I Have A Potentially Very Stressed Fish...

So, I accidentally rescued a betta fish from a terrible (and ridiculous) situation. It was in a small tank, hidden as a prank and the reaction of the prankee was going be to swallow it alive. The betta was snatched out of the water and shaken up in the person's fist for a few seconds (to fling the water off) before my utter horror caused the person to put the fish back and hand the .5 gallon tank over to me.

I never have owned a fish and knew nothing about fish. No one wanted the fish or had any plans for the fish so of course I took it.

I did some quick research and found out it needed a heater and a bigger tank so I bought them quickly to get it out of the tiny, too cold tank. I thought I was doing great by going up to a 2 gallon tank but now I'm reading I still grossly under estimated The heater I snagged also turned out to have reviews of overheating water immensely and the automatic shut off failing and killing fish. So I didn't want to risk it.

So, now the betta is home with me in an unheated, still too small tank. I want to upgrade but am afraid the combined stress of the initial incident, an unavoidably somewhat bumpy car ride home, and the first tank transfer make it a bad idea to move him again. How long should I wait? Is he okay in 2 gallons for now?

Please advise on how to be a good betta owner!

 

HI there! Thanks for saving that guy, he appreciates it! Yes, he will be fine in the 2 gallon for now, most say 2.5 is the minimum, so you're pretty darn close. The main issue you are going to face right now is cycling the tank. Please read up on the nitrogen cycle, it's the biggest problem you are facing right now. Actually, scratch that, do you have a dechlorinator? You'll need one, and Prime will be the most helpful in your case as it detoxifies ammonia and nitrite up to 2ppm combined. These are toxic substances produced by fish waste, which turns into ammonia (deadly to fish, should be 0) then nitrite (deadly to fish, should be 0) then nitrate (less deadly, keep around/below 20-40ppm). Ammonia and nitrite become toxic at 0.25, and after a few days can be lethal. Get a thermometer so you can monitor the temperature, and you'll have to do a good number of water changes during cycling. You'll need a gentle filter, as the bacteria which converts ammonia to nitrite and nitrite to nitrate primarily live in the filter. I probably didn't cover everything, I apologise, but I'll be around for any other questions you may have.

 

Thanks for the quick reply! I have so many more questions!

I did fail to mention I dechlorinated the water with a tablet from a betta starter kit before putting the fish in. The Petco sales person said there are better options than the fizzy tablets but for a 2 gallon tank it should make it safe (I have no idea how much to trust pet store info?). I also wasn't sure if adding any further dechlorinator after the initial tab could do harm. Should I add another fizzy tab? With fish in tank? Or just wait and get and add the Prime?

I also have a single small live plant in there someone gave me for it. The 2 gallon tank actually came with a filter but reviews said it wasn't a great filter, though it appears to be doing something (better than nothing hopefully?).

I'm happy to go purchase more things but I want to get recommendations from more experienced folks on what to purchase this time, and get a better plan and timeline for the next switch over. I don't know if I can fuss with things like adding the prime stuff and heating the water with the fish IN the tank? If I go get a better heater, will putting it in the water with the fish in the tank harm him? If the water goes up 5-10 degrees fairly quickly?

As you can see, my fish and I are both a bit stressed!

Also, just realized I have yet another betta question- do they need a certain amount of hours in the dark? The tank came with neat lights that look great in the dark room but I don't want to keep them on for too long if the fish needs a certain amount of darkness for natural behaviors/sleep.

 

Your betta should be fine in water around normal room temperature for awhile. In the orient where they come from naturally, they are commonly found swimming around people's ankles in the cooler water of the rice paddies. The tank is small, but a lot better than the little water cups their sold in. Within a couple days, he will get familiar with the plant and where things are supposed to be when he awakens. Keep a test kit handy so you'll know when to do some partial water changes when ammonia begins to get high and once he gets used to you being his feeder, he will come to the front of the tank when he sees you. Don't let him sucker you into overfeeding him. He should be fine as long as you watch that ammonia build up. A little bit of extra Prime in the water won't hurt him, but I don't know what the little fizz tabs are.

Thanks for the quick reply! I have so many more questions!

I did fail to mention I dechlorinated the water with a tablet from a betta starter kit before putting the fish in. The Petco sales person said there are better options than the fizzy tablets but for a 2 gallon tank it should make it safe (I have no idea how much to trust pet store info?). I also wasn't sure if adding any further dechlorinator after the initial tab could do harm. Should I add another fizzy tab? With fish in tank? Or just wait and get and add the Prime?

I also have a single small live plant in there someone gave me for it. The 2 gallon tank actually came with a filter but reviews said it wasn't a great filter, though it appears to be doing something (better than nothing hopefully?).

