Betta Fish Forum banner

Rescued a Betta?

1K views 17 replies 8 participants last post by  Myates 
#1 · (Edited)
I was at school today when apparently a really ignorant girl had bought all these betta fish for her friends and teachers as gifts. One of my teachers had one and he didn't know what to do with her. I went up to him after classed and asked him what he was going to do with her and he asked me if I wanted her. Of course I did. I had actually had a betta before but it was a long time ago.

So, the female betta came in one of those plastic cups. I just brought it home 30 minutes ago. I'm so worried about her. I have been trying to do research but I have been getting mixed sources about some questions that I have.

Do Beta's need an aerator? Would it make them happier if they did? I know they can get oxygen from the surface but I just want to know if they would prefer one or not.

Do they "need" a filter, if I just clean the water regularly would it be necessary? What is a low flow filter?

Other than that I think I have an idea of what to do. I'm sorry if these questions have been asked multiple times, but I'm a little frazzled right now because I am super concerned about her and I want to get her out of that dumb plastic things...

It's unfortunate that people give living beings as gifts to people who don't want them or can't take care of them. I'm glad I saved this one now I just need to "really" save it.


EDIT EDIT!!!!

I cannot go to the store to get a tank or really anything right now. What can I use that would still work and keep her happy? What can I use as a heater for awhile?
 
See less See more
#2 ·
Welcome! I'm happy to hear you are taking the responsible road in wanting to learn about the proper care of these little ones :)

It may be a boy as well.. does it have long fins or short?

No, they do not need aeration- in smaller tanks, bubblers are not usually ideal as they can cause too much water surface distortion. They also do not need a filter as long as the water changes are being made. A low flow filter is one you can adjust, or buy preset that does not push a lot of the water out fast- as strong filters can cause the males to have trouble swimming because the current will cause drag on their long fins, making them heavy for the fish. A lot of times people will "baffle" a filter to make the current slow to help that- they use an aquarium sponge or a plastic bottle cut and fit to the filter to alter it's flow. But as mentioned, filters are not needed.

A 1+ gallon would be idea to use as a good home, with silk plants to help them feel secure- real plants are good too, but as a beginner, sometimes it's easier to go with the fake ones.

Water conditioner is wise to use with each water change, unless you are getting well water in your home- as a lot of city tap water contains chlorine which is very harmful for the fish.

In tanks less then 5 gallons, with no filter it is wise to do a 50% water change, and a 100% water change per week- the 100% being the most important as it gives you a chance to clean the waste out of the substrate. Even with filters, regular vacuuming of the substrate is important.
Also wise to keep the cup they came in to use as a holding container while doing water changes- you can also scoop them up using the cup instead of a net. Just entice her to go to the top of the water and dip in the cup behind her- the suction the cup creates will usually be enough to get them into the cup. Sometimes it may take a few tries as they will eventually get wise to what you are doing.

Feed twice daily- a variety of food is idea, pellets and frozen food being top choices. 2-3 pellets per meal is something I recommend. But there are other foods you can choose.

Anything you have around the house, even a plastic tupperware container will work- just make sure to clean it out very well in hot water and that there is NO soap residue in it.. as even the smallest of soap in a tank can be deadly.

There is nothing you can really do that will be safe to heat the tank, as heating pads and lamps will need to be turned off at times, which will cause fluctuations in temps that can be dangerous and cause shock. Best to keep her in the warmest part of the house, with possibly a towel wrapped around the "tank" until you can get a proper heater.

Depending upon what size tank you get, it will make a difference in heater wattage.

If you are looking for something cheap- I would recommend going to PetCo (if available to you) for a kritter keeper- a medium is 1.75 gallons and runs roughly $8, a large being 2.75 gallons and roughly $10. It's sturdy and easy to clean, safe to heat with a 15-25 watt heater.. and you could use a desk lamp to light it if you wish.

If you have any more questions, please feel free to ask- if you can't figure out the water conditioner, or how much to feed of a certain food, etc. We will be happy to help! Congrats on your new little one!
 
#3 ·
Yikes...ignorant girl indeed! Bettas don't need an aerator as they prefer to have still water with little to no flow. A filter isn't required, and even with one, water changes are necessary. Despite common belief, bettas like clean water and larger places to swim. As a tank, you could use a kritter keeper such as these: http://www.petco.com/product/12031/Petco-Pet-Keeper-for-Aquarium-Fish.aspx?CoreCat=OnSiteSearch
I'm currently using the large one to house one of my males. Anything one gallon and up would make a great home for your girlie! Also, you will need a heater, some Betta pellets, and some plants and a cave or too. Silk plants are great for bettas because they don't rip their fins. You can find these at a pet store. For a low budget cave, you can use a coffee mug tipped onto it's side. The heater and water conditioner are very important. The heater needs to keep the water around 75-80 degrees, as bettas are tropical fish. The water conditioner will remove any chemicals from your tap water. Chlorine can kill fish very quickly! I have no recommendations on temporary housing without these things, but perhaps one of our more experienced members can help.

