betta fish problemss... help!?

Question

well my betta fish has white stuff on him under his mouth area... i barely got the fish like maybe 4 to 5 months ago... how much do i have to feed my betta fish a day?... is it ok that i have marbels in the bowel? what if one of his fins are apart then the others! soo many questions can you please help me ! and would it be ok if i put a little castel in the bowel? do i have to a have a plant in the bowel?my last question how often do i have to clean the bowel?
if you answer any of these questuions THANK YOU SOO MUCH!

is it good to feed him 5 to 6 baby pellets is what i feed him he loves it!

Answer 1

It's hard to say exactly what the "white stuff" is without a photo or more in depth description. (is it stringy, cottony, a growth, or just the color of the scales?) If it is fungus-like in appearance it may be flavobacterium columnare or a similar infection. It looks like a fungus but is actually a bacterial infection and is extremely common in bettas. If left untreated, it can spread and lead to eventual death. Flavobacterium columnare is also called by its old name, Flexibacter columnaris, or Flex, Cotton Wool Disease or Mouth fungus because it commonly infects the mouth. This may or may not be what your betta has but you can check this link for more info... http://www.nippyfish.net/flexibacter.html

A betta's stomach is about as big as one of his eyeballs so you should feed about that much about twice per day. That equates to about 3-4 pellets OR bloodworms OR a couple of brine shrimp per feeding. There is some room for adjustment and some aquarists prefer to feed less. I only feed my bettas once per day to keep nitrate levels down.

Marbels are fine as long as you suck out any food that falls between them. When I used to keep betta bowls I had a turkey baster that I used to suck out any uneaten food or waste material.

I'm not sure what you mean by one of this fins are apart from the others. Do you mean it has a split in the fin? If this is what you mean just keep the water very clean by keeping up with your water changes and it will heal on its own.

A castle should be ok if it doesn't have any sharp edges that can rip fragile betta fins. Many of us do the pantyhose test. If you run a pair of hose over the decoration and they don't snag or rip, then they should be fine for a betta.

You don't have to have a plant in the bowl but some bettas like them because they make them feel secure and allow them a place to purch their bodies neer the surface so they can just stick their head out to get air. Bettas sometimes like to sleep in their plants too. Live plants aren't necessary because bettas can't tell the differerence. Silk aquarium grade plants are just fine if you don't want to care for a live one.

Your cleaning regemin depends on a lot of things like how much water the bowl holds, how much you are feeding and how fast the fish is producing toxic ammonia. You should purchase an ammonia test kit if you haven't already so you can test the water regularly. I like to start with a full 100% water change and then begin testing the water for ammonia the next day. I test every single day until I start to see trace amounts appear on my test kit. If it takes 5 days to show ammonia then from that point on I clean my bowl every 4 days before any ammonia has the chance to accumulate to detectable levels. Since each fish is different there is no way of knowing if you should clean the tank every 4 days or every 10 days without testing it. Your ammonia test kit will be one of the most important pieces of equipment you will own while you are keeping your betta.

Answer 2

The white stuff could be a mouth fungus from bacterium flexibacter. Be sure to go to the fish store and find out if there is anything to treat this if this is what the fish has.

Feed your betta fish 1-3 pellets of food from the fish store once or twice daily.

It's okay to have marbles in your bowl. Little coloured rocks are also okay.

Not sure about the fins...

You could put a castle in the bowl but you don't have to.
You don't have to put a plant in the bowl, but sometimes betta fish like to rest or even sleep on the leaves of a plant. If you don't have a plant your fish may just lay on the bottom of the bowl.

