help! need advice

[kingb]

well this past week my betta was feeling kinda sad but a couple of water changes and he's back to normal. i went to petco to see if they had anything that would help keep my betta in top shape, the lady recommended i add some aqueon betta water renewal, it seems to replace some of the minerals the fish needs. will this help? aside from this i want to have a betta first aid kit on hand, what should i buy?

[xxabc]

I find regular tap water (treated with conditioner, I highly recommend Seachem Prime) to have the minerals needed for a betta...the specifics, i'm not sure, but I personally wouldn't buy it. If you have the money, go ahead and experiment, but I don't like adding stuff I don't want to in my tank. Never actually heard of the product though, but I wouldn't suspect it does entirely too much for ya.

[Neelie]

^^^ ditto.

regular tap water is often better than ppl think. just make sure you add a conditioner that removes chlorine and metals. and if you want to you can add a lil aquarium salt to keep your fella healthy.
nothing more needed in the water. keep it basic. less is more

[bloo97]

I agree 100% (:

[Romad]

Clean water with a little AQ salt and Prime conditioner should keep your buddy happy.

[kingb]

thanks for all the info guys, i have a couple of questions, since i've never put salt in his tank, how much should i put in it ( its a 2.5 gal tank ) and is it regular salt or do i get it at the pet store? after i put the salt in the tank do i leave it in and just replace it with every 100% water change or do i also add salt when he gets his 50% water change too? soory to be bombarding you guys with questions, i just want my little guy to be as comfy and happy as possible.

[xxabc]

I buy API Aquarium Salt, however some people do use their own salt (ask them though, not me about that).

There will be good directions for you to follow on the box. Sorry, can't think of it right now, hah, but the directions are straight forward. If you're going to use at-home salt, don't ask me, lol.

Change for both. If you take out 50%, put back in 50% salt. If you take out 100%, put in 100% (just make SURE it's ABSOLUTELY 100% water taken out, if it builds up, it won't be good for your betta).

If you see your water line lower, or you see your water evaporate, don't replace salt. Salt does not evaporate. Only if you manually remove it, then you manually replace it. Hope it helps :)