[SofiaC]

Dear BettaFish.com community,

My boyfriend and I are new betta fish owners. We bought 3 bettas (one male, two females) and put them in the Fluval Edge Aquarium (http://www.fluvalblog.com/fluval-edge-set-to-complete-international-launch/). We bought the aquarium and at the store we were told to prep the water using the different water-prepping solutions that were included in the Edge package and have the water prepped one week before we put the fish in. When the week was over, we went back to the store, brought a sample of the aquarium water to be tested to make sure it was okay, and they told us that we could put one male and two female bettas in the tank.

They said the water was perfect and the aquarium was ready for our fish. For the first couple of days, the fish were acting normal and eating regularly. We were told to feed them about 5 fish food flakes (which they were fed at the store) once a day. A few days ago, however, one of the females stopped eating. At first I thought she was just a bit slow and didn't get to the food in time before the other two gobbled the flakes up. But at one point she went up for air, and a flake was right above her mouth and she didn't eat it, she just ignored it. Upon further observation, I also noticed that she wasn't as active as the other two, spending most of her time at the bottom of the tank and going up only for air.

Today, my boyfriend decided to take her out of the tank and put her in a small bowl by herself to see if she would eat at all, and she didn't eat anything. I'm not sure how long betta fish can go without food, but I'm worried she might be sick or depressed and is starving herself.

Please help!

 

[BetterBetta]

Okay.. Don't trust people at chain fish stores... For you can't put male and female bettas together. I'm surprised they haven't fought.

You can put 5 females together in a ten gallon, minimum, as it creates a sorority, but you shouldn't mix them with guys; that often leads to death. My suggestion is to seperate them or divide the tank right away. The reason why your female isn't eating is probably because she's stressed or hurt from the other bettas. Look at her; does she have any physical wounds or shredded fins?

That's from a fight. Keep her in the small bowl. In an old 1 gallon jug, fill it with water and dechlorinator. Buy some aquarium salt like this: http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=10850845
and mix 1 tsp of it in the jug of water thoroughly. Use this as her water for ten days, as it will help heal wounds.

Instead of flakes, use pellets, as betta's are more interested in them, and often will ignore flakes. This could also be why she's not eating. Change to pellets. However, she is probably lethargic if she's staying at the bottom... Just go out and get the materials, and also if you filled this out by copying plus pasting and/or posted pictures it would help...
I don't blame you, it's the people at the pet store that mislead you. This happens all the time, and I'm glad you found this site

Housing
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Does your tank have a filter?
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration?
Is your tank heated?
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Food
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Maintenance
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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
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Have you started treating your fish? If so, how?
Does your fish have any history of being ill?
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