dequace

Hello.. I'm a new betta owner, I've never had one before in my life, so I'm not really sure about a lot of things. I know bettas should be kept in warm water, and the temperature I just took of my water was 66 degrees fahrenheit.. I really, honestly, cannot afford to get a heater for my little fish, so what should I do? I have a halogen light on my desk that I could shine on his bowl, but I can't leave it on all the time.. Is it better to let it warm up when I can and then turn it off, or keep the temperature colder, but constant?

Also, I've only had my betta for... 7-ish hours now, and there's a bit of white stuff floating about in the water that I believe was in the water when I got him.. is this fungus? Because I don't know what to do if it is.. change his water?

Also x2, (Sorry.. I'm new..) Would it help to add a bit of salt to the betta's water? I don't have the special salt, but I have regular salt and sea salt.. If so, how much should I add? The bowl is not that big..

atmmachine816

how big is your tank

dequace

Not very big, perhaps 3/4 gallon.

atmmachine816

is the white stuff bubbles and really you should try to get a bigger tank as bettas cant be kept in small tanks like that as people say and yes i see you cant get one but you should try soon but i would say keep it constant as its not good for any fish for the water to be 75 during the day and 66 at night its not good for them but what i would suggest is move him to the warmest place in wherever you live and during the night put a blanket over his tank to keep the heat in so it wont drop a lot and as soon as rose gets on she will be able to help you a lot more since she is the betta person on here

hope i helped

dequace

The white stuff is like.. it's hard to describe. Like, a bit stringy, and it floats around suspended in the water. It's not a bubble nest, I know that..

atmmachine816

it might be from lack of water movement my suggestion the best way to keep your lovely betta happy is change is water everyday or at least a couple times a week maybe take a cup and put it in your tank then take it out dump it out then get some dechlorinated water and put it back in

dequace

Hum.. I'm using distilled water, though...

atmmachine816

does that have chlorine in it

dequace

I seriously doubt it..

EmpPleco

The most important thing here is the heater issue - betta tanks should most definately have heaters in them, not to mention they should be in bigger tanks to begin with. a betta's tank should be at a constant 80 (give or take a LITTLE ) degrees, and should not fluctuate at all. My main suggestion for you would be to go out the first chance you get and buy at least a 3 gallon tank. although --- really in all honesty -- the bigger than better. At Wal-Mart they sell a 10 gallon kit that includes hood, lights, heater, temperature gauge, and filter (which is also important) for only 28 dollars. Highly recommended. The current home/system you have for your betta (im sorry to say) will not work efficiently for much longe, nor does it make the betta very happy either.

Hope i helped

chickadee

First of all, the fact is Bettas are Tropical fish and have certain requirements that cannot be met in the "Betta Bowl" no matter how advanced.

Heat: *Bettas need a consistent temperature of 76 -80 degrees while they are healthy and to keep them that way. *If they are ill and needing medication that needs to be in the 82 degree range for the medication to have the optimum effect. *If the fish happens to be suffering from ich the temperature needs to go up to 85 degrees for at least 14 days.
The smallest dependable heater is the 25 watt heater. *That is because it is adjustable and has clearly marked settings on most models (those that don't aren't good). *You cannot use a 25 watt heater in a smaller than 2.5 gallon tank and then only with extreme care. *It works better in a 3 to 5 gallon tank.

Filtration: *Being a Tropical fish (any fish for that matter) the tank he is kept in will undergo a rise in ammonia and nitrites as well as nitrates. *These are normal by- products of fish metabolism. *There is no way of getting around having them. *They will occur. *They tank needs to go through a Nitrogen Cycle. *In order to do this, it needs to be filtered. *I would refer you to the following article: *http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm *There are small tank filters such as the *Duetto Mini Filter that are excellent, but they start being effective at 2 gallons. *The cycle also takes from 4 to 6 weeks to complete no matter what filter system you get.

Lighting: *They need good lighting for at least 6 to 8 hours a day. *Not direct sunlight as it is too uncontrollable. *It can overheat the tank or cause algae to grow in your tank.

Frequent water testing for nitrates, nitrites, and ammonia: *there are test kits available in most pet shops or online at locations like: http://www.petco.com,http://www.petsmart.com,http://drsfostersmith.com,http://www.thatpetplace.com, or http://www.bigalsonline.com. *The ones used most often here are the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Master Kits. *To know what to expect to see please read the article above about the Nitrogen Cycle. *After the tank is cycled the readings should stay as close to 0 as possible for all 3 tests.

Now to address the issue of the water. *First of all, straight distilled water is probably not the best for a fish. *They need a ph to the water and distilled water is pretty much null water. *There needs to be a little something in the way of stability that distilled just doesn't have. *You are much better to use tap water the same temperature as the water you are replacing and get a dechlorinating agent like Stress Coat or Amquel and follow directions to remove the waters harmful qualities. *

Now ROOM: *The minimum amount of space for a healthy betta and a happy one as well is really 5 gallons. *They are not as reported able to thrive in a quart of water. *WE could probably live in a locked bathroom with a sealed door and no windows for ventilation and at the mercy of someone to come and let us out, but we wouldn't LIKE it at all. *I can almost certainly gaurantee that we would not live as healthy or as long. *Same with the betta. *It is my hope that I can encourage the best treatment for these fish. *This is not an accusation or meant to make anyone feel guilty but to make you think about what is really the best thing for the small being in your care. *Taking care of fish is a privilelge that they repay with interest if they are healthy and happy.

Again, welcome to Fishlore.com.

Rose

chickadee

Sorry I forgot some of my answer.

No salt.

Did you pour the store water in the bowl? You shouldn't have so maybe it is something in the water. Since your water is so cold - 66 is way too cold - your betta is in serious danger of getting ich. Ich is a disease that looks like little grains of salt on your fish. It may start out with only one tiny white spot. It is what is called a "cold water" disease. The BEST treatment is raising the temperature to 85 degrees and keeping it there for at least 14 days. If you are going to keep your fish without a heater for any leangth of time please be aware of this disease. It will kill him very quickly if not treated. I do not know of any "ich" meds that work without raising the temperature and keeping it steady for at least 2 weeks as the disease will just attack the fish again when the temperature goes back down until it is killed off and it takes that long to do it.

You may want to do a 50% water change tomorrow to get the white stuff out. I wouldn't do it tonight he is probably stressed enough for today and it would really upset him to be messed with further today.

Rose

beckers4oranges

rose i was hopin you would catch all of it...trust me....she knows what shes talking bout....

dequace

Thank you for your fast responses.. I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet, but I appreciate it nonetheless..

newbie101

Go Rose, dequace you have one of the best betta people helping you!

0morrokh

Yeah Rose...I was just thinking of what I was going to say and then I came to your post and you said it all!
To add to what you said about distilled water, the stuff is just pure water, nothing in it. Fish cannot live in the stuff. They need certain minerals that are removed in distilled water. So, switch to tap water. Get some conditioner (Stress Coat is great) to take out the bad chemicals in tap water. And make the change SLOWLY! Each time you do a water change (which should be every 2 or 3 days in such a small container), make a larger percent of it tap water, untill finally you are adding pure tap water. Beware that making the change too quickly will give your fish a pH shock.