I don't know if I'm doing this right...

[EmilyM]

Okay well I'm really new to all of this, but my sister got me into betta fish and I want to make sure I'm doing it properly. I don't have enough time in my schedule to clean out my 1 gal tank twice a week, and I don't know if using the pH balancing tablets is good either. All of these terms and such are a bit confusing to me :X anyways, I purchased two fish about a three weeks ago (from petsmart) and here they are :D

[ i don't know if the pictures will work properly because I am on my cellular device instead of a computer, so I will post the proper pictures later if it doesn't work out]

The top one is Lan Se, or lance. It means blue in Chinese. He looked green in the picture but really he was blue. Unfortunately, one night my sister was moving around the items in the tank while Lance was digging. I was at an award ceremony and didn't come home until later. We found this poor baby dead between the rocks.
Needless to say I cried my eyes out even though I had only had him for two weeks. Anyways. :<

The bottom one is Apollo, the fish I currently have. He is a half moon, or so the petsmart people told me, and I bought him because he was the ONLY one I had ever seen like that. It would help if you guys told me just what type he is. :D

I'm here because I'm worried that Apollo might have something wrong with him. :< his fins are turning bluer and he's losing a bit of the translucence he had to him. I have also spotted a red line on his bottom fin, and I have no idea what that means. He doesn't really swim around as much as Lan se did, and he doesn't eat his food like Lan se did. He constantly spits it out and then chases it. He will continue this process until he has kept it down or it has gotten stuck in the marbles. I then began to cut his pellet in half and would drop it so he could eat it. He started eating a bit more and there was less food at the bottom, but now I don't see him keep it down at all. And his stomach still looks slightly swollen.

I don't know what's wrong with him because Lance ate his food in a heartbeat and kept it down on the first try and I never had to cut them in half. I know that each fish is different but there were no similarities between the two and I find that odd. When I come to the tank, Apollo will pop out of his little trunk and show off a little bit, but then slink back into the leaves where he blends in.

Anyways I just want to know some basic advice on keeping him healthy and happy. And if anything is wrong with him... :< please help me learn!

[EmilyM]

Here is the first picture that was supposed to show up

[EmilyM]

I flashed the light on him here and you can see his top fin is now almost totally blue and not very see through at all. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? :<


Sorry for so many pictures and stuff and I'm also very sorry if the answers are blatantly obvious inside of the stickies but it is late and I am tired and worried and sigh. I understand if you don't want to take the time to help me or anything. Just point me in which direction to go please :<

[veggiegirl]

Hey there,

Oh your bettas are so beautiful, it is such a shame about Lance though I am sorry for repeating this but you really do need to clean out a 1 Gallon tank at least twice a week, 100% water changes.

If you do not then bad bacteria and ammonia will build up in his water, both can be very toxic to fish and cause death. Red streaks in the fins can be a sign of fin rot which is usually caused from the water not being changed enough....... Doing a 100% water change in a 1 gallon tank should only take 5-10 minutes once you get used to going it.

Using the PH balance tablets is fine but you still need to test the water occasionally because they don't always work.

Don't hesitate to ask for advice, we are always happy to help
Goodluck

[veggiegirl]

Sorry forgot,
The fact that your bettas fins are getting more blue through the see through bits is nothing to worry about, bettas often change color throughout their lives, some colour changes are more dramatic than others.

Just keep an eye on the red in his fins, if his fins start to break away then he might have fin rot.

I forgot to mention something that is extremely important..... bettas need heaters to survive. Like all tropical fish bettas cannot tolerate fluctuations in water temperature, it causes them extreme stress and compromises their immune system putting them at risk to all sort of horrible and sometimes fatal diseases. In order to survive they need to be provided with a constant stable water temperature of around 26 degrees Celsius and the only way to do this is by using a heater with a thermostat. I believe that you can buy mini heaters for tanks of around 1 gallon, however bettas really should be provided with a tank that is a minimum size of 2.5 gallons to remain healthy and happy.

