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Discussion starter · #22 ·
Thanks! I'll definitely hold off on those then. I'm trying to be as proactive as possible in preventing problems so things that increase that chance I'll try to stay away from. I'll be fasting her on Sundays too, so her system can stay healthy
 
My betta is also on the small size, I soak her pellets in tank water before feeding them to her. She and I have a fun little routine - I take a paper dixie cup and flip it upside down, I place 3 pellets onto the bottom of the cup. (My pellets are smaller than yours, though.) I use an eye dropper to get some water from Infra Red's tank (she tries to attack the end of the dropper, lol) and put three or four drops of tank water on the pellets. I let them soften for about 3 to 5 minutes. I use the end of a wooden chopstick to scoop up one pellet, it will (with a little maneuvering) stick to the end of the chopstick. I have Infra Red chase the food around the outside of her tank, back and forth a couple of times before putting the pellet into the water, making sure she sees where it is. A couple of times she has missed where it was, so I just point to it as it sinks with the chopstick from the outside of the tank and she usually sees it and gobbles it down. Repeat with the other pellets, rinse the cup and chopstick, save for next time.

It is a lot easier for her to eat the pellets when they have been softened. A few people on this forum say that one shouldn't presoak pellets because they might lose some nutrients, but I soak them in a tiny bit of water for such a short time, and seeing her choke would be worse than losing a small amount of nutrients in my opinion...
 
In general, NEVER feed your bettas flakes or freeze dried foods. They lead to bloating and constipation. Only feed your bettas high quality pellets or frozen foods.
 
Discussion starter · #26 ·
Thank you for that information on soaking the pellets! I will definitely do that from here on. I actually fed her today before logging on here, so I will begin that process tonight. I gave her two little pellets today, and she didn't spit it up. She gobbled it up, swam around for awhile chewing prior to attacking the second one. I wanted to be sure not to overfeed her so I stuck with 2 pellets today. I'll soak them and see how she does tonight. The prolonged chewing, and spitting out has messed up my sense of how much she can eat in 2 minutes haha. How many pellets are normal for a tiny female betta? 2-3 each meal?

Also, I am happy to say that my water temperature is holding steady at 78 degrees and my betta is looking very happy. She's swimming all over the tank, and always is waiting at the top of the tank when it's feeding time in the mornings or evenings. She's been very active, and I even have started to notice some blue coloring on her body. At the store, she looked solid red in her cup. Is it possible that her colors are already brightening up with this ideal environment, or is it more likely that I simply missed the blue streaks when I got her, and her color fully coming in will be a longer process. I'll be beyond excited if I can create an environment where she can flourish and reach maximum size, and color, so if this happens to be progress, I'd be very happy lol

Thanks for all of the advice on the freeze dried food too. I'll stay away from that. I didn't know that flakes were bad too for bloating. I was about to question if I needed to switch to flakes since these pellets are rough on her so far, but I'll stay away from flakes. I'm glad that this site is here so that you all can share your wisdom with newbies like me! haha

-Patrick
 
Discussion starter · #27 ·
*Update*

As it nears 3 weeks of ownership, I am very happy to inform everyone that my little female betta has flourished! She has grown, her color has deepened, and there are even some blue streaks visible now, and she is very active. I have taught her to jump and she does so willingly during feeding times! She will also chase my finger all around the tank just for fun, I don't usually do it at feeding time, so she doesn't get a treat, she just chases it for fun it seems lol

I have changed portions of the water multiple times now, but feel as though it is time to do a full water change according to the information I have read on this site and others during research. My current setup is 8 gallons, no filter, in a 10 gallon tank. I've changed out 25% of the water during week 1 and 25% during week 2. Tomorrow will be week 3. Should I do a 100% water change or continue removing only portions of the water?

My fish is totally not phased by the siphon during water changes, she'll swim towards it, and also swim towards my hand and nibble at it as I'm draining the water. I was worried that she would be stressed, but she's super laid back. So if there is a way to change fractions of the water instead of getting her all the way out, I am willing to do it so that she stays so laid back about it. If not I understand. Please note that she is a tiny female in 8 gallons of water.

Also, if I do need to do a complete water change, what is the best way to go about doing so? I would love any insight on this! Thanks in advance!

As always, thanks to all who have helped me provide the best possible environment for my betta. She is very active, and happy, so I am thankful!

-Patrick
 
If you don't have a filter you should do one 100% water change a month and changing 50% of the water each week.

To do an 100% water change, cup the fish (use the cup they came in) and empty out all the water. Clean all the decor. Then fill the tank back up with 80 degree water. Float the cup in the tank until the temperature in the cup matches the tank. Then every 10 mins take a bit of water out of the cup and add some tank water. Continue this process for 30-45mins. The either net the fish and put them back in the tank or if you don't have a net dump as much of the water in the cup out as you can and slowly release the fish back into the tank.
 
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