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Tank Setup

786 views 6 replies 4 participants last post by  Bombalurina 
#1 ·
Firstly I gotta apologize for posting so much, I'm a bit of a perfectionist with this stuff. As a child I had a bit of bad luck with fish.

I'm curious about tank setup and cloudy water.
I did a 30% water change yesterday. This is day 3 of my fish "adventure". Ive found most of my day has been spent obsessively checking on the fish reading about the fish more or less looking out for its well being. He seems okay, except he isnt eating and has a white stomach. Its on the inside not the outside. The closest pet store is 1.5 hours away. The closest aquarium is 3 hours away.

I guess more or less I have a few questions. Here is my tank:


Here is my list of questions
1. Does his setup look safe.
I used white gravel so I could more easily see food he hasnt eaten and excrement. There is about a pinch of uneaten food at the bottom currently I'm planning for a 100% water change tomorrow which leads to question 2
2. Should I be doing 100% water changes?
I dont have a water testing kit, so I cannot test the waters also it is day 3 but im worried about the water quality. It looks to me to be a tad cloudy.
3. Does the water look cloudy to you guys?
or am I just crazy and over reacting
4. Has anyone ever known a betta to be a bottom feeder?
I started on day 1 and 2 trying to feed him by setting a pinch of food in the water. When he didnt eat any of it on day 2 hours after i tried to feed him I did a 30% water change and scooped out most of the food sitting around. Sense then I have been trying with a single flake by tapping the top of the water to get his attention then dropping a flake in. He seems uninterested. Im planning on getting bloodworms tomorrow. None the less there is still a bit of food that lingered however it has seemed to be disappearing. There are only 2 possible things to blame. There is him, and there is the filter.
5. What should a normal healthy betta look like?
How do I know if he is sick with someone that doesnt really show up.
He keeps his dorsal fin closed most of the time. For the post part when someone shows me a picture of a betta its flaring. The behavior is strange for me because my girlfriend has a betta that always has its fins open when it is swimming around, it even had finrot (which we beat) but even with the rot while he was sick he swam with his fins open.

Her fish
Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:


My Fish
Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:


I know different betta have different personalities. I took the second picture of him with flash on. I dont see any signs of parasites. I'm still new to this.
Maybe I'm just super paranoid. I need a second opinion.

Myates has been a huge amount of help already. Thanks so much!
Overall this forum has been a huge help to me, and the first place I go before anything.
 
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#2 · (Edited)
What size if your tank ? I think your doing fine the only thing is I would get some Betta pellets instead of the flakes, much easier to control how much you feed him and less a mess since he will eat the entire pellet. He looks fine to me. There is a great water change thread somewhere let me find and it post it for you. Since you have a filter you really dont need to do 100 percent water change.

Here is the water change thread

http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=115758&highlight=water+change+thread
 
#4 ·
Just a bit of a warning, the Sponge Bob pineappple house have a defect. I saw it earlier somewhere. Just an FYI.
 
#5 ·
He's been moved to a 10 gallon tank. I believe the house is still in there. The sides are a bit pointy. I have yet to see any damage on the fish from it yet.
I was going to get one but then i felt the points and I was like nope.
 
#6 ·
I'm curious about tank setup and cloudy water.
I did a 30% water change yesterday. This is day 3 of my fish "adventure". Ive found most of my day has been spent obsessively checking on the fish reading about the fish more or less looking out for its well being. He seems okay, except he isnt eating and has a white stomach. Its on the inside not the outside. The closest pet store is 1.5 hours away. The closest aquarium is 3 hours away.

I guess more or less I have a few questions. Here is my tank:

Here is my list of questions
1. Does his setup look safe.
Yes is does. It could use some more decor, though - bettas are curious fish and love to play and explore in decorations. :)

I used white gravel so I could more easily see food he hasnt eaten and excrement. There is about a pinch of uneaten food at the bottom currently I'm planning for a 100% water change tomorrow which leads to question 2
2. Should I be doing 100% water changes?
In a tank under 5 gals, yes. :)

I dont have a water testing kit, so I cannot test the waters also it is day 3 but im worried about the water quality. It looks to me to be a tad cloudy.
3. Does the water look cloudy to you guys?
or am I just crazy and over reacting
Can't tell from the photo, sorry!

4. Has anyone ever known a betta to be a bottom feeder?
I started on day 1 and 2 trying to feed him by setting a pinch of food in the water. When he didnt eat any of it on day 2 hours after i tried to feed him I did a 30% water change and scooped out most of the food sitting around. Sense then I have been trying with a single flake by tapping the top of the water to get his attention then dropping a flake in. He seems uninterested. Im planning on getting bloodworms tomorrow. None the less there is still a bit of food that lingered however it has seemed to be disappearing. There are only 2 possible things to blame. There is him, and there is the filter.
New bettas can sometimes take a little time to feel comfortable enough to start eating. In petshops they are fed almost entirely on bloodworms to enhance their colours. It's not good for them to eat these all the time (they are high-fat and can cause bloat), but fish love them, so it may take a little time to wean him onto pellets. Eventually he will get hungry enough to eat them.

5. What should a normal healthy betta look like?
How do I know if he is sick with someone that doesnt really show up.
He keeps his dorsal fin closed most of the time. For the post part when someone shows me a picture of a betta its flaring. The behavior is strange for me because my girlfriend has a betta that always has its fins open when it is swimming around, it even had finrot (which we beat) but even with the rot while he was sick he swam with his fins open.
Healthy fish will have their fins open (not flaring, just open) all the time anyway. Clamped fins are the sign of a sick or stressed fish. :) A healthy betta is also colourful, active, eats well and has no things such as little white dots, black burns or red gils.


My Fish
Watch out for those black tips of his tail - it could be a sign of fin rot. Keep the water clean and warm to help beat it. :) Although his fins are close in the second picture, as long as they are not clamped all the time I wouldn't be too worried. :)


I know different betta have different personalities. I took the second picture of him with flash on. I dont see any signs of parasites. I'm still new to this.
Maybe I'm just super paranoid. I need a second opinion.

Myates has been a huge amount of help already. Thanks so much!
Overall this forum has been a huge help to me, and the first place I go before anything.
Glad that you are liking it here! He seems pretty healthy to me. Like I said, just keep an eye on his tail - sometimes the bad conditions in petshops can cause them to get sick *after* they've been moved to a new home. Case in point: I rescued a VT who was kept in a 1 litre (that's 1 quart) jar with cold water that was never changed, who was perfectly healthy. I put him in his heated, filtered, cycled, clean 5 gallon and his whole tail was gone within days. Just fell right off. I suspect it was the previous bad conditions compounded by the stress of the move. So if you do see any issues, don't blame yourself. :)

Best of luck and please, ask as many questions as you like! That's how we learn, and no one here will get tired of answering. :)
 
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