Betta and Glofish Problems

[zannadanna]

Hi everyone. I'm a brand new fish owner and I think I've already made some (hopefully not the worst) mistakes. I did some research before buying my fish, but I think I could've gone into depth more and that's my fault. On to my problem: I recently purchased a female betta and a female glofish betta. The glofish seems to be afraid of the other fish, and while they're not antagonizing each other to my knowledge, I'm having difficulties getting my glofish to eat. Not because she refuses to, but rather because when I sprinkle food in it takes her a solid few minutes to realize that there's food and by that point the other betta has eaten most if not all of it. She's swimming around fine, but I do notice that she like the bottom more while my other betta is towards the top. Pet store guy said I didn't need a heater or filter (I know, I know) so I ordered them both and I have them. Seeing as the tank was only set up 3 days ago, I didn't want to take them out on day 2 to cause more stress to put in heater and filter. So I plan on putting them in soon, but wanted to reach out here for advice first. Please be patient, I am trying my best with what I've got now- and I'm aware of my mistakes.

Tank
It is a 2.5 gallon tank.
It's been running for 3 days.
It does not have a heater or filter but I plan to put one in today or tomorrow.
I am unsure of the temperature.
There are 2 female bettas, gravel at the bottom (aquatic substrate) and fake plants.

Maintenance
I haven't done any maintenance yet, so opinions on when to change water would also be greatly appreciated.

*Parameters - Very Important
I did not cycle the tank. I am cursing myself as much as you are.
I am ordering a testing kit so I can see the parameters of the water. This is another thing I was unaware of until I already had the fish.

Feeding
I feed them 2 times a day (on a regular schedule so same time each day), Fluval Bug Bites Betta Formula and they've eaten it so far.
I shake the flakes into the tank, usually 10 or so come out. They're very small flakes. This is the thing where I've seen the most conflicting answers on, so I'd appreciate any advice on how much to feed.


Illness & Symptoms
I've had these fish for a few days and I'm more trying to avoid any problems that could arise as it's only been 3 days.

Thank you to anyone who helps. I apologize in advance for not doing enough research, for example I thought I was being great for getting 2.5 gal and not 1 gal (I see now why that's not an accomplishment). I'm a broke college student trying to give these fish a good life!

 

[BigManAquatics]

Better off having them in seperate tanks, especially with that small of a tank. There probably is some bullying going on that you dont see, because that tends to be what bettas often do.

 

[KingOscar]

Two in a 2.5 gallon is not likely to end well. If you can't get another tank try to re-home one. Also, since the tank is not cycled you'll need to do a partial water change every day until it is. On such a small tank, this won't be too difficult.

 

[zannadanna]

Two in a 2.5 gallon is not likely to end well. If you can't get another tank try to re-home one. Also, since the tank is not cycled you'll need to do a partial water change every day until it is. On such a small tank, this won't be too difficult.

Thank you for the advice, I'm thinking of getting another tank or rehoming one. Do you have a resource for instructions on a partial water change? I'm assuming it's just taking out some water, putting in some new treated water.

 

[Noroomforshoe]

You should rehome one of the fish, sorry.

You really should use a gravel vacuum to suck water out while sifting through the gravel. Then add fresh water that is the same temperature as the water in the tank. Add prime to the new water to remove chlorine, chloramine, and heavy metals that could kill your fish. It takes 2 drops of prime to treat one gallon of water. You should buy an eye dropper. You need to get a heater, and an adjustable heater like the Marineland precision 50 watts is a little bigger than you need, but it will work great. Make sure that your heater stays underwater while doing water changes. Don't change the filter cartridge!, 1-2 months from now, you can rinse the filter cartridge in a buck of old tank water if it needs to be rinsed. Do not change it for a new one even if it says to do so on the package!
Good luck!, Welcome to Fishlore!

 

[Rose of Sharon]

Hi and welcome to Fishlore!

I hope that this is not too overwhelming! Unfortunately some workers at pet stores don't quite know what they should and can end up giving really bad advice. So glad that you joined the forum. There are lots of experienced betta keepers here!

Bettas are aggressive, even the females, as I am sure that you have read by now. Can you bring one back to the store since you just got them? If you want both, then having 2 tanks is the best. If you want to keep them both in the same tank, then a 10 gallon tank with a divider in the middle to keep them separate will work.

Also, when you do water changes, make sure that the water you put in is the same temperature as the water you remove to avoid temperature shock. And it needs to be treated with a water conditioner/dechlorinator.

As as Noroomforshoe mentioned, Prime is a great water conditioner/dechlor and will be ultra helpful in cycling your small tank. It will take a while for that small tank to cycle, so frequent water changes, like 40% every other day, may be called for, at least for a while. I have a 2.7 gallon tank, and it took a few months for that little thing to cycle.

Let us know how things work out! And we would love to see pics of your betta(s).

 

[zannadanna]

Hi and welcome to Fishlore!

I hope that this is not too overwhelming! Unfortunately some workers at pet stores don't quite know what they should and can end up giving really bad advice. So glad that you joined the forum. There are lots of experienced betta keepers here!

Bettas are aggressive, even the females, as I am sure that you have read by now. Can you bring one back to the store since you just got them? If you want both, then having 2 tanks is the best. If you want to keep them both in the same tank, then a 10 gallon tank with a divider in the middle to keep them separate will work.

Also, when you do water changes, make sure that the water you put in is the same temperature as the water you remove to avoid temperature shock. And it needs to be treated with a water conditioner/dechlorinator.

