BettaBuddy ~ Miley

I have a problem..... MY sisters crowntail betta Calamarrie is not happy. hes in our middle size tank which is a 1.5 gal so its too small to start with but then my sister goes for long periods of time without cleaning his tank. I clean Skips all the time and Oscars like everyonce and a while when he makes "his little messes" everywhere. but CAl is in this small tank and hes getting older but he can still be an active fish no matter how old he is but he is in this small tank that does get cleaned very muich ( i am very neat and my areas of the room are like perfect and my sisters are VERY messy) and so shes not very responsible with CAl and so hes got like a slimmy layer on the top of hos water and its just smell and not pretty. and he gets algea on his plant ( fake/plastic) and his cave and we have shells in their too like from Galveston Beach that we cleaned. and i now feed him and my two and heres my big question: SHOULD I CLEAN HIS TANK AND LET MY SISTER GET AWAY WITH IT OR SHOULD I LEAVE HIM AND TEACH HER A LESSON?? i really dont know what to do..... my mom says if i do it he should be my fish but Kate(sister) isnt giving him up and i dont want to give her the pleasure of ALWAYS having what she wants... or should i leave Cal ( possible ending with him dieing ) and teach her a lesson?? i realy dont know what i should do and need help here. please tell me what you think, Miley p.s. i put a pic of him below( this pic was a while ago ... now he has a different plant and hes in our bathroom not our parents. ) he also gets very pale all the time and doesnt move and lays on the bottom only coming up to breath and when i feed him he wont eat rite away.... im so worried about him!!! please help!! Miley.....

Tom

I would clean his tank and tell your sister that he is your fish until she starts to take better care of him.
Tom

BettaBuddy ~ Miley

thats a good idea - i will talk to my mom and see what she thinks about it. Thanks, Miley

Tom

That is a good idea, that little threat might knock some sense back into your sister.
Tom

BettaBuddy ~ Miley

Ya i hope so!!! Sad part is shes 12 - 13 in sept.!!! She should know better. Miley

COBettaCouple

yea, little calamarrie needs your help and if you're taking care of him and your sister doesn't want to, then she really doesn't want him. That's too bad because Bettas are worth the work to keep them in a clean tank. I'm sure your mom would want her to be responsible with any pet and they all need love and attention. Good luck and I hope Calamarrie will be happy and in a nice clean tank soon. Really he needs weekly tank cleaning in a 1.5g tank.

voiceless_kat

Miley, it is so great that you are concerned about Calamarie. Remember, if he is suffering or unhappy, he can't tell you. If his tank is icky, and you can help him, you should, no matter what. Perhaps your sister will see from your example and do a better job. If she doesn't, Calamarie is going to be a healthier and happier fish friend. Good luck, and tell us how you do.

Val

COBettaCouple

Miley - Defender of the Bettas!

armadillo

Hi Betta Buddy. What a pickle. I think indirect peer pressure might embarrass her into doing something. If she 'accidentally' saw our thread maybe? Although she might just think. Pfffff! Fish geeks, what do they know? .

It looks like she can't empathise much with the fish. It took me a while too to be a responsible pet owner (well into my 20's!), and I've always dearly loved animals. I guess it's down to maturity and she simply doesn't have the skills today to do it properly. I can't imagine her changing if she feels cornered or attacked into it so I guess something indirect to develop her sense of empathy (like leaving an article or two lying around the bedroom, to read about betta care and what happens to them if it's not provided properly).

And indeed, cleaning her tank and her seeing her fish swimming around in a happier way might be a positive example, and trigger something, although I see what you mean, she might just think. Cool, I'll just leave them to do it, as it will happen eventually!

Phloxface

Don't let the fish suffer just to teach her a lesson. He deserves better than that. Keep his tank clean and consider him YOUR fish, not hers. If she's too irresponsible to take care of a pet she shouldn't have one.
He does look like he's getting old and it would be so sad to just neglect a poor old fish and leave him to choke on dirty water. He may not have much time left. Let him enjoy the time he has in a clean tank.

nmwierman1977

Miley, I would just claim calamarrie as your own. Your sister obviously doesn't care much about him. It's very obvious that you do. I'm always hearing how you are cleaning his tank and taking good care of him, so consider him yours. See if you get get him a bigger tank too. Like one of those 2.5 mini bow tanks. He'll be much happier in there. You are such a sweet girl. Keep up the good work. natalie

chickadee

Miley, you know I know your Mom and she would not want Calamarrie to suffer. I would think she would want to see the fish cared for no matter who does it. I also agree with her that if you are going to care for the fish he should be YOUR fish. If your sister is not responsible enough to care for the fish as a living thing then she should not have him.

