Operation: Betta Rescue

OPERATION: BETTA RESCUE

Hey, what's up, guys? I'm a new poster on here. This last summer I have endeavored to fix the living situation for my turtles, which were being put into an abusive situation from lack of care by my mom. Long story short, I got a great twenty gallon tank and significantly improved the lives of my turtles. Their old tank is what I believe to be a fifteen gallon, which is currently sitting in our bedroom, unused. While I love my turtles and I am still working hard to help them recover from shell rot, I feel an itching to do something more and to expand my husbandry skills. But what to get? I wanted something interactive, that I could still challenge myself with but it wouldn't be too hard to take care of or too expensive. I also knew that in two years, once I moved to college, I would want to be able to get a pet that would be able to move in with me. Sadly, animals that are not service or emotional support animals are not allowed, and you can only have a ten gallon tank(not enough for any of the reptiles I was originally considering). I was really bummed out. That's when, during a paper I was writing for my english class, I stumbled upon a revelation-- betta fish.

I have had betta fish before. Of course, like my mom has shown throughout the whole turtle rehab situation, she neglected proper care for them. They had no filter and were in a tank less than one gallon, with little to nothing to interact with. The tanks hadn't been cycled, the fish weren't fed properly, it was a mess. Those fish died long ago, and none of us had any clue that we were doing anything wrong. Now that I have discovered the excitement of researching the care of animals, I realize that we were doing practically everything wrong that could have been wrong. The extra research I did for my english paper only expanded it, and I had fallen in love with the little anger babies known as bettas. It hurts my heart, seeing them lined up in cups at the pet store when we go to get turtle supplies. I felt a great need to use my newly acquired knowledge and my options to help save one of them. Considering the large amount of tank space we have, my experience with improving the lives of animals and my drive, I was completely convinced of what my next endeavor should be. I was going to make a beautiful betta tank and do it right this time.

Sadly, I have never done a lot of important things for tank set up on previous tanks that I have done, but I am willing to try for the best. Originally I thought a planted tank might be a good idea, but since this is my first fish tank that will be taken care of properly, I am not really sure. I also have limited knowledge of cycling, or how to clean the tank in a way that it will not hurt the fish. Then there's also the problem of what tank mates would be best, what kinds of hides they would like best, and what enrichment things should be placed there.

Unlike my turtle post, where I had specific concerns, this is more of an open post for betta and freshwater care. I am open to suggestions, advice, whatever! Tank mates, food, cycling and tell tale signs of sickness are probably the most needed bits of information. Pictures of your betta set ups or product suggestions would also be great. Once I get the tank set up and all of the supplies I need, I will update you. Until then, I want as much information as I can get so I will be able to understand how to make this fish's life better, so please, post away!

Also, I will be back to expand more on the information I already know. Thank you for your time!

 

Hi! Welcome to fishlore!

A basic tank setup for a betta would
1. Be 5 gallons or bigger
2. Have silk or live plants. Lots of decorations for hiding and resting on.
3. Have a heater set to 78-82f
4. Have a low flow filter. Bettas are not strong swimmers so strong filters can push them around. Sponge filters connected to an air pump are ideal.

Planted tanks are great! Some very tough and easy plants are java fern, salvinia, duckweed, anubias nana and java moss.

For cycling a fishless cycle would be best. This is a sort of basic guide to fishless cycling
1. Setup the tank with treated water
2. Dose the tank with ammonia to 2ppm. You can use pure ammonia or fishfood for the ammonia source.
3. Monitor ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels. You will see a spike in ammonia then nitrite then nitrate. When ammonia drops to 0 dose it back up to 2ppm again. If ammonia or nitrite go above 3ppm do a water change to lower them. If ammonia or nitrite get too high they can stall the cycle.
4. The tank is cycled when ammonia is 0, nitrite is 0 and you have some nitrates 24 hours after dosing ammonia. Once you see this continue to dose ammonia daily and check the levels for a week to check the tank is fully cycled.
5. Do a large water change to get nitrates below 20ppm
6. Add fish

Once the tank is fully cycled and you have added a betta you will need to do a water change once or twice a week of around 30-60%. Siphon out old water, vacuuming the substrate as you do. Then add new water slowly. The new water should be treated with dechlorinator and should be the same temperature, Ph and hardness as the water in the tank to avoid shocking the fish.

Bettas should not really be kept with other fish. They are very territorial. Many bettas will attack any tankmates. Even if a betta has lived "happily" with other fish for weeks or months they can suddenly turn and decide they don't want tank mates while you're out one day. This has happened way too many times with people's bettas. Even if they never harm the other fish they will be stressed with the other fish on "their territory". Bettas also have beautiful long flowing fins which other fish (even non nippy fish) can be tempted to nip.
The best tank mates for bettas are invertebrates. Most bettas do not consider them a threat. Snails are generally best. I keep my betta with rabbit snails, a nerite snail and pest snails. Some bettas are ok with shrimp. My betta lives with amano shrimp. Larger, less colourful shrimp like ghost shrimp or amano shrimp are much safer than smaller colourful ones like red cherries or crystal reds.

