thekten

I'm a brand new fishie owner and I thought I had been doing pretty well in caring for my betta. I changed his water a few days ago, though, and now there is all kinds of nasty fuzzy-looking stuff in the bottom of his tank. Is he sick? Or am I doing something wrong?

Minnow

What size tank is he in? What equipment does he have? How much of his water did you change? And what are your levels of ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate? Sorry for all the questions, but the answers will help us help you

By the way, welcome to Fish Lore!

agabr123

could you get a picture of it?

thekten

I'm going to sound like a terrible caretaker, but I can't answer any of those questions. The fish was a gift and I've been following all the directions the pet store person wrote down for me. He lives in a 1/2 gallon tank and I changed half of his water on Saturday. There used to be some rocks in the bottom of the tank but he wouldn't go near them and didn't seem to like them much so I took them out.

agabr123

right now the best thing you can do is a water change. do you have a conditioner to remove the ammonia/chlorine/chloramine/heavy metals from your tap water? if not, i would pick up some Prime made by seachem.

I'd recommend getting a test kit to help you monitor your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels. the API freshwater master test kit is the one pretty much everyone here will recommend for you. it's more expensive than the strips but will last much longer and is much more accurate.

Here are some links that explain the nitrogen cycle, which is what all tanks will go through
http://www.fishlore.com/Articles/TheNitrogenCycle.htm
http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm

also, i'd definitely suggest looking into a bigger tank for your betta. they sell 5 gallon kits at walmart or petsmart which are pretty cheap (around $35) and come with everything you need except for a heater and gravel/decorations. bettas are tropical fish and the heater will help keep the temperature at around 78F which is best for them.

for a heater, i'd go with the hydor theo rated for 25 watts
http://www.petmountain.com/product/a...le-heater.html

oh, personally i would stay away from the eclipse 5 gallon kits made by marineland, the filter is made to be housed in the hood, and if it ever breaks you have to replace the whole hood which costs more than the kit itself. don't worry if this doesn't make too much sense, basically it's the same as a TV/DVD/VCR combo, if the DVD player breaks you need to replace the whole thing kind of a deal.

i know this is a lot of info to take in at once, but please dont hesitate to ask questions.

Minnow

I'm sorry you got such bad advice from the store. Unfortunately, the tank he is in now is too small for him. Bettas need at least 2.5 gallons, and a heater and filter. You can read more about caring for your betta here.

I can't help you much with the weird fuzz. I would guess that it's some kind of algae, but I can't be sure. Maybe you could try scooping it out with a fish net?

Edit: I got 'd! Must type faster next time

agabr123

lol, caffeine and college will do that to you!

Fishies-for-me

Could the fuzzy stuff be uneaten food gone fungal?? Sure sounds like fungus to me..

Martinismommy

If he is in a 1/2 gallon bare bottom tank you will need to be changing the water at least twice a week...Does hae have any odd looking spots on him?

thekten

He hasn't got any spots, and he seems happy. The fuzzies might be food, but I always take the food he doesn't eat out of the tank.
Thanks for the help everybody.