As as Noroomforshoe mentioned, Prime is a great water conditioner/dechlor and will be ultra helpful in cycling your small tank. It will take a while for that small tank to cycle, so frequent water changes, like 40% every other day, may be called for, at least for a while. I have a 2.7 gallon tank, and it took a few months for that little thing to cycle.

Let us know how things work out! And we would love to see pics of your betta(s).

Thank you for the welcome . I probably could return one, but I'm a little attached now. I'm thinking of buying a second tank and separating them. Again, it's not that they're super hostile towards each other ( they seem to be surprisingly friendly) I'm just concerned about the one not eating. I think I have a bit to go until these gals have perfect homes- but I'm working towards it! I'm going to try to post a video of how they're acting now. They seem sorta... bonded? I'm very confused because the behavior they're showing isn't what two female bettas are supposed to show now. Any advice is appreciated. I'm going to do a partial water change today.

You should rehome one of the fish, sorry.

You really should use a gravel vacuum to suck water out while sifting through the gravel. Then add fresh water that is the same temperature as the water in the tank. Add prime to the new water to remove chlorine, chloramine, and heavy metals that could kill your fish. It takes 2 drops of prime to treat one gallon of water. You should buy an eye dropper. You need to get a heater, and an adjustable heater like the Marineland precision 50 watts is a little bigger than you need, but it will work great. Make sure that your heater stays underwater while doing water changes. Don't change the filter cartridge!, 1-2 months from now, you can rinse the filter cartridge in a buck of old tank water if it needs to be rinsed. Do not change it for a new one even if it says to do so on the package!
Good luck!, Welcome to Fishlore!

Thank you for the advice! I'm going to get a separate tank and she'll live on my roommates desk. The heater I have currently is an Aqueon Flat Heater 7.5 watts, would this work? I'm going to have two tanks anyways so if I can use this for one that would be ideal but if not I can return it. As for the filter, I think it should be fine, and I'll be sure to not change the filter cartridge. I'm going to do a partial water change today. I don't have a gravel vacuum yet so for now I'll do it without as I'm sure that's better than not doing it at all! I have this thing called API Stress Coat which removes chlorine and chloramines and heavy metals like you said and also claims to destress them. I'm going to try to post a video of their behavior since it's quite odd and involved into a weird friendliness (the glofish is much more lively today).
Okay, I can't figure out how to post the video on here so I uploaded it to YouTube. Here's the link

. This is just how they've been behaving recently. It's really throwing me off.

 

[Grimmalkinn]

I am so sorry that the petstore people caught another victim

Female Betta are often cited as being relatively "nice" fish, but every betta is different - and they almost always develop a "new" personality after a few weeks. Even dedicated betta sororities intended to reduce the aggression of female betta often collapse - and those are in larger tanks with many more betta than 2. I would seperate the fish.

If your tank is uncycled, your fish are stressed. Be prepared to handle a fish death - so sorry. No one blames you. We all make mistakes.

It's also just a factor of the hobby - you will see dead fish at some point. We all have.

You CAN take measures to help them survive:

Change a solid 30% of the water EVERY DAY until the test kit you are getting shows safe parameters. Always treat the new water.

I would invest in some fast growing stem plants - they're not too expensive and will help create a buffer in your water parameters for future mistakes once the tanks are cycled.

I personally always recommend Guppy Grass to new owners. It's cheap, it grows like crazy, and it doesn't require anything fancy to keep alive (it is also much easier to get rid of once you decide you hate it in the future haha)

You will need a heater and a filter for both tanks.

Worth noting: your tank will not cycle until you have a filter (or at least not anywhere near as quickly as you need it to) running.

Also worth noting: if the filter you ordered is a cartridge filter, you'll want to customize it (don't worry it isn't a super expensive process and will actually save you money anyways). Cartridges are a scam -- and potentially harmful to fish because replacing the cartridge just gets rid of your beneficial bacteria colony and makes the tank go through a second cycle. This is stressful to both you and your fish.

Customizing is easy just follow this

I personally skip the filter floss step. My water doesn't ever seem to need polishing.

I seriously recommend some real plants. Good luck! Please don't feel afraid to reach out.

We all know that mistakes happen -- I promise we have all made them. This forum exists to help you fix them.

 

[Debbie1986]

listen, as a college kid, I would not fault you if you use what you can

1. but the fish need to be separated
they are competing to breed even without a male present

it's pure instinct

2. aggression needs to be spread out to keep female betta together, you need at least 5 female bettas and a 20 gallon tank

3. 2.5 gallon is not optimal, but doable
just stay on top of water conditions

when I started out, I had 2 one gallon tanks
then moved to 3 gallon - no filter no heaters
then 5 gallon tanks with heaters and filters.

i had to learn as I went and I was lucky very few fish deaths

You can use a 1 gallon bowl until you can save up for a tank or find one used. You may already be emotionally invested in the fish. Just do water changes every other day, use Prime.

it's not great, but doable.

4. if you find this all overwhelming, then yes, rehome. it's okay

Everyone starts this hobby and it has a huge learning curve. it's great you posted here trying to figure it all out. Don't be discouraged.

Best wishes.

 

[zannadanna]

UPDATES!
Thank you everyone for the advice so far. Good news, a friend of mine has decided to take in the glofish into its own tank. Happy ending hopefully as far as separating the fish go! I've ordered the test kit so it should be here soon. Until then I'll put in the filter and heater and do a partial water change. Thanks again everyone.