My New Betta And Tank

Hey Everyone!

My name is Lukario45, I am a 19 year old college Sophomore in Pennsylvania. Quite recently a group from my school decided it was a good idea to give out Betta Fish to the students who went out to their opening week. Naturally I went and got one before I actually new anything about keeping fish, but it has been something that I have wanted to do for a while. When I was younger we had fish, I don't remember what but we definitely had some neon. Any ways since I had gotten the fish I had read A LOT of stuff about them and about fish keeping in general, some information I wish I knew before I even got my fish so I could have done things more proper.

Anyways, here is what I have done.

The Betta (Named Zuko from the residents in my dorm) came in one of those small critter carriers and had red stones at the bottom. He looked rather healthy at the time and the water was not too bad. I traveled home with Zuko because my roommate was out and I had no one else to really take care of him. At my home I changed out half of his water with tap water because it was starting to look a little dirty and I wanted him to be clean and happy. I did not treat the new water but I was conscious to make sure it was the same temperature as the old water.

I feel the need to mention that Zuko is still alive and well, I don't want you guys to be reading this entire post wondering if he died, that's not why i'm writing.

That same weekend I went to Pet Supplies Plus by where I live and bought a new tank for him. It is a 2.5gal Aqueon BettaBow, if you happen to be familiar with it. Its a plastic curved in the front but straight in the back, and it came with some betta food, some water treatment stuff, a filter, and a lid with a light. I also bought some API Tap Water Conditioner. Though I buy spring water for my tank because I don't trust campus water. I also got a live plant, not entirely sure on what it is bc I was stupid and didn't think to ask. By looking at common fresh water tank plants I am pretty sure it is an Amazon Sword Plant. Though I can never be sure. I also bought black stone for the bottom of the tank. For food I have some pellets that was supplied by the school when they gave the bettas, some pellets that came with the tank, and Tetra BettaMin flakes that I got at the store.

I still need to get a Thermometer, my dorm room is on the hotter side at the moment so I'm not too worried about it yet, but once it starts getting colder I will have a thermometer and a heater if needed. I also don't have a testing kit, didn't think to look for one at PSP, and the pet store I was just at today was selling four strips for about $20, and I just can't swing that, especially when I will have to get more than four strips. Next week I'll be going to a store specifically designed for fish that's about 15min away from my campus.

Same day as picking this equipment up I traveled back to school, poor fisho with another car ride. Upon returning to campus I began to set up my new tank. I moved Zuko from the critter carrier into a plastic cup so I could put the red rocks from the bottom into the tank with the black ones. I rinsed the black ones with University water, but I did not rinse the red ones. I figured that maybe some good bacteria could possibly have been with them from the water from where they were from. The black and red stones are mixed together, there is significantly more black, but that's OK. I filled the tank up with spring water that I bought by the gallon from the store. Only 2 gallons until the tank was filled. I'm guessing that the 2 inches of stone at the bottom of the tank took up space for a half a gallon. I rinsed the plant off with university water. Since the guy at PSP put the plant in a bag of their tank water I wanted to use university water because I know that there is chlorine in it and I don't trust their infested water at PSP. I planted the plant on the opposite side of the filter for the tank. I treated the water with the tap water conditioner by putting the drops for 2.5 gallons directly into the filter that was now running.

After this was set up and the cloud from the gravel (whoops, I guess I didn't rinse well enough) settled down, I begun to acclimate Zuko. I put half of his cup water, which was the same water from the Critter Carrier into the tank, and then I plopped the cup in and waited a little big, then slowly added water into the the cup, eventually I flipped the cup and allowed him to be free in his new home.

I know that typically when acclimating a new fish to the tank you try and not get their old water in. I felt that there had to be some benefit from his old water though, especially since I was putting him into a fresh uncycled tank. I also understand that the tank needs to be cycled to have the best water conditions for the fish, but I felt like it would be better to have it cycle with him in the tank then have him confined in a maybe 20floz container for 8+ weeks while a 2.5 gallon tank cycles.

Almost immediately after putting him in the new tank we went around and explored him and was A LOT more active than he was in the CC(Critter Carrier). I also fed him the flakes and while he didn't go to the top of the tank for the ones up there he did get the ones that would be floating under the surface. By the next morning his colors were a lot more vibrant than they were when I had gotten him. The fish that I originally thought was black with slightly red ends on his fins is actually a navy/purple color with vibrant red fins that appear to be slightly orange by the tip. It does appear that there is a dark outline at the very edge of his fins, I am keeping close eye one this but I do not think it is fin rot because his fins are in pristine condition. It is also not black per say, it seems to be more of his purple/blue color like his body. He always moves when I try and look close at it. I will continue to watch this and if I see that his fins appear to be degrading I will transfer him with tank water back into the CC and I will treat him in there. I don't want to use medication in my entire tank, but I'll do daily large water changes in the tank and the CC while treating so his water is better when he gets back in.

