Aclimating a new purchase...

[twoluvcats]

When you bring a new betta (or any fish for that matter) home, what's your routine for introducing them to thier new tank?

[akestler]

There is a VERY good betta breeder whose website I get a lot of information from. Her advice on acclimating bettas can be found here: www.bettatalk.com/acclimatation.htm. The whole site is a must-read for any betta lover (in my humble opinion) and she sells gorgeous bettas.

[twoluvcats]

yes, there's always bettatalk...great advice, just don't disagree with her. Gorgeous bettas, but IMHO overpriced.

I'm look more for the "nuts and bolts"....I always float the bag, but I have trouble with the water mixing part, because the bag turns into a noodle once its cut and I don't want to suffocate the fish. More often then not the fish ends up escaping into the tank before the acclimation process is done.

[amanichen]

akestler said:

There is a VERY good betta breeder whose website I get a lot of information from. Her advice on acclimating bettas can be found here: www.bettatalk.com/acclimatation.htm. The whole site is a must-read for any betta lover (in my humble opinion) and she sells gorgeous bettas.

There's some good advice there, and there's other advice where it's clear she needs more experience with fish in general.

[akestler]

I'm sure that's true, and you would definitely know better than I! I just like to go to the site to look at the bettas anymore, even though it does nothing but torture me because I don't think I'd ever be able to let myself spend that much money on a betta, even if I DID have it. Which I don't.

[starlight]

There is a VERY good betta breeder

I agree with the replies on this thread. Some of the info on that site is good and it is many beginner's first read.
It has not been updated in quite some time and she's now in the position of recommending products (Aquatronics) (generic mercurochrome) which are no longer available.

Faith is not really known for being a betta breeder. She brokers a lot of bettas for breeders. The "strain names" that she develops are what makes her a great marketing person. Most bretta pros will tell you this. There is some resentment to her because she feels that she is a spokesman for the betta world.

She'll answer your betta questions for $20....don't bother telling her the bettas' name.

[starlight]

twoluvcats said:

When you bring a new betta (or any fish for that matter) home, what's your routine for introducing them to thier new tank?

Ideally I have a tank up and running several days in advance. Sometimes I use a clean & fresh quarantine tank with airstone and java moss. I test the water params in the water in the bag. I'm mostly interested in pH. Based on pH, I make my decisions. If the two are way off I drip new water into the bag and slowly adjust the betta. If the two are close, I'll give the betta some new water in the bag. Each time it's different. My new female arrived in 6.0 water on Sunday. I now have her tank up to 6.4. If the pH was the same I'd put the betta in 100% new water. With the betta sunday, the difference between 6.0 and 7,0 would have caused her pH shock. Bear in mind a betta's blood pH is usually at or near the pH in the water. In her case I dumped the water in the new tank and used the full contents of her water. (she came in a large bag of water, shipped bettas usually come in 6-8 oz of water)

I match the water temperature exactly, even if the new betta has to stay in the shipping bag for hours. Once I put the betta in the new tank, assuming it looks well, I usually feed something tempting (live) but a very small amount.

Assuming the betta has eaten and unless there's an illness issue with a shipped fish, the betta usually eats. If the betta seems well, I show it a small mirror to clear the cobwebs from the shipping experience.

Depending on the situation and what I observe, I'll use Dip-A-Way as a precaution in some cases.

[twoluvcats]

thanks for the info starlight. How do you keep the bag from collapsing on itself?

he's going into a mature tank that's just housing a otto until the betta gets here. but i'm sure the pHs will be different.

[marcusbacus]

When housing my bettas (a looong time ago), I just did the basics: cut the bag, let go most of the water and let them slide to the new water. But this was before reading about the correct procedures, which is to let the bag float for a while to match the temperatures then mix the water of the bag with yours. I did that with my bigger tank purchases, but I must say that I didn't do it *exactly* like that.

