[MeeseeksMom]

Hello all! I'm new to the world of bettas and appreciate a community open to talk all the betta talk!

I finally got Mr. Meeseeks yesterday (male delta tail) after reading the ups and downs of betta care for about a week and waiting for all his gear to come in. Now I know there are a lot of threads on beginners basic care but I just wanted to outline what I've got going on for some advice, tips, etc. to keep this little guy happy, growing and keep his beautiful shade of deep blue!

He is in a 5 gallon set up in a Tetra Crescent acrylic aquarium. The pH is at a level 7 (tap water that's been conditioned) and it's about 82 degrees in there from the heater. He's got a great location in the house that stays a constant temperature with no sunlight unless I open the blackout curtains.

He has two silk plants in there currently, natural looking gravel and a little bridge that I carved a tunnel under for a little hidey hole. I've moved one of the plants in front of the water fall part of the filter to help deter some of the current and keep it minimal (it's on it's lowest setting). Some of the reviews I read about the filter that comes with the aquarium say they still feel it's a little too strong and have done the same. Some left it as is.

I let the tank run for a day before letting Meeseeks free last night and he was all about it. I think I picked out a dude with a lot of fight in him.

I woke up this morning and went to check on him and found... a cloudy tank I understand there are a lot of environmental changes going on at first and it has cleared up a lot over the course of the day. I will do a 25% water change if it's still cloudy at 48-72hrs. His activity today is a little less zealous than last night. He will be staying at the top hanging out (he blows bubbles every now and then, not exactly a nest but just random spouts of bubbles, he does however have the makings of a thiiin line of a bub nest in another part of the tank) then zooms around the tank for a minute here and there. I put a compact mirror up to him and he flared like he did last night. He's open fin wise, not drooping or compact but maybe just a little more reserved? I feel like MAYBE the color in his tail isn't as bright as it was last night either... Good appetite, I might have over fed him a tiny bit today thinking he was just starving.

What I'm going to change:
-I thought he needed a diet totally made of blood worms and the little shrimps, realized that was wrong and have ordered New Life Spectrum Betta Formula pellets that I will feed him as directed. Blood worms will be for a treat! Picking up some daphnia too tomorrow.
-Turn his light off at night. No reason to keep it on all night. (Right?)
-Buying him a floating hide hole log and another plant for him to rest on plus gives him a little more options for shade. Maybe a hammock?
-I put him on an end table that I didn't realize was a little wobbly on carpet with the new weight of the tank. No way it could fall over just is shaky. Will be moving the tank onto a stable table so every time I touch the table his water doesn't move around a bit. I don't think he likes that very much...

Questions- (note I am a very paranoid person, especially when it comes to pets!)
-The heater is a submersible flat. I was considering putting it under the rocks in the tank to get it off the wall and give just a tiny bit more space. Thoughts?
-Are his actions today normal? Maybe a full belly, adjusting to the bloom all that?
-The light. The light is attached to the lid of the tank and I've been reading a stable light that attaches to the tank would be a good choice to keep a constant light source even when you have to remove the lid. Does brightness matter to a fish? Sunlight for 15 minutes in the morning?
-The edges of the silk leaf are a little jagged to give it a more "natural look". Will try to include a picture. Is this okay for him or should I trim all the edges to make them smooth?
-Do I fast him from pellets for the daphnia once a week? If not then when should it be given? I don't know what they were feeding him at the pet store when I got him so I don't know what his poop schedule is like today.
-Lastly, is there ANYTHING else I could be doing to improve this guys happiness and health right now? Does Mr. Meeseeks need anything that he can't tell me about?

The pictures attached are from last night (about 25hrs ago) to now with a picture of the leaves' edges I mentioned.

All suggestions and advice for this newcomer and her betta are very much welcome and appreciated! Thank you so much!

 

[LittleMan]

Hello and nice to welcome another newbie like me, to the site.

I have two tanks that are 2.5 gals each, so I cant comment on 5 gallon anything! Beautiful tank set up you have.

a. Bloodworm diet:
You mentioned a diet of bloodworms but have ordered the NLife. Thats a great food, mine have really popped with good color and health; additionally I alternate now with Omega Buffet. I bought some Hikari Frozen Bloodworms and give about 5 to each of them, once a week.

b. Turning the light off at night.
I do, it does calm them down, especially one of my boys is extremely active and aggressive; good to see him relax.

c. Wobbly end table
....yikes, good choice to get it somewhere solid so you dont have to worry when its time for you to be engaging with cleaning ect...

d. Overfeeding:
One thing I learned here from experienced members...a hungry fish is a happy & healthy one. I feed my boys Mon, Wed, Fri 4 pellets @ split on times. On Saturday nite they get a treat of the bloodworms. Sunday they fast again.

e. Flat heater:
I have the flat heaters as well and had them under the rocks until I realized how much waste accumulates in too thick substrate. Till I removed most of the rocks, the heaters worked very well being under them, temperatures stayed fine.
The only issue I had with my flat heater on top of rocks, not laying completely flat, is the betta would often put their noses down inbetween the floor and heater so I put some of the rocks just near that area so they wouldnt go in and my luck, get stuck underneath.
That is all I can really talk about for my experiences. Im learning along the way just like you will. There are alot of awesome experienced betta owners here and they give great advice. You just have to read it all, absorb what sounds most logical and give it a try.

By the way here is a work sheet that the moderators would like us all to fill out when or if we have concerns.
You might want to copy & save to your computer for future use.

Best of luck!

Housing:
How many gallons is your tank?
Does it have a filter?
Does it have a heater?
What temperature is your tank?
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration?
Does your Betta have tank mates? What kind?

Food:
What food brand do you use?
Do you feed flakes or pellets?
Freeze-dried?
How often do you feed your Betta? How much?

Maintenance:
Before your Betta became ill how often did you perform a water change?
What percentage of water did you change?
Do you vacuum the substrate or just dip out water?
What additives do you use?

Water Parameters:
What are your water parameters? Please give exact numbers. If tested by pet store please get exact numbers. "Fine" or "Safe" won't help us help you.

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness (GH):
Alkalinity (KH):

Symptoms and Treatment:
When did you first notice the symptoms?
How has your Betta’s appearance changed?
How has your Betta’s behavior changed?
Is your Betta still eating?
Have you started treating your Betta? If so, how?
Does your Betta have any history of being ill?
How long have you owned your Betta? Was he or she ill or suffering some sort of damage when purchased?

PLEASE PROVIDE CLEAR PHOTOS