I'm happy to go purchase more things but I want to get recommendations from more experienced folks on what to purchase this time, and get a better plan and timeline for the next switch over. I don't know if I can fuss with things like adding the prime stuff and heating the water with the fish IN the tank? If I go get a better heater, will putting it in the water with the fish in the tank harm him? If the water goes up 5-10 degrees fairly quickly?

As you can see, my fish and I are both a bit stressed!

As far as lighting goes, they orient their sleep cycle by light. They wake up often to get an air bubble fot the auxiliary breathing organ in their heads, so make sure the tank is not air tight if your filter is not ron by an air pump. They're one of the few fish speices that can drown.

Your betta should be fine in water around normal room temperature for awhile. In the orient where they come from naturally, they are commonly found swimming around people's ankles in the cooler water of the rice paddies. The tank is small, but a lot better than the little water cups their sold in. Within a couple days, he will get familiar with the plant and where things are supposed to be when he awakens. Keep a test kit handy so you'll know when to do some partial water changes when ammonia begins to get high and once he gets used to you being his feeder, he will come to the front of the tank when he sees you. Don't let him sucker you into overfeeding him. He should be fine as long as you watch that ammonia build up. A little bit of extra Prime in the water won't hurt him, but I don't know what the little fizz tabs are.

 

Thanks for all the feedback. I'd like to make another Petco run this weekend. It sounds like the most critical items are:

A test kit
Prime
Heater
Water thermometer

I'm thinking maybe in the next 1-3 weeks I can work on acquiring a bigger tank and then cycling it properly. So he'd be in the small tank for 3-4 weeks but have a pretty decent set up.

As for feeding, I've been doing 4-6 pellets a day and saw skipping one day a week can be a good idea. But I've gotten so many varied responses from online research which is why I came here to actual fish owners!

I also got dried blood worms but those seemed awful big so I'm worried about over feeding even with one?!

Oh no, I have no idea if the filter is run by an air pump. How can I tell? It just came with the tank.

He has an inch or two of air at the top of the tank and seems comfortable getting up to the surface for air. Is that suitable?

 

The prime is going to work better and be cheaper in the long run (the small bottle does up to 500 gallons), a 2 gallon isn't terrible, the only issue you will have is finding a small enough watt heater to prevent overheating.
An air pump is an added piece, if the filter plugged into a plugin or does it have airline tubing run to it and a small vibrating pump connecting to the plugin instead? You likely have a smaller nonair pump powered filter.
If you house temp is in the 70s you can hold off on a heater until you get a bigger tank (a 25-50 watt will work in a 5-10 gallon tank), that way you don't accidentally heat the water too much (while bettas like it warm in a smaller tank it is easy to overheat it even with a smaller watt heater).
As long as he has an open area to breathe from the surface he will be fine.

 

So I bought the water test and I'm a bit panicked over the levels of Ammonia and Nitrate. I got some prime so I'm ready to do something if needed and I've attached a photo of the results. Seems like ammonia is around .25 but Nitrate is possibly nearing 5.0? I've really tried reading up on this stuff but I'll admit I don't know which sites are authoritative and which are not when info differs. I hope it's okay I keep coming back here for advice.

Should I do a water change with the new water treated with the Prime? About how much? Is half too much for these results???

Also: The Petco sales people gave me some bad info that stressed me out because now I don't trust pet store staff. I asked for someone who knew fish and he said a 1 gallon bowl would be good for bettas and they don't like too much water. He also told me he wasn't sure I needed the water test kit (!!!)

 

just wanted to let you know that you can find the same products online on amazon that petsmart sells usually a substantial amount cheaper. I saw a heater for $10 online and then went to petsmart and saw the same one for $30. if you have prime shipping is only a couple days.

 

Thanks! Yes, I definitely have to stop going to petsmart and petco. I've spent too much money but I've been a bit panicky over the fish surviving and haven't wanted to risk waiting!

 

So I bought the water test and I'm a bit panicked over the levels of Ammonia and Nitrate. I got some prime so I'm ready to do something if needed and I've attached a photo of the results. Seems like ammonia is around .25 but Nitrate is possibly nearing 5.0? I've really tried reading up on this stuff but I'll admit I don't know which sites are authoritative and which are not when info differs. I hope it's okay I keep coming back here for advice.

nitrate at 5 is fine, 20-40 is about where people change water.
nitrite at 5 ppm is not fine.

 

Thanks! I couldn't find a nitrite kit at Petco and they didn't have the master kit so I'm in the dark on nitrites... And it sounds like that's possibly the worst one not to know?!

Are ammonia and nitrate levels any indication of what nitrites might be?

 

Here's a video that may help clear things up, there are many to choose from but this one looked quicker

 

Firstly, it’s wonderful that you saved the poor fish! It is good to know there are compassionate people about. This is a great source for advice with plenty of people happy to help.

