Newbie asking about his betta

[snapalope24]

Hey everyone,
I was wondering if anyone could tell me if I should change anything about how I care for my betta, and give me your thoughts on how he looks so far.
I currently have him in a 1 gallon lighted and filtered tank. I feed him flakes 1-2 times a day depending on my schedule the next day.
Water changes are done weekly.

Recently, he's had a few small rips in his fans that haven't been getting worse, but since this has started, I've started using small doses of aquarium salt each time I change the tank water.



What do you all think? Any tips on how I can take better care of him?
Any input would be appreciated.

[EmZajex]

You sound like you're taking good care of your little buddy :)

I would suggest a heater to keep his tank at a comfortable temperature of around 80F but also make sure it doesn't get too hot!
Also, it's surprising that he's eating flakes since they usually prefer pellets or, as a special treat, bloodworms. Maybe try pellets even just for nutrition sake

In terms of the tears, some of the plants look like the COULD rip the edges of his fins since their fins are about as delicate as pantyhose. It's just that the plants do not look very soft. It's not always a problem, though. I would also suggest some soft floor plants for resting in/on, many of which are sold as "for bettas", they usually like to hide and rest in there. Keeps them nice and cozy :)

By the way, your fish is absolutely gorgeous

[aokashi]

hihi! how much water are you changing?
pellets are easier to portion, I would say to get new life spectrum, omega one or hikari.
He also needs a "treat" can be frozen or freeze dried blood worms. :)
How long have you had him on aquarium salt? treament period should be limited to 10 days :)

[EmZajex]

Oh yeah, aokashi brings up a good point. Only do about a third water change maximum once a week. Gotta keep that good bacteria in check while protecting them from the bad stuff. It's bad to change their entire water content out of nowhere, it could actually stress them to death!

[aokashi]

wait what? I didnt say that lol! changing all the water wont kill the BB.
My point is that you have a 1 gallon tank. you should be doing a water change every 3 days, alternation between 50% water chanes and 100% water changes. Keeping the water pristine will help fin regrowth!

[EmZajex]

Oh no sorry just you asking how often they change their water reminded me that I forgot to bring it up since they didn't say how much of the water that they change

[snapalope24]

Normally I go about changing the water 100% per week. The box on the aquarium salt told me the minimum amount to add per gallon to ensure fin health on the fish.
My fish doesn't seem to like pellets. He leaves them there, and he doesn't bother with them. I do feed him dried blood warms occasionally and after tank changes.
I'm a college student that studies for 8+ hours after classes so I don't have a large amount of time to completely focus on him.

[aokashi]

I'm a college student too :) with 30 hours of class a week... and mountains of projects.

Well you will need to portion the flakes very carefully then. and bloodworms should only be fed once a week as snack. Good luck with your studies :)

[TheCheese909]

It sounds like you're doing a very good job.
My only suggestion is to watch and make sure his rips don't get any worse and if they do you may want to try looking for a silk plant to put in his tank instead of plastic.

I was able to go almost a year with my Bettas and plastic plants until they started tearing fins very badly. I ended up switching all of my Bettas (currently at 7) to silk plants and I don't have a problem with any rips or tears anymore! :)

Other then that, he's beautiful and lucky to have an owner who wants to make sure he's doing the best for him.

[wallywestisthebest333]

yeah I'd change your water more often

(cycling a 1 gallon won't really work anyway so you can probably toss or unplug your filter and save on the electricity costs)

three times a week as stated earlier. I'd make at least one of those three changes 100%. Preferably every other change should be 100%.

Other than that I'd get pellets when you run out of flakes and silk plants when you have the cash to do so. They have some pretty cheap ones at walmart if I remember correctly although the plastic base always separates from the plastic stems on my walmart silk plants.

Good luck with classes! Hope you have a great semester! =]