Hello! I have just jumped back into the Betta game! I think that they are just amazingly lovely fish. I had them when I was in College, but never really knew how to care for them properly. I researched here before going to Petsmart to snap up my lovely Red/Purple Betta named Ernesto. I have a couple of questions to keep the fishie family happy.
1. I have a 2 gallon tank with an undergravel filter plate, an air pump and a waterstone. I put natural gravel on the tank floor. The small digi thermometer I got reads at 76-77 degrees, and he seems to be happy. I am a little nervous to get a heater for such a small tank (lack of room prohibits a bigger tank)...I do not want to cook the fish! All seem active and well adjusted. We live in an apartment, and our thermostat is set to 72-75 Degrees. Do you suggest heating the water further??
2. I thought that the tank looked lonely with just Ernesto, so researched here again what kind of other fish I can house safely with him and introduced 3 neon tetras to the tank today. The gentleman at PetSmart advised to not get more because of the size of the tank. So far, so good. He seems interested in them and has been chasing them every so often (non flared), but he has relaxed a bit. They leave him alone and seem to be happy. When do ppl think we are "out of the woods" as far as Ernesto killing the other little guys?
3. Feeding Ernesto has been a bit of an issue. I gave him some pellets (4) for the first time yesterday (I got him on Tuesday), and he would gobble them up and immediately spit them out partly digested. Part of me thinks he might just be a brat (as Bettas are sometimes wont to do), but I am wondering if I should grab some bloodworms for him or if he might be sick. Again, he is active and swimmy, and does the "Hungry Betta Cha Cha (which always kills me). What is the opinion here?
TIA for your help!
Zerlinafish
1. I have a 2 gallon tank with an undergravel filter plate, an air pump and a waterstone. I put natural gravel on the tank floor. The small digi thermometer I got reads at 76-77 degrees, and he seems to be happy. I am a little nervous to get a heater for such a small tank (lack of room prohibits a bigger tank)...I do not want to cook the fish! All seem active and well adjusted. We live in an apartment, and our thermostat is set to 72-75 Degrees. Do you suggest heating the water further??
2. I thought that the tank looked lonely with just Ernesto, so researched here again what kind of other fish I can house safely with him and introduced 3 neon tetras to the tank today. The gentleman at PetSmart advised to not get more because of the size of the tank. So far, so good. He seems interested in them and has been chasing them every so often (non flared), but he has relaxed a bit. They leave him alone and seem to be happy. When do ppl think we are "out of the woods" as far as Ernesto killing the other little guys?
3. Feeding Ernesto has been a bit of an issue. I gave him some pellets (4) for the first time yesterday (I got him on Tuesday), and he would gobble them up and immediately spit them out partly digested. Part of me thinks he might just be a brat (as Bettas are sometimes wont to do), but I am wondering if I should grab some bloodworms for him or if he might be sick. Again, he is active and swimmy, and does the "Hungry Betta Cha Cha (which always kills me). What is the opinion here?
TIA for your help!
Zerlinafish