[Youseph]

Hello Everyone!

My name is Youseph Tanha. I live in Juneau Alaska and am an author and a drummer for a local Celtic rock band. For Valentines Day this year my wife got me a beautiful blue and purple male Betta fish that we have named Betta Max.

Hey i'm a geek. Can you tell?



I thought this forum would be a good place to keep an active journal of my Betta. To hear suggestions and learn from other peoples experience. So please feel free to comment and suggest anything. I would love to hear what everyone has to say.

Beta Max was presented to me in the way-to-small-plastic-cup that PetCo sold him in.

(Sidenote: Juneau just got it's first PetCo that opened a couple of weeks ago)

My wife also got a very small aquarium for him to swim in. I really do not think this thing was even half-a-gallon. The clerk at PetCo told her that Betta Max would be happy in the undersized aquarium, so that is what my wife picked out for me along with some pellet food and some water treatment.

Now, I have been doing research on Betta fish for a few months now. Not sure where this intreats in Betta fish has come from, but I have been reading several websites (including this forum) and learning all that I can about Bettas because one day I was thinking of getting one. So I was happily surprised that my wife took the first step for me.

After I got over the shock of having Betta Max in my home my wife and I headed back to PetCo to exchange the undersized aquarium for something with a little more breathing room. I picked out a critter cage that was just under two gallons. (at the moment I am still looking around and researching getting something bigger) While I was picking out the aquarium, I asked my wife to pick out the gravel and some ordainments to put in the tank with Betta Max. She returned with a bag of red gravel for the bottom of the aquarium, a little plastic plant which claims to be Betta friendly, and a little ester egg island type of statue. The two of us also picked up some frozen blood worms to feed Betta Max once (maybe twice) a week. (anyone have any advice on how I should prepare these?)

When we arrived home I rinsed out the critter cage and rinsed off the gravel and ordainments in hot water before placing them in the tank an filling it up with water. I put in water treatment drops (per instructions).

Once the tank was setup I took Betta Max from his PetCo cup and put him in a zip log bag which I then placed in the aquarium to allow for the water temps to blend. After little less than an hour I let him loose.

Oh my god was he ever so happy to have a bigger home! The little guy just did circles around his new aquarium.

After another hour passed I feed him two food pellets which I believe he just ignored. The poor guy had a lot going on that day.

This morning before work, I checked on him and he was sill enjoying swimming the length of his new home.


Betta Max's Home

 

[Laki]

Hi and welcome!! Congrats on your new little family member
The bloodworms, just soak them in a shot glass of lukewarm water and feed!! I use the end of a paintbrush because I don't want to touch them :/ Bowser loves them, Ludey won't touch them. Only feed a couple though. I gave Bowser quite the bloat by over-feeding!! Say, cut the block so you don't waste them and thaw a quarter of it. Feed him 3-4.
I don't know if it's warm where you are, I know the weather might be cold but I mean internal house temps but Betta Max might enjoy higher temperatures.. Like 24-30C. A cheap heater will do the trick! I got one of my pre-set heaters for 16$ and the adjustable one for 20$ at PetSmart.

 

[Youseph]

Hi and welcome!! Congrats on your new little family member

Thanks! Glad to be here.

The bloodworms, just soak them in a shot glass of lukewarm water and feed!! I use the end of a paintbrush because I don't want to touch them :/ Bowser loves them, Ludey won't touch them. Only feed a couple though. I gave Bowser quite the bloat by over-feeding!! Say, cut the block so you don't waste them and thaw a quarter of it. Feed him 3-4.

This is going to sound like a silly question. So you thaw out a quarter of the bloodworms and you feed your little pal a couple. What do you do with the remaining thawed out warms in your shot glass?

I don't know if it's warm where you are, I know the weather might be cold but I mean internal house temps but Betta Max might enjoy higher temperatures.. Like 24-30C. A cheap heater will do the trick! I got one of my pre-set heaters for 16$ and the adjustable one for 20$ at PetSmart.

