my poor fish :(

[thefishuation]

okay, this is my third betta fish. the first one lastest quite a while, and the second one died within a week (it's eyes bulged out of its head...not even kidding..but it was not looking well when i bought it, i just felt bad for it)

i have a 1 gallon tank and i bought a little lamp for it because during the day when im not home, the space is quite dark. well, really dark.
however...i'm worried that it's not good for the fish, even though the box and the people at hte store said it was the lamp made for this little bowl/tank.

i read in one of the threads that the heated lamps are often too hot for the 1 gallon tanks.
i will not be upgrading to a bigger tank...sorry if i'm not a good fish owner..but i'm cheap.

the main worry i have is that this fish baaaaarely moves.
he either rests in his plastic plant (which i also read i should switch for a silk one?) or he just sits near the ground.
he looks soooo lonely. what should i do to help him?

one more worry is that the pet store gave me this "food" that looks like a flinstone vitamin in the shape of a fish that's supposed to give enough nutrients for 7 days. but i just..i don't trust it because he never EATS anything.

should i get different food? and how do i make him happy?

[thefishuation]

actually, i just measured the water and it's way too cold i guess. this heated lamp isn't doing much of anything..

[kelly528]

Hmm where to start...

-Lamps make inadequate heat sources because you can't keep them on 24/7 or you'll drive your poor fish up the wall.

-A 1g bowl needs to be cleaned every 2-3 dyas to keep the ammonia a fish produces below toxic levels.

-Bettas are tropical fish and NEED a heater. In fact they prefer warmer water than most other tropical fish.

-Those feeder blocks are from the devil. Not only do they have the nutritional value of chalk (oh wait-they are chalk!) fish refuse to eat them and they will rot in the tank within days, polluting the water and poisoning your fish. I suggest you purchase a good pelleted food like Hikari Betta Bio-Gold, HBH Betta Bites or Atisons Betta Pro.

-I suspect he is being so lethargic because of the cold temperatures. You can also help him by putting more plants in to make him feel at home.

And one more word... I was once a 'cheap' betta owner and kept my fish in a 1g bowl. That was until I found out that:

1) My bowl cost $16. I could have bought a 5 gallon tank, everything included for 4 bucks more.
2) I had to change the water every other day.
3) I literally could not find a single brand of heater that would heat such a small volume of water without cooking it.
4) I was spending more money on medicine to fix my fish (their immune system crashes in low temperatures and dirty water) than I would have if I just bought a freaking 5 gallon.
5) As soon as I released him into the 5g and watched him zoom around I wished I had bought a proper tank from the get-go!

This care sheet is a good place to start for betta care fundamentals.

Good luck with this fish and welcome to the forum!

[Romad]

Well said Kelly528. Great answers and you covered it all.

[thefishuation]

i definitely was not cleaning the tank enough.

i basically am only using this tank because i got it for free.
tomorrow i'm going to go to the pet store and try and get pelleted food, as well as softer plants.
yeah..this stuff sucks, i don't want my fish to starve!

i really have no idea what i'm going to do about the heat, however.

thanks for your help!

[kelly528]

Honestly I would just serach up a 5-10g tank on craigslist. A lot of people just get rid of their tanks ASAP after their 50 goldfish belly-up within 2 weeks of swimmin around the 10g (suprise-suprise) and bam-- it winds up on Craigslist, everything included, used for only 2 weeks and DIRT cheap. Like a full 5-10g setup souldn't cost you more than 30 bucks. Its ridiculous.

[TokyoBetta]

I have limited experience but it sounds like your fish is sitting in water that's too cold. Mine did exactly what yours did until the heater kicked in. After I'd filled my tank I put him in too soon the first time.

You should get a small heater for the tank, better yet a slightly larger tank.


Honestly, if you don't get a heater it won't matter what kind of plants or food you give him he won't feel like moving or doing much because basically his body is acclimatized to warmer water.

I know how you feel about not wanting to spend a ton of cash but honestly for under $100 total you can get a WICKED set up that'll make him really happy. Way less, even $50 even perhaps. It'll be worth it rather than seeing him suffer.

As for the eye thing, I think this is what he had:

Originally Posted by Bettatalk.com

If you always keep your betta’s water very clean, he is not very likely to get Popeye. Popeye is a bacterial infection usually caused by poor water condition (in other words filthy water because you were too darn lazy to get off the couch and attend to your betta!!!). but popeye can also be the tip of the iceberg, the external sign that something inside Mr. Betta is going very wrong. For example, tuberculosis will sometimes result in popeye. In that case, the popeye may not be curable or even if it gets better the fish will die (because tuberculosis is not curable and always kills its host). In short the fish will have died, not of the popeye itself, but because of the more serious disease that triggered it.
uSYMPTOMS: One or both of Mr. Betta’s eyes start bulging out. In about 2 to 7 days the eye might look so grotesque you will be afraid to look at your betta. Casimodo on a bad day will look more attractive then your betta at that point!! Please do not destroy your betta! In many cases, the bettas make a full recovery from it and look normal again, as if nothing had happened. Only some of the popeye cases are caused by the terminal diseases mentioned above and will result in your betta dying. The rest will heal nicely if caught early and treated aggressively (see below). During outbreak, betta may be less active, may stop eating.
uTREATMENT: As I said, popeye is usually not fatal and Mr. Betta will often fully recover. On occasion he may lose an eye. But if you catch it right away, he should be fine. Immediately do a full water change. Keep his water very clean, changing it every third day. After putting him in clean water, add the antibiotic Ampicillin (included in our Betta First Aid Kit) to his water. This medication usually comes in capsules. A full capsule usually treats 10 gal of water. So for a 1/2 gallon of water, open the capsule and take the right proportion of powder and sprinkle on jar water. You may steer gently with a disposable plastic spoon. This is a white powder and will not affect the color of the water. Do not overmedicate! Once Betta’s eyes are back to normal, keep treating for one more week (just to be sure) and then stop the medication. And keep his water clean from now on darn it!!

[TokyoBetta]

You know what， word of caution on the heater... I was reading something else a moment ago that's unrelated, and it was mentioned that a heater in a small tank may make the water too warm! Then I remembered this thread!

If you get one make sure it's adjustable so you can get the right temperature. Fixed temp units may make your small tank too warm. Better safe and sorry.

[Meg215]

Just wanted to let you know that I just bought a 2.5 galon tank for $15 and found a heater for 2.5 - 5 gallon tanks for 11.99. The heater raises the temp about 5degrees. My tank normally runs 72 on it's own so I figure the heater will be jsut enough. So really if you look around you can get a slightly larger tank and small heater for pretty cheap. Hope this helps your fish! I just got mine about 2 weeks ago and I just adore him so much! They are so cute and funny!

[ourcharlie]

did you have to do anything special to switch your fish to a heated tank?

mine is in a .5 cheap betta bowl thing. bought a 10 gal tank with heater and filter last night and have it all setup. i just nervous that he will go in shock from the now room temp water to the heated tank