Babysitting

[purplemuffin]

My roommate(Well, not really roommate, we live in an apartment style dorm so each of us have our own 'room'..) has a betta, but she left for the weekend, and she left me in charge of taking care of him :)

Now I couldn't change anything, but I wanted to :( she isn't the best at betta care, his water was super cloudy when she took him out of her room. He lives in a little .5 gallon 'zen' betta tank--


She doesn't agree with what I tell her about their care though, poor thing! I tried to change his water as much as I could and kept him entertained(he looks so bored..nothing in there with him) and she only changes his tank every few weeks or so

He has been so sweet, it really makes me want a betta, I can't wait to see a healthier one with more things to let him swim and explore.. This little fish is super social with us! He was very curious about anything and everything going on outside of his tank. She left him on the breakfast bar, so when I sat down to eat he would just sit and watch, looking at whatever was placed near him. He also flared at me when I got to close! It was cute, though.

I hope maybe she'll listen in the future! He's so sweet, I don't want him to suffer in the little betta box!

[bloo97]

Buy it from 'em!

[dramaqueen]

If you were able to get a betta and put him in a decent sized container then she would see how happy and healthy it is. Then she might ask you how you keep yours so healthy and the water so clean and then you can tell her the proper way to take care of one.

[purplemuffin]

Originally Posted by dramaqueen

If you were able to get a betta and put him in a decent sized container then she would see how happy and healthy it is. Then she might ask you how you keep yours so healthy and the water so clean and then you can tell her the proper way to take care of one.

This is what I would love to do! I'm slowly working on getting the money for supplies so that when I can buy the fish it isn't such a dent in my pocket! Part of the reason is I just love the 5 gallon hex tank..It's gorgeous, I would enjoy having it instead of just the walmart one with the silly colors at the top of the lid! So I want to save up. Plus I need to buy plants!

I do hope she changes her care, he is sooo funny! I have never seen a fish so curious about the outside world. Whenever anyone enters the room he immediately checks it out! I love it. So fun! He's a blue veiltail with red in his fins, but they are so pretty, they almost have a soft fade from blue to red instead of looking blotchy!

this is my current list--
-Whisper 10i filter(plus a way to baffle it)
-gravel
-hydor mini heater(Also--Our room temp is set to between 72-75)
-Thermometer!!
-API water test kit(the master kit!)
-gravel vac
-Prime water conditioner
-the tank
-pellets
-plants/hides! (silk plants for now, though I do want real ones!)
-the ammonia stuff I'll need to cycle the tank

Now--what else is needed? Should I buy aquarium salt when I buy the fish too? What is the best way to change the water--should I get a syphon? I've seen people have turkey basters?? What if there is an algae buildup? I would enjoy having cherry shrimp, but I understand why ghost shrimp would be a plus..lol! I hear bettas tend to eat the RCS... How big are they as adults? That doesn't really matter now, any tankmates now are more of a dream for the someday future!

And anything else I would need? I have a big glass jar I can put him in for water changes. My brain is not working right now, so if I forgot major things, I promise I'm not an idiot hehe

[dramaqueen]

Your list sounds good to me. I would hold off on thr aquarium salt.It only needs to be added if he's sick.

[Jupiter]

Your list looks good! Aquarium salt isn't something you need to buy right away, but it's still a good buy-better safe than sorry! And it works great on ripped fins.

Keep in mind that the Hydor mini heater only raises the room temperature by a couple of degrees. When I tried one, though, it didn't really seem to make a difference.

If you're getting a gravel vac, you don't need a turkey baster. I have one because the gravel I use is really fine, so a gravel vac would suck it up...both do the same job, really.

I've never had RCS since I haven't seen them being sold in stores...each betta is different when it comes to tankmates. I had some ghost shrimp in my old sorority, and during the first night a few of the girls would follow one and try to peck at it, but it was too fast. The rest of them ignored it, and after a couple of days even the aggressive ones gave up, lol.

[purplemuffin]

Sweet! Thanks for the replies! I just wanted to make sure! Ok, so aquarium salt will be on the 'buy whenever I have time to get it just in case/before I need it' list.. :)

That is a good point about the Hydor thing, it would work for our dorm(which is always 75 degrees now) but as I will be going home for the summer to a much colder house... Which is a good heater that can have varying temps? So if it's hot I don't cook him, but he stays warm if it's cold!


:) I probably won't have any tank mates for... 2 years at least, I'll wait til I'm out of college, maybe had experience with a few different betta fish so I'll know what to look for in personalities! If all else fails, I can just end up with some kind of extra shrimp tank or something, they are so cute and funny :)

[Jupiter]

In that case you'd want to look for a heater where you can adjust the temperature...they are a little pricey. I have a Marineland Stealth heater and it works well.

[purplemuffin]

The marineland stealth isn't too much more expensive than the one I had in mind! I will go for it, then! I don't mind spending money on supplies--Generally speaking, I feel that sometimes by spending less money you'll end up spending more later(for replacements when it breaks!)