[messymeggs]

Hi,

So today I impulsively let my boyfriend buy me some fish. As wonderful as this was intended as it turns out, after lots of reading. I did some things very wrong. Please help me fix this!

All on the advice of a Pet store assistant we bought a 3L bowl (0.7 gallons). A beautiful red male Betta, and 2 guppies (male and female) , some oxygenating tablets, goldfish food , a small net, some small yellow pebbles and Anti-chlorine drops for the water.

I got home and followed pet store instructions to the letter. Rinsed bowl and pebbles with water (no soap), filled (also cleaned) bucket with water and added appropriate drops and tablets, mixed it all up, filled tank. Poured half a cup of water into each fish bag and let the bags float in fish bowl for 10min. Collected fish from bags using net, placed in my bowl. First feed will be tomorrow.

:BIGshame:

After reading and reading... I need a tank (possibly 2), a pump, a heater, some 'hiding spots', a thermometer, some food, and I'm sure I'm missing something.

But I'm worried that moving my beautiful fish again, will stress them out.... MORE... Am I being paranoid? Do I wait a while or do I do it straight away?
How do I properly prepare my tank? Can guppies and Betta really not go together?

And one more worrying thing, but possibly I'm an idiot. There are 3 thin short strands of something red on my yellow pebbles. Is my Betta 'loosing its tail'...

ooh yes, and I'm from Cape Town, South Africa. It's winter. Its cold.

 

[messymeggs]

%&%^$ Wrong Forum! Sorry! Can't seem to find where to delete it. Sigh...

 

[Lenimph]

Guppies and bettas can live together... BUT NOT IN A BOWL! You need to get a tank ASAP.

You need to get a 10 gal tank with a filter and a heater at least if you want to keep those fish before your betta kills those guppies. It's a miracle he hasn't already. You're going to need lots of plants and hiding spots.

If your betta was losing his tail you would notice chunks of it missing so I don't know if the red strands are his tail but they could be.

Also you're going to have lots more fish soon because that female guppy will get pregnant and will have lots of babies, at least 15 of them if it's her first pregnancy. I cannot believe someone sold you a bowl and a guppy pair and thought that was ok, let alone adding a betta to the mix! x.x Male guppies are typically a big no no with bettas but if your betta isn't bothering it, and the male guppy is mostly interested in the female (as expected) then the pair will work.

Run to a pet store... preferably a different one because that one clearly does not care about their fish!
Ideally you should have cycled the tank before putting anything in it but the guppies and bettas are hardy enough so they should live but they're gonna die anyway if you do not get a bigger space for them.

 

[messymeggs]

If your betta was losing his tail you would notice chunks of it missing so I don't know if the red strands are his tail but they could be.

My Betta's tail looks 'raggedy'. Its all still the same colour except for one little nit at one of the ends which is a grey/silvery colour. What if it is his tail? What can I do?

10gallon Tank! Check!

 

[Lenimph]

His tail will grow back with time, you just need to separate the guppies from the betta right now until you get a tank to prevent them from picking at his tail if you haven't already. You really need that tank for the pair of guppies, I must stress that.

 

[djembekah]

you could probably keep the betta in the cup with like, twice daily water changes until you have a ten gallon. and get a couple more female guppies so your one girl doesn't have to deal with the male's urges nonstop

 

[Luimeril]

i think the minimum for guppies in a group is 2 females to one male, so he doesn't bully her. then again, in my trio, my big orange female was the bully! lol

i honestly can't believe they sold you GUPPIES to go on a bowl with a betta. 8I i'd complain to the store's manager, because they should NOT have sold you those to go together in such a small, unfiltered tank...