Clean the bowl by taking out about 25% - 50% of the water in the bowl and then fill the rest of it up with water that has been sitting out overnight. Before you put the new water in the bowl place about 1/8 of a teaspoon of fish water dechlorinater in the bowl (available at fish stores). Do this once a week.
However... every other week you can also clean out the bowl 100%. Take out the betta fish and put him in a cup of water that's sat out overnight. Rinse out the bowl with tap water a couple of times to make sure the rocks/marbles have all been cleaned out. Dump out water. Fill up the fish bowl about half way with water that's sat out overnight then put the fish back in the bowl. Fill the rest of the bowl up to about an inch from the top.
Hope this helps!

Answer 3

If you have ever been to a pet store and seen how those things live (just a plastic cup) then you know they can live in pretty much anything.

You can treat them the same as other fish, the marbles are ok and so are the plants. When cleaning the bowl make sure you dont use soap or anything like that because it will kill it.

For feeding you can feed it once a day, just a little bit of food, remember it is just him.

As far as the fin, he may have gotten beat up in travel or someother cause. Beta fish dont really do much so dont worry if he isnt swimming around like a spastic fish.

Answer 4

5-6 pellets may be a bit on the high side if you feed him 7 days a week. Marbles are generally fine, but some betta like to play with them or dig. Bettas tend like something in their bowl that they can hide under. (Mostly to hide from sight from above.) Be sure it has no sharp edges or your betta might lose a fin. Fake plants, caves, or whatever. You don't need a live plant as it can't possibly use up enough nitrate to matter. You need to clean the bowl at least once a week, or every 4 days if it's smaller than 2.5 gallons.

As far as the white stuff that sounds like Columnaris, or as it's mistakenly called mouth fungus. It's caused by a Flexibacteria. Generally fish that have this are stressed from other conditions. (Given your other questions most likely a build up of waste in the water.) It's easily treatable.

1) Change his water, and clean his tank. Be sure not to subject him to rapid temp changes. (see link #1 for how)
2)Add 1 teaspoon of table salt per 2.5 gallons. Be sure to disolve it in a cup of tank water 1st.
3)You need to medicate him. Get one of the following meds:
-MelaFix or Bettafix (Melaleuca)
-Maracyn Plus
-Anything that claims to target gram NEGATIVE bacteria. IE
Trisulfa, Tetracycline, Nitrofurazone, Nifurpirinol
Note that the 1st 2 are easier to use as they are liquid. The rest are powers, and are in packets packaged for 5-10 gallons.
4)Keep medicating for a week, and keep up the water changes.

Answer 5

did you put a air stone in there i had problems with my betta when i had other fish in the tank i had them in a 10 gallon tank for quite some time i think i had them in better conditions than the store have you changed the water dont throw them in water that has not sat for 2 days and it has to sit out for room temperature good food and dont let your fish be scorched by the sun mabee a little so the fish can have its own decision to go in the sun some of the store bettas look really sad hope something i said helps

Answer 6

the white stuff is a fungus infection. marbels are ok-- feed once a day, just a small pinch-plant and castle are ok. bettas like blackened water (stale) so dont worry if it gets a little cloudy. be sure if you use tap water to boil it before you put betta into water. let it sit 24 hrs if you can. the local fish store can give you drops to put into water to cure the fungus

Answer 7

OMG, that fish is suffering multiple diseases! Umm, let's see: the mouth thing is fungus. Get some medicine for it, like Fungus Clear.

Yes, you can put a castle in its bowl. No, you don't need a plant in the bowl. Clean the bowl? Just look at my answer in "How often do I have to clean my goldfish's bowl?" Sorry, I gotta go!

Answer 8

I once had a betta fish, it died of old age. Anyway, I think maybe half a teaspoon to a teaspoon should be enough food for a meal. The marbles.... Are you sure the marbles are clean?

Answer 9

It sounds like your betta has flex, a bacterial disease. It's brought on by dirty water and stressing factors such as changing pH levels, etc. It's it pretty new it can be treated pretty easily but can be fatal if left unnoticed. And even though bettas seem hardy, they need a lot more then most people provide.

Answer 10

twice a day in the morning and at night

marbels are fine

a castel is fine

no plant needed

clean it once a week