help! my baby Betta water..is there something wrong?

Question

My Betta fish Princess, is about, well I just got her like 4 days ago. Just today, I nocticed the water has a slimey flim over the top of the water, and it also smells of chemicals :/


Could the water be contaminated?
Or is it the water pellets that I dropped in to clear the water of chemicals.



Also,
I have put in at the bottom of the tank, some rocks that I bought in the fish depot. and also some glass rock thingys that I bought in the graft depot, could the ones from the craft depot. be letting off a chemical


I have grown very attatched to Princess, and I want what's best for her. I would hate to see her fall ill, or die because of me :'[

Answer 1

I would never suggest doing a 100% water change under normal circumstances, but if you feel that some unknown chemical may have gotten into your tank remove your fish and clean the tank AND it's contents before returning her to it. If you can get to a store that sells aquarium supplies quickly, some water conditioner would help this process go easier for her. Putting a fish into an un-cycled tank is risky, but not as risky as exposure to unknown chemicals.

Answer 2

My recommendation would be to clean the whole aquarium, including everything inside it. Scrub the decorations w/ an old toothbrush, rinse the gravel 3 times, and put Princess in a bucket full of the old water for the time being. Then, when everything is clean, pour some of the old water back in, without the grime, put Princess, the gravel, and the decorations back in, and put new water in. Do not use the water pellets anymore, instead, buy a water purifier. Wait a week, and if the water does not clea up, mail me at [e-mail].

P.S. If you didn't buy the decorations from a pet shop, DON'T USE THEM. Go to Petsmart and purchase new decorations, they are proven to be safe for fish. Also, make sure that you have a bubbler because, although Princess won't die without it, bubblers release beneficial oxygen that can do no harm, only good. Princess will be much happier. Also, Petsmart sells bottles of water purifier, along with fish medicine/vitamins. You would do well to buy some.

Answer 3

Couple of questions:
Is the slime got a color to it? Is it multi-colored, with a shimmering sheen? That would point to a petroleum distillate, very bad news. If it is a dull white to grayish looking, have you been doing any frying or cooking greasy food? This shouldn't be a big deal, just wipe a piece of paper towel across the surface of the water and remove what you can, then move your betta farther away from the kitchen. Did you rinse the glass/rocks well before putting them in the water? There could be chemical cleaners introduced that are bad news. The glass would be the safest if it was properly cleaned. Unless you know something about the geology of rocks I'd get rid of the ones you got from the craft store. Rock high in metallic or calcium content can wreak havoc in a small tank/bowl. I doubt your water treatment "pellets" are causing a chemical smell after 4 days. Does the fish seem to be distressed? If not I wouldn't worry too much about the smell. Oh, and you might want to change "Princess'" name. Since most of the bettas with the long flashy brightly colored fins are male you might want to call him "Prince" or risk having to spend lots of money for fishy therapy in the future! ;-)

Answer 4

Clean out the tank and don't put anything in there that you didn't by from an aquarium shop. Sometimes if there is no pump or power filter in the tank a film will develop on the surface of the water (because it isn't moving). You should at least have a bubbler in there, the beta won't die without it but she? (most of the long tail colourful bettas are male) will swim around more and will be happier.

Answer 5

In addition to a lot of the other answers above, make sure you aren't spraying anything around the fish bowl. Things like furniture polish, Glade, or cooking sprays can leave a toxic and greasy film over the surface of the water.
Most likely, though, that film is left over from the bubble nest that Betta fish make. The bubble nest is what they lay their eggs in. Males make them (the more brightly colored fish with long, flowing fins, typically what are sold in pet stores) for the females to deposit the eggs in. If thoroughly rinsing the decorations and not spraying anything doesn't help, that's probably what it is.

Answer 6

You may have accidentally introduced a chemical or soap with the decorations you purchased.

Here are some steps I would take:

*Take a paper towell and place this over the top of the water for a few seconds to absorb any oil.

*Perform a partial water change, make sure you add water of the same temperature and remove chlorine

*If you do not have a filter, consider adding a teaspoon of Ammo Carb to your aquarium to remove chemicals and ammonia, you can add this to the filter too if you have one. Here is a picture of this product;
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Ammocarb.html

*Be carefull with your feeding and soak all betta pellets in water for 5 minutes prior to feeding.

*Consider a small wonder shell for calcium, electrolytes, and help with water quality. Here is information and a pictute of this product:
http://americanaquariumproducts.com/MedicatedWonderShell.html

Answer 7

Take her out for now. Put her in another tank. Also make sure it has a lid with some holes. Betta's can and will jump out. Also the craft rocks need to be removed immediantly. You might want to do another water change.

Answer 8

You probably over fed the Princess, try a 1/2 water change. Only feed once a day and change the water weekly

Answer 9

Is there bubbles in the "film"? My old Betta fish used to just "blow" bubbles... Also in agreement with everyone else, take out everything but the gravel and make sure you rinse out the tank but don't use any soaps or cleaners! Hope this helps!

Answer 10

take her out and put her in a container for now. then wash everything with HOT water and put clean water in the tank and add water conditioner. then add her back in and make sure you only feed her a little bit 2 times a day.