I just got my first betta and need advice.

[Kytte]

So first I am going to have to tell you how I ended up with my very first Betta.

On Thursday(Dec 9th) A bunch of friends and I had a christmas party. We played White Elephant. In White Elephant there are four bowls with a pair of dice in each. The bowls pass around and you roll the dice, and every time you get doubles you get to trade gifts with someone. Right away I decided I wanted to end up with the weird white box that had 'fragile' and 'this way up' written on it, which I did. At the end I opened it to discover a red betta in a clear glass christmas ornament.

Well my friend who had brought the gift told me everything he thought I would need to know about bettas, much of which I am now learning is wrong. Dispite the fact he told me my betta would be perfectly happy in the ornament I went and got it one of those little tanks from wallmart, and did the transfer. The day after he was still acting lethargic and he spent most of his time at the bottom, and whenever I drop food in he doesn't even show a flicker of interest. So I got on google and started to research, and discovered how wrong my friend had been. I have no heater but I am keeping my dorm room nice and toasty until I can. He is acting a bit better. He hasn't been on the bottom at all today, not doing much swimming though, and still has shown no interest when I drop food in. I am a sophomore in college, and there is a strict no pets policy in our dorms, so I am keeping it hidden, which I can do since the tank is small, not sure if I could if it was a two gallon tank like you all suggest. I am not even sure how big this one is, that info wasn't on the box.
So I guess my questions are
Why isn't he showing interest in his food?
Why is he being so lethargic? Is he still recovering from what must have been a terrible ordeal?
What kind of heater? The smallest I could find was for a two gallon tank. I don't want to cook him.
And Any other useful tips?
THanks
Oh and his name is Firestorm, pictures bellow.

What I got him in

His current home.

[fredythefish]

1st you came to a great place :) 2nd. The 'tank' you have him in now is much better than the little ornament!! The water change probably shocked him and the water quality probably isn't so great but- i recently (about a month ago) got into bettas and started my boy out in a little bowl then (about 5 days later) moved him into a 2.5 gallon tank with no filter. I recently just moved him into a 5 gallon heated (had that before) and filtered tank. And he's doing perfectly fine. Honestly, I think the heater is the MOST IMPORTANT thing because cold water makes them lathargic.
Soooo what you need:
- a heater.
- water conditioner (this will help remove chlorine, and other things that WILL KILL your fish.) you can also get the kind that has stress reliever to help your little guy along.
- (not needed) a real plant. this will help keep the water cleaner.

Don't worry about the food for now. He can go a week without food. Wait a day and see if he's hungry but make sure to not overfeed him.

HEATER: i have a zed med (? not quiet sure if this is what it's called!) little bowl heater which heats my is for 1-5 gallons soo i think that's what you should get...p.s get a thermometer.

Also, your betta's cute!

[ilovebunnies]

Oh my, he looks so sad in that glass ball!

He could be very stressed from everything and now getting used to his new home. Make sure to do water changes every 2-3 days and add dechlorinator to the water you use. I would also get him a heater for his tank as that could be the reason why he isn't active. The 10 watt heaters are for bowls up to 3 gallons. Just make sure to get a thermometer from the pet store so you can be certain what the temperature is. Also, what food are you feeding him? That could be the reason why he isn't eating.

With regards to the pet policy issue and college dormitories, I would look up that information. Most colleges allow fish to be kept. I suggest looking the information up on the web or calling the housing office anonymously for an answer. Even if you had to hid your fish, a 2.5 gallon tank isn't very hard to hide. Housing can only do room checks with you or your roommate present. So it is quite possible to hide your fishy while they check things in you room. Just make an underwear pile to hide it. :D Surprisingly it works, lol.

[Sweeda88]

Originally Posted by fredythefish

1st you came to a great place :) 2nd. The 'tank' you have him in now is much better than the little ornament!! The water change probably shocked him and the water quality probably isn't so great but- i recently (about a month ago) got into bettas and started my boy out in a little bowl then (about 5 days later) moved him into a 2.5 gallon tank with no filter. I recently just moved him into a 5 gallon heated (had that before) and filtered tank. And he's doing perfectly fine. Honestly, I think the heater is the MOST IMPORTANT thing because cold water makes them lathargic.
Soooo what you need:
- a heater.
- water conditioner (this will help remove chlorine, and other things that WILL KILL your fish.) you can also get the kind that has stress reliever to help your little guy along.
- (not needed) a real plant. this will help keep the water cleaner.

Don't worry about the food for now. He can go a week without food. Wait a day and see if he's hungry but make sure to not overfeed him.

HEATER: i have a zed med (? not quiet sure if this is what it's called!) little bowl heater which heats my is for 1-5 gallons soo i think that's what you should get...p.s get a thermometer.

Also, your betta's cute!

That's called a Zoo Med Betta Therm heater. It's available on the PetSmart site.

[fredythefish]

Thank you Sweeda88! I was going to call it a zed med, but it didn't sound right =P

[Kytte]

I am not sure exactly, what I am feeding him. I was given the food along with the fish. The water is... conditioned? I got a little bottle along with the fish as well.
I will try and get a heater, and when I go home for christmas I will look into getting a bigger tank.

[Sweeda88]

Originally Posted by fredythefish

Thank you Sweeda88! I was going to call it a zed med, but it didn't sound right =P

You're welcome! I really want to get it, so I've memorized almost everything about it. LOL.

[Jupiter]

Oh, poor little guy in that ball....don't understand how people could think at all that it's a good idea...thank goodness you got him and are now looking to care for him properly!

His tank doesn't look TOO small. Maybe a gallon? It's fine as long as you do waterchanges several times a week. You could also raise the water level a bit, he won't jump since it looks like there's a lid.

Anyway, you'll be needing a heater for sure and water conditioner.

It'll take him a while to get used to his new home. He may be lethargic and refuse food 'till then. Be sure to remove the food that he doesn't eat so it doesn't foul up the water though.

Also, be sure that you're feeding him betta food. Things like flakes for tropical fish or goldfish won't work because they contain a lot of vegetable matter and bettas are carnivores. Try to look for betta-specific pellets or flakes.

Also, be careful of those plants. They're looking a bit sharp to me. If you have a pair of pantyhouse or tissue or something, run the plants along those and see if it tears them. If it does, it'll most likely tear your betta's fins.

Good luck with him!

[fredythefish]

Originally Posted by Sweeda88

You're welcome! I really want to get it, so I've memorized almost everything about it. LOL.

Well, it works great! It keeps my 5 gallon warm, just so you and the OP know.... and not to mention it's cheap :)

[Sweeda88]

Originally Posted by fredythefish

Well, it works great! It keeps my 5 gallon warm, just so you and the OP know.... and not to mention it's cheap :)

Cool! I need one for my female's one gallon (I've decided to get the heater first, then upgrade her), and my male's 3 gallon. I'm happy to hear it works well!