New Betta owner...need help, please!

[Ralphieee]

Hello everyone! My name is Danielle and I'm a new to all of this. I bought my Betta fish, Ralphie, from a college fundraiser last week and now I'm attached. I've had him in his tank for about a week. It is a one gallon tank, and there are glass stones on the bottom and a silk flower. I also have a lilly pad on the top that he loves to blow bubbles around. I use a tap water purifier (not sure if that's exactly what its called, but they are drops that make tap water safe for fish) Anyway, I have a few questions for you all.


Should I get him another tank? I've noticed that many of you keep your bettas in larger tanks, and I don't want to be cruel to Ralphie by leaving him in the one I have him now if it's not right for him.

Do I absolutely need a heater? I've heard mixed views on this. Some people I know say their bettas are fine without them, but I've read otherwise.

I've been cleaning his tank as so (please don't yell at me if this is wrong but I need to know now if it is bad): I've been filling a gallon water jug with tap water, putting the conditioner in and letting it sit for 24 hours. After the 24 hours, I put Ralphie in a little holding tank while I clean out his, including the glass stones and the little flowers. Then I dump the tap water that has sat for 24 hours into his larger tank and then replace the stones and plant. Once that is done, I put him in. Is this ok to do?

Here is a picture of his tank before I put him in it. Please let me know if this tank is acceptable.
[IMG=http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/7231/img2246iv.jpg][/IMG]


Also, I am a little concerned because his top fin is curled over. In fact, I am worried about all of his fins. I've read some things about fin diseases and I would like someone to tell me if Ralphie's fins look ok. Here he is:




Sorry for all that information, I just want to make sure I'm taking care of him properly. He is pretty active and goes crazy when he sees me or my family come into my room. He eats well and gets excited at feeding time. I've grown really attached to him in only a week and want to make sure I can give him the best home possible, so any help would be greatly appreciated! Ralphie and I thank you =)

[Jupiter]

Welcome!

2.5 gal is the reccomended minimum for bettas. You should also get him some sort of decor that he can hide in, but otherwise it's fine.

If you live in an area where the tempurature is constantly between 75-80 degrees, you don't need a heater. Otherwise, you will need to get one because bettas need to live in warm water.

Cleaning the tank sounds fine as long as you aren't using soap, and the water tempurature between the two aren't big.

[MrVampire181]

A larger tank and a heater and filter and a lid. His fins will be a little bad because of dirty water they're kept in before they get a nice new home :)

[Rain Drop]

Your cleaning routine is perfectly fine!
I don't age my water though, but that's great if you want to :3
Just make sure you never use soap to clean. Really hot water only!
And with a bowl that size, 2-3x a week you should be doing water changes.

First, I'd get a thermometer to put in his bowl.
It's true, you don't need a heater, but that's only if you live somewhere really warm and the room he's in is at a constant temperature.
Betta's thrive best in water that's 76-80F
I don't think they make heaters for tanks/bowls that small.....

And I'm afraid that his bowl is rather small. IMO, 2G is minimum. I have a 2.25G plastic and a 3.3G plastic, both by "Living World". Their largest is a 4.4G. Or you can try and find a nice big vase/bowl at a craft store, etc.

As for his fins, I think you might be talking about fin rot. Fin rot can occur when the water isn't kept clean enough or when the fin will tear by accident (on sharp objects) and the tears get infected.
In case it ever happens, get aquarium salt and bettafix to keep on hand. It's also good to add a few drop of the stuff and a pinch of salt to the water anyways as a preventive. Always make sure you dissolve the salt first before you put it in the water though!

And for the curling....honestly, I don't know. Some people say it has something to do with poor water quality. But my betta, Caesar, has a lot of curling in all of his fins and his water is always very clean.....but he's been like that since I got him, and I know he's an older fish.

[Torbs]

Yeah Galileo's top fin curls over too, but when he's still for a minute he sticks it up straight so I assume it's ok. I figure his is curled over just because that makes him more aerodynamic while he's swimming (since it uncurls when he stops for a bit)

Oh, and Galileo is in a 2 gallon tank with no heater or filter and he's doing great. I keep the heater on in my room at 25 degrees Celsius (about 78 F I think, I don't remember exactly I just know that that's an appropriate Celsius temperature since I checked with an online C-F converter), and I do partial water changes every couple days (will be doing full water changes once every 2-4 weeks so I can clean the tank itself). Imo as long as you keep the room temperature really warm and stable, change his water religiously and give him lots of things to hide in (fake plants that are too tall for your tank are great too cuz they float on the surface, Galileo loves to weave through them) he should be fine :) As for things for fin rot and so on I'm not sure, I haven't had Galileo all that long and he hasn't had any troubles like that so far.

[TianTian]

Welcome to the Forum!! :)

Sounds like you've done your research; that's great!

Everyone above has pretty much said what I wanted to say so..... yep. Welcome! Ralphie is very handsome!

[dramaqueen]

Hello and welcome to FishForum.

[1fish2fish]

I've had mine in 1 gallons and they live fine. The bigger bowls/ heaters is the difference between a fish living and a fish thriving. I never thought of upgrading until my fish go sick. Now im moving to a divided ten gallon tank for my two boys.

It sounds like your in the same boat as me... broke college students :D If you can upgrade its always better to do. If not your fish isn't gonna die just because he isnt in a 10 gallon tank. My others lived three years in their little bowls just fine.

As for the folded over fin.. its probably bc of the small containers they are kept in before you buy them.. both of my fish (bought at petsmart) have that and it doesnt seem to bother them.