Since he has been in the tank I have noticed some slight glass surfing, but not too often. I think he is a little bored with just the one plant in there. I plan to add more though. One thing I have been keeping a close eye on is that he seems to like the bottom of the tank. He is very active and he most certainly does go to the top of the tank quite often. He doesn't lay at the bottom of the tank like he is sick, he just chills there right by the plant. Personally I think that the filter is creating too much of a current and bettas don't like that. He does hang out on a leaf from sword plant right at the top of the tank there. One time I watched him squeeze between the leaf and the glass and just chilled there for a bit. It was adorable. Now there is a stone up there, I have no clue how it got up there but I am just going to let it stay.

I want him to start hanging at the top more often though because I would like to add a single, maybe even two (I don't want to put too much in), shrimp into the tank. Ghost Shrimp preferably. I want them to eat the left over food from the bottom because once I start to add more decor to the tank it will get difficult to get the food from the bottom. I'm afraid that if he likes to hang down there then he will decide to have a snack of shrimp more often. I'm honestly expecting it a few times but I don't want it to happen too often. Too many new fish is too much opportunity to bring a disease into my tank from store water. I refuse to buy them from Walmart unless it is absolutely necessary.

Today was the third day of the new tank. I decided that every other day I would do a 25% water change. Still using the spring water but adding some conditioner just to be safe. Since I don't have a test kit I want to be consistent with the water changes to keep the levels stable, but without actually knowing what they are.

I tried to give you as much information as possible to help you understand the context of my questions, and if there is anything I did dreadfully wrong you can let me know so I don't make the same mistake. Later I eventually plan to add a 5 gal tank to my room and maybe another 2.5 betta with a similar setup to this one. I'm only allowed 10gal max in tank space.

Sooooo here are some of the questions that I have thought of during these past couple of days.

What are some early quirks I should look for in my fish that could help me catch a disease early on and treat it?

I feel like my filter is creating too much of a current, but I don't want to not run it. Zuko has yet to build a bubble nest, but I don't think he even can with the top of the water moving. It's not adjustable though, is there any way I can slow the current down for him while still running the filter?

I was only thinking of one or two Ghost shrimp, my tank isn't big enough but I would really like to have that cleanup crew. I was also reading about Cherry Shrimp, are they two small to have with my betta and will become his late night feast? If not would it be possible to mix crustaceans?

I am worried about Zuko being territorial when I introduce the shrimp. He is fairly docile and wouldn't even flare when my friends betta in its own CC was right next to his. He did notice the other betta but didn't flare, the other did. I was thinking of putting the supplied divider down while acclimating and then adding a few new decorations too. Would this be an ok way of doing this?

Are my 25% every other day water changes frequent enough? I want to make sure the cycle goes as smoothly as possible for Zuko, especially since I don't have a kit for testing my water.

I know that Zuko will have to travel more frequently than what is suggested because over certain breaks I am not allowed to leave tanks. I plan to travel with him in the CC with tank water. I do not plan on emptying my entire tank, but I do plan on putting half of the water into a bottle from the tank to minimize spillage. Driving time is only about an hour. Is this a good Idea for travel, and how long should I wait to re-add him to the tank after putting the water back in from the bottle and getting the filter back on?

The top of the tank has a lid on it, but the top of the filter where the pad thing is is open. Should I be worried about him jumping in? There is no moving parts or anything.

How did the rock get onto the top of my leaf?

Will there be any visible signs in Zuko if the tank temp is drastically off?

Do you sometimes wish bettas weren't so aggressive towards each other so you could rescue all of the ones stuck in the tiny cups at pet stores?

Wow! I just noticed that there is a lot of reading in this and I didn't even notice it. I'm sorry for making you read so much and thank you for taking the time to read it all! I could write a short story on the first few days with this fish, or I guess I already have... While I was in the middle of writing this a spider decided to pay me a visit and float down past my face. Needless to say I got very distracted for a 'short' amount of time and may have forgotten important questions or details that I wanted to ask. I am trying to get this spider species figured out because I hate not knowing, after I find out can I feed it to Zuko?

Thanks again! If there is anything that you need to know that I may have left out ill tell you! Just it is 3:30am so I may not see it until later this morning when I get up.

Cheers!

 

do you know about cycling a tank? You really need to get the heater and themometer asap. For the filter flow, just get some filter sponge and shove it onto the outflow tube. If the isn't one, you can cut the midsection of a plastic bottle and use that to block the filter flow.

 

If you think hes active in that you should see one in a 10 gallon or larger.

 

If you haven't get a bottle of Seachem Prime for conditioning your water. It neutralizes ammonia and nitrites up to 1ppm. So helpful! . I have my betta in a 10 gallon with an adjustable filter flow (he likes medium) and he STILL likes to sleep on the bottom! Some bettas are just weird I guess. He's usually rather active, exploring the entire tank top to bottom.

Your tank might be too small to add anything besides the betta. Not 100% sure on that.