I am going to look into this. I really would like to get a bigger tank with a filter and a heater. I just have not seen something i am in love with yet. Today I will pick up a thermometer and see what tempt he is at. But i can say this. After being in the tank for over 10 hours when I checked him out this morning he was very active.

 

[ladayen]

As to your bloodworm question.. with no other fish to feed them to, you'll have to throw them out. Feed the fish too much and it will get bloat and possibly die. Saving excess thawed out worms to feed later is going poison him. Just try and get as little as possible at once to thaw. You'll probably still wind up with more then enough.

 

[Youseph]

As to your bloodworm question.. with no other fish to feed them to, you'll have to throw them out. Feed the fish too much and it will get bloat and possibly die. Saving excess thawed out worms to feed later is going poison him. Just try and get as little as possible at once to thaw. You'll probably still wind up with more then enough.

Sounds good. Thanks!

 

[Laki]

Yes, they are so gross and bound together that even if you cut a small corner of the block you'll still be throwing some out. I found with my own cutting, some of the worms were turning black in the freezer on the cut line :/ I have to throw away what I have left because I think they passed their freezer life.

 

[Youseph]

One my way home from work tonight I picked up to items for Betta Max.

The first one was a thermometer I picked up from a locally owned pet store.

-

As you can see from the picture on the right room temp is doing a good job keeping the water warm for Betta Max. I was sure I would have to get a heater after I put the thermometer in.

The second item I picked up for Betta Max was one of those gravity water pump thingies? From everything I have been reading I will have to be replacing Betta Max's water a often and I thought having this item would make the job a whole lot easier.



I also picked up the lid from the Petco cup Betta Max came in.



So when I got home I found Betta Max still acting happy. Swimming back and forth as well as puffing up big time at his own reflection.

This leads me to my next question. Should I worry about him attacking his reflection? If I need to worry about this any suggestions on what I can do to kill the reflection? At least give him a brake from it?

The only other thing I did for Betta was I added a d2o to his tank. (one of the dice used in Dungeons & Dragons.) My wife says I am projecting my gaming desires on to Betta Max.

Here are some photos I took with my iPhone 4s this evening. I thought I would share with everyone.

- - - - -

I wanted to get a hammock leaf or a floating log, but PetCo and the local pet store did not have any. I am going to see what I can find online.

Thanks Laki and ladayen for your help and advice. I am all ears if you or anyone else has any other ideas or suggestions for me.

 

[Youseph]

I have run into a possible feeding issue.

So I transfered Betta Max to his new home on Valentines day (evening) and I put two food pellets in his tank. I did not see him eat them. Last night I gave him an additional two food pellets which he did not eat. So I added a couple of flaks of food. I also did not see him eat them.

Betta Max saw the food. Even bumped it with his nose, but just ignored it.

What does everyone think? Just new home jitters?

Tomorrow will be his third evening in his new home. I figure I should change out at least 25% of his water tomorrow.

 

[SlinkyInk]

Hi Youseph! I've been enjoying reading about Betta Max, and I have to say I Love that name!

When I first transferred my betta from his tiny home to a larger home he also did not eat for a few days. I wouldn't worry about it. Bettas can go a a few days without eating and be just fine. We now have a system. He knows when I lift his lid it's feeding time and he comes up to meet me at the edge of the tank. I always make sure he sees the food as I'm putting the pellets in, otherwise they will sink to the bottom.

I also feed mine Hikari Brine Shrimp in between regular feedings as a treat. The brine shrimp really make him happy.

Oh! I love that you have a 20d in your tank! I never thought of that. I have so many dice that I don't use, that is a great idea! And my betta loves his hammock, I highly advise getting one. They are inexpensive and the bettas really do use them.

 

[Youseph]

Hi Youseph! I've been enjoying reading about Betta Max, and I have to say I Love that name!

Thank you very much!

