My First Betta ^-^

[Bugsy]

Okay so following on from this thread

http://ausaqua.net/forum/index.php?showtop...amp;#entry52580

I got myself a Betta <3 earlier today. The Store I went to was extremely friendly and helpfull, they had 6 Betta's to choose from, all were in seperate little tanks because they're unsocialable (what do they say about animals being like their owners xD) They all looked stunning but I finally managed to pick my boy out.

He's blood red, fairly small. For some reason I was expecting them to be bigger, although I'm pursuming he may grow? I also picked up a little 7.5W heater and two real plants for my little guy (I've yet to name him) and two different types of food, only thing is I forgot to ask when to feed him I asked how many times a day but not when, so at the moment he's just swimming about in a bit of a daze, I turned the filter off because he didn't like it at all

So yes a few questions to start

- When should I give him his first meal?

- When should I turn on the light?

- Will he get any bigger?

The tank is a little cloudy at the moment what with all the plants being added etc. and he's yet to flare up

I'm amazed at how the little heater pad has warmed up the water, its now at a comfortable 22 degrees (hope thats suitable)

Pictures;

^^ His tank, he's on the far right

do excuse the quality, I think it'll take me a while to get the right settings on my camera suitable for Fish taking I think he's pretty but I'm no expert, hoepfully he'll flare up soon, at the moment he just seems to want to swim back and forth along the back of the tank O.o

[Callatya]

What a lovely little man! Those ventrals are fantastic!

He doesn't look like he'll get much bigger to me, but his tail should double in size, it looks like he has stressed out and chewed half of it off! (common, don't worry about it )

I feed at dusk (if I remember, they have been known to get a midnight snack!), it'd be the most likely time that insects would hit the water surface in the wild, and it is convenient to remember as it is right near my dinner too They'll eat whenever you offer it to them though

What foods did you get? Is it the same one they were feeding him in the shop?

I'd wait about 12 hours before you feed him, just to give him a chance to familiarise himself with his new tank. Once he has settled in, I'm sure he'll be ready to eat.

Another thing, the red plant, I can't quite see what it is but in general red plants need a lot of light. That might be one that doesn't, but do keep an eye on it in case it starts dying as rotting plants aren't a good thing to have in your tank. If it turns green, that would be fine, but see-through and brown isn't great. Just remove the parts that are affected if that happens

22*C is fine, and higher than that is fine too. 22*C is sitting right on the bottom of what they like, so you may need to upgrade the heater to a 25w come your winter, but if your house has central heating, you might be fine and dandy You can cross that bridge when you get to it

He is one lucky betta!

[Bugsy]

Yay! so you reckon he was a good choice I thought his tail looked a bit funky but I figured it would sort itself out with some TLC

The plants that are in there (can't remember what they're called >.<) were recommended by the petstore, the purple one has a greenish stem and the leaves are slightly purple, I have put that one directly under the light aswell but I will be sure to keep an eye on it

I read in the little book that came with the tank that it's best to feed them the day after you get them so I'll do that. Again the food I got was recommended by the store, I got;

TetraBetta for everyday feeding and then TetraFreshDelica for once a week treats =]

The thermometer is now reading 23*C but yes, come the winter I will look into getting a more powerful heater as I like the cold and rarely have my heater in my room on

I'm so pleased with him, he's already settled down alot and is swimming around happily I think he's lucky too! I doubt I'll be getting anymore as my mum would most likely self combust so yes, he'll be one spoilt, well looked after betta =]

[Callatya]

A wonderful choice! he looks really healthy and is a lovely veil tail specimen (or will be, when his tail grows back!) Of course, I am a bit biased, that is my favourite colour. My first betta was a red VT too.

I haven't tried TetraBetta, but mine LOVED the Delica. It is a bit messy, so do it the day of, or the day before you do a water change Leaving it a day is fine, probably a good idea :cheer:

[Bugsy]

yay! they did have another Red and then 3 black/blues one of which had red streaks which looked very smart but I ended up with this little man as my mum liked him too They all looked really healthy to be honest, although I couldn't help feeling sorry for them in those little plastic containers

What does the VT stand for? I've been browsing through this forum and it's riddled with little abbreviations which mean diddley squat to me!

funny it says on the side of the Delica stuff that it's clean I'll take your words of wisdom though and only do it before the water change

Another question, I've opened the TetraBetta stuff and it's in tiny flakes, how much would you recommend giving him? I was thinking a pinch but I thought I'd better ask =]

[Beano]

Stay away from HBH betta bites. My betta hate it. I'm being insistent but the most they'll ever eat is one pellet, they only eat half of it, then spit it. I'm going to get them some hikari today.

Nice fish!

[Celeste84]

with flakes it's best to crush them up (just get a pinch and crumble it into the water) as sometimes the flakes are too big for the fishie's mouth LOL

and VT stands for Veil tail :cheer:

[Phil]

Beautiful Colour!! All ur questions have been answered, but he looks like he is flaring already in some of those pics :cheer:

[y2jdaze]

Firstly if you're a bit funny with all the abbreviations here's a thread to help you out

http://ausaqua.net/forum/index.php?showtop...l=abbreviations

Lovely gorgeous red boy you have there and those ventrals are really something he's going to be very happy!

[Bettarazzi]

That's a nice red. He even has red pectorals. Good work! What are you going to do about filtration now that you've turned off the mega monster filter you had?

