[DanDaMan]

quick intro, im male my nname is Daniel, im 26 from London, England

i got my first betta about 2 weeks ago as an impulse purchase after talking about them at work.

im sorry to say he passed due to me not knowing anything about them, i simply put him in a tank of tap water at the pet shop owners advice and fed him goldfish flakes.

the next morning i woke up and one of his eyes was popping out like crazy, next day i came home from work and he was resting on the gravel and just occasionally swimming up for air. i googled this and found out i needed to heat his water and treat him with medication, so i went to another pet store but when i made it home he was belly up on the gravel dead.

it actually made me feel real bad, i mean it was just a small fish to most people but i was actually responsible for keeping him alive and he died due to my ignorance.

.... so i went out, brought a heater for the tank and kept the water pristine with testing and regular changes, i then brought new betta male (the same colour blue) and he has been amazing.

hes active all day everyday until i turn the lights of in the tank and then he finds a snuggly spot on the plants and rests until he see's me wake up for work then he starts getting excited for his breakfast

i feed him just before i leave work 2 pellets of condensed krill and bloodworm, then when i get home i feed a big pinch of dried and crushed
krill

anyway enough talking, i joined this forum as i have just joined the world of betta, admittedly i joint it on impules but now i plan to take it much further, they are such charismatic and beautiful creatures

and i want to share my journey and experiences with you like minded folk


PS: i was reading into bettas and found that they like peas, well i didnt have any so i plonked a small slice of cucumber into his tank to keep him occupied and HE HAS NOT STOPPED WORKING AT IT

im thinking maybe ive come across a new betta phenomenon lol

anyways nice to meet you all and i look forward to sharing knowledge and information with you all about bettas

 

[Myates]

Welcome, and congrats on getting bitten by the betta bug!

Unfortunately, you did fall into the trap with all those myths floating around about bettas. They are like all other fish and have requirements. I'm glad to see you are working on getting them all filled!

One thing I want to say though is, bettas are insectivores/carnivores and are not set up to digest plant material (outside of their prey's stomach).. the pea is actually used for constipation in goldfish, but people use it when needed for bettas who are constipated.
It honestly is not ideal to feed them a pea, nor a cucumber.. their digestive gi track is too short, and the absorption of them isn't proper.. they get no nutrition from them- just empty calories and in the peas' case- starch. It is not ideal to feed them these, and if one must- only feed for a one shot treatment to try to stop constipation after it has happened... even still, there are better, more nutritious and safer/natural alternatives for their species.

Bettas are piggies, and will eat until they explode.. he may be picking at it and ripping it up, but all he is doing is making himself full of something that is not meant to be inside of them.. and if you try to feed him his normal food, with a gut full of... stuff, since it's not actual food to them... he can then become bloated, constipated, sbd, etc.

Go ahead and take out the cucumber, let him skip a meal to get his body to rid itself of the veggies and from then on feed betta pellets, live foods, betta specific flakes, frozen foods and as a treat of one or two times a week- freeze dried foods.


You are correct that these are great little creatures that are fun.. but there is a lot to them still left to learn Good luck, and can't wait for you to share pictures!

 

[tpocicat]

Welcome to the forum! You'll find in time that bettas are VERY addicting! They are so much fun and of course come in so many beautiful colors, most people can't stop at just one. Best of luck in your betta journey.

 

[DanDaMan]

Welcome, and congrats on getting bitten by the betta bug!

Unfortunately, you did fall into the trap with all those myths floating around about bettas. They are like all other fish and have requirements. I'm glad to see you are working on getting them all filled!

One thing I want to say though is, bettas are insectivores/carnivores and are not set up to digest plant material (outside of their prey's stomach).. the pea is actually used for constipation in goldfish, but people use it when needed for bettas who are constipated.
It honestly is not ideal to feed them a pea, nor a cucumber.. their digestive gi track is too short, and the absorption of them isn't proper.. they get no nutrition from them- just empty calories and in the peas' case- starch. It is not ideal to feed them these, and if one must- only feed for a one shot treatment to try to stop constipation after it has happened... even still, there are better, more nutritious and safer/natural alternatives for their species.

Bettas are piggies, and will eat until they explode.. he may be picking at it and ripping it up, but all he is doing is making himself full of something that is not meant to be inside of them.. and if you try to feed him his normal food, with a gut full of... stuff, since it's not actual food to them... he can then become bloated, constipated, sbd, etc.

Go ahead and take out the cucumber, let him skip a meal to get his body to rid itself of the veggies and from then on feed betta pellets, live foods, betta specific flakes, frozen foods and as a treat of one or two times a week- freeze dried foods.


You are correct that these are great little creatures that are fun.. but there is a lot to them still left to learn Good luck, and can't wait for you to share pictures!

i just took it out!

part of the reason i put it in was beacause i have a peppered cory as his tank mate since i read that it was good to have both a top feeder and bottom feeder in an aquariam to keep it clean

but i will take heed to your advice since i have really grown attached to the little fella lol

thanks for your comments i will try and get some photos of him over this weekend

hes a beauty :-D

Welcome to the forum! You'll find in time that bettas are VERY addicting! They are so much fun and of course come in so many beautiful colors, most people can't stop at just one. Best of luck in your betta journey.

i know! ive never really been a pet person but after my first betta died because of bad advice i really wanted to give a second chance to another and create a little home for him that was as good or if not better than his natural habitat

though i will stick to one right now as i dont have the space or funds to accomodate two in suitable habitat but when i can i very much plan on expanding my family of betta














PS: sorry for all my typos im a quick typer who doesnt care for spell check or proof reading lol

 

[Myates]

lol it's okay, we read all types of spelling here on these forums

How big is the tank? I hate sounding as if I am nitpicking, but do want the best for you and your fish..

