I've been lurking here for a few weeks since I got my betta off of Craigslist with all of his accessories (you know, .5 gal cube house & fin rot). He also did come with a 1.5 gal house w/filter which as soon as I can, I will upgrade to a 5 gal. Thanks to this lovely forum I am now obsessed with him and the whole hobby of betta keeping. I can see how my obsession could spiral out of control quickly! They are just beautiful and have great personalities! My guy certainly is the most friendly fish I've ever had! (I've had bettas in the past - with not much success, this time I want to do it right. I've also had both fresh & saltwater tanks in the past.) Thought I was done with it until this little guy stole my heart...and now I'm obsessed. Whenever he sees me he swims right up to the front of the tank and will hang out even if I don't have his Aqueon food jar (which he LOVES - and I also learned here that I fed him waaaay too much! the little piggy! I'm tapering back.) I know he can tell the difference between just hanging out and feeding time (though I know he always HOPES it's feeding time.) When he sees me pick up the little yellow jar, he wiggles like crazy! It's hilarious! I tried freeze dried bloodworms but he really doesn't like those. I will try frozen soon. He will follow my face up and down his tank. I almost want to pet him (but, again thanks to this forum, I know I shouldn't)!
Anyway - to get to my question: thanks to all of your great advice - I got his little tank an Elite 25w heater (and thermometer)...it arrived just in time for the cold weather as I live in southern AZ so the summer months are pretty warm. His water was low 70F when his heater finally arrived and now it sits just under 80F. I just installed it on Saturday after testing and slow acclimation. Today (monday), i came home from work and he had a little bubble nest going!!! I was so proud and excited! And then I remembered it was water change day for his tank. SO BUMMED (and i forgot to take a pic of his first bubble nest, what a bad mom)! Well, when I finished the water change - he was swimming frantically up and down and kind of all around the tank - I put the lid on his tank quick because I thought he might jump out. I've been doing water changes regularly since I got him due to his fin rot - so this was weird. Do you think I upset him by ruining his happy home/bubble nest? I tried to ensure the replacement water was the same temp and also treated with conditioner (this was also the 1st day without AQ salt). He even flared at me! any ideas why he had this weird fit? He seems fine now.
Anyway - to get to my question: thanks to all of your great advice - I got his little tank an Elite 25w heater (and thermometer)...it arrived just in time for the cold weather as I live in southern AZ so the summer months are pretty warm. His water was low 70F when his heater finally arrived and now it sits just under 80F. I just installed it on Saturday after testing and slow acclimation. Today (monday), i came home from work and he had a little bubble nest going!!! I was so proud and excited! And then I remembered it was water change day for his tank. SO BUMMED (and i forgot to take a pic of his first bubble nest, what a bad mom)! Well, when I finished the water change - he was swimming frantically up and down and kind of all around the tank - I put the lid on his tank quick because I thought he might jump out. I've been doing water changes regularly since I got him due to his fin rot - so this was weird. Do you think I upset him by ruining his happy home/bubble nest? I tried to ensure the replacement water was the same temp and also treated with conditioner (this was also the 1st day without AQ salt). He even flared at me! any ideas why he had this weird fit? He seems fine now.