Oh and both your bettas seem to be halfmoons

[EmilyM]

Thanks :)

Well after I run out of the tablets I plan on getting either a bigger tank or a filter or both. I use the pH strips my dad has to make sure its okay. With a filter I would still probably clean it once a week, right?
Also to clean my tank I do it every Saturday, but I let a gallon of lukewarm water sit with the tablet for a few hours. I might start trying to clean it every 3 to 4 days though, because I do not want my baby to get fin rot :<
But yeah, is there a specific way to clean the tank? I usually just pour some of the treated water into a cup, put Apollo in it, then empty the marbles in a strainer, and rinse everything really well. Is this not effective enough?

[veggiegirl]

Hey there,

In small tanks filters are not always suitable because they cause too much water movement, it is a HEATER that the bettas need to survive.

It is great that you might be able to get him a larger tank, he will be much happier. A one gallon tank would be unsuitable to have a filter it would create too much water movement. In larger tanks filters help to improve water quality but they are not a substitute for water changes, so having a filter does not mean it is okay to do less water changes.

Do you add water conditioner to the water that you put in his tank? Tap water contain chlorine which is toxic to fish. Water conditioner neutralizes the chlorine as well as other harmful heavy metals and makes the water safe for your fish. It can be purchased from most pet shops.

So yes your boy needs

a heater
a larger tank
water conditioner

Sorry you said you use treated water so I take it you already use conditioner......

To clean his tank I would scoop him up in a cup, gently pour the water out of his tank. Rinse the gravel/tank decor in clean treated water to remove droppings and uneaten food. Rinse empty tank with treated water. Put gravel/ tank decor back into the tank. Fill with clean treated water. Test PH and temperature of water in your bettas cup and adjust the temperature and PH of the water in his tank so that it matches the water in his cup. Then put your betta back into his tank.

That's what I do anyway. Until you get him a larger tank I would give him at least two 100% water changes a week. Fin rot is horrible as if it gets bad then the bettas fins may not recover and in severe cases the fin rot reaches the body and kills the betta so we want to avoid it at all costs. In saying that though if the red streak on your bettas fins does turn out to be fin rot when caught early and treated it can be easily cured.

Until you can get a heater I would recommend wrapping your bettas tank in a blanket at night to help to insulate him, it is by no means as effective as a heater but short term it may help.

Good luck, I really love Apollo's colour

[Bombalurina]

+1 to Veggiegirl.

If a larger tank is not a possibility right now, I would consider trying live plants. :) I think a one gallon can be ok (I prefer larger, but hey, OFL is massively experienced and her fish do wonderfully in her one gallons), but since a filter can just be too violent in such a tiny space, live plants really do contribute to keeping the water clean. A NPT would be especially good - it may seem a little daunting at first, but OFL has a wonderful sticky on it and I'm sure she'd be happy to guide you through the process.

One thing about what VeggieGirl has said that I think it is important to note: DO keep him in his dirty water whilst cleaning his tank, and DON'T put him into new water without carefully acclimatising him first. :) This will help avoid stress and shock.

I very much second the call for a heater. One gallon tanks are not stable environments and temperatures with fluctuate without a heater.

In terms of pH, unless your pH is really wacky, I wouldn't be using the tablets. What does your pH measure without the strips? Btw, next time you pick up a test kit, splash out on a liquid one. They are more accurate and much better value for money, as they last a bajillion times longer. :)

[EmilyM]

Thanks ~

As for the liquid stuff, Im not sure I trust it. I have a friend that accidentally killed her fish using it, and the people I talked to at petsmart advised me to not get it because with one slip up you can really harm your fish. So I dunno.

As for the heater, I'll look into that. It's already naturally hot where I live, and his water is usually at about 70 degrees Farienheit. I'm actually worried that if in the summer time his water will be become too warm.

[Perseusmom]

Oh my you really need to use water conditioner I do not understand why they told you that but that is crazy !!!!! If you can get some Prime water conditioner its only two drops per gallon and works for 48 hours to detox the ammonia and make the water safe for your Betta, after 48 hours do a water change and add more. You dont need the ph drops they might do more harm then good, Bettas can adjust quite well to the ph of the water. I use a medicine dropper to add the water conditioner to my water when I am doing a water change, it works very well . Good luck !!!