I wouldn't feed him the spider personally. Frazier has had gnats before though. But I'd be worried about the spiders venom.

Zuko will be very inactive and could get sick if temperature is off or if water parameters get wonky.

After travels I'd say put him back in his tank right away. An hour should be fine. Leave him some air in whatever container he will be traveling in and keep the filter media wet.

My betta hasn't ever done a bubble nest yet either, and I've had him for a year so he could just not want to make one.

 

Thank you Everyone for the input. It is really helpful.

do you know about cycling a tank? You really need to get the heater and themometer asap. For the filter flow, just get some filter sponge and shove it onto the outflow tube. If the isn't one, you can cut the midsection of a plastic bottle and use that to block the filter flow.

I have read a lot about cycling a tank ever since I got Zuko Thursday last week. Previous to that I had no knowledge of cycling a tank, and I only learned a little but about the Nitrogen Cycle while I was in highschool. I have never personally cycled a tank before obviously, so I am hoping I am doing this correctly.

My mom should be sending a thermometer in the mail that her food pantry suctions to the sides of their freezers and refrigerator. Will this work or should I get an aquarium one at the pet store by me.

I didn't think of putting some filter sponge into the outflow. The outflow isn't a tube but more of a rectangle at the top of the filter, the water goes directly into the tank but does not fall in. If I put in a sponge will that count as media that will be home to the good bacteria? My filter only has one media slot and if I ever need to change it there will be no backup. I'll pick some sponge up later, though I am trying to avoid the local pet store around me. It's not a chain which is nice, and they keep real good care of the Betta they have there, the tanks for each looked to be either 2-3 gallons and each Betta has their own tank, with a live plant. Though I want to avoid them for anything cycle or filter related. The one lady was telling me that I should just remove my filter altogether and just do weekly 100% water changes. Which I guess would work but that seems like a lot of extra stress on my fish, and even worse if I added shrimp. Not to mention I can't use University water to put in my tank because there is a lot I don't know about it, so weekly 100% changes would really be bad to my bank. She also told me that since I would be doing these water changes I wouldn't have to worry about cycling my tank either. I would rather have my tank cycled than change all of my water each week. I'll go there for feed and if I need any emergency medicine because they seemed to have quite a bit of it.

If you haven't get a bottle of Seachem Prime for conditioning your water. It neutralizes ammonia and nitrites up to 1ppm. So helpful! . I have my betta in a 10 gallon with an adjustable filter flow (he likes medium) and he STILL likes to sleep on the bottom! Some bettas are just weird I guess. He's usually rather active, exploring the entire tank top to bottom.

Your tank might be too small to add anything besides the betta. Not 100% sure on that.

I wouldn't feed him the spider personally. Frazier has had gnats before though. But I'd be worried about the spiders venom.

Zuko will be very inactive and could get sick if temperature is off or if water parameters get wonky.

After travels I'd say put him back in his tank right away. An hour should be fine. Leave him some air in whatever container he will be traveling in and keep the filter media wet.

My betta hasn't ever done a bubble nest yet either, and I've had him for a year so he could just not want to make one.

I was reading quite a bit of posts with people using Prime for their tanks. I assume I would put this in with each water change since I haven't a test kit? Do you think this should be something I try and get ASAP, like off Amazon or at the local pet store? Or can I get it next week when I go to the actual fish store?

I realize my tank is definitely on the small size, I can't go bigger in my dorm room though if I plan on adding another tank that won't have Zuko in it. I know that more critters in the tank means more frequent water changes, I already planned on doing a weekly 25-30% water change once the tank is cycled and I can stop doing one every other day. If I have to do more frequently because of the 1-2 ghost shrimp, I will have no problem doing that. They would clean up the food Zuko doesn't eat, and keep the tank fairly clean from wasted food. I will make sure there are adequate hiding spaces for both Zuko and the shrimp.

That was one of the worries I had, especially since I don't know what the spider is yet.

I am getting a thermometer soon, and until I can afford a heater I will use a desk lamp to heat the tank if it's too cool. I will have a tank heater by the time it starts to get cold out.

I shouldn't have to let the filter run a bit after travel before putting him back in? I know I should do a water change the day before I leave, how soon until I should do one at my destination? I would likely be using tap water instead of purchasing spring water.

I think he tries to make a bubble nest but the current is too much and they all swirl away. Last night he was eyeing a pellet that was at the top and when he went to grab it it hit the fastest part of the current and moved to the opposite side of the tank. He just turned and faced me and gave me that look.

Thank you all again for your input!

 

lukario45. Yes it's a water conditioner you put in with every water change you do. Do you have Amazon Prime? If so I'd try to get it right away to help Zuko through the cycle.

At that size you may have to continue to do more frequent water changes, I'm not 100% sure. Once you get an API Master kit you will know cuz you want to keep nitrates below 20-40. It's bioload and the size of the tank. Betta can be fine and friendly one day with tank mates and then overnight turn into serial killers. Bettas are territorial little fishies.

