My first betta fish?

Question

I just got my betta fish for christmas. My sister has one too, and she says for the past few days mine has not been eating much.

She kept it in a small plastic container for about 4 days until this morning. He was bedraggled looking and the water needed changing.

I did all that--correctly I might add (haha!) and put him in his new bowl, he seems happier but he still isn't eating and I don't know why? Should I take the food out... or what?

I'll buy plants for him as soon as I can. I think he looks bored. But he's soo cute!!
Is it bad to try and get him to follow my finger? I don't know if the nailpolish bugs him or not. /:

I just looked up "Ich" on a fish website and no, I don't think he has that. I appreciate the answer anyway!

LOL! I'm not putting my finger in the bowl... just along the outside. I'mm trying to keep him from "flaring up" but whenever I turn the lights down to go to bed he seems to get angry until they're back on /:

Answer 1

Congrats on getting your first Betta. Do you know what kind he is? Most common Betta's are called Veil-Tails. You can also get a Crown-Tail at Petco or Petsmart. Crown-Tails are breed to have a "ragged" look, so if this is your guy, don't worry about his fins looking torn up.

Few Betta myths...Betta's can not live in a small amount of water..they need 10g to themselves.(wrong)..Yes Betta's can live in a small cup of water. You can live in a 3x3 room, as long as you had food and water, but would you want to?.....1g tank is minimum...2 1/2 is better, but you don't have to get a huge tank for a single Betta.

Betta's are aggressive to ALL fish and will kill each other...not true. Yes male Betta's are aggressive to each other, but rarely kill each other (although loosing male may die from injuries sustained during the fight). A single male Betta can and will live peacefully in a community tank as long as it is not over crowded. Female Bettas can and will live peacefully in a tank together (I know...I have 2 in a 6 gal tank).

A little known fact: Bettas can withstand a 100% water change...this means that you can put him in a holding tank (small cup...Bettas JUMP so cover the top with something) with his old water...clean the tank out entirely...then net him by pouring his holding cup into a fish net, then carefully put him into his clean dechlorinated water (I keep several gal. of water made up and ready so that it is the same temp as my Betta's tank water).

According to the tank you have...1g change the water every other day!

2g or so...every 3 days...5g or more...1x a week.

Only feed 3-4 pellets of food 2x a day. Feed one at a time. Remove any uneaten pellets!

Also keep him in a warm room. Fish are cold blooded and need to be warm to digest their food.

Here are some sites I like to visit on Bettas:

http://www.bettatalk.com/ (I know this one has already been mentioned)

http://www.waynesthisandthat.com/bettas.htm (this has a lot of info)


Here is a forum that I am a member of...I really love this forum:

http://www.forumsvibe.com/forum/?mforum=betta

You will have to become a member, but it is well worth it.

Good Luck!

Answer 2

I have bettas and sometimes when adjusting to a new environment they act strangely and dont eat much. Dont be scared about him not eating. A betta can live for like a month or two without eating. Amazing huh?

I dont know that from experience but i did a lot of research before ever getting my first. Bettas really like pettet food. Is that what your feeding him?

If he gets really hungry he'll eat. Sticking your finger in his bowl might be causing him stress. It could be the reason he isn't eating much.

Just make sure your cleaning him bowl once or twice a week and giving him the oportunity for food. Im sure he'll figure it out. He might have used to be fed a different kind of food and just not recognise what your trying to feed him as food.

Oh and when picking out the plants make sure they have round edges or are made of fabric or they could damage his fins. Bettas enjoy having plants around so that should brighten his mood.

Good luck!

Answer 3

try to feed the fish food pellets and 4 pellets at a time 2 time a day
I watch mines to make sure he eats all pellets ( that is why I feed it one pellet at a time) and try to feed him at one specific spot everytime.

also
maybe the reason why your Betta is ranting and raving when u turn out the light is because you are not turning off the light on top of the tank (I know that it looks pretty when the tank is the only lite thing in the room, but you gatta turn off the light they see their reflection in the tank) I keep my Reds close to the TV so he can watch the TV, and some times I goes over to give him some well needed attention. talk to ur fish, I play music and dance and watch him dance around in the tank too, sometimes he just steer at me while I am dancing (he probably thinking to him self that, that creature is crazzzzy) then it forgets what it was thinking about .

I think I need to visit the mental home now. he he
actually not yet, I have a few more questions to answer.

chow!!

Answer 4

Sorry, but I just feel the need to debunk Cheyenne's botchy advice.

First of all, if your betta tank 'stinks up the whole room' you should've cleaned your tank a long time ago, or you need to cut down on the frequency of your feedings (as the excess food is probably fouling up the water). If you have a 1 gallon tank (the bare bare bare minimum), clean it weekly. For 2 to 5 gallons, you can get away with complete water changes every 2 weeks.

I have a 2.5 gallon betta tank that I clean every two weeks, and even then I don't notice any smell, even my 1 gallon that I clean every week doesn't emit a noticeable odor.

Also, bettas are tropical fish. They are also cold-blooded, which means that they can't control their own body temperature and depend on their enviroment to keep them at the proper temperature. They require water that is about 75-80 degrees farenheit, which is far from the 'COLD' water that goldfish require. Please invest $2 in a stick-on thermometer to keep track of the temperature. If you find that it is too low, please invest in a water heater to regulate the temperature or your betta is likely to become sickly (the cold makes him susceptible to disease).

Answer 5

If he is bedraggled, he probably has fin rot from the poor conditions he was in in the tiny container. Sometimes they come from the store like that, especially someplace like Walmart where they really don't know how to care for them.

Bettas also can become depressed. He will need time to adjust, and he needs to be kept in really clean water. I recommend buying Bettafix, which has mild anitseptic properties and is useful in heading off finrot.

As for feeding, you should only add enough for him to consume in a couple of minutes. Any uneaten food must be removed after that, since it will rot and make the water dirty and therefore unhealthy for your fish.

www.bettatalk.com is an excellent site for betta health information.

Answer 6

I have had a betta for 5 years...you have to wash it bowl or whatever it lives in every weak because it stinks up the room realy bad! fead it once a day with betta food no other food jsut betta food okay! never ever ever leave it in hott water use cold water clean it's bowl with hot water and put fresh COLD water form the sink in it's bowl! don't click on the bowl either you'll scare it and you hve to hurry up adn get it out of it's bowl into another one when your cleaning it! the red thing that float around in there are it's poop....when it's water gets foggy clean it NOW dont wait you clean it now or it will die!

Answer 7

Maybe he's just in environment shock, give him a few days to adjust, maybe put the kind of water plants that will give the water better oxygen, he will also eat the roots of this.

Answer 8

if you can get it a 10 gallon tank that would be great... You can have other fishes in there with him too... just not another betta or some fish that might nip at his fins.

Answer 9

Ick? You obviously don't know what ick is. the betta's probably shocked. give him a few days.

Answer 10

i never feed my bettas right after i change the water..... i let them get used to the water for a day then i feed them....