It was awesome of you to rescue the poor girl...unfortunately, bettas as gifts seem to be a trend! We'd love to see some pictures sometime. :)
 
#4 ·
aahh! i see you joined. :3

what Myates said is pretty much all you can do right now, until you can get to a store. i think, right now, even a large salad bowl is better than a cup. many use desk lamps, but the bright lights would stress her out after a while. :T
 
#5 ·
I forgot to add, that make sure to cover with a loose lid or seran wrap with holes punched in (tape it on the sides so it doesn't touch the water) so that she won't jump.. they are real good jumpers.

I use 40 watt bulbs on my kritter keepers- not too bright, no added heat to melt the plastic lids. I use the frosted ones, not the clear ones as well.
 
#6 ·
Thank you SOOOO much guys. My dad was actually going to the store and I tagged along. I realized that there was a PetCo Nearby so I darted over there while he went shopping.

I got a 5 gallon tank. Is that rather big for one little betta? I didn't want to get one too small. A 2.5 gallon was roughly the same cost as this 5 gallon one.

I got some rocks and three plastic plants (I tried to get the softest ones.) I also got a heater plus some betta food of course.

The tank came with water conditioner, however it seems it won't be 100% necessary because we use tap well water.

I paid like $70.....my mom is gonna kill me, but it's my money. Do you guys still think it's a rather big tank? The lady at Petco said betta actually prefer smaller confined areas because they assort larger areas as a threat. Yet I have you guys telling me differently...I just don't know V_V.
 
#7 ·
Sounds like she will have a palace! I would possibly add in a few more plants whenever you get the chance if you wish.

Since you have the water conditioner free, I would still use it. As well water is typically safe- some areas even the well water isn't as pristine as we think. It won't harm any by using it, and it would be on the safe side- and since you got it for free, might as well!

If it came with a filter, great- just do 30-50% water changes each week with regular siphoning of the gravel.. if no filter, then you will want to do 1 50% water change per week, and 1 monthly 100% water change.

Good luck!
 
#9 ·
How lovely of you to take responsibility!

I just would like to say that I have one of my boys in a 5 gallon, and he LOVES it! I also have another in a 1 gallon at the moment, but will be upgrading once I feel he's healthy enough to not need frequent water changes.

One word of advice:

I would use the water conditioner for the moment. The next time you go to the pet store, take a cup filled with your basic tap water and take it to be tested, or buy a test kit of your own. This will tell you the levels of what's in your tap water so you'll know if you need water conditioner or not. A lot stores will test your water for free.

Have fun! :)
 
#10 ·
She's very lucky to have a new owner who cares enough about her to do her research. You will find a lot of mixed opinions*, because people keep fish in lots of different ways. The important thing is to do your research and pay attention to how your fish is responding to any changes-- they can be surprisingly individual about what they like! You sound like you're doing a great job of that so far.

*Okay, while it's true that you will find mixed opinions, I do have to add that the lady at petco sounds like she doesn't know much about bettas. You'll occasionally run into a betta who likes small tanks, but it's not particularly common. What they do like are places to hide so they don't feel constantly exposed-- like most humans live in houses with rooms instead of open gymnasiums. You've the the 'hiding spots' taken care of for now with some soft plants. Hah, my footnote ended up as long as my post. :roll:
 
#11 ·
Thank you so much everyone for all of your advice. I still have a few questions though.

My filter is a bit high-med flow so I have it turned off right now. Should I find a way to lessen the flow?

And does a 100% water change mean a clean out of the tank? Is that when I put the fish in a separate container and rinse out the tank?
How would I do a 50% water change with a 5 gallon tank? I mean, how do you physically do that?
 
#12 ·
A 5 gallon tank is big enough that you won't have to do 100% water changes if you choose to cycle it (don't feel like you have to jump into that right now though, a single fish will do just fine in a 5gal uncycled tank until you feel like tackling some light chemistry). You do need to remove the fish during a 100% change, and I don't like doing that because I think it stresses them out. That said, plenty of people do 100% with no ill effects.

For 50% change: The easiest way to do a partial water change is with a siphon, but in a 5 gallon tank you can just take some of the water out by hand. Get a bucket (best if you have one only used for fish water, but definitely not one that is used for cleaning-- a large mixing bowl/pitcher would do just fine for now) and scoop out about 50% of the water with a clean glass measuring cup into the larger bowl. Dump down the drain and fill the bowl with about the same amount of clean water. Add your conditioner and you can put it back in the same way you took it out. The big trick here is, make sure you don't alter the temperature. For example: if you keep your tank at 78F, you want the water going in to be about 78F. Bettas are not big fans of temperature variation. If your kit came with a thermometer, use that, if not, they retail for less than $2 and are worth their weight in gold.

I can't speak for everyone else, but I just 'eyeball' the amount of water I take out of a tank. If my tank is 12" high, I want to take out about 6" of water to do a 50% water change, for instance.