Ok . Be careful with the heater. Some of those tiny ones can cook!

Not if the media is still wet. You want him to be in the bigger amount of water as soon as possible. Set up his tank with conditioned water and decorations, turn on filter and heater and put him in probably. Hmm. Follow what the Master kit tells you, but am guessing with a 2.5 maybe every 2-3 days for water changes?

Evil pellet went away!! Ah yes I know that look well! . Hmm sponge prefilter might work or a baffled flow with a piece of water bottle.

 

Hey Guys, thought I would give you an update!

I went to my Walmart to look for Prime because the earliest amazon can get it to me is Tuesday. Unfortunately I did not see any and when I asked they didn't have it. I did get some Tetra Safe Start and I put that in with today's water change, I hope that helps a little until I can get the actual bottle of Prime. It does say removes Ammonia and Nitrates, but I think its more of a long term thing than an emergency ammonia removal. I also got a thermometer for the outside of the tank.

I added a fake plant and a sunken ship (That is a lot bigger than I though lol) I didn't take him out of the tank, but he didn't look bothered like at all. He investigated my hand and was just casually swimming around. He did flare at it once but that was cause I lost my balance a little and moved a bit fast.

Over these past couple of days Zuko has been VERY active and he comes to the front of the tank when I'm around now, little beggar lol.

Since I put the safestart in do you think I could hold off on the prime? If so I can have an API test kit by tuesday, but I can't get both and the prime right now!

Thanks!

 

I think if you get Prime you need to go to a pet store like Petco or to a fish store. Walmart doesn't have it I don't think.

Hmm with TSS+ did you shake the bottle and add the whole thing? You got the start up bottle of TSS+ right? You may be just doing a light feeding every other day for the next two weeks.

Better to not remove Zuko from his tank unless for medicine like salt baths.

 

It sounds like you're off to a good start! You could keep a couple Ghost Shrimp in a 2.5 gallon with a betta, but it depends solely on the betta's personality.

 

I think if you get Prime you need to go to a pet store like Petco or to a fish store. Walmart doesn't have it I don't think.

Hmm with TSS+ did you shake the bottle and add the whole thing? You got the start up bottle of TSS+ right? You may be just doing a light feeding every other day for the next two weeks.

Better to not remove Zuko from his tank unless for medicine like salt baths.

I did not add the whole thing, the bottle for a fresh tank was the entire bottle for 20gal. With adding new fish it says to put two teas spoons in per 10 gallons. I put in a tablespoon since it was the first time but not a 100% brand new tank with a resident already I didn't want to put in too much. Since I put it in a few hours ago, it seems like the water has become a little cloudy. I think this is the bacteria slightly blooming, I am keeping a close watch on Zuko though. He is acting fine. He even went into the ship I put in. I have mainly been feeding Zuko flakes, he doesn't eat things of the surface too often so anything that doesn't sink he doesn't really eat. The flakes I can make sink right away. About how much flakes should I feed him? People say 'as much as he can eat for this amount of time' but that doesn't help much. I have been putting in a small pinch during feeding and he usually finishes it all. He is constantly looking for food though.

It sounds like you're off to a good start! You could keep a couple Ghost Shrimp in a 2.5 gallon with a betta, but it depends solely on the betta's personality.

Thanks! I like how it starting to fit together and I am liking the idea of doing bigger tanks. Unfortunately I just can't. I am allowed max 10gal in my room at school, and then the transfer of a tank of those dimensions would be really hard and stressful for the fish. Saw a 55gal tank in Walmart and I was like, I want this. He seems really docile, I have only seen him flare thrice. Once was I was shining a light in the tank and he saw himself on the tank side, second time was when he I moved my hand to quickly in the water and startled him, and the last time he randomly decided to flare at the fake plant. I guess he had some beef with it. When I first got him his small container was next to another betas small container, and the other betta was flared at him, but he didn't flare. He def saw the other fish a few times. I'm hoping he doesn't have a feast of Ghost Shrimp. At least not too often, I can't really blame him if he has a craving.

 

I would be careful about how many things you put in the tank. The hard thing about 2.5 gal tanks is that you need enough decor to keep the betta from being bored, but once you have that amount of decor it really limits the swimming space they have available and makes for cramped conditions. Honestly I would get two 5 gallon tanks if you want more than one betta. Or give him a 10 gallon all to himself. I also personally wouldn't risk putting shrimp in that size tank but it's up to you if that's how you want to spend your money. For your current decor, make sure the fake plant is silk, not plastic, and the ship doesn't have any sharp edges.

Walmart doesn't have Prime, you'd have to get it at Petco/Petsmart/Amazon/local fish store. Why don't you want to get a filter sponge from your local fish store?