Tanks below 10 gallons shouldn't have multiple fish, as the bio loads can become too great.. and cories are schooling fish and do better in groups of 4+.

You will have to continue to supplement the cory's food- as they don't get enough off of scraps. You can buy the sinking wafers specifically for them, and feed them in the morning/evening, but while the tank light is out- drop them towards the back of the tank to give them more of a chance at not being discovered by your betta.
Or during feeding time you can drop in the wafer in the back when your guy is busy eating at the front.

 

[Bombalurina]

+1 to everything Myates has said. The guy in the petshop who sold you the cory was just trying to get you to buy into *another* fish myth. Cories don't keep the bottom clean. They will eat the tiny scraps a betta may miss, but they won't clean up poo or other dirt -in fact, they'll add their own to it.

Also should clarify - Myates is talking 10 US gallons. That's roughly 40 litres pr 8.5 UK gallons.

 

[DanDaMan]

lol it's okay, we read all types of spelling here on these forums

How big is the tank? I hate sounding as if I am nitpicking, but do want the best for you and your fish..

Tanks below 10 gallons shouldn't have multiple fish, as the bio loads can become too great.. and cories are schooling fish and do better in groups of 4+.

You will have to continue to supplement the cory's food- as they don't get enough off of scraps. You can buy the sinking wafers specifically for them, and feed them in the morning/evening, but while the tank light is out- drop them towards the back of the tank to give them more of a chance at not being discovered by your betta.
Or during feeding time you can drop in the wafer in the back when your guy is busy eating at the front.

my tank is not the biggest right now i think its rougly 1.5 us gallons but i do plan on gettin a bigger tank. the fish seems very happy though he has real character lol

when it comes to feeding i use a mixture of the dried shrimp (noticed i was calling them krill for some reason lol) and flakes, its a mixed betta food that comes as it is and the flakes tend to sink which the cory hoovers up plus i use the pellets too i give him about 3 of those a day

my plan is to get build up a nice planted aquarium, i had no idea about the corys being schooling fish but he doesnt seem to be depressed hes like a roadrunner whizzing around everywhere

i even noticed a few times that he swims over the betta like hes part of the gravel feeling him with his barbs and the betta just chills like hes getting a massage lol

heres a photo of my fish, i took it on the camera phone so its not best quality but i will get a better one

+1 to everything Myates has said. The guy in the petshop who sold you the cory was just trying to get you to buy into *another* fish myth. Cories don't keep the bottom clean. They will eat the tiny scraps a betta may miss, but they won't clean up poo or other dirt -in fact, they'll add their own to it.

Also should clarify - Myates is talking 10 US gallons. That's roughly 40 litres pr 8.5 UK gallons.

hey there my aussie cousin lol

thanks for the advice, i knew he wasnt gonna eat up the bettas waste but i got him to help stop a build up of food on the bottom since i read that a build up of that can cause a raise of ammonia in the water as it breaks down which can be fatal to fish

im also keeping the tank real clean, when i do a water a change i use a syphon. i stir up the bottom of the tank a little and any waste that floats up i suck out with the syphon, i just did a water change today actually, clean as a whistle in there lol

 

[Bombalurina]

hey there my aussie cousin lol

Actually, I'm a fellow Brit. I got deported to the Antipodes about 11 years back.

 

[DanDaMan]

Actually, I'm a fellow Brit. I got deported to the Antipodes about 11 years back.

oh no let me guess, you told the queen her hat didnt match her shoes?

 

[Myates]

For that size of a tank you will need to upgrade quite quickly.. for now, go ahead and I recommend at least 2 50% water only, and 1 50% substrate cleaning per week to try to keep the ammonia down as much as possible to avoid burning and poisoning them.
That size tank alone is what is recommended for a single betta. So definitely get a larger one as soon as you can Grr to pet store employees..

Good luck to you, you have a very handsome boy

 

[Ayane Hajinmon]

welcome to the forum Daniel...your beta is beautiful...does he have a name? -^_^-

 

[DanDaMan]

For that size of a tank you will need to upgrade quite quickly.. for now, go ahead and I recommend at least 2 50% water only, and 1 50% substrate cleaning per week to try to keep the ammonia down as much as possible to avoid burning and poisoning them.
That size tank alone is what is recommended for a single betta. So definitely get a larger one as soon as you can Grr to pet store employees..

Good luck to you, you have a very handsome boy

i will upgrade as soon as i can

i was changing the water twice a week but only around the 25-30% mark so i will up that as you suggest. i dont plan on putting any more fish into this tank so im hopin he will be okay until i can afford a new setup. he seems happy enough hes very active all day and his fins are not clamped to his body so he is obviously relaxed. compared to what he was in at the pet store this tank is like the playboy mansion, minus the ladies of course lol

and thanks too, ill obviously keep this place and yourself updated with everything when i get around to it :-D

welcome to the forum Daniel...your beta is beautiful...does he have a name? -^_^-

thank you for the welcome and the comment :-D

unfortunately i havent thought of a name for him yet, i suppose i really should start thinking of one lol

 

[Myates]

I have no doubt you will do all you can to care for them