Some fish stores have good staff, and some don’t. Sometimes the people at petco and petsmart are fish people who actually know what they are talking about, other times they give incorrect info.

I suggest changing half the water, and treating the tank with Prime. You can add Prime to treat the whole two gallons of water in your tank. Water changes can be stressful to fish, but ultimately it is better to change the water than to leave the fish in a tank with ammonia. Make sure the new water is the same temperature as the old water. It also helps to add it in slowly so it doesn’t knock the fish around.

 

Great video! Thanks! I think I get the gist of the cycle (hopefully!). I'll be doing more frequent water changes /testing over the next week. Each test makes me so nervous! I so wish I had been in a position to do this pre-fish!

Firstly, it’s wonderful that you saved the poor fish! It is good to know there are compassionate people about. This is a great source for advice with plenty of people happy to help.

Some fish stores have good staff, and some don’t. Sometimes the people at petco and petsmart are fish people who actually know what they are talking about, other times they give incorrect info.

I suggest changing half the water, and treating the tank with Prime. You can add Prime to treat the whole two gallons of water in your tank. Water changes can be stressful to fish, but ultimately it is better to change the water than to leave the fish in a tank with ammonia. Make sure the new water is the same temperature as the old water. It also helps to add it in slowly so it doesn’t knock the fish around.

Thanks so much! (Seems I'm just figuring out the quote feature now!) I did just a 25% water change last night. Edit: just read in another thread that Prime will detoxify ammonia but not remove it and it will still show on tests. The water change removes it.

So in a tank where I didn't get a chance to cycle prior to adding fish, can someone recommend a water change/testing schedule? Should I be doing it daily? Every other day? Tested and did a change last night (which I posted). I am terrible at interpreting the shade of the water, but I think ammonia might have been 0 or somewhere between 0 and .25?

I've read ammonia should be 0 but if it's slightly more- like hovering between 0 and .25, do I panic? Basically, at what levels do I take immediate action?

 

A short tube (like you see on those gravel vacuums) can be picked up cheaply from the hardware shop. It makes siphoning some of the water out very easy. I have a large Tupperware type bucket that I use to only treat the water I'm adding before I add it. Prime works almost instantly, then I carefully pour the treated water into the tank. If you don't treat first, you run the risk of wiping out the beneficial bacteria on the surfaces of the tank. For this reason I suggest you treat the water first ( in the shop where I have to do water changes for dozens of betta, I use a large watering can--a small one might serve you well. )

 

Daily testing, daily dose of prime and W/C every other day should be fine.
I worried about high nitrite (2ppm) after ammonia started testing 0 so I did daily changes.
I have a window near by to drain and a small pump in a bucket to fill so it is easy to do W/C's.
You may consider buying some bacteria starter, I picked up a bottle of 'topfin redistart nitrifying bacteria" for 5$ at petsmart and it finished the cycle getting rid of all nitrite for me (I was already 3 weeks in as well).

 

Daily testing, daily dose of prime and W/C every other day should be fine.
I worried about high nitrite (2ppm) after ammonia started testing 0 so I did daily changes.
I have a window near by to drain and a small pump in a bucket to fill so it is easy to do W/C's.
You may consider buying some bacteria starter, I picked up a bottle of 'topfin redistart nitrifying bacteria" for 5$ at petsmart and it finished the cycle getting rid of all nitrite for me (I was already 3 weeks in as well).

Thanks so much! I just got a 0 ammonia result after a 50% water change and I just ordered a nitrite test kit- should be in Tuesday. I'm finally starting to feel a little less panicky- this weekend has been quite the journey. Of course now that I'm on my way to understanding the water issues, I'm fretting that he may be a little fatter than he should be (I've only found one good reference picture and have scoured for more, but most are severe cases/potential dropsy bloating).

BUT, when I got him he was a very nondescript dark color throughout and fins were never fully out (if that makes sense, always drooping/close to his body) and already he's showing massive color improvement- clearly blue and some nice red. So I think that's good.

Thanks to EVERYONE who has commented, this community has been a lifesaver. Sean-the-Fish thanks you all too:

Edit: you can see a damaged fin from his shaking-in-a-fist ordeal in the picture, is that something I need to act on?

A short tube (like you see on those gravel vacuums) can be picked up cheaply from the hardware shop. It makes siphoning some of the water out very easy. I have a large Tupperware type bucket that I use to only treat the water I'm adding before I add it. Prime works almost instantly, then I carefully pour the treated water into the tank. If you don't treat first, you run the risk of wiping out the beneficial bacteria on the surfaces of the tank. For this reason I suggest you treat the water first ( in the shop where I have to do water changes for dozens of betta, I use a large watering can--a small one might serve you well. )

Thanks! I'll have to look into this, especially when I get a bigger tank. I can never visualize these things so it would have never occurred to me. I'll still have to find a youtube video on it!