Also flakes frequently cause bettas to bloat, and TetraMin/BettaMin have a lot of fillers. I would recommend getting something like HikarI Betta Bio Gold, just make sure you pre-soak the pellets. As far as the quantity of feeding, you can't apply the rule of "feed as much as they'll eat in 2-3 minutes" because bettas won't stop eating. Their stomach is the size of their eye so they need very little amounts of food.

I would also recommend doing more than a 25% weekly water change even after his tank is cycled. I do a 20% weekly water change for my bettas 10 gal. So for that small of a tank I would do a 30% change twice a week.

If he does appear to be getting fin rot, don't take him out of his tank and start treating with meds right away. Most of the time if caught early, clean water is all a fish needs. So if you get to that point, keep him in his tank and do 50% water changes every day.

One more thing, I would recommend getting a prefilter sponge to put over the filter intake tube. I actually had that exact tank when I got my first betta and his fins kept getting sucked in.

 

lukario45. ! With TSS+ that means up to. To cycle my 55 I used a 100 gallon bottle and my 10 gallon quarantine I am using a 40 gallon bottle. The bacteria in the bottle probably die quickly once you open it. You can always grab another bottle shake it and pour it in. The more bacteria to eat the toxins ammonia and nitrites are good to have. You can add TSS+ at any point in the cycling process.

Zuko will constantly look for food and act like he is starving! Frazier does this all the time! Hehehe. Usually a fish stomach is about the size of their eye. So maybe 1-2 flakes twice a day? I feed Frazier pellets. I do 2 pellets twice a day. Some days I feed him something else.

 

Another Update!

So I have got the Prime and some Sponge to cut down the water flow, which it doesn't seem to be there at all now. My API testing kit comes in Tuesday!

I also got a heater. It's a Deep Blue Heat Stik Preprogrammed MinI Heater, 15watt for up to 5gal. I am honestly terrified though because of the reviews I have read about it overheating the tank and making fried fish. I am not plugging it in at night. and I will only plug it in when I want to raise the temperature because I honestly have no clue how hot the tank will get and I like my fish to not be fried.

Racing1113 I hope to get a 5 gal for him eventually. I have also checked the ship and plant. I also plan on switching his food eventually when I can find a better alternative in the store.

 

I have some answers/advice for some of your questions, I've only had my betta 2 months but I did like 3 months research before I got my boy, so I feel I know a decent amount about bettas.

They get super lethargic is the first most obvious sign that something may be wrong with your betta, also not having an interest in food would be cause for concern

Whether you can have shrimp at all, is dependent on your specific betta. You need to have a back up in case something goes wrong, somewhere you can temporarily (at least) house the shrimp in. Until you can re-home them. You could probably have either kind of shrimp, but only MAX 2-3 shrimp 2.5 gallon is EXTREMELY small. You can't rely on them cleaning up all the mess though, they need their own food and will make their own variation of "mess".


Flaring isn't a good indicator of being docile, my boy is COMPLETELY docile with me, reflections of other bettas/himself. But I wouldn't trust him with even a snail in his 20 gallon because he tries to nip and eat everything. Dividers are probably not a good way to go about it, ideally you would have wanted to have the shrimp in there first, then add the betta. Dividing a 2.5 gallon tank isn't a good idea as its too small. However what you probably could do, is take him out for a bit, put him in the CC, Reorganise the tank Completely, put in new decorations, add the shrimp and then re add the betta into the tank. So he feels less like its HIS territory still.


Be VERY careful if you're going to transfer a tank with water in it, the bottoms of them can break out from the weight of the water/rocks/ornaments etc. You could re add him as soon as you get the tank set back up and running.


He may jump into it if it interests him, is there a layer of water above/next to the pad thing? So if he jumped in he wouldn't be stranded with no water? If there is water and no moving parts, just keep an eye on him and check behind there occasionally.

If the temperature is way off, he may act lethargic, but don't rely on that to be an indicator of your temperature in any way.

 

lukario45. Yay for getting Prime and a sponge baffler

Get a thermometer for the tank and use that to let you know when to turn the heater on perhaps?

 

I have some answers/advice for some of your questions, I've only had my betta 2 months but I did like 3 months research before I got my boy, so I feel I know a decent amount about bettas.

They get super lethargic is the first most obvious sign that something may be wrong with your betta, also not having an interest in food would be cause for concern

Whether you can have shrimp at all, is dependent on your specific betta. You need to have a back up in case something goes wrong, somewhere you can temporarily (at least) house the shrimp in. Until you can re-home them. You could probably have either kind of shrimp, but only MAX 2-3 shrimp 2.5 gallon is EXTREMELY small. You can't rely on them cleaning up all the mess though, they need their own food and will make their own variation of "mess".


Flaring isn't a good indicator of being docile, my boy is COMPLETELY docile with me, reflections of other bettas/himself. But I wouldn't trust him with even a snail in his 20 gallon because he tries to nip and eat everything. Dividers are probably not a good way to go about it, ideally you would have wanted to have the shrimp in there first, then add the betta. Dividing a 2.5 gallon tank isn't a good idea as its too small. However what you probably could do, is take him out for a bit, put him in the CC, Reorganise the tank Completely, put in new decorations, add the shrimp and then re add the betta into the tank. So he feels less like its HIS territory still.


