Slightly Sick Betta In A Bowl

Hey! So I'm pretty new to fishkeeping and have been sifting through a lot of misinformation on my journey. I was given a young betta and 3 molly fry because they had no where else to go and was told they could all live in bowls (separating the fry and betta) quickly realized that's not ideal so I set up a 10 gal with some plants, cycled it and threw in the mollies. Back to my betta who I'm a little worried about. I had an air plant in his bowl and it kinda rotted, also it's just recently got slightly cold in Florida. I don't know which is messing with him, or if it's over feeding or all of the above but every time he eats he seems to have swim bladder issues, only for about 10 minutes. Should I keep him in the unheated bowl with consistent water changes or would a breeder box in my 10 gal be less stressful? I don't want to get my fry sick if betta got something fungal from the plant also I've been fasting every other day in case it is constipation & would like to get a better food but I don't know where to go for that.

Also since getting out the plant I did a large water change and now a 10-20% daily/every other day and I use aquarium salt for freshwater fishes any advice would be greatly appreciated thanks so much for reading!

 

What is the betta currently in? And is he floating/sinking? Have you seen him poop recently?

 

What is the betta currently in? And is he floating/sinking? Have you seen him poop recently?

He's in a medium sized bowl that I had around with some moss balls and bamboo (only aquatic plants from now on) and some coral fossil (I saw somewhere that live rock acts as a slight filter) with black sand substrate. I've really never noticed his poo ever since I got him I clean out old food and debris (not so much old food since I've been feeding him less for like 3 days) whenever he eats he looks weirdly bent, swims kinda sideways and his butt floats up. He looked super bloated but that's calmed down and the floating goes away. I might just be kinda paranoid but I'd rather fix it before it becomes a problem!

 

How many pellets are you feeding him, and are you pre-soaking them?

 

HI there,

The mollies are going to need much bigger then a ten gallon tank, they need at least 29 gallon minimum and probably bigger then that since there are three of them. Honestly I would rehome the mollies and acclimate the betta into the ten gallon. You could probably give up the mollies to a local fish/pet store.

Do you know about the nitrogen cycle?
Does the ten gallon have a filter, and heater?

For bloat you can try fasting for a couple days as well as feeding the betta deshelled pea.

 

10 gal has a filter and the heater is on it's way! Very familiar with the cycle as I've worked at an aquarium. I saw that about mollies but where I got them said they were garbage so I figured a 10 gal was better than a trash bag and it's all I have room for. I've been fasting and I've heard about the pea thing but that seems really extreme and unhealthy, feeding a fish something it can't process. I guess it's been done frequently enough that it's probably safe. The pellets aren't pre soaked as I only learned about that since I started fasting! Would pre soaked pellets be the best option or live food (in nervous about contamination from those)?

 

Pre-soaking pellets and making sure you aren't overfeeding can help yes. Betta's can process a pea just fine.

You really aren't saving them by having them in a ten gallon, no cycle. I would try to rehome them to someone else then that has a bigger tank, heater and filter. You can check out local fish groups on facebook, look at criagslist, and so forth.

 

There is a filter in my 10 gal

Thanks for your input I'll keep looking for other solutions.

 

There is a filter in my 10 gal

Oh Sorry I could of sworn I read that it "has no filter." It's good that you have a filter then, but I still would try to rehome the mollies. What are your parameters exactly then?

 

I was asking if it's would benefit my betta to put him in a breeder box in a 10 gal and maybe for some food advice. If anyone has any relevant information help is greatly appreciated. Otherwise I'm ok. If it calms your concerns the molly are black meaning they will grow up to be smaller than other types.

 

Your betta needs to be in a heated environment and at least 2.5 gallons (ideally 5). You aren't able to get him a separate tank? Maybe other members can chime in on keeping him with the mollies. I wouldn't keep him in the breeder box, it doesn't seem fair to show him all the space he could have.