Were you going to 'un-bunch' those plants? You need to undo the wire at the base and plant them individually.

You could probably get a few small and peaceful friends for him. Don't get anything that's any kind of barb. My suggestion would be one of the smaller, peaceful tetras. Rummy-nose tetras have red noses which will go with the red theme in your tank.

[Bugsy]

wow, thanks everyone! Looks like I made a good choice then he survived the night

Not too sure about the filteration side of things If any of you can recommend one that Betta's can stand that would be fantastic, as for now there's no filter.

I didn't realise I needed to untie the plants, I'll do that later today, so literally just take of the foamy stuff they've put around the roots? As for getting him some company, I think I'll leave that for a little while, but I will bare you're suggestion in mind if I do ever get him some pals

edit; y2jdaze thanks so much for that thread, its very useful =]

[Bugsy]

Fed him a few moments ago, at first he was all but then he realised it was food an happily hooverd it all up

I've named him Percy after a famous race horse more pictures;

he seems so much happier than yesterday, the water has now leveled at 25C is that too warm?

[Chuckie]

no, it's not too warm. Look at the betta fact sheet in our articles section.

[y2jdaze]

you're doing very well so far

and 25 degrees is just fine you don't really need to worry unless the temp is over 30 degrees. then it would be starting to get a bit too warm lol.

On the whole filter thing, you could try to find a sponge filter, quite a few of us use them successfully, we just have air flow control valves so we can control how many bubbles come out and how fast.

Or if you feel inclined you could do without a filter altogether and just give him a nice water change every few days (or if you're lazy like me once a week if they're lucky *blushes*) search around in the forums and you'll find a lot of answers to questions, even the ones you haven't thought of yet hehe

[Bugsy]

whoot!

I'm glad I'm doing well xD Yep the temperature is still at 25C so it looks like it'll stay that warm =] To be honest I think I'll just do water changes for now, seeing as it's a big tank and he's pretty small, I doubt it's go to get too dirty quickly, water changes sound easier than sponge filters and air pumps

Yes, I will have a good browse around, I love looking at other people's set-ups etc.

edit;

I decided to have a browse on ebay for sponge filters and found this

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Huey-Hung-HH-04-Air-...1QQcmdZViewItem

I'm still confused as to how they work? if someone could enlighten me I'd be really greatful xD

okay another edit;

I got out my original filter and discoverd it has a dial so you can change the strength, I've put it on the lowest it can go, and when I put my finger infront of the bit where the water comes out there's like a next to nothing current coming out, how can you tell though if it is too strong? at the moment he's at the other end of the tank, but I think thats because he likes it there anyway, I'll just keep an eye on him =]

[y2jdaze]

the best way to tell if the current is too strong for a betta is that when he's near the filter... if it looks like he has to make an effort to swim around or is blown around by the filter then it is too strong. if he can go past or around it and still look like he's swimming normally and comfortably then the setting is fine.

sponge filters work by providing a place for good bacteria to grow (eg. a biofilter). the bacteria need aerated water to stay healthy.

There will be 2 types of bacteria. one that uses ammonia as it's energy source and one that uses nitrites as it's energy source.

the 1st type of bacteria uses the ammonia froduced by the fish waste and then spits out nitrites as it's waste product and the second bacteria uses the nitrites and spits out nitrates as it's waste product (which are generally harmless to fishies). So with a good sponge filter these bacteria have a good area to colonise and they'll take care of the levels of ammonia and nitrites.

You'll still need to siphon off gunk from the bottom every now and then but if you get a good sponge filter going you will only have to top up the water when it evaporates. (I had one tank going for about 4 months without a water change and only touched it coz I had a blackout)

The only downfall to the filters is that in case of a blackout you need to remove and thoroughly clean the filter if the power is off longer than 15 minutes. As the bacteria die off and they become poison to the fishy.

You'll need to re-cycle the tank if this happens.

hope that helps you :)

[Bugsy]

Ok, so this setting seems to be ok for him because he swims right upto it and around it and doesn't seem to be fussed

So you don't turn the filter off at any point then? I was thinking of turning it off overnight but then decided not to, thankfully. I've woken up this morning to find lots of little bubbles in one corner, I've herd somewhere that its a sign of building a nest and that it indicates he's happy? I hope it it is He's finished off all the food that was floating around the top yesterday, so thats a good sign aswell =]

[y2jdaze]

perfect! he's a very happy little fishy and yes leave the filter on at all times.

Bubbles is nesting yes which means he's comfy in his surroundings and is all macho and wanting a female mate lol fantastic!

[Bugsy]

Yay! I'm so happy he's relaxed and settled, I love just watching him he makes me laugh I don't think I'll ever be betta-less now, they're fantastic fish and I'm so glad I wasn't put off by them having to have heated water because that's turned out to be a breeze aswell Next hurdle is water changes xD

[Bugsy]

I'm thinking I have a very happy Betta on my hands

Percy's work of art xD

[kitstyles]

you need to find him a girl friend ;)

[Bugsy]

I wish >.<

mum would flip

[Ned]

just say the babys would be worth heaps of money... thats what i did lol.

[Bettarazzi]

Tell her it's a school science project. Actually breeding bettas would make an excellent science project.

[Bugsy]

poor Percy went down with Ich. But he's alot better now

he went from this

mr illykins =[

to this;

:)