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Betta help, i don't know what is wrong with him???

1K views 2 replies 3 participants last post by  xgoingdownx 
#1 ·
I just bought my Betta fish on Tuesday, and it is Thursday now. When I bought him he was ALL bright blue with a light spot on his head that was kind light purple-ish. I bought him because he was the only one with a dirty tub, it had a lot of poop, and he had barley enough water to cover his body and I wanted to give him a good home. I talked to the sales person at Petsmart for about an hour to make sure that I had everything I needed to keep him. She told me that I did not need much space, or a heater, or a filter, and that all I had to do was fill the tank up with bottled water. So I ended up just buying a Betta starting kit, since I have gotten him I have changes the water once. His tank is not that big, but he does have room to swim around just fine, the box doesn't say how much it is but it holds three water bottles.... The kit came with gravel and a fake plant, which I put into his tank along with a fake turtle to keep him company (I didn't want him to get lonely)

But the problem is that he wont eat. I feed him the Betta pellets, and he has maybe eaten two since I got him. I feed him three pellets twice a day, but I skipped feeding him yesterday to see that if I skipped feeding him maybe he would eat, I just feed him and he didn't budge. He doesn't swim, he just floats there staring, and he looks so sad. Also he gets scared easily and jolts around his tank really fast for a second or two. On top of all of that he has lost all of his color and is a white-ish light-purple-ish, and he is starting to loose color in his fins too I think. I can not get him to flair up, he will start and then just stop and go back to just floating there....

I don't know what I did, I am hoping that maybe it is the tank temp and I can just buy a heater and he will be ohkay because I don't have a heater now. But I don't understand why he got so sick if that is the reason because I know a lot of people who have Bettas and they keep them in those tiny tiny bowls with no heater, and their fish are fine.

Please help, I love him and I don't want him to die, I don't know what I did wrong and I want to fix it :'[
 
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#2 ·
Hello and welcome to the forum. First of all, he would be happier in a 2 gallon or larger tank to live in. You don't necessarily "need" a filter but he should have a heater unless the tank is in a really warm room. Bettas are tropical fiish and need temperatures of around 76 to 82 degrees. Part of his problem may be that he's cold as well as living in a small tank. About eating, bettas sometimes won't eat when they are first adjusting to their new homes. This is pretty normal. Also, you'll want to feed him a good pellet food like Wardleys pellets or Hikari betta bio gold. Bettas can also be very shy for the first few days, until they get to know you. You might try putting a small silk plant in his tank, if there's room, for him to hide in and feel more secure. You don't need to use bottled water. Tap water is just fine as long as you use water conditioner to neutralize the chlorine and chloramines in the water. We recommend Prime by Seachem. There are lots of other conditioners out there, though. I hope this helps you. Also, many petstore employees don't know what they are talking about and often recommend the wrong thing.
 
#3 ·
DQ is right- he'll be happier in a 2 gallon. [at least] I had a 1 gallon bowl without a heater and a filter, etc etc- and my fish was not very happy. I noticed a very big difference in him once I got him a 2.5 gallon with a heater. [the tank I got came with a light and a filter, also]
I'm sure he'll perk up after you get the right supplies. :)
 
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