Be VERY careful if you're going to transfer a tank with water in it, the bottoms of them can break out from the weight of the water/rocks/ornaments etc. You could re add him as soon as you get the tank set back up and running.


He may jump into it if it interests him, is there a layer of water above/next to the pad thing? So if he jumped in he wouldn't be stranded with no water? If there is water and no moving parts, just keep an eye on him and check behind there occasionally.

If the temperature is way off, he may act lethargic, but don't rely on that to be an indicator of your temperature in any way.

Good to know! I'll keep an eye on that! Is 'Betta Revive' good? I heard a lot about it and thought about getting some just in case an emergency.

I know that they will have the a little bit of their own mess, I feel like that mess would be better than rotting food on the bottom that the betta doesn't eat.

That would be a good time to reorganize the tank, I was also thinking of taking half the stones out from the bottom anyways because they take up too much room in my opinion. then I could reorganize everything. Would be doing essentially a 100% water change so early into my cycle be detrimental though for it?

Thank's for letting me know of this, I will be sure to be extra careful of this.

lukario45. Yay for getting Prime and a sponge baffler

Get a thermometer for the tank and use that to let you know when to turn the heater on perhaps?

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Got a thermometer already. If I ever have to treat him I'll let the heater run so I can see how warm the water gets. I turned it off at 80F today.

 

I haven't used betta revive personally, or heard of it. If you buy some just make sure it doesn't have any oils in it, like "bettafix" does, as oils can hurt their labyrinth (how they surface breathe). The reviews for betta revive seem okay though. So I don't see how owning any could hurt

Possible because its so early on in the cycle, put some of the tank water in a bottle perhaps? You wouldn't need loads of it, just a bit.

 

Betta revive is good but it's cheaper in the long run to buy the ingredients separately. Also if you do need to use it for some reason, make sure you treat the fish in a separate tank, methylene blue and malachite green will completely kill your cycle.

 

lukario45. Awesome! . Smart move! My betta likes his tank at 79*

 

lukario45. Awesome! . Smart move! My betta likes his tank at 79*

Thanks! It drops down a little at night because I don't run it then, but that would happen naturally anyways I assume.

Betta revive is good but it's cheaper in the long run to buy the ingredients separately. Also if you do need to use it for some reason, make sure you treat the fish in a separate tank, methylene blue and malachite green will completely kill your cycle.

I'll check on that, I plan on treating in the CC if it comes to that. With daily water changes ofc.

I haven't used betta revive personally, or heard of it. If you buy some just make sure it doesn't have any oils in it, like "bettafix" does, as oils can hurt their labyrinth (how they surface breathe). The reviews for betta revive seem okay though. So I don't see how owning any could hurt

Possible because its so early on in the cycle, put some of the tank water in a bottle perhaps? You wouldn't need loads of it, just a bit.

Ill make sure to check the ingredients before I buy it. I like the reviews for it and have seen it mentioned on these forums a few times.



Side update: My test kit was delivered today, will be resting after class.

 

I believe it would drop overnight in the wild. Hopefully it doesn't drop a whole lot in the tank though. Have my fingers crossed for the testing!

 

Test Results:

Not Looking as well as I would like

Ammonia: Looking to be between .5ppm and 1ppm, so I guess .75ish?
Nitrite: 0ppm is the color I see. def not at the .25 mark
Nitrate: 10ppm - 20+ppm, def not 40ppm
PH: 7.6
PH HIGH: 7.8

50% water change sound good?

 

Test Results:

Not Looking as well as I would like

Ammonia: Looking to be between .5ppm and 1ppm, so I guess .75ish?
Nitrite: 0ppm is the color I see. def not at the .25 mark
Nitrate: 10ppm - 20+ppm, def not 40ppm
PH: 7.6
PH HIGH: 7.8

50% water change sound good?

The ammonia is a little bit high definitely do a Water change and as long as the Nitrates stay 40 or below (Lower the better) it should be ok. A 25% water change per week will keep the ammonia under control and I use Nutrafin waste control to keep the ammonia and nitrites under control if I am going to be away

 

First of all, I'm very lazy so I'm not going to read the whole thread post, you did a lot there!
Lucky you for achieving yourself a betta! I'm wanting one so badly. I don't have any room for another one, I already have one in my 20g.

 

Test Results:

Not Looking as well as I would like

Ammonia: Looking to be between .5ppm and 1ppm, so I guess .75ish?
Nitrite: 0ppm is the color I see. def not at the .25 mark
Nitrate: 10ppm - 20+ppm, def not 40ppm
PH: 7.6
PH HIGH: 7.8

50% water change sound good?

Ok so you are cycling fish in of course. Do a water change 30-50% I'd say guessing every day or every other day using Prime to condition the water. Prime neutralizes ammonia and nitrites up to 1ppm. For at least 24-48 hours. Feed Zuko lightly during the cycle.