It's not actually as complicated as it sounds...after a few weeks it becomes as much of a pattern as scooping out a cat box. Of course, that's only true if you have one tank...once you fall in love, you'll find yourself with a roomful. :)
 
#13 · (Edited)
Thanks so much Myratceae! I will keep that in mind. LoL I always hated chemistry. I might poo poo the filter now as it's a pretty rough stream off water it spurts out, but I'm okay with doing a 100% water change once a month. Does that seem okay? Also, I know others have mentioned what they do, but do you think I would need to do a 25% or more like a 50% water change each week? (along with the 100% each month if that is okay.)
 
#15 ·
Welcome top the addiction! Good on ya for taking this betta away from a potentially bad ending!


Unfiltered = 1 50% + 100% water change each week. Don't necessarily have to get the tank completely drained on the 100%. Matter of fact, i usually leave just enough to cover the substrate as that is where most of your "good bacteria" will reside. Although, being that it's a 5g tank, you could probably get away with a 25% + 100% change weekly.

Oh, use an old, well rinsed coffee mug or something similar to give your betta a cave to "hide out" in.

When putting anything in the aquarium, rinse thoroughly with warm water, not scalding hot, but warm. That includes the gravel/sand (substrate) that you choose to put in there.
 
#16 · (Edited)
Ahh...I'm getting so many mixed opinions. I like to conserve water, so I was just wondering if a 20-50% change a week would be good, along with a 100% change once a month?


Myates said "If it came with a filter, great- just do 30-50% water changes each week with regular siphoning of the gravel.. if no filter, then you will want to do 1 50% water change per week, and 1 monthly 100% water change."


Can I do that or is that a no no?
 
#17 ·
Haha, don't worry too much. I hated high school chemistry and can still cycle a tank. Most fish stuff sounds really complicated until you try it yourself. I do think it's worth it because it will save you work in the long run.

You will get a lot of different ideas about the correct # of water changes in an uncycled 5 gallon, but the best way to know how many water changes to do is to test the water, which, luckily you can do for free. If you can tag-along with your parents when they go shopping you can get free water tests from that Petco, just bring a small cup/tupperware full of water from the tank. You want the ammonia levels to be 0 after a water change, and as close to 0 as possible before one. If you have extra Christmas money, a full test kit is about $30 and an ammonia-only one around $10. Or, keep bugging the Petco people for free. They might even learn something about bettas. ;-)

I'm not sure what to tell you about quieting the filter as that is honestly outside my experience and I'd rather that other members weigh in. Some bettas don't mind filters as much as others do, so don't discount it entirely yet, but you don't need it right away either. Most of my bettas have been kept in filtered tanks, but they were usually in divided 10s (better to house the addiction, you see) so I'm not as confident with smaller volumes. I'd start a thread specifically about that if you want to get good responses.

I hope your mom doesn't kill you. For what it's worth, I hid my very first rescue betta in a cupboard for 2 months...at least you're honest?

TL;DR: I agree with Myates.
 
#18 · (Edited)
Yup, a filtered 5 gallon you would just need one 30-50% water change per week, using a siphon a couple times a month when doing a weekly water change. You have to clean out the gravel in all tanks, regardless of size.. the only exception is a live planted tank you won't have to do it as much. But in a 5 gallon with filter, I would just use the siphon weekly, or every other week.

If you do weekly 100% water changes you will be going through a constant mini-cycle of the tank, which in itself could be dangerous due to spikes of the chemistry such as ammonia/nitrate. In a 5 gallon filtered, you will be gaining beneficial bacteria in the filter and gravel, and even on the decorations and such.. which you want. Siphoning won't hurt it, nor will turning off the filter for a short while, while cleaning won't hurt it. But scrubbing down the tank, the deco, the walls very often like you would with the 100%s, you lose too much.

If you decide to not use a filter, do 1 50% per week with a siphon and a monthly 100%. Bettas aren't big on creating ammonia and such themselves, and a single betta won't be causing enough to do a weekly 100% water change along with a smaller one each week in a 5 gallon. That is usually for 3 gallons and under that have no filter.

You do want to clean things, especially new things, with as hot of water as you can stand that won't harm you to kill off germs. Warm and luke-warm will do nothing but remove dust.

As for the filter and being too strong- buy an aquarium sponge (one you would get as filter medias or aquarium cleaning) and place it inside the filter by the outflow if you can (some you are able to open the top).. if not, cut a piece and place it inside the outflow section, and use a (new-clean) rubber band to hold it into place.. don't completely jam it in there.. but make it semi snug. You are wanting to slow down the flow of the water.
Another way is if you have panty hose around the house.. cut out the toes part, and using a rubber band, tie it around the intake part on the bottom to slow down intake of water (if it's not an under gravel filter system).

I would try with the baffling of the filter first, as it will be easier on you and your guy if you do the less water changes.. but it's your choice on how you want to do the water changes.

Any more questions, feel free to ask! Sorry if any of this is confusing.. just woke up :p
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top