Question and a little Concerned

[daisygirl]

My daughter got her betta late Monday afternoon . We had gotten her one of those starter kit aquariums. I believe it is supposed to be a 1 gallon tank. By Monday night we had gotten him in the tank following all the directions that came with the tank. We acclimated him to the water and used the water conditioner and as far as I know followed every step they gave. She waited to feed him until the next morning because the paper said to wait a few hours before feeding and she didn't want to end upon a weird feeding schedule if she fed him then and then couldn't feed him the next morning. (She just thinks that way ) When she woke up on Tuesday, she fed him (3 pellets) and he was swimming around and seemed to be doing very well. By the time we got home that evening, he was sitting on the bottom of the tank not moving. I got worried. We watched him a while a noticed that every once in a while he would get up a little but then go back down. This morning he was up swimming again. She fed him but by noon he was back down on the bottom going up every now and then. Is this normal or is something wrong?

Sorry for the long post but I felt like I needed to set up the scenario so you could get the full story. Thanks in advance.

[dukie1346]

Well, what temperature is the water at now?

[Buddy The Betta]

If you only had the fish for a couple of days it could be stressed from being in a new environment. My Betta did that for about 5 days. It also could be the water temperature. If it's to cold the fish will become lethargic and not move much. It's good that he is eating though.

Do you have the tank in a cold room? You might need to get a small heater for him. I keep my water temperature between 79-80 degrees.

What do you think the water temperature is at right now?

[daisygirl]

I've been looking at some other posts talking about water temperature and have gone in there and just touched it and to me it does feel pretty cool. We didn't realize we would need that before we got the tank so I don't have one yet. I will try to get one tomorrow. As for the heater, I have looked those up as well and cannot seem to find one for a tank as small as hers. The smallest one I have found is for a 2-5 gallon tank and she only has a 1 gallon. I believe the one I found was a Hydor Mini Aquarium Heater. Does anyone know of a heater we could use for a smaller tank? Thanks for the input! I'm hoping we are on the right track.

[cottoncandygirl]

i think that maybe he is sleeping or resting or maybe at night the temperature goes down and he is just cold :D

[Buddy The Betta]

I use a Hydor mini heater for my 2.5 gallon tank. You could use one on your tank. There really not that big. I had one on my one gallon tank, too.

But you need to buy a thermometer as well to make sure the water temp doesn't get to hot! Thats very important.

What kind of starter kit did you buy? Is it a Top Fin?

Don't worry, you'll get everything worked out.

[dramaqueen]

Yes, a thermometer would be a good idea to monitor the temp in such a small container.

[daisygirl]

We got the All-Glass Mini-Bow Junior Aquarium Kit from Petco. We are going to buy a thermometer this morning and I guess we will go ahead and get the heater too. Just in case we need to put it in I'll have it. Is the stick-on kind ok? I'm afraid any other kind will take up too much room in the tank since it is so small and especially if we end up having to put in a heater. What temp is too low and what temp is too high for the water?

Oh, another question about food. The food pellets that came with the kit floats on top of the water forever and the pellets we bought at the store sink practically the minute we put them in the water even though they say they are floating pellets. Does that mean they are bad? We got TetraBetta Floating Mini Pellets from Petco.

Thanks a bunch!!

[dramaqueen]

I feed mine Hikari betta bio gold. These pellets float. I hate the ones that sink. My bettas would never go after them, they would just watch them go to the bottom. I would recommend Bio gold or Wardley pellets.

[dr2b]

My betta only eats Hikari Bio gold (the same thing DQ mentioned). I tried top fin, but he would spit them out or just look at them. I have never seen Wardley's before in my LPS though...