I don't know how to take care of my Beta Fish!?

Question

I have the beta in a kit where they give you food and chlorine for the water. But my beta isn't eating for the past three days and I don't know how to keep the water warm. Is having cold water going to harm my beta? Why isn't he eating? Is it the food that I'm giving him? I got the flaky food is that okay? And another thing is that the water is going muggy really fast. I don't know if it's from the food that is left over in the tank. Please help me because I don't want to kill him! Thanks.

Answer 1

That's a lot going on so let's start at the top.

To be honest, those betta kits are really that good for you fish. He really needs something a little bigger, like a 2.5 gallon tank. Those are easy to filter and easy to heat. So get one if possible and that will make things much better for you ad your betta.

OK... for now you have a betta kit and you can keep him happy there as long as you do some work. First, change the water. If it's a little nasty it's a little past time to clean it. Put out a big bowl of water right next to his bowl and allow it to set for several hours. This will allow the temperature to become the same in both bowls. Add a drop of the chlorine remover to the new water and move your betta in there. Then rinse out his bowl really well. No soap or anything just rinse and wipe. Now put him and the clean water in his bowl. You need to do this every 2-3 days because he has no filter and the water will get dirty really fast. Further, the betta kit is really too small for a cycle to form without killing your fish, so there will never be enough beneficial bacteria to help things anyway.

Second is food. You flake food is fine for him. He might not be eating because he's cold, or the water is dirty or because he just moved. After you clean his bowl give him a day and see if he will eat. Always be sure to get any uneaten food out of his bowl so it doesn't foul the water. A turkey baster from the grocery store is great for this.

As far as keeping him warm in a small container, the best thing you can do is a warm light bulb near his bowl. That will heat it up some and he should be ok.

Try these things and I bet he will do much better very soon.

MM

Answer 2

I completely get you, I just got a betta too and I came to yahoo answers for advice, a lot of the people were really mean and gave me big speeches about how I was supposed to do my homework before getting a betta, etc etc, you know.. BS.

Anyways, first, FOOD: it's better to get pellets for the betta, those are like round thingies that float on the surface of the water and make the water less muggy. I noticed my betta wasn't eating during the first two or three days after I got him, it might be they are just not used to the new place or I just didn't notice he was eating. Don't overfeed him, follow the instructions on the exact amount of food you are supposed to give the fish, if you overfeed the water will get nasty really fast. Fish might be eating and you don't even notice it.

Next, TEMPERATURE: how cold is it in your place?, bettas can live in cold water (around 65 F), it's not the ideal situation for him though, you could buy one of those water heaters but if your tank is too small you will fry little fish so don't do it if your tank is less than 3 gallons. I asked the same question about heating the water, I got a very good answer, somebody recommended a reptile lamp it will keep him warm but you just gotta make sure fish has night time or he will die fast.

Finally, change about 25 % of the water depending on how big your tank is, if you have a 1 gallon bowl you can change 25 % of the water every 3 days, don't change all of the water every week at once like some people recommend, there is good bacteria living in the tank that eats your fish's poop, disgusting I know, but you kill this good bacteria when you change all the water at once, your fish will suffer the change of water. Clean water doesn't always mean good water.

I hope I helped you.

Answer 3

Ok, first, I would recommend going online and looking up betta care sheets. They have a lot of good info on there. But I will try to answer your specific questions. First, many things can cause a beta to not eat. They are often picky eaters, and simply take a while to get used to new food. I personally don't like using flake food for bettas, but some people do. Most bettas seem to prefer the pellets, and they are more often formulated just for bettas.

Second, if he is not eating, stop giving him so much food. The only thing this will do is cloud the water and cause a buildup of diseases that could kill the betta. You can try putting a little bit of food in the tank to see if he eats, and if not, take it out so it doesn't form waste.

Now about the water. Are you trying to heat the water? This is probably not a very good idea, unless you have a really cold room that you are keeping it, but even then if it gets too hot it will kill the fish. But getting to cold will also kill it. Usually, room temperature is ok. Keep it out of the direct sun, because this will heat the water, especially in a small tank. And keep it away from heating/cooling vents.