 

I started keeping fish when I pledged a frat in college too.
Sorry I only read the first paragraph

 

Hey Everyone!

My name is Lukario45, I am a 19 year old college Sophomore in Pennsylvania. Quite recently a group from my school decided it was a good idea to give out Betta Fish to the students who went out to their opening week. Naturally I went and got one before I actually new anything about keeping fish, but it has been something that I have wanted to do for a while. When I was younger we had fish, I don't remember what but we definitely had some neon. Any ways since I had gotten the fish I had read A LOT of stuff about them and about fish keeping in general, some information I wish I knew before I even got my fish so I could have done things more proper.

Anyways, here is what I have done.

The Betta (Named Zuko from the residents in my dorm) came in one of those small critter carriers and had red stones at the bottom. He looked rather healthy at the time and the water was not too bad. I traveled home with Zuko because my roommate was out and I had no one else to really take care of him. At my home I changed out half of his water with tap water because it was starting to look a little dirty and I wanted him to be clean and happy. I did not treat the new water but I was conscious to make sure it was the same temperature as the old water.

I feel the need to mention that Zuko is still alive and well, I don't want you guys to be reading this entire post wondering if he died, that's not why i'm writing.

That same weekend I went to Pet Supplies Plus by where I live and bought a new tank for him. It is a 2.5gal Aqueon BettaBow, if you happen to be familiar with it. Its a plastic curved in the front but straight in the back, and it came with some betta food, some water treatment stuff, a filter, and a lid with a light. I also bought some API Tap Water Conditioner. Though I buy spring water for my tank because I don't trust campus water. I also got a live plant, not entirely sure on what it is bc I was stupid and didn't think to ask. By looking at common fresh water tank plants I am pretty sure it is an Amazon Sword Plant. Though I can never be sure. I also bought black stone for the bottom of the tank. For food I have some pellets that was supplied by the school when they gave the bettas, some pellets that came with the tank, and Tetra BettaMin flakes that I got at the store.

I still need to get a Thermometer, my dorm room is on the hotter side at the moment so I'm not too worried about it yet, but once it starts getting colder I will have a thermometer and a heater if needed. I also don't have a testing kit, didn't think to look for one at PSP, and the pet store I was just at today was selling four strips for about $20, and I just can't swing that, especially when I will have to get more than four strips. Next week I'll be going to a store specifically designed for fish that's about 15min away from my campus.

Same day as picking this equipment up I traveled back to school, poor fisho with another car ride. Upon returning to campus I began to set up my new tank. I moved Zuko from the critter carrier into a plastic cup so I could put the red rocks from the bottom into the tank with the black ones. I rinsed the black ones with University water, but I did not rinse the red ones. I figured that maybe some good bacteria could possibly have been with them from the water from where they were from. The black and red stones are mixed together, there is significantly more black, but that's OK. I filled the tank up with spring water that I bought by the gallon from the store. Only 2 gallons until the tank was filled. I'm guessing that the 2 inches of stone at the bottom of the tank took up space for a half a gallon. I rinsed the plant off with university water. Since the guy at PSP put the plant in a bag of their tank water I wanted to use university water because I know that there is chlorine in it and I don't trust their infested water at PSP. I planted the plant on the opposite side of the filter for the tank. I treated the water with the tap water conditioner by putting the drops for 2.5 gallons directly into the filter that was now running.

After this was set up and the cloud from the gravel (whoops, I guess I didn't rinse well enough) settled down, I begun to acclimate Zuko. I put half of his cup water, which was the same water from the Critter Carrier into the tank, and then I plopped the cup in and waited a little big, then slowly added water into the the cup, eventually I flipped the cup and allowed him to be free in his new home.

I know that typically when acclimating a new fish to the tank you try and not get their old water in. I felt that there had to be some benefit from his old water though, especially since I was putting him into a fresh uncycled tank. I also understand that the tank needs to be cycled to have the best water conditions for the fish, but I felt like it would be better to have it cycle with him in the tank then have him confined in a maybe 20floz container for 8+ weeks while a 2.5 gallon tank cycles.

Almost immediately after putting him in the new tank we went around and explored him and was A LOT more active than he was in the CC(Critter Carrier). I also fed him the flakes and while he didn't go to the top of the tank for the ones up there he did get the ones that would be floating under the surface. By the next morning his colors were a lot more vibrant than they were when I had gotten him. The fish that I originally thought was black with slightly red ends on his fins is actually a navy/purple color with vibrant red fins that appear to be slightly orange by the tip. It does appear that there is a dark outline at the very edge of his fins, I am keeping close eye one this but I do not think it is fin rot because his fins are in pristine condition. It is also not black per say, it seems to be more of his purple/blue color like his body. He always moves when I try and look close at it. I will continue to watch this and if I see that his fins appear to be degrading I will transfer him with tank water back into the CC and I will treat him in there. I don't want to use medication in my entire tank, but I'll do daily large water changes in the tank and the CC while treating so his water is better when he gets back in.

