[LadyRaven]

Yesterday afternoon after a friend picked myself and another up from the pet store near me (Its a lovely private one who get all their animals from breeders)
I had brought a new Crowntail who I couldn't resist buying for my new community tank.
Anyway on the way home he mentioned that there was a Betta in his unit, just sitting on the kitchen bench with a note that read "My mum and step dad have abandoned me, please feed me." When we got there I took one look at the tiny glass bowl and almost threw up. I could smell the putrid water from meters away, it was brown and opaque and had about an inch of grime in the gravel. The poor little fish was thankfully still swimming.

TL;DR
Long story short I got him out of the 1 litre glass bowl and into the only spare tank I had (its only 4 litres or a gallon, it'll be upgraded next week when I have some money) He looks fine, but I want to know if there is anything I should look out for? He also hasn't eaten yet, I dropped a flake or two in there this morning to see if he would eat but nothing. He's swimming a bit more but is still very nervous I think.
I wrote on the note that was there, that he had died. The people who had him don't deserve a living fish to come back to.

 

[Bikeridinguckgirl14]

Good on you! Can you fill this out and try to get a picture of the guy? Housing
What size is your tank?
What temperature is your tank?
Does your tank have a filter?
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration?
Is your tank heated?
What tank mates does your betta fish live with?

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish?
How often do you feed your betta fish?

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change?
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change?
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change?

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity:

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed?
How has your betta fish's behavior changed?
When did you start noticing the symptoms?
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how?
Does your fish have any history of being ill?
How old is your fish (approximately)?

 

[LadyRaven]

What size is your tank? 1 Gallon
What temperature is your tank? about 78 degrees
Does your tank have a filter? no
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? no
Is your tank heated? no, getting my other heater off a friend monday.
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? none

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Tried flakes (Tetra BettaMin) and pellets (aquatopid Betta diet pro)
How often do you feed your betta fish? Tried this morning. I feed my other fish once a day in the mornings.

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? For this tank, twice weekly.
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 50-75%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Stress Coat and sometimes aquarium salt.

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? No

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? Not in the last 24 hours
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? Was non moving down the bottom of the tank, now swims around the tank occasionally. Very jumpy and will hide in the bottom corner if something scares him.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? After I rescued him.
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? Nothing yet, as he looks ok, but I'm not sure.
Does your fish have any history of being ill? Not that I know of.
How old is your fish (approximately)? Wouldn't have a clue.

I apologise for the photos, he didn't really want to move closer to me. He seems to be ok. Maybe just stressed?

 

[Bikeridinguckgirl14]

Thank you. He does look pretty healthy, he's probably just stressed. It's normal for a betta not to eat the first couple days, they can go 2+ months without eating and he doesn't look starved. Only thing I have to say is make sure there's a place for him to hide and (since it's a 4l tank) do a 100% water change 5 times a week so he doesn't get ammonia poisoning. You must have gotten him very soon after he was abandoned, although come to think of it since the water was scummy he may have ammonia poisoning already. If you have any Epsom salt (unscented) you can add a teaspoon to the tank for 2 days but if not he should be fine anyways

 

[beautiful Betta]

He looks really healthy considering where he came from. I would do nothing except keep him in nice clean warm water.

The flakes are not the best food, Just thought I would mention that. The most popular brands here are the New life Spectrum, Betta formula. And the Omega One, Betta Buffett Pellets.

Some frozen food might tempt him into eating if you are concerned but at the moment I wouldn't be too concerned most Betta's will take a day or two to settle in their new homes before eating.

 

[LadyRaven]

He has a tiki hut thing and a silk plant that covers most of the side of the tank, Thanks for your help and I'll get on those water changes too Hopefully he can be a part of my (growing) happy family.

 

[LadyRaven]

beautiful Betta, I live in Australia so I've never really heard of those before. You think I could get them online because all we have in stores are the Tetra and Aquatopia brands for the most part.

 

[beautiful Betta]

Sorry cant help but to say I wouldn't use epsoms salt if the fish is showing no signs of illness don't treat a healthy fish. Warm clean water will be fine. The water change info is right though I know how quickly the Ammonia can build in a small space treating a sick fish that couldn't swim when I first got him.

 

[LadyRaven]

Ok I'll have a look around anyway, never hurts.
Also ok, I'll keep that in mind thanks.

 

[beautiful Betta]

Hi this is a link to a site other Australian members advised me of, here is a link to the actual pellets.
http://www.thetechden.com.au/New_Life_Spectrum_Betta_Formula_60g_p/66050.htm

You can also get them on Ebay on a search, it's sad because not many stores sell them because they are more pricy than other brands, but the other brands are cheaper for a reason and that is because they contain a lot of fillers like grain and maize. A good betta food is one that has the first two ingredients being a fish form.

 

[LadyRaven]

Thanks