I'm new

[vicki549]

I want to thank you for helping me set up a new little home for my betta. He was given to me by a friend that had him in a larger aquarium but another fish ate his fins. So he took him out and kept him in a plastic bowl. I had no idea what aquarium to get, I wanted something small. I wanted something easy for me to handle. I chose a 3 gallon eclipse and I have a thermometer and heater. The heater was the newest. I got that on Sunday. Last night I worried because the temperture went up to 82. This was at 2am and I was so afraid to go to sleep, so I opened a window. I dont know if I did it right but I panicked. This morning the temperature was 80 and I felt a little better that the poor little guy wasnt boiled while I slept. I got a Stealth Pro heater. It did say it would maintain 78 + or - a degree. I am still nervous about the heater. I keep an eye on it all day long.
I don't understand the water changes. I ordered a master kit from Walmart to check the PH. I didn't start doing that yet. I don't understand the PH level yet and I hope by the time I get it, I will have a good idea of what to do. I'm a mess. I am trying so hard to give him a good little home. I know the water is better than the slime he was in....but still I have become quickly attached to this little guy.
With the water changes....is it a partial and how much with only a 3 gallon and how often? I also ordered water clarity drops to help keep the tank clear. Is this ok? Is it the same as water conditioner?
This little guy knows me. He comes to the glass when I talk to him and he comes up to my finger on the glass. Anyone else, he backs away. I mean is it my imagination? My family thinks I am nuts.....but I swear he gets excited to see me. hahaha
Thanks so much for taking the time to read this. I am so new at this. I hope his little fins grow back. Oh I put aquarium salt in the tank. I read that you add what you take out. Does that mean that I keep this in all the time since it can't be filtered out?
Ok thanks again.

[Hadouken441]

Water change for your 3 gallon is pretty easy. Just gently put a cup in the water and scoop water out. just take out about %30 percent of the water every 2-3 days for like 3 weeks?? I think thats right someone here will clarify that better but thats something like what i do.

Dont worry about the temperature haha i keep my tank at like 83 and he loves it. I think 78 is too cold for my taste.

Only add salt when doing water changes. If your takin out the %30 percent only add like literally 6 salt pieces.

I wouldnt use the water clarity drops because it doesnt seem natural to me. The tank needs some bacteria in it but not so much that it will get ur fish sick. If your tank is really startin to look gross just do a water change. And prob every like... Sunday do a bigger water change. Like %70 percent of water. I dunno if everything is %100 percent correct but this is what I do lol and my fish are lookin good with a clean tank

[1fish2fish]

The heater is fine.. 82 isn't a bad temp.. just don't go over 86. You need a water conditioner that gets rid of chlorine and chloramine. Prime is a great one.

Unless you are going to cycle your tank you need to do 1 100% water change a week at least. I highly suggest you look into cycling because it will make your up keep soo much easier.

As for the aquarium salt.. I would only leave it in there for a max of 10 days. The salt in addtion to the high temps will help him heal but you don't want to keep salt in the tank full time. Once you do a 100% water change you will put the same amount of salt in.. if you do a partial water change you would put a fraction of the salt back in.

Don't worry about the pH.. just pretend it doesn't exist. Bettas adapt really well to different pHs but if you try to mess with the pH the swings can kill your fish.

The main things you need to test for are Ammonia, Nitrites, and Nitrates.. but until you cycle you don't even really need to worry about those as long as you do at least one full water change a week. (On an uncycled 3 I would do 3 weekly water changes, 1 full, and two 20-30% changes... but I'm partial to exceedingly clean water)

[Betta Fish Bob]

The key component in raising healthy bettas you have already got in spades ... you really care!!

Honestly, you have started out so well, a heck of a lot better than I did years ago.

Keep up the good work.

[dramaqueen]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

[vicki549]

Thanks everyone for the welcome and kind words. I think I am going to do partial 30% water changes for now. I am afraid that I dont know how to handle him well enough to do a 100%. I want to wait a week or so before doing a 100% change. I am afraid I will shock him or something. I am reading the boards and anything else I can gargle....I mean google. hehe I hope the kit comes in soon where I can test the nitrate level. I read a good post on about.com on cycling. Everything is so confusing and I havent had him not quite a week. I read a post about slowing down the flow on these pumps on the eclipse with a sponge. He sometimes will go to that side of the tank but for now, he is mostly staying close to the heater. I put the heater on the same side of the intake, hoping it could circulate the warmth more evenly. Thanks so much!

Vicki

[dramaqueen]

Cycling can be confusing but there are a lot of people who will be glad to walk you through it and answer all your questions if you decide to cycle your tank. :)

[sunkissedinCA]

welcome to the forum! no, it's not your imagination, bettas are quite the characters. all my bettas do the same thing, they get super excited when they see me. they're very underestimated little critters!

cycling is verrrry confusing, i've been planning on cycling 2 of my 10 gallon tanks for almost a year, but after 1 failed attempt, i'm scared to try it again haha. luckily you have a 3 gallon, so it's not necessary to cycle your tank. your betta will be less stressed during water changes if you develop a routine, eventually they get used to it.

do you have pictures of your betta? again, welcome to the forum and good luck with your buddy!

[1fish2fish]

cycling is pretty simple if you know what to look for. Since you already have your tank running you will probably want to do a fish in safe cycle unless you have an alternate tank to keep him in while doing a fishless cycle. Fish In cycles are hard work so you need to be 100% dedicated to doing daily water changes and testing.. if that seems like too much work you either need to cycle fish less or not cycle at all. If you want to do a fish in cycle I can give you a simple run down on the procedure and what to expect.

I keep the heater on the intake side of my tank and it works well there.

Doing 100% water changes isn't really a big deal.. just cup the fishy and go to town. It is a little stressful at first but usually it doesn't affect the fish.. they're more like "oh man.. why am I back in this stupid cup" :p LOL.

[vicki549]

I had a lot more to say, maybe too much then I closed it out. I think maybe that is a good thing for everyone hahaa
I think it will be a little too hard on me to do daily changes. I bought the 3 gallon tank thinking it would be easier for me to handle. It will take me a while to do a complete change. I can do it though. Two 30% and one 100% would be better on me and hopefully it will be good for him. Thanks oodles!!

Vicki