Another important thing with the water is to change it regularly. How big is the tank? I hate to say it, but many so called betta kits are just meant to make money, and are NOT what bettas need. Many people kill their betta because of this. Contrary to popular belief, they can not live in a cup for very long and it is not good for them. Usually nothing smaller than a gallon is good. Other than space, there is the fact that smaller tanks get dirty really fast, as it seems you have discovered. The biggest thing I see people doing wrong with bettas is not keeping the water clean. You need to be regularly changing the water, or else the betta will get sick and probably die. Depending on the size of the tank, you should change the water partially at least once a week, and at least once a month completely.

Another thing that is a problem with new tanks is the nitrogen cycle. Ammonia builds up really fast from the fish waste, and it will kill the fish. In older tanks, bacteria builds up that will neutralize the ammonia, but this bacteria is not in new tanks. It takes a couple of weeks to build up, and during this time you need to be changing the water more regularly to keep the levels of toxins down. Don't wash the rocks and stuff, because this will get rid of a lot of the bacteria. If you can, get some old rocks from another tank and put them into yours, that will help some.

One other thing that you didn't meantion but I see a lot, especially in "kits." Do you have any plants in the tank? They really like some kind of plant to hide and rest on, and you can buy them at pet stores for a couple of dollars.

Anyways, I'm supposed to be writting a paper, so I should go. If you have any more questions, feel free to email me at [e-mail]. Good luck with your fish!

Answer 4

Ok beta sometimes don't eat because of stress. The fish is stressed because it's in a new home with new water. The uneaten food is making the water foul. You must change his water 100% every 5 to 7 days. The food may also be old or very poor quality. Also if he's been fed pellets all his life he may not recognise flakes are dinner. I suggest 100% water change today. Fill a clean rinsed cup with dechloronated water and catch him and put him in. Be careful don't drop him. If you do this over the bowl there is a better chance he'll just fall back in his bowl. Dump out all the water, and rinse the rocks well. Fill with scalding hot water and let sit 10 minutes. Drain and dry and let glass cool to room temp. Fill with dechloronated water and then put beta back in. Make sure water is all the same temp. Feed him all he can eat in 5 minutes every other day. That's how I've always kept mine. Good luck.

Answer 5

Over feeding will foul the water quickly. De-chlorinate some water and change 1/4 th of it weekly. Bettas can tolerate room temperature 72 to 80 degrees. if his water is cooler than that try putting his tank where it is warmer . Don't panic take it slow - foul water isn't pleasant but won't kill your betta right away. Make sure the water you add at water change time is the same temperature as his tank. Feed him only a tiny pinch of food each time. Later you can get some frozen food to add to his diet like brine shrimp, or blood worms.
Good Luck!

Answer 6

get a heater and a thermometer from the pet store immidiately!!! the temperature should be about 24 degrees celcius. the betta cannot live in cold water because tehy originate from warm waters! everytime u change the water, put in some dechorineizer. ieven if u put in alot of that, it won't hurt your betta. get baby pellets for bettas and feed them 3 in the morning and 1 at night. every 10 - 12 hours. change the water every 2 weeks, only have the tank though! and NEVER put in another betta! hope this helped!

Answer 7

Ok, May I suggest a few things, 1st: you need at least a one gallon vase/bowl. 2nd: Bottled water not, distilled. 3rd: Stress coat about 3 drops per gallon, change water 100% every 5-7 days. 4th: try freeze dried Brine shrimp, one small pinch once a day. 5th: an alive free floating plant gives off vitamins and nutrients that will help your betta. 6th: final room temp water is the best, and direct sun is not good. Good Luck!

Answer 8

i have a betta just put in 3 or 4 flakes and put it in room temperatur water and only put in a cupful of condtioner but never put 2 bettas toghether they will kill each other. ur's might just be a baby or maybe u just got it and it has to get used to its enviorment what else u have to do is when it gets dark u have to keep it in the dark. the water gets muggy because the fish has to go to the bathroom somewhere and the poop dirties the water ur fish is ok dont worry

Answer 9

dont EVER put antoher one with it.. put some nice fresh water in there.. feed it a pinch every day, maybe find some aquatic plant, something to entertain it, dont put in direct sunlight... keep in a nice shadey area... =)

Answer 10

;D Try www.bettatalk.com
It will tell you more then you will ever pick up from tips here.