For testing tank water I recommend the API freshwater master test kit. It lasts longer than strips and is much more accurate.

 

This is a good place to check out: Fishlore's Betta forum

Betta Fish

 

BottomDweller Thank you for the information! I believe that I can handle 1-4 pretty easily, though a sponge filter might be a bit hard to find. Should there be some sort of air filter as well, for water oxygenation, or does a sponge filter do that for them? The fake silk plants are probably going to be my best go since I have inexperience with plants in water, but I might try one or two live plants to test it out. Some people say duckweed is a bit of a pest, though, because it grows too much-- are there any specific plants that don't end up overtaking the tank?

As for the cycling, I also thought a fishless cycle would be best. I have treatment for the water, but I am not sure about how ammonia works or how to add it in. Do I add in some type of bacteria, and that acts as the ammonia? I was recommended to try Fritz 7 because it cycles the tank very quickly, but I don't know whether that really counts for ammonia specifically. Also, I found a pretty good testing kit that I can try out when possible, so hopefully that will work.

When adding in the betta, should I float them in the water with the cup first, or should I slowly mix the two types of water and then just let the betta swim in? Also, will the dechlorinator help cycle the refill water for after fish cleaning, or will I have to completely redo the cycling on the water I will use to refill it? We have an aquarium vacuum for the turtle tank, but I'm not sure that it will be small enough for this tank. We'll see...

Yeah, I agree that other fish are probably a no-no. I was considering amano shrimp, but they breed sometimes apparently and I'm not sure that it would work due to my lack of experience breeding. I found some really cool mystery snails at the pet store that I was considering buying a betta from, so I might get those. I don't know how to take care of them, so I will have to do some research before I try to mess with it.

SaltySeaLion Oh!! I did not realize that there was a specific forum for this. Should I move this there, or keep it here?

Also, as a side note-- since halloween is coming up, I'm planning on decorating it with halloween decorations. If anyone has suggestions on decorations, I'd love to hear them!

 

BottomDweller
SaltySeaLion Oh!! I did not realize that there was a specific forum for this. Should I move this there, or keep it here?

Oh, no--I just posted it because there are a lot of betta owners in that forum, and I thought it would be a great reference! You're in the right place

 

SaltySeaLion Okay! Thank you so much for the suggestion. Once I get some time away from school work today I will check it out. I love looking at pictures of other people's beautiful bettas, and there might be some good questions on there that would help answer my own questions!

 

If the max size the school alows is 10 gallons then that's what I would get. Then usually weekly water changes are enough. I have pond snails and mts in with my bettas I see them every now and then snach one off the glass. I tried ghost shrimp they seemed fine at first but slowly I went from twenty to zero so they didnt work so good in my tank. Lol

 

conniedavid1978 Yep, I'm going to try for that as much as possible! The only way I would go lower than that was if I saw another betta in need and couldn't help but get two, but considering how much space I would want if I was a fish, a ten gallon is a better option. Currently I have what I believe to be a fifteen gallon tank, so it should have plenty of space for a betta and some snails. Mystery snails look like the best bet at the moment, but I'm still researching. I might do multiple types of snails if possible...? Specifically I would love to get a couple of live and a couple of silk/fake plants in there, that way they can work together to improve water quality for themselves in the fish. We'll see what happens!

I'm planning on seeing this weekend if we can start gathering supplies. I would just get it all at once, but with the testing kits and other things on hand my mom might feel overwhelmed. I think we'll try to get the hides and gravel this weekend. The decorations will come a bit later on, and then we can get the chemicals + the testing kit with the live plants. Then the cycle can begin! I've been told that cycling with Fritz 7 makes the cycle happen in about a week or less (by a professional who works at a big aquarium place for Bass Pro), so I think that would be a good start if it works. I'd love to try and get this Halloween theme together by October so we can enjoy it for longer, but I'm really fine with whatever happens. It can be Halloween all year round if it has to be.

 

Most of the people on this forum that will recommend a Bacteria in a Bottle will recommend Tetra Safe Start or Seachem Stability. I've cycled tanks with both with absolutely no problem. Plus with both of those products you can add fish immediately.

I have a 10 gallon with my Betta in it. Cycled his tank with Stability. That product is awesome. You can do water changes with it and it'll cycle in about 2 weeks. Which is great. Super simple and painless. I'd read the bottle instructions and it's a breeze.

Test kit is a must for any fishkeeper. Helps you understand the health of your tank on a daily/weekly basis.

I'll always recommend live plants as they are just awesome. And Mystery snails! My betta currently has 3 snails friends and he loves them.

 

HI welcome to FishLore!
We are not sure what you are asking. Other than how to properly care for your betta are you asking members to help write and provide pictures for your own site about betta care?