For the first fishes (corys/rams), I did let them float for quite a while (half an hour or so - they all came in a bag inside a styrofoam box to keep the temp) then I cut the bag and mixed with a bit of my water a couple of times. Then the hardest part was to catch the fishes with the net, as my net (I have just one and it's too big I suppose...) was too big to fit inside the bag and to grab these tiny fishes (and I didnt even have the rasboras yet...). I removed the most part of the water as I could until I could feel I was safe to handle the fishes without let them without any water in the bag and I placed the bag letting my water flow inside the bag and the fishes found their way themselves to the tank.

With the second batch (rasboras, colisas and ottos), I did about the same thing but I removed more of the water of the first bag and in the last fishes I let most of it anyway (as the colisas were too impatient) and made the same "find your way dude" procedure, not just throwing the poor fishes in the tank but letting them do it. One of the ottos died a few hours later though.

As of bettatalk, the fishes are gorgeous (and expensive!) but the site (and its webmistress...) isn't. If she's too busy to charge you $20 to answer an e-mail, she could make it a paid site for subscribers only

[marcusbacus]

BTW I'm getting some neons and some rodostomus tomorrow... I think I must be more careful with the neons.

[Solaris]

BTW I'm getting some neons and some rodostomus tomorrow... I think I must be more careful with the neons.

I have 10 neons living with 2 baby dwarf frogs. I did not check the ph of their bag i simply let them float till they resumed their colour about a hour or so. I opened the bag added a fair amount of my tank water and 1 hr later I netted them out. They seem fine and healthy, they dont quite like the light though. More active in the dark

Anyway good luck

[starlight]

twoluvcats said:

thanks for the info starlight. How do you keep the bag from collapsing on itself?

he's going into a mature tank that's just housing a otto until the betta gets here. but i'm sure the pHs will be different.

It doesn't matter while the temp is equalizing. He'll be double bagged and you can place it on it's side. The betta will have more swim room.

When I'm adding water or testing it, I put the bag into a deli container or tall glass. If he's double-bagged, remove one bag before trying to open the other.

When everything is correct, I just pour him gently into the tank. In most cases its w/o the bag water which will have poop and possibly ammo in it.

[Bettaman]

First, I never buy a new Betta until I have an tank that has been throught the Nitrogen/Ammonia cyle and it totally ready to accept the Betta.

When I get the Betta home I move him into a plastic container that can hook onto the tank so that he can be floated in that plastic container while it is sitting inside the tank that will become his new home. I do this for 45 minutes until the temperature in the container equals the temp of his new tank.

Then every 30 minutes I pour in a small amount of his new tank's water into the plastic container he is in. I do this for at least four hours to slowly bring the container water equal to the tank water. This acclimates him/her to the pH level of the new tank. I never move the new Betta into the tank until I am certain that the temperature and the pH of both the container and the tank are exactly the same. Only then will I feel comfortable putting the new Betta in his new home. And I just love to watch how the new Betta responds from being saved from the Shot Glass Hell that the Stores make them live in.

I keep all my Bettas in no less than 10 Gallon tanks and have a few 20 gallons too. I have a 45 gallon but I find the Bettas don't do too well in that big tank because the water current is too high from the big filter system in that tank.

[Sgislandgal]

I've purchased a new betta, and I have had him in his new 5 gallon tank since Sunday, 13 Mar. 2005. I don't think he's stopped swimming since I released him into the tank. Is this normal? I'm worried that he's not getting enough rest and will stress himself out.

Thanks for helping me out with this problem.

[starlight]

I don't think he's stopped swimming since I released him into the tank. Is this normal? I'm worried that he's not getting enough rest and will stress himself out.

Is that normal? It's better than normal. Normal sometimes is a listless betta that sulks on the bottom and doesn't eat. On HB, unfortunately these are the issues that sometimes occur with new bettas. Frequently, illness is not too far behind.

Your betta is happy with his surroundings and the large 5G tank. He probably hasn't been in that large a tank since he was 8 weeks old. This is when breeders usually jar their males. In short he feels like a little betta fry again and he wants you to know it. It sounds like your water suits him just fine. He'll sleep when he feels like it and usually when you turn off the lights.

Enjoy your betta!