago i mistakenly got a mystery snail to help keep the tank clean (Watson - the little thing's a poop factory & i been reading that they're not really all that good with algae control??)...damn that PetSmart guy!

Now, being that i am COMPLETELY new at this i have run into some trouble and have a few questions:

Sherlock doesn't seem to want to eat Freeze Dried Bloodworms and i have no idea why (apparently that's what they fed him at the pet store). The first couple of days he did, but since Monday he just glaces and passes them by. I have been feeding him pellets and went out yesterday to buy frozen Bloodworms, but they come in cubes and i'm not entirely sure what to do with it -- do i just toss a cube in the aquarium? Also why won't he eat the freeze dried ones/is there a way i can get him to eat them? What other stuff can i feed him to make sure he has a good variety of foods?

I might give the Mystery Snail to my friend that has a bigger aquarium and can handle the mega poops. What other smalls tank mates could i possibly get to help keep the tank clean?

AND is it true that i should feed my betta a pea every 2 weeks or so to help keep constipation away??



So there's a picture of my aquarium; it's just a Aqueon MiniBow 2.5gallons. Both of the little peeps are in the bottom right (snail huddled up behind the Zucchini). This was taken on Monday, the water was a little murky but it ALOT clearer now.

I plane to take out one of the decorations (which ever one i notice he doesn't bother with) and put more plants in there when i do my first 100% water change. I have a bamboo and a marimo moss ball in there right now, probably get another two or three; what do you guys suggest for that?

Oh and btw thanks again, these forums are awesome.

[LeoTheLakerBetta]

Hey the tank looks great! I have the little cave and the log decoration they look really good. Your rocks look even better!

Anyways to address your problems, I'm not too sure on how feeding bloodowrms works as I don't use them myself. However, I do know that you should not rely on blood worms as the main source of food. It's sort of like candy for them and isn't really good for them as a thing everyday. Once a week would be adequate as a treat. Sometimes bettas take a while to get used to the new home and new food. It took about a week for my first betta to get used to the pellets without spitting them out. The key is to keep trying and clean up any leftover food which can dirty the tank.

Hopefully that works I'm not too sure what else to add in terms of him not eating. You do not need to feed him a really ever unless he is sick with some certain disease (not too sure which one it is lol). Constipation can be kept away by a fasting once a week, meaning don't feed one day each week. I plan all my tanks that way so I don't have to feed anybody on Mondays lol.

For tank mates, in a 2.5 gallon a snail or shrimp is all the bio-load can handle. Already you will need to do 2 water changes a week. There aren't any cleaner fish out there that will eat poop and then not poop that much in return. There are algae eaters which will eat, of course, algae but those fellas get pretty big. Anyways, your betta will be pretty happy by himself or with a snail in there. If you want other tank-mates, the minimum is a 10 gallon.

So welcome to the forum and congrats on the beautiful betta!

EDIT: I forgot with Mini Bows you know how the filter is open to the hood light? Well that is a recipe for algae! It really gets into your filter pad and I went through a lot due slimy algae that I couldn't get off. Anywas, try and find some sturdy plastic to place on top of the filter pad so no light can get through. That way you can be a lot less algae free and your filter pads will last much longer! Oh and if you ever need to treat your betta with medicine, take all the carbon out of the filter pad otherwise the carbon will absorb the meds. Just take a knife, and cut a little slot on one side of the pad and take all the little black rocks out. :D

[Noobalva]

Haha thanks Leo! I tried to do the absolute best i could, wanna make sure he's happy and healthy.

That's what i was thinking the fasting was for. Gotta go out and look for a better variety of foods tho...having a hard time finding live stuff.

And thanks for the tip! i thought i saw some brown starting to show up there...i'll make sure to cover it with something.

[Oldfishlady]

Welcome to the forum and to the wonderful world of Betta keeping....

Nice to meet you....

[Romad]

You should soak the freeze dried bloodworms in tank water for about 10 minutes to reconstitute them. As for the frozen bloodworms, you want to thaw that cube in some tank water before you feed them to your fish.

The cubes will be a bit of a waste for you with only one fish since you should only feed two or three of them at a time (they are much larger than the freeze dried worms). The do sell frozen bloodworms in single sheets and then you can just break off a tiny piece to thaw.

Good luck and welcome to the forum :)

[Noobalva]

Thanks oldfishlady and i'll definitely be using your natural planted tank guide one day.

And thanks for the tips Romad, i'll try them out and see how he likes it.

[waterdog]

Welcome to Bettas R Us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!