Rose

BettaBuddy ~ Miley

OHH thank you all so much.... ya my mom and me talked in the car and my mom called my sister and got mad at her so now shes cleaning the tank.... shes not sure what shes doing really and i tried to help and she got mad.... she told me shes like " i dont really know what i am doing" so i tried to take over and help and she got mad at me.... so i just said well " do it your self"

so i geuss she'll either have to figure it out by reading info - im going to show her sites... or she will have to get over her self and let me help. she just cleaned his tank so hes good to go. Thank you all so much!! i wouldnt mind if you kept writing good hints for me helping him!! Thank you so so much!!! Miley

COBettaCouple

yea, i love the little 2.5g minibows. good tanks. one thing that might make cleaning his tank easier is if you just had a small layer of the rounded glass marbles for his substrata. they'd be easy to take out (or leave in) and then you could use a turkey baster to clean up any poop or leftover food.

nmwierman1977

Miley, you are doing a great job. If your sister really wants to learn how to care for him properly print out the betta care guide for her to read if she doesn't want to come on the site. Maybe try getting her a book about Betta fish. That might be helpful too. I know that you have tried to get her to come on here a few times and she thinks it's just a waste of time, but all you can do is direct her and hope that she'll realize it's not a waste of time and a lot of people on here can help her, but the first step is for her to want the help and accept it. You are doing a great job and you know that if you have questions we are all here. Natalie

BettaBuddy ~ Miley

Oh thank you so much!!! Ya i wish she would get it together..... **Sigh**

Thats a GREAT idea!!! Rite now the way we clean the tanks is kinda complicated.... we take the fish out in little cups and put them aside and then dump out the tanks into the sink then rinse the tanks(well this is how i do it) then i add water to tank and rinse decorations off with very hot water then i put in the decorations then dechlorinate then i add the fish slowly with baggies or i slowly mix water in his cup. Miley

nmwierman1977

Ok, I'll give you a little tip and it may make things easier. Do you have any 1 gallon drinking water jugs? You should age the water a little bit. Meaning everyweek when you do water changes put a little bit dechlor in the jug and put water into it. Let it sit for the week and then when you are ready to do a water change that water is all set to go for you. I thought 1 or 2 of your bettas were in 2.5 gallons or 4 gallon tanks. If they are you don't have to dump out the whole tank and you can leave them in there when you clean. you should only have to do 20-50% water changes. Of course in calamaries case since he's in a 1.5 you do have to dump it out.Also, do you have siphon vacuum? That will make it easier to clean to when you need to get the poop out or you can use a turkey baster. Anyway before you dump any water out use your digital thermometer to take the temp of thetank water and then use it to tank the temp of the water in the jugs. You want to warm the water in the jug to the same temp the tank temp was. That way you don't have acclimate them to the water. Thats my tip for you. Natalie

COBettaCouple

Great tip Natalie! and 4 or 5 gallon jugs would be a big help, whatever you have room to store.

Tazmiche

What a lovely person you are!! The most important creature in this is Cal and you have made sure that he is in a clean tank ( even it was stressful sorting it) You obviously care about your sister too, wanting to teach her but it is a fact that some people aren't natural pet owners and need to learn the hard way or just give up. You are obviously a natural, giving love, care and attention is instinctive for you but not for your sister which is ok as we can't all be the same.

Think of yourself as Cals Aunty and if he needs you to clean/feed etc step in and be there for him. You may find in the future that by ' assisting' your sister you will pass on your knowledge and you will become better friends. If not MASSIVE pillow fight!!!! With a healthy little old Cal cheering you on!!!!

BettaBuddy ~ Miley

Thats a great idea!! i will have to try that.

oh thank you so much!!! Ya hes got a clean tank rite now so i think hes good for rite now til next time he needs his tnak cleaned. Miley

COBettaCouple

we're proud of you! you're a true Betta mommy!

BettaBuddy ~ Miley

Oh thank you so much!!!! Heres a pic of Cal - as you can tell his face is gray and white.

COBettaCouple

he's a cute little guy, reminds me of our Mickey.

BettaBuddy ~ Miley

Ya he reminds me of him too~!!! HeeHee!!! LOL. Miley

Hes been unhappy lately just floating at the top or laying on the bottom not moving. Miley

COBettaCouple

that's sad to hear.. do you have a picture of him now? maybe he's constipated? have you tried to feed him a tiny piece or 2 of a frozen pea, thawed & peeled?

BettaBuddy ~ Miley

ya i have but he doesnt eat them... also he barely eats im so worried about him - i will go take a pic if the batteries are charged and i will post it.... hes not happy. i just cleaned his tank today. Miley

BettaBuddy ~ Miley

I cant - all four batteries are completely dead i need to charge them then i can get a pic. Miley

COBettaCouple

hmm.. i hope he's just upset at the tank cleaning.. i know little Angel will pout and refuse to talk to me after i clean hers.. he's older, isn't he?

BettaBuddy ~ Miley

ya - hes pretty old - my sister got him last september and he was full grown then.... id say hes an old fish. LOL Miley

BettaBuddy ~ Miley

Camera Batteries are still dead so heres the best most recent pic i could find of him - as you can see his face is GRey and white and hes sitting still.....

Click Pic to make bigger for better view! Thnx, Miley