 

I was asking if it's would benefit my betta to put him in a breeder box in a 10 gal and maybe for some food advice. If anyone has any relevant information help is greatly appreciated. Otherwise I'm ok. If it calms your concerns the molly are black meaning they will grow up to be smaller than other types.

The 29 gallons I keep saying for mollies I believe is for some of the smaller types too. It's because of their high bioload not necessary their size. I personally would not put the betta with the mollies. Mollies will be stressed in the ten gallon as it is, and they can be aggressive.

 

You don't want to keep him in a 10 gallon with the mollies, besides the mollies needing more room, betta's shouldn't be kept in 10 gallons with other fish (at least a 20 from what I've read). A cheap alternative would be to find a large-ish sterilite container to put your sick betta in. This will give him more room, make dosing medications easier, and it won't hurt your wallet as much as he's recovering. He desperately needs a heater, which will make him feel better as well as help him fight off anything he has. A filter would also be a good idea to get, sponge filters can be relatively cheap especially if you already have an air pump around.

The breeder box while it would keep your fish from killing each other, it would add stress for all of the fish, possibly making your poor betta even more sick.

You want to make sure you soak your pellet food for about 10-ish minutes to allow it to expand so it doesn't bloat your little guy. I would suggest fasting him for three days to see if that helps, and feeding him 1/4 of a thawed pea (without the shell). If he doesn't go for the pea, daphnia also helps with constipation (daphnia can be bought frozen or freeze-dried, just soak anything freeze-dried first).

 

Update: tried the breeder box & the bloat went away, I think the cold was slowing down his system. The fry got through the box and things seemed ok so I let him in with supervision and he scared the poor things so I yanked him back out and the poor guy is in a bowl being fasted until I can pick up a 2 gal I found on Craigslist for him to live in alone. I've heard enthusiasts say that 10 gal is a minimum for betta Ive heard idiots say cups so I'm not exactly sure how I feel about the 2 gal. It's kinda all I have space for (really I don't but the bowl is not gonna cut it) I bought some freeze dried blood worms for when he has heat again and luckily I'm in Florida so he isn't too too cold for now I promise I like fish
He does seem to be a lot better though, no floating!

also I'll probably upgrade my mollies tank! Since they're still small with frequent water changes I think we'll be ok for the time being but correct me if I'm wrong! There's so much contradicting information and I'm new to the game

 

Update: tried the breeder box & the bloat went away, I think the cold was slowing down his system. The fry got through the box and things seemed ok so I let him in with supervision and he scared the poor things so I yanked him back out and the poor guy is in a bowl being fasted until I can pick up a 2 gal I found on Craigslist for him to live in alone. I've heard enthusiasts say that 10 gal is a minimum for betta Ive heard idiots say cups so I'm not exactly sure how I feel about the 2 gal. It's kinda all I have space for (really I don't but the bowl is not gonna cut it) I bought some freeze dried blood worms for when he has heat again and luckily I'm in Florida so he isn't too too cold for now I promise I like fish
He does seem to be a lot better though, no floating!

I don't know if there's a petco near you but they have the dollar per gallon sale right now until the end of the month. If not and you have no other options and don't want to rehome I know florida has walmarts and they also have 5/10/55/100 gallon starter kits or you can get a 2.5 gallon tetra aquarium for 18-22 $ and a 50 watt heater for less than ten. The betta needs a heater asap as it will help tremendously

 

I definitely get the heater part! He'll be back with one asap, what do you think of the 2gal? I'm sure it can be done but so can cups and that's kinda cruel I'd like to do better for him! Maybe the 2 gal until my mollies upgrade and he could have the 10? I really don't like that much tank for just one fish aesthetically and I don't have the space but I want to do well for the fesh. I don't consider rehomeing to be much of an option bc I don't know someone who will provide better for him. Are there ways to find people who would like sites to use? Or would a 2 gal work long term?

 

I definitely get the heater part! He'll be back with one asap, what do you think of the 2gal? I'm sure it can be done but so can cups and that's kinda cruel I'd like to do better for him! Maybe the 2 gal until my mollies upgrade and he could have the 10? I really don't like that much tank for just one fish aesthetically and I don't have the space but I want to do well for the fesh. I don't consider rehomeing to be much of an option bc I don't know someone who will provide better for him. Are there ways to find people who would like sites to use? Or would a 2 gal work long term?