When I first transferred my betta from his tiny home to a larger home he also did not eat for a few days. I wouldn't worry about it. Bettas can go a a few days without eating and be just fine. We now have a system. He knows when I lift his lid it's feeding time and he comes up to meet me at the edge of the tank. I always make sure he sees the food as I'm putting the pellets in, otherwise they will sink to the bottom.

So an update on this. Last night after I got home from work I dropped to pellets of food in my tank so Betta Max could see them and he gobbled them right up. He acted like he wanted more, but I stopped with two.

This morning before I left for work I gave him another two and he ate them right up as well. Again, acting like he wanted more, I just reminded him that he had yet to contribute to rent and until he does he is only getting two pellets.

Because I have not read any consistant information on how much feed a Betta fish what do you (ALL OF YOU) recommend?

I also feed mine Hikari Brine Shrimp in between regular feedings as a treat. The brine shrimp really make him happy.

I have read that Brine Shrimp is safer for Bettas. I have yet to ask my local pet store if they have any. I picked up some frozen Blood Warms which I plan to give him a couple during this holiday weekend.

What is your reasoning for going with the Brine Shrimp if i may ask?

Oh! I love that you have a 20d in your tank! I never thought of that. I have so many dice that I don't use, that is a great idea! And my betta loves his hammock, I highly advise getting one. They are inexpensive and the bettas really do use them.

I am a pretty big geek and play several table top role playing games with my friends on and almost weekly bases. I had some extra dice laying around that I know longer used and so I added them. I also have several Dungeons & Dragons miniatures, but I don't know how I feel about adding them to the tank. I don't know if the paint and the plastic is harmful to the fish but I have a couple of extra dragons that might look cool in the tank.

I already want a bigger tank, but I need to slow down and just let having Betta Max sink in a bit longer before I upgrade.

I have been going to the pet store almost daly to see if they have restocked on hammock leafs. So for they have not. I may just have to order it from Amazon.com which is not a big deal because living in Juneau Alaska people do 80% of their shopping online.

ADDED A CUP
Last night after Betta Max ate I put in a an old cup for him to hide in. It was funny watching him after I put the cup in. He started looking at it and swiming around it and I knew all he was thinking was "What The Hell Is This?" I figured he needed a place to hide if he wanted one.

REFLECTION
Last night and this morning he seems a lot less worried about his reflection. I think he kind of figured out he was getting mad at himself.

 

[Youseph]

Water Change
Tonight I plan to change out at least 25% of the water from my Betta's tank. This will be my first water change. I have had my Betta for three days and after adding a cup for him to hide in last night the water became rather cloudy from all the dirt I stirred up. I will let you know know how it goes.

If anyone has any advice I am all ears.

 

[SlinkyInk]

When I first got my betta I was feeding him about 8-9 pellets twice a day. But I started reading more and more info on this forum and realized I was feeding him way too much. So I now feed him about 3 pellets in the morning, a small bit of brine shrimp in the afternoon and another 3 pellets in the evening before bed. I don't want to overfeed him and have him bloat up.

I mainly feed brine shrimp as a treat. Plus, and I'm not sure if it has anything to do with the shrimp, but the very next day after I started with the brine shrimp he started making bubble nests. And he's made a bubble nest every day since, which tells me he's happy

 

[Tikibirds]

Water changes are pretty basic. Just make sure that your hands are clean so nothing icky gets in the new water, add the conditioner and slowly accumate the fish to the new water so if the temps are different, he won't go into shock :-D

I just left Alaska last month after 12 years. I do NOT recommend driving out in wintertime :shock: Anyways, since fairbanks was pretty limited and freakin expensive, try searching ebay for decor and heaters. I got about 10 heaters (I had 23 bettas when I lived in fairbanks) off ebay for less then 1/2 the price of Petco in Fairbanks. You may have to search for a while but eventually one will pop up with decent shipping. Alot of my decor came from sellers in china. Again, their stuff was cheaper then anything locally and some of them ship free internationally (however there is one seller that will NOT ship to AK or HI). All my bettas love the sillicon anemoneas - you may want to pick up one for your guy. It so cute when they try and wiggle their way inisde of it.

