Introduction and question/advice.

[tamikakes]

****warning, may be long winded....sorry in advance*****

Hello all you beta lovers! I am a first time beta owner Tami (have ALWAYS wanted one) I finally got one friday for my son (Dominic "Nic" ) who is going to be 6. I will be the one taking care of it, it's just in his room. My beta is a baby beta from Petco (again, sorry, didn't realize they were more maintance than the full grown, but I am fully ready for the "challange") I don't know how young he/she is, color is blue/purple with red bottom fins. Very pretty and brightly colored. Name is Sushi.

Anyway, I got him with the understanding (always hearing and being told) how low maintaince they are. Thanks for this site, I now know it's not the case.

Unfortunitly, I came on here AFTER I purchased my lil guy, and didn't cycle my water as I read I should have. (I'm sorry! please forgive ) I have read thru a few posts and about 4 pages of the basic beta care post, figure it may be faster/easier to ask my questions/concerns here.

Here is my tank set up (please give oppionions on my items, what to change if need be, and what else i should get)

Tank: 2.5 gal Aqueon with filter and overhead light. I do plan on getting a bigger tank (5-8 gallon)

No gravel, just glass rocks (dark and light blue, light green and clear)

soft plastic fake plant (did the nylon test with it)

Aqua Culture digital thermomiter. (just put this on, waiting til morning for reading. Water feels warmer than room temp to the touch. but not WARM. I know it's supposed to be 80 degrees for babies.) my sons room is VERY warm as is, and with the light, I wanted to see what the temp is before getting a heater.

Tetra aquasafe plus water conditioner

Aqueon beta food pellets (teeny tiny ones)
Tetra beta flake food
* plan on switching food up so he doesn't get bored*
also plan on getting shrimps or bloodworms tomorrow or monday as learning that babies need higher protene!

Sea life inc. live aquarium hardy aponogeton bulbs.

large smooth edge rock cave that covers nearly the whole bottom of tank.


Plan on getting a sponge filter tomorrow to go over the filter tube


Again, any advice on what else I need? I plan on doing a 1/4 water change every 3 days.

I am so SO SO excited, and so SO SO scared at the same time. I can't wait til he/shes a little bigger to attempt to sex him/her and see Sushi's personality!

So far, Sushi is VERY active, loves to hide in the cave and explore her seroundings.
I will get a pic of her and the tank set up in a couple hours after my son wakes up.

Thank you in advance for reading this ( I warned you it was going to be a doozey!) and for help/advice!

Tami!

[tamikakes]

Also for future refrence.....

how can you tell if your beta isn't pooping

[teeneythebetta]

Hello and welcome to the forum! Do not fret, most of the people on this forum including myself didn't know anything about bettas when we got our first!

Being a baby, I would get some aquarium foam, cut out a piece of it and put it in the filter intake. My adult betta was getting sucked in to it (like her tail was, she wasn't literally going into the filter) but being a baby, it'd be easy to do.
Also 78-80 degrees is the temp that ALL bettas of all ages should have. If your sons room is at that temperature, I would still buy an adjustable heater that has a thermostat. If you get the adjustable/thermostat one, it will heat if the temp goes below what you set it to or it will turn off once it gets hotter than the setting. This will prevent it from cooling down at night time. :)

If you'd like to know about how old your baby is, go here: http://www.waynesthisandthat.com/bettagrowth.html

Have fun with your new guy!

[tamikakes]

Thank you SO much Teeney. BTW, I'm a HUGE Disney fan, and Sleeping Beauty is my fave, I came across some posts of yours in other threads and saw the betta names and swooned!

[tamikakes]

I am THINKING my lil bugger is about 8-9 weeks old by looking at that chart. tho. How big til I would be able to sex him/her??

I took pics, just have to post them, but the lil bugger must have known I was trying to get a pic, cause he was darting all over the place. As soon as I would look to see if I got a good pic, he would stop, right in front of me, showing his pretty colors and fanning his fins out. Once the camera was up, he was playing hide and seek.
He also loves to peck at my finger tips. Comes out of hiding to take a peck and then brushes his body over my finger once and then just sits in front of my face. (I don't do this often by the way)

[teeneythebetta]

Thanks! I dont know what age is the cut off. Is there a little white dot on his stomach by his ventral fins?

If not- he's probably a boy.
If there is- he could be either. Females have these (they're called egg spots/ovipositors) but some young males have them too.

Here is what it looks like, but you may not be able to see it from the side, you might have to look under him/her to see.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...sitor_tube.jpg

[Catfish Billy]

It must be pretty exciting considering you don't know what colours/fin type/personality your betta will have when he/she is older!

[tamikakes]

ok, here are some pics. Have a few of the fish itself trying to get a good pic of his coloring, lil bugger was playing games with me. (as above post mentions)

Anyway to tell his sex yet, or what kind of tail he may end up having??
not that it matters at all to me, just curious

[teeneythebetta]

He is a veil tail. The finnage looks female, but since he is young it will grow out when he's older if he's male. His ventrals are very long though, which kinda makes me think he's a boy- but I do have a female with long ventals (in my avatar pic)

Another way to test for gender is to get a little
Mirror and put it up to his tank. He should flare his gills when he sees his reflection. Here it explains what a male vs a female's flare is like.. http://freshaquarium.about.com/od/be...a-Gender_2.htm

[tamikakes]

so he/she will have a long flowy tail!? that kinda excites me cause those are one of my faves! from the pics, I really like the half sun, double veil, and crown tails!

lol, it's like being pregnant, saying you don't care if it's a boy or girl, as long as it's healthy, but secretly want one way or another.

In your oppinion (cause you've been so helpful already) do you notice personality differences between males and females, and which are you fave?