 

I honesty never heard of fritz 7 could be more on the commercial side than the hobby side. I have never used any cycle helper so I can't offer you an opinion on any. Same as water conditioner thankfully I live in the sticks and have my own well. As far as having shrimp with him yhe adults usually are safe but the little ones only a few will probably make it.

 

Sergeant Pepper Alright! Sounds like a good plan. I will have to see what happens, but if I can get live plants in there I totally will. We should at LEAST be getting some marimos, but it depends on what I can convince my mom about. Snails definitely sound like the best route then. Do snails need to be acclimated like bettas?

Lucy This thread is mainly just me asking about general care and tips for being a better owner. It will also be a good place for me to post updates about the fish in case I need help understanding care in the future, or if the fish gets sick. I...am not sure how you got the pictures or the betta site out of this, but I do not have a site with information about bettas. I was only making this thread to discuss what would be best for the betta I plan on getting soon, that way I do not mess up the husbandry or anything.

conniedavid1978 Yeah, that's why I was thinking a no on shrimps. I don't want them to breed and then have babies that I won't know how to take care of. :_c

 

BottomDweller Thank you for the information! I believe that I can handle 1-4 pretty easily, though a sponge filter might be a bit hard to find. Should there be some sort of air filter as well, for water oxygenation, or does a sponge filter do that for them? The fake silk plants are probably going to be my best go since I have inexperience with plants in water, but I might try one or two live plants to test it out. Some people say duckweed is a bit of a pest, though, because it grows too much-- are there any specific plants that don't end up overtaking the tank?

As for the cycling, I also thought a fishless cycle would be best. I have treatment for the water, but I am not sure about how ammonia works or how to add it in. Do I add in some type of bacteria, and that acts as the ammonia? I was recommended to try Fritz 7 because it cycles the tank very quickly, but I don't know whether that really counts for ammonia specifically. Also, I found a pretty good testing kit that I can try out when possible, so hopefully that will work.

When adding in the betta, should I float them in the water with the cup first, or should I slowly mix the two types of water and then just let the betta swim in? Also, will the dechlorinator help cycle the refill water for after fish cleaning, or will I have to completely redo the cycling on the water I will use to refill it? We have an aquarium vacuum for the turtle tank, but I'm not sure that it will be small enough for this tank. We'll see...

Yeah, I agree that other fish are probably a no-no. I was considering amano shrimp, but they breed sometimes apparently and I'm not sure that it would work due to my lack of experience breeding. I found some really cool mystery snails at the pet store that I was considering buying a betta from, so I might get those. I don't know how to take care of them, so I will have to do some research before I try to mess with it.

SaltySeaLion Oh!! I did not realize that there was a specific forum for this. Should I move this there, or keep it here?

Also, as a side note-- since halloween is coming up, I'm planning on decorating it with halloween decorations. If anyone has suggestions on decorations, I'd love to hear them!

Bettas can breath air from the surface so you don't need to provide any additional oxygenation but to answer your question, yeah sponge filters do oxygenate the water.

Java fern and anubias nana won't overtake the tank.

The bacteria and ammonia are separate things. The bacteria feed on the ammonia. Adding some bottled bacteria speeds up the cycle (if it's a reliable brand, some are useless) because then you already have a little bacteria to grow and establish the cycle. Tetra safe start has worked well for me. The cycle will still take around 2 weeks.

Is the test kit a liquid test kit or srtips that you dip in the tank?

To acclimatize a betta (or most fish)
1. Turn off tank lights
2. Float the fish in their bag or cup in the tank for around 15 minutes so that the water in the cup or bag is the same temperature as the tank temperature.
3. Add in a little tank water
4. Wait 10 minutes then add a little more tank water. You may have to empty out some of the water in the cup or bag so it doesn't overflow.
5. Add a bit more tank water every 5 minutes until the water in the bag or cup is almost completely tank water. This means that the water in the bag or cup is now the same Ph and hardness as the water in the tank.
6. Net the fish out of the bag and pop it in the tank. Don't let it swim out as this may mean you are letting some of the original store water (which is possibly carrying disease and the water in betta cups is almost always high in ammonia) into your nice tank.
7. Leave the tank lights off for at least another 30 minutes.

The bacteria that keeps your tank cycled lives in the filter, virtually none of it is in the tank water. So water changes don't affect your cycle.

Amano shrimp will not breed in your tank. Their young go through a larvae stage where they need brackish (partly salty) water to survive so in a freshwater tank they will not breed.

 

This thread is mainly just me asking about general care and tips for being a better owner. It will also be a good place for me to post updates about the fish in case I need help understanding care in the future, or if the fish gets sick. I...am not sure how you got the pictures or the betta site out of this, but I do not have a site with information about bettas. I was only making this thread to discuss what would be best for the betta I plan on getting soon, that way I do not mess up the husbandry or anything.

Sorry, I misunderstood. Sounds like you are going to be a great betta parent.
Along with the good advice already given check out the stickies in the betta forum. I'm sure you'll find them helpful
Betta Fish <---Link to the stickies