 

[Youseph]

When I first got my betta I was feeding him about 8-9 pellets twice a day. But I started reading more and more info on this forum and realized I was feeding him way too much. So I now feed him about 3 pellets in the morning, a small bit of brine shrimp in the afternoon and another 3 pellets in the evening before bed. I don't want to overfeed him and have him bloat up.

It sounds like, if anything, I am underfeeding him now. About 4 pellets a day. two in the morning and two in the evening. Tomorrow I am going to give him his first BLOOD WORM.

I mainly feed brine shrimp as a treat. Plus, and I'm not sure if it has anything to do with the shrimp, but the very next day after I started with the brine shrimp he started making bubble nests. And he's made a bubble nest every day since, which tells me he's happy

No Bubbles for me yet. He "burps" under water every now and then and bubbles float to the surface, but thats it.

Water changes are pretty basic. Just make sure that your hands are clean so nothing icky gets in the new water, add the conditioner and slowly accumate the fish to the new water so if the temps are different, he won't go into shock :-D

I got the first water change done and I think I did about 50% of the tank. The tool i got to help, the gravity water pump, though cool, was way to big for the tank and did not work. I just pulled the attachent off and used the tubing to get the water out. Worked well.

I just left Alaska last month after 12 years. I do NOT recommend driving out in wintertime :shock: Anyways, since fairbanks was pretty limited and freakin expensive, try searching ebay for decor and heaters. I got about 10 heaters (I had 23 bettas when I lived in fairbanks) off ebay for less then 1/2 the price of Petco in Fairbanks. You may have to search for a while but eventually one will pop up with decent shipping. Alot of my decor came from sellers in china. Again, their stuff was cheaper then anything locally and some of them ship free internationally (however there is one seller that will NOT ship to AK or HI). All my bettas love the sillicon anemoneas - you may want to pick up one for your guy. It so cute when they try and wiggle their way inisde of it.

Thanks for the advice! I love the idea of the Sillicon Anemoneas, but I think i am suffering from not having a big enough tank. Not for Betta Max, but for me. I don't know how best to solve that. I am so worried about how much space a bigger tank will take up. How ugly it might look with power cords and dealing with water changes. I guess that is the next thing I need to research. Aquarium tank setups/management.

But the water change went well. Probably do another one tomorrow. He is still eating well. Seems really happy and I need to come up with some games for the guy to keep him occupied.

Again I want to thank everyone for all their help and advice.

 

[Aus]

I have found the Dymax IQ5 quite a good home for Sid - I have issues with keeping larger tanks, as I worry I can't physically take care of them properly. The IQ5 is acrylic and light to lift even with a little water still in it. It's around 3.5 gallons all up, and square, so fits most anywhere, and is also quite attractive in design. Sid seems really happy in it, though I think it's important to have 'interactive' decor a fish may want to explore a lot - floater plants, moss, hidey spaces - as there's not a lot of horizontal swim space. I find Sid has no trouble keeping himself busy in all that.

The tank (heater extra) isn't cheap, though. But it works so well for me, I don't mind the cost.

 

[Laki]

Don't worry about the bubble nest thing. In my memory of bettas I have owned in the past and now Bowser is the only one who gives me daily bubbles. Lakitu was obviously very happy with the life I gave him but he too would "burp" one or two bubbles. Nothing to ever make a nest with. The process of bubble nests is a different one too. I videotaped Bowser making his nest <3<3
What I mean to say, not alll betta wil make bubble nests. For unknown reasons really. But it doesn't mean you are not providing a good home!

 

[Youseph]

I have found the Dymax IQ5 quite a good home for Sid - I have issues with keeping larger tanks, as I worry I can't physically take care of them properly. The IQ5 is acrylic and light to lift even with a little water still in it. It's around 3.5 gallons all up, and square, so fits most anywhere, and is also quite attractive in design. Sid seems really happy in it, though I think it's important to have 'interactive' decor a fish may want to explore a lot - floater plants, moss, hidey spaces - as there's not a lot of horizontal swim space. I find Sid has no trouble keeping himself busy in all that.

