Haze_Betta

Ok first of all thanks to all those who are helping me and welcoming me to this place^.^
and second of all i dont know a lot about fish
so im a little worried or maybe im just exagerating
ok this is the problem:


I have noticed like hard "breathing" on my betta
and he has also been scaring me cause he likes
hiding under the little bridge i set up in the tank for him
so i keep thinking hes dead and go chack and then i see him
hididng there=( but he still seems happy to me
he still does everything he use to do
and also i feed him pellets how many and how often should i give him??
please help me i dont want him to black out='(

capekate

Sorry to hear your worried about your betta. I dont really have any advice to give you as Im not sure what the problem can be. Just wanted to let you know that I have bettas also and would be worried if I thought something was wrong with one of them. I just lost my first betta yesterday. As far as hanging out under the bridge, he may have found himself a place to sleep and i have seen my own at times take catnaps during the day. As far as how much to feed them, I will leave that to the betta experts as Im sure they would tell me that I over feed my guys. I hear that only 3 or 4 pellets a meal is all they get. But I use the betta bites and they are very small pellets and I use more than that at each meal time, which is three times a day. there are alot of betta experts here, hopefully someone will stop by the freshwater fish disease catagory and read this. THO it seems there are more readers in the species catagory under BETTA. hmmm...
Hope your betta is doing ok..
~ kate

COBettaCouple

I think that your betta is alright. a lot of bettas LOVE bridges - swimming under and over and through things is a fun thing for them and they'll often sleep in those spots.

we feed our bettas 2 times a day, 3 pellets each time. we feed them each 3 pellet-sized pieces of frozen pea one day instead of pellets each week. The peas are thawed for a minute in the microwave and peeled, then cut into very tiny pieces so that they are like pellets.

Do you have a testing kit for your aquarium water? You will want to test the water to be sure it's good, but i think he doesn't sound in any danger now.

Haze_Betta

Aww im sorry for your lost=(
For how long did you have him?

Ahh okay its my first so i got scared=p
oh okay thats good i only feed him once a day but i give
him 4 pellets


Thank you

Haze_Betta

Thank you
He does love it i noticed that
i was just exagerating then=p
I only feed him once a day
but i give him 3 pellets
im i making him starve or something?
Thats kool about the peas
Wot else can they be fed?

capekate

I only had gypsy for less than a week. I really got attached to her though. Right now I have three bettas. 2 males and 1 female. The oldest one is almost 5 months that ive had it in my tank.

susitna-flower

Hi! and Welcome to fishlore!

Even in a 10 gallon tank your Betta will need filtration for your tank. You mentioned in one of your posts that you didn't have a heater, and that due to the warm weather, I agree that is probably OK. The fltration though is essential, and just like all other tanks you will progress through the nitrogen cycle, and this could be stressing your little guy out, and account for the breathing and hiding out. Look in the link at the bottom of the page about Fish Tank Beginners Guide, follow all the steps for cycling with fish, since you already have one in the tank, and right off the bat I would suggest a 25% water change. It won't hurt anything, and until you can get the test equipment to see right where your ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates are, you should probably do 25% or larger water changes every couple of days.

The water changes will also help keep his fins from getting fin rot. The folks on the Betta board can help with all your Betta questions, they are really great, so you will want to post there.

Fish in the Frozen North

Haze_Betta

Aww thats not good i get like that with all types of animals=(,Dont they figth if they are in the same tank?
wow thats kool
i only have Bucky Haze=p
(thats my bettas name=p)

Haze_Betta

Hello thanks for the welcoming^.^!!
well i have a filter he has stoped the breathing
and stuff i guess i was just being extra worried
hes eating and doing everything he still lays but someone said that they
like hiding sometimes so i guess its him=p
yea ill be getting one of those soon enough
Ill do that!!
Thanks for your help^.^!

COBettaCouple

our red combtail Betta, Mickey, will sometimes breathe like that. i think he's just very excitable and feisty.

chickadee

The only thing to perhaps worry about if you are having very hot weather is that they can get too hot. I would get an aquarium thermometer, they do not cost much and try to keep track of the water temperature and if it gets to getting too hot you may have to remove some of the water and put some cooler water in several times a day. I had to do that last summer and if you do it gradually (not more than a few degrees cooler and not more than a gallon or so of the water) and make sure that the water is dechlorinated it may help him not to breathe so heavily. His water should be about 80 degrees Fahrenheit or 27 degrees Celsius. Even if it gets down to 78 F or 26C it is okay but no lower as they can get cool water diseases like ICH, or velvet or finrot.

Otherwise Dave is most correct, Bettas do LOVE bridges and all of the ones in my little ones' tanks are used to play many hours in. They race through them and under them and over them and hide in them and sleep under them. It is their favorite toy and bed all rolled up in one so do not be concerned about his wanting to stay by the bridge. If the tank is getting too warm you might also try turning the lights off for part of the day to see if they are making the tank too warm for him. See if he will come out and swim more when they are off for a while.

Welcome and good luck and please keep us informed about the progress of your little one. Does he have a name? We do like to refer to them by their names here as they have become members of our families and all have their very own names. So next time I would love to welcome him by his name if you would like to share it with us. For now, Welcome to you both.

Rose