5 gallons at least would be best. Sure rhey can survive in a cup but its certainly not healthy and drastically reduces their life span

 

5 gallons at least would be best. Sure rhey can survive in a cup but its certainly not healthy and drastically reduces their life span

I only mentioned the cup thing bc I'm tryna avoid being that owner!!!! I don't think it's a rational idea I promise
5 gal will be harder to fit but the same craigslist guy has a fluval spec 5! Would that be ideal?

 

I would definitely go with the 5 gallon if its available! your betta will thank you!
I just upgraded by betta from a three gallon bowl to a 10 gallon and she is sooooo happy.
As for the food, I think you made a good choice with the blood worms. I personally feed my bettas frozen brine shrimp and they love it. It's a lot healthier than fish flakes and pellet, for sure!
Best of luck to you and your betta!

 

Thank you! When he was in the 10 gal terrozing the mollies he did seem quite happy lol hopefully the 5 will be an adequate compromise! I've heard concerns about disease from live/frozen foods is that a valid thing to worry about?

 

I'd defiantly try to do the 5 gallon for him if you can. Not sure if it's been said yet, I'm half asleep, but you could do a small sponge filter and air pump for him. If you can get the fluval spec v go for it! There are some modifications that you need to do but they are easy. Since you don't have the ability at the moment to get the mollies a bigger tank, then I would do more water changes weekly or rather larger water changes if it's cycled. If it's not, then we can help you with that!

 

I'd defiantly try to do the 5 gallon for him if you can. Not sure if it's been said yet, I'm half asleep, but you could do a small sponge filter and air pump for him. If you can get the fluval spec v go for it! There are some modifications that you need to do but they are easy. Since you don't have the ability at the moment to get the mollies a bigger tank, then I would do more water changes weekly or rather larger water changes if it's cycled. If it's not, then we can help you with that!

The tanks been established a little and while I'm slacking on getting an at home water test thing my lfs tests samples for me! Everything looks pretty good so I think that means it's cycled? I do bi-trI weekly water changes of about 20% which might be overkill but I think it's ok? That way it's less water each time/ hopefully less stressful? The idea of modifying the tank scares me I've seen a couple ideas but they look pretty complex :/

 

I'd suggest you get s test kit when you can do so. It's pricey up front but it will do a lot of tests! Also the modifications are simple. Put a fluval prefilter over outflow, and make a few small holes in the pump tube. You probably would be fine doing just the prefilter as it slows down the current to almost completely no water agitation, which they like. I have one and I do plan to get a air stone as I want to keep biofilm off the top. It just bugs me lol

 

I'd suggest you get s test kit when you can do so. It's pricey up front but it will do a lot of tests! Also the modifications are simple. Put a fluval prefilter over outflow, and make a few small holes in the pump tube. You probably would be fine doing just the prefilter as it slows down the current to almost completely no water agitation, which they like. I have one and I do plan to get a air stone as I want to keep biofilm off the top. It just bugs me lol

I will! I just need some time to afford everything and the mods don't sound too bad! Is biofilm that stuff on the top of the water that kinda looks like an oil spill minus the color? I saw someone on YouTube spray that stuff with hydrogen peroxide just straight in to the water which seemed like it helped but I worry about how it effects the fish! Maybe that would work for you if it's safe?

 

I have never heard of that.. And I'd be hesitant to do it. Mainly because I work in the medical field and we use hydrogen peroxide sometimes to get out blood stains before sterilization. I would be scared I'd kill my fish.

 

People do use hydrogen peroxide to kill off (I think) black beard algae. So apparently it can be used, even though you wouldn't think it could (I know I was surprised when I heard about that).

 

Really? That's interesting! I wonder why it kills some things but leaves other forms of life alone.

I think I am going to look into this more, I am curious now !