The tank (heater extra) isn't cheap, though. But it works so well for me, I don't mind the cost.

I will take some time and look into the Dymax IQ5 for sure. My biggest issues is space. I want a bigger tank, I just don't know where I can put one that will work in my home. I hope that once I finish my Home Theater project I will have some space next to my TV.

Don't worry about the bubble nest thing. In my memory of bettas I have owned in the past and now Bowser is the only one who gives me daily bubbles. Lakitu was obviously very happy with the life I gave him but he too would "burp" one or two bubbles. Nothing to ever make a nest with. The process of bubble nests is a different one too. I videotaped Bowser making his nest <3<3
What I mean to say, not alll betta wil make bubble nests. For unknown reasons really. But it doesn't mean you are not providing a good home!

I am not going to lose sleep over the bubble next. Betta Max seems rather happy the way things are.

• FEEDING (Pellets and Blood Worms)

This long weekend went well. Feeding Betta Max on average 4 food pellets a day. Two in the morning and two in the evening. The guy begs for more, but I don't want to over feed him. One of the days during this long weekend I feed Betta Max 3 Blood Worms for dinner. I cut off a small chunk of the blood worms and let them thaw out in a shot glass of water. Using tweezers i picked up three and feed them to Max one at a time. He acted like he really enjoyed them.

• WATER FILM

I have noticed a slight film across the top of the water of Betta Max's tank. If I where to guess (and this is only a guess) I would think it is the result of one evening early on when he was not eating giving him flak food. But I just don't know.

• WATER Cycle/change?

I did another 25% water cycle/change. No issues. I think I am going to do a whole tank change soon though. Not looking forward to that.

• KINDER SURPRISE EGGS

When you open up a Kinder Surprise Eggs for the toy, the toy is normally held inside a plastic shell. I took this yellow plastic shell and washed it off and put it in Betta Max's tank. It floats on the top and Betta Max Swam around it several times. I noticed this morning that he sleeps under it now. In the lack of a hammock leaf, the Kinder Egg does pretty well.

• GENERAL

In general I am shocked at how playful and smart Betta Max is. I was not expecting this. He needs more things to play with and hid in inside of his tank which is why I would like to get him a bigger one.

Again, I want to thank everyone for their help and advice

 

[Laki]

The Kinder egg is a fine toy! I have a wine cork in with Bowser. Ludey's lame and won't be impressed with anything like that.
The water film is most likely protein from the food and is fine. Just lay a paper towel on top, it lifts it right off! I break the surface of the water with a cup for mine. I don't use filters and generally this happens in non-filtered tanks and tanks with no surface obstruction.

 

[SlinkyInk]

Oh, I wish we could get Kinder Eggs here. They are illegal in the USA.

 

[Youseph]

The Kinder egg is a fine toy! I have a wine cork in with Bowser. Ludey's lame and won't be impressed with anything like that.
The water film is most likely protein from the food and is fine. Just lay a paper towel on top, it lifts it right off! I break the surface of the water with a cup for mine. I don't use filters and generally this happens in non-filtered tanks and tanks with no surface obstruction.

That paper towel tip is great! Thank you very much!

Oh, I wish we could get Kinder Eggs here. They are illegal in the USA.

Kinder Eggs are illegal in the united states for the same ridicules reason we can not longer by a generation one Optimus Prime Transformer with smoke stacks anymore. It's just ridicules. The good news is I have found a Canadian company that has been shipping me my supply of Kinder Eggs here in the US. The Dutch Market. Enjoy

• TANK CHANGE

My game plan today is that on my way home to stop at the pet store and pick up a few more plants for Betta Max and try NOT to buy a bigger tank for him. Tonight I am going to do his first tank cleaning. Remove Betta Max from the tank and clean everything out. Wish me luck!