Since he has been in the tank I have noticed some slight glass surfing, but not too often. I think he is a little bored with just the one plant in there. I plan to add more though. One thing I have been keeping a close eye on is that he seems to like the bottom of the tank. He is very active and he most certainly does go to the top of the tank quite often. He doesn't lay at the bottom of the tank like he is sick, he just chills there right by the plant. Personally I think that the filter is creating too much of a current and bettas don't like that. He does hang out on a leaf from sword plant right at the top of the tank there. One time I watched him squeeze between the leaf and the glass and just chilled there for a bit. It was adorable. Now there is a stone up there, I have no clue how it got up there but I am just going to let it stay.

I want him to start hanging at the top more often though because I would like to add a single, maybe even two (I don't want to put too much in), shrimp into the tank. Ghost Shrimp preferably. I want them to eat the left over food from the bottom because once I start to add more decor to the tank it will get difficult to get the food from the bottom. I'm afraid that if he likes to hang down there then he will decide to have a snack of shrimp more often. I'm honestly expecting it a few times but I don't want it to happen too often. Too many new fish is too much opportunity to bring a disease into my tank from store water. I refuse to buy them from Walmart unless it is absolutely necessary.

Today was the third day of the new tank. I decided that every other day I would do a 25% water change. Still using the spring water but adding some conditioner just to be safe. Since I don't have a test kit I want to be consistent with the water changes to keep the levels stable, but without actually knowing what they are.

I tried to give you as much information as possible to help you understand the context of my questions, and if there is anything I did dreadfully wrong you can let me know so I don't make the same mistake. Later I eventually plan to add a 5 gal tank to my room and maybe another 2.5 betta with a similar setup to this one. I'm only allowed 10gal max in tank space.

Sooooo here are some of the questions that I have thought of during these past couple of days.

What are some early quirks I should look for in my fish that could help me catch a disease early on and treat it?

I feel like my filter is creating too much of a current, but I don't want to not run it. Zuko has yet to build a bubble nest, but I don't think he even can with the top of the water moving. It's not adjustable though, is there any way I can slow the current down for him while still running the filter?

I was only thinking of one or two Ghost shrimp, my tank isn't big enough but I would really like to have that cleanup crew. I was also reading about Cherry Shrimp, are they two small to have with my betta and will become his late night feast? If not would it be possible to mix crustaceans?

I am worried about Zuko being territorial when I introduce the shrimp. He is fairly docile and wouldn't even flare when my friends betta in its own CC was right next to his. He did notice the other betta but didn't flare, the other did. I was thinking of putting the supplied divider down while acclimating and then adding a few new decorations too. Would this be an ok way of doing this?

Are my 25% every other day water changes frequent enough? I want to make sure the cycle goes as smoothly as possible for Zuko, especially since I don't have a kit for testing my water.

I know that Zuko will have to travel more frequently than what is suggested because over certain breaks I am not allowed to leave tanks. I plan to travel with him in the CC with tank water. I do not plan on emptying my entire tank, but I do plan on putting half of the water into a bottle from the tank to minimize spillage. Driving time is only about an hour. Is this a good Idea for travel, and how long should I wait to re-add him to the tank after putting the water back in from the bottle and getting the filter back on?

The top of the tank has a lid on it, but the top of the filter where the pad thing is is open. Should I be worried about him jumping in? There is no moving parts or anything.

How did the rock get onto the top of my leaf?

Will there be any visible signs in Zuko if the tank temp is drastically off?

Do you sometimes wish bettas weren't so aggressive towards each other so you could rescue all of the ones stuck in the tiny cups at pet stores?

Wow! I just noticed that there is a lot of reading in this and I didn't even notice it. I'm sorry for making you read so much and thank you for taking the time to read it all! I could write a short story on the first few days with this fish, or I guess I already have... While I was in the middle of writing this a spider decided to pay me a visit and float down past my face. Needless to say I got very distracted for a 'short' amount of time and may have forgotten important questions or details that I wanted to ask. I am trying to get this spider species figured out because I hate not knowing, after I find out can I feed it to Zuko?

Thanks again! If there is anything that you need to know that I may have left out ill tell you! Just it is 3:30am so I may not see it until later this morning when I get up.

Cheers!

Corky things I noticed about my betta and was verified through other people is that they are very lazy. If you can get the suction cup leaves they will always be hanging out on that if you put it an inch to 2 inches below the surface. My Beta always seemed happier when I moved him into my 20 gallon tank. At first he did try to chase my other fish but after a few days he realized that he could not catch them and didn't bother. My betta and ever went after my ghost shrimp, but that could also be because he was lazy. On the note of being lazy it is very unlikely that he will put in the energy required to jump into the filter. You also might want to consider getting an algae eater if you upgrade your tank size