healing my stressed betta [plus my saving story]

[pyro fiend]

alright well ive always loved betta and never realy bought them because i was told you cant add any to another evn male/fem.

so i was at almary yesterday gettin myself a pleco for my heated goldie tank. and i noticed a few dead bettas. now i know walmart is horible about keeping fish but petco dont have plecos here. so anyways.. i started going thru the many many bettas and found tons dead and was setting them in the sink. i felt so bad i know there was 20+ dead fish and like 10 alive/half alive. i decided id rescue one. knowing at home i had many many larg tanks filters heaters from 20-50g just sitting in my basement and ik betta care. so i was lookin at the live ones.. every single fish they had evn the ones that just came in that morning were realy stressed and 90% had fin rot.. so i finaly picked out one.. was one of the only 2 w/o fin rot and he was pretty much the only one moving around. he was a red crown tail but from just a glance you can tell he wasnt the greatest condition so i addopted him knowing i might be able to nurse him back to health...

so i brought him home and i have him in a half gallon kritter keeper for temp wiel i let a tank cycle a bit [with some water and sand in it from my heated goldie tank] so ik i will have to do a water change probably was gona do a 100% every week [gime a heads up if thats bad. read around and sounds right] with a light above it [sence containers plastic] to heat up the water a lil atm his keeper is 75.5 degrees[th cycling tanks at 80deg]. i know thats a little bit low. but its bettr then 60 or below like he was in i did put him in the water wiel in the cup and let the waters adjust for a hour then put a lil but of his cup water down the sink [dumped it in a cup first so i didnt risk loosing him] and then put about the same amount of water [10-20%] from the keeper into his cup and let him adjust for another 2 hours. he seemed to like it once i put him in..

when i got my betta he was loosing his color badly [ill add a link for you to see] he was pretty silver around the body and some parts of the fin. but senc ehes been in the keeper hes going a pinkie color so hes slowly getting color back. he wont eat. tho ik hes getting accustomed to things and may not eat for a few days.. but he has these scab looking spots on his head i was ondering whats up witht that? is it kinda natural? stress induced? or is it a disease?

and was also wondering how can i help him un-stress? i have him in about the right water.. he has other fish in sight cause hes on a table atm in front of my goldies and he dont frill at them. they dont bother with him realy but also the lamp has a metal frame and he sees himself and frilled a few times at it. now he ignores it. [i heard thats healthy for them] he will soon have his own big tank [have a 10 and 20g cycling atm] he wont eat. but he did try to eat one pellet it fit perfectly in his mouth but he spit it out. also hes making bubbles in the corners kinda like a bubble nest but not close together. actualy its around almost half-3/4 the tanks edge but not any more then 2 bubbles wide. im not sure if thats a failed bubble nest attempt or breathing ^.^ any advice will help thanks

<a href="http://s1186.photobucket.com/albums/z376/pyro_fiend/?action=view&amp;current=001-2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/z376/pyro_fiend/001-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> this is the ride home he doesnt look as silver as he was [only his tail ans dorsal was red when i got him.]

<a href="http://s1186.photobucket.com/albums/z376/pyro_fiend/?action=view&amp;current=002-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/z376/pyro_fiend/002-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> this is a head veiw. tho the scab looking things are actualy more of a brownish red

<a href="http://s1186.photobucket.com/albums/z376/pyro_fiend/?action=view&amp;current=003-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/z376/pyro_fiend/003-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> and heres a side veiw. you can see hes starting to go pink but his tail still has gray in it. hes almost exactly this color still

[Oldfishlady]

Welcome to the forum...sorry but I am having a bit of a problem understanding what you are trying to ask...also, your pic are not showing up....you need a host like photobucket or you can post them in your album here and just link us to them....anyway......

To understand-you have a new Betta that is not doing very well due to how he was kept at the store......need some more information.....

The half gallon container you have him in now-do you plan to keep him in this or are you going to use a different tank than what you are using now.... how many days have you had him, water temp, filter, live plants, additives used, have you made any water changes, if so, how much, how often and what is your long term plan on husbandry, type of substrate used if any, any tank mates in the same container with him now or any plans for tank mates, he currently has a poor appetite, have you added any medications or other chemical additives besides dechlorinator...can you post water pram numbers if you have them for-ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH......

[pyro fiend]

well what im trying to ask is how i can help him thrive better, he had nearly no color and i want him to get it back and look healthier cause hes got brilliant red but most of his body is grayish silver. but the color is slowly coming back [its pinkish now where most gray was]

no i do not plan on keeping him long in this container im just filtering and heating up some others. and didnt want him freezing or being in water with no cycle whatsoever done. i plan on moving him to eather the 10g or a community 20long[nothing in it eather yet]. at this moment hes in the half gallon with glass oval rocks for substrate with a fake plastic bushy plant [not sure name of the plant]

i just got him last night so i havent even had him but may 15-17 hours. hes alone in there but i used no extra chemicals

the temp in it atm is 76degrees. a little low from what i understand but he was in a cup with 61deg water =[

also as for long term substrate i thought of sand [not live] but im not sure how bettas are with it so was just gona use black rock sustrate :)

[pyro fiend]

here i figured out how do pics =] n in his cip the red in center was reflect frm my shrt n phone he was all gray and red on the fins only with lil on head

[Sena Hansler]

Very beautiful fish :) The 76 degrees is okay, as 75-78 is usually the norm. Give him a variety of food, like frozen/Freeze-dried bloodworms, even live foods if you can get any, pellets... This will give him more color :) Just make sure to do water changes quite often for that half gallon (daily, I believe) which will keep away and heal any ammonia burns he may have from the store. Tap water conditioner, and even some stress coat would be best to use.

[Oldfishlady]

It sounds like you are doing everything right for a new-stressed fish...small container floating in a heated tank is perfect-be careful with those glass stones-sometimes the long fin Betta can get their fins pinched in them...he is a lovely fella by the way....I would keep dong what you are doing..... keep him in the QT for at least a week-provide quality water with frequent water changes and a good varied diet as Sena has recommended and he should perk up and color up nicely for you....

[pyro fiend]

thanks guys. i curently have him on floating pellets that are "formulated ecpressly to bring out natural beauty and to promote healthy fin growth" but i have live/frozen foods shiping here as we speek :)

and thank you for the complement on him tho i think he will be quite a looker once i get his health up :)

oh and OFL do you know if sand is ok with bettas? iv heard mixed things over the net and curenly all i have is extra sand [the bigger grains used to weigh down trucks] from putitng in my warm-water goldie tank and those glass rocks... i dont wana put him in there with no substrate =[

[Sena Hansler]

I personally have seen people use sand, but most people use either smooth pebbles or gravel substrate. I don't think I could, because my one female buries herself

[pyro fiend]

well im kinda curious as to how hed act. but then again in nature wouldnt they be in mud? lol i dont think i wana add mud lol thatd be a hastle to clean in this little tank and in bigger ones >.< but some sands can be like mud when wet [not mine tho]

[Sena Hansler]

hehe that's true :) I wouldn't use mud xD sure they'd love it but I wouldn't.