Brand New Betta Owner- How Am I Doing?

[Zoonoo]

Hello all! I am a brand new fish owner, never cared for a betta before. I'd like your opinions on how I'm doing with my very first fish! I'd like you all to meet my as yet unnamed little man, who was just brought home today:



The color in these photos is not quite true; in reality he is actually a much more vibrant purple with some more reddish areas.

I am a freshman in a college dorm and don't have access to particularly good water, so before putting him in I started the filter to my tank up and added some NutraFin Betta Plus Conditioner to make sure it was clean. The water temperature fluctuated for a little bit but it's settled at about 85 degrees Farenheit now.



He is living in a 2-gallon tank with gravel and a water plant on my desk. His tank also has a light which I plan to turn off at night. He's been active to the point where it's been difficult to photograph him holding still, which I hope is a good sign. He's been kind of freaking out near the water filter like he thinks it's pulling him in, but the part he starts getting frantic near is the part that's pushing filtered water back into the tank, so there's no way it's pulling on him so perhaps he's just playing?

I've noticed bubbles sort of coating the sides of the tank ever since I put the water in, but before I put him in so he didn't make them. Is this important at all?

Lastly, I'm at a bit of a loss as to how to feed him properly. I tried putting in a couple food pellets since I don't know when he was last fed, but I couldn't seem to get his attention and the food just ended up drifting to the bottom of the tank. Is that normal and he'll just eat them later, or should I somehow make sure he is paying attention when I put the food in so he knows to grab it?



Thank you for reading!

[PaintedOaksOki]

Setup seems ok! I'd turn the temperature down (if possible), but then again, I'm a bit paranoid about these kind of things. My tanks sit at about 80F.
I always make sure my fish is actually awaiting the pellet before I drop anything in the water... Especially since I accidently bought sinking pellets. xD

[ChoclateBetta]

You need to make sure there is a heater but other than that great. What do you feed him? The tank is a little small but possible with lots of water changes. What kind of plant is that? If it is mondo grass it is terrestrial. Also 85F is a little high.

[babystarz]

He is beautiful! I keep my bettas at about 80-82 degrees, anything higher than 86 gets uncomfortable for them.

You have a great plant in your tank, I would suggest adding one cavelike decoration for your guy to hide in, and maybe one more small plant. Bettas like to have cover to hide in.

Bettas can be bothered by strong filter current, their fins make them pretty slow so anything they have to fight to swim against makes some bettas cranky. You can baffle your filter with a sponge if he seems disturbed by it, but he might just like to swim against the current when he's bored.

Usually my bettas are really hungry at feeding time, what kind of pellets are you using and how much are you feeding at a time?

The bubbles on the side of the tank will eventually disappear on their own :)

[Zoonoo]

There isn't really a way for me to regulate temperature, but I could take some water out and pour colder in, perhaps? I'm trying to minimize cost by not buying a temperature regulating system, but I'll keep an eye on the temp to see how much it changes and decide from there.
I'm feeding him Omega One Betta Buffet Pellets. The people who sold him to me told me to give him about three pellets every other day. The plant is real and definitely aquatic. The woman said it was called a light plant, but she had a rather strong accent so I am not certain I heard her correctly.
How often do you think I should be doing water changes?

[ChoclateBetta]

I could not find a light plant. It looks like mondo grass hunch dies submerged. You need a heater. Pouring water in that is a different temp is bad for the fish. Pouring cold water in us a bad idea. P.S. pet store employees most of the time do not know what they are talking about. Remember the smaller is better myth or puddle myth. Keep an eye on the plant you need a heater. You will have to do a lot of water changes a 2 gallon will work but weekly water changes are a must.

[ChoclateBetta]

Never mind not mondo grass. But buying a plant you know nothing about is bad you should buy some aquarium plant fertilizer. But you need to be careful buying plants.

[ChoclateBetta]

P.S. varied diet with different brand pellets is not super important but helps fish. You should not try to save money this is an expensive hobby.

[babystarz]

Originally Posted by Zoonoo

There isn't really a way for me to regulate temperature, but I could take some water out and pour colder in, perhaps? I'm trying to minimize cost by not buying a temperature regulating system, but I'll keep an eye on the temp to see how much it changes and decide from there.
I'm feeding him Omega One Betta Buffet Pellets. The people who sold him to me told me to give him about three pellets every other day. The plant is real and definitely aquatic. The woman said it was called a light plant, but she had a rather strong accent so I am not certain I heard her correctly.
How often do you think I should be doing water changes?

Nope, pouring cold water in will just create a headache for you. Keeping it at 85 degrees would be better, and as long as it's not going higher than that your fish will be ok. Definitely consider getting an adjustable heater in the future, they're much less stressful to deal with ;)

Omega One Betta Buffet is a good brand, I would say you should be feeding slightly more, 4-6 pellets per day and then fasting one day per week is how I feed.

How many days has your guy seemed uninterested in the food? If it's been under 4, he's probably still just getting used to his surroundings and he isn't hungry enough yet.

For a 3 gallon tank, I'd suggest you do one 50% water change and one 100% water change each week. If you had a couple more plants you could probably reduce to one 100% water change per week.

[ChoclateBetta]

Fasting and varied diet are helpful. Crypts are good and Marimo are good beginner plants.