I posted this on the betta care thread so sorry for redundancy- but i am so excited!!
OK so I got the betta bug and decided to add to my betta collection (had 1 male VT Keller, in a 10gal). Decided to get another aq with a female, as i've never had female bettas.
So I go to my local petsmart, and 2 females were just dying to be bought
And I figured I could likely house them together, so I got both. Fishy and Wishy, blue and red. Then I noted that they had crowntail males! I'm partial to VTs, even though they seem to be thwarted by those that show... I love them! But from the pics on this forum i love the CT spikey fins so I HAD to grab one, and one really danced for me, so I had to have.. so I leave petsmart with 2 new 5gals, heaters and thermometers and plants etc...
I take my new cuties home but petsmart only had 1 of my favorite heaters so I go to another LPS to get another heater and pass by the bettas... there's is like the sickest betta ever, an orange male VT so stressed, he will likely die in a few days in his cup so I have to have him..
So now 2 heaters, another 5gal aq, plants, substrate, and a sick betta later I head for home.
Rundown: Now I have Keller, my original and favorite ever! in his 10gal alone b/c he loves the space, just got over finrot, and is so active I cannot bear to add to or divide his tank. He is the sweetest and most personable and curious fish I've ever had.
The newbies: A gorgeous male (i think) red and blue CT, in his new 5 gal- he's quite active but timid, only had him a few hours.
An orange, sickly male VT, in his own 5 gal... He's perked up, a good eater. I don't even know where to start with antibiotics or anything. Right now with him Im just going with clean conditioned water, stress coat, and IALs. He has improved though, I think he is just more mellow than Keller.
And 2 girls, in another 5gal. Wishy seems fine, but Fishy has stress stripes. Though they seem to like each other. I'm not sure why one is stressed...
Any advice, should I separate them? All my fish have filtered, heated tanks to about 80. Water quality strips are all within normal ranges.
thanks for advice!
On a last note, Some of my newbies have had some issues with filters, even baffles ones. Especially my sickly new VT, he was having trouble not being sucked up... The filter was already baffled, but I found that sticking part of a clean shoelace into the hose seems to work well... just an fyi.
And an update- my 2 females seem to be doing ok, though I recently read you should have more than 2 so there is no dominance, and use at least a 10gal- I can get another female, but not sure, should I get a larger tank? They seem to be fine in their 5g....
Also, my sick fish is so much better, flaring, great finnage, he seems much better, wish me luck with my newbies!!
