Need good advice on care and feeding on new beta

[Leigh]

The "helpful" suggestions from the petstore have cost me $$ and after reading articles on the internet, I think most of it was a waste. I would appreciate any help. I have already bonded with Kaluha and would hate to do something inadvertently that will hurt him. Here are my questions:
1) Will using distilled water hurt him? I have heard ONLY use it and NEVER use it?
2) I was told they like freeze dried brine shrimp and blood worms occasionally as a treat and also heard that this will introduce disease into the tank. Which is it?
3) Do the automatic feeders (battery operated) work better than the pressed food cakes?
4) I was told to hang a piece of green squash on a clip inside the tank. Kaluha never touches it. Why am I doing this?
5) Someone said I needed to feed him a pea every week? Should I be?
6) I was told to plant live plants in the 5 gallon tank I have him in and I did. He seems to like to swim through them; however, I have read NOT to plant any?

I am so confused trying to do the right thing! Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Jenny]

1) You should not use distilled water in your tank. It lacks the minerals that your fish needs to be healthy. You should use either treated tap water (with a conditioner that removes chlorine and chloramine), or bottles spring water (also treated).

2) Some of them enjoy them as a treat, but is is possible that they can introduce disease. It is your call on this.

3) The pressed food cakes do not work for bettas, and they foul the tank quickly. I haven't heard of the battery ones. Do you plan on leaving your betta for long periods of time?

4) Bettas are meat eaters. This advice is for herbivore fish, such as goldfish. Just take it out. It will dirty the water quickly.

5) A pea is used as a treatment for constipation. Some people use it as a preventative, but I don't think this is necessary.

6) If the tank gets enough light for the plants, and they do not start to rot, they are okay in the tank. A simpler solution that your betta would probably like just as well is buying him some cloth plants. Only get ones from a pet store that are meant for aquariums.


Since you seem very new to bettas, you should read some of the articles on this site. They have very good advice for basic betta care. Also feel free to ask any more questions that you may have. We are here to help.

[Leigh]

Thanks SO much! The squash is out of the tank.

One more question, if you don't mind. When I feed him the round pellets (Gold was in the name and it came in a neat dispenser package), he initially goes after them and almost immediately spits them out. If I leave them in the tank (which I read on this site was not a good thing to do) he eventually eats them all up. Could they be too large for him? He has eaten then spit out two at a time.

On the battery operated feeder -- I bought one at the pet store called NutraMatic. It appears to be a simple rotating timer where the pellets will fall out of a small slit on top when the timer turns and will eventually fall into the water when the opening on the disk reaches the opening on the device. I had planned to have someone fish-sit for me while on vacation; however, they will be out of the country when I am gone. As a nervous first-time fish mom, I want to do the best thing for him. The tablet bothered me because the package says it feeds 15 fish! I know that over feeding can be dangerous. I was looking for a safer alternative.

Again, many thanks for the advice.

[Jenny]

The pellets you are feeding him are probably bio gold. How long are you leaving them there before he eats them. If it is only several minutes, then they are fine, but if it is too much longer, they will start to decay and pollute the tank. Cutting them in half may help. I use a nail clippers for this, and it works pretty well. Also watch carefully the next time he spits one out. Is there any fuzzy white stuff that comes out with it. If so, he may have internal fungus that is making his throat sore, so he spits them out.

Does the dispenser come preloaded with food, or do you put your own in. If you can put your own in, you should be able to put the right amount in for him. I would probably do 3 pellets every 9-10 hours or so. If it already has food in it, you will have to make sure it is the right type and amount for bettas.

How long will your vacation be? If it will be too long, the water will need changing as well. Also, if he stops eating completely, the uneaten food from the dispenser will make the water really dirty, which could easily kill him in a week or so. Where do you live? Maybe if you are close to someone on this board they will volunteer to look after him for you.

[Leigh]

Wow you were absolutely right about the pellets. I watched very carefully this morning and what you described is correct. There appears to be a slight amount of fuzzy white material associated with the discharge of the pellet frm his mouth. An suggestions on what to do about it?

I remove the pellets after approximately 10 minutes if he doesn't eat them. This morning I removed all of them after he spit out the first one. I put a few of the very small pellets (Beta-Bites) in the tank and he ate those right up.

The dispenser uses whatever food you place in it. I will be gone for 1o days and plan leave the heat on for Kaluha. I was planning to do a partial water change (I was told to do these every 2 weeks so I am hoping this is the case) and replace the filter cartridge on the day I leave. Kaluha lives in my kitchen (not in direct light) in a 5 gallon Eclipse Hex Aquarium. I always leave the shutters open so that he receives indirect daylight. I live between Columbus GA and Atlanta GA so temperature isn't usually a problem.

I bought Kaluha as a result of being a part of a foster-parent circle for a fish in the office whose Mom is on a 6 week vacation (Poor little thing lives under a peace lilly in an unfiltered vase He is so pitifull that it break my heart to see him -- mine is so active and happy and this little one is very lethargic). I am hoping that she will foster mine although a friend suggested that he would be better off in his own filtered tank as opposed to a fish bowl in an office (and having to be transported an hour into Atlanta). Any thoughts for a 10 day period?

You have been so kind that I hate to keep asking you all of these question; however, your information has been just wonderful and I do appreciate it (as does Kaluha). I purchased a test kit for the water that tests for Nitrates/PH/General Hardness/Ammonia. I read on this board that the PH should be 7.5 and I assume the Ammonia and Nitrates should be 0. The booklet does not mention ideal GH level for Betas. Any suggestions?

[Leigh]

Thanks! Wouldn't the PH and GH be the only ones in good shape. I checked the Nitrite and Ammonia levels after the water change today and they are borderline. I hear that with a new aquarium this in normal until the bio-wheel develops the proper bacteria (I have added the correct amounts of the enzyme). I replaced the filter for good measure even though it is only 2 weeks old. Hopefully this will get easier!

Any recommendations on gravel cleaners? I am either a total klutz or I am missing something, I managed to get 30% of the water out (mostly on the floor!) without really "vacuuming" anything.

I hear the Python is good --does anyone know if it will work in a 5 gallon hex tank?

You folks have all been wonderful! Thanks!

[Emerson]

Leigh said:

I checked the Nitrite and Ammonia levels after the water change today and they are borderline. I hear that with a new aquarium this in normal until the bio-wheel develops the proper bacteria (I have added the correct amounts of the enzyme). I replaced the filter for good measure even though it is only 2 weeks old. Hopefully this will get easier!

Hi! Welcome to the board.

I would only add that you might not want to replace the filter right now if you are trying the cycle the tank (it sounds as though you are); the filter provides a medium on which good bacteria can grow. I rarely replace mine in my 5 gallon tank. My tank is fully cycled, and I regularly rinse the filter in *used* tank water to remove the larger particles that get trapped on it, but only replace it if it starts to show signs of wear. When I do replace it, I tear off a bit of the filter material from the old one and stick it on the new filter so that the bacteria can get a jump-start on it.

Any recommendations on gravel cleaners? I am either a total klutz or I am missing something, I managed to get 30% of the water out (mostly on the floor!) without really "vacuuming" anything.

Again, you might want to go easy on this right now if you are cycling your tank. I made the mistake of vacuuming my smaller tanks during cycling, and it totally blew the biological filter. Once you do have the bacteria colony established, though, you can use a traditional siphon/vacuum. I personally use a run-of-the-mill turkey baster instead, but it's a little more difficult to get all of the poo up. I use it once a week, at the same time that I do a 25%-30% water change.

Hey, if you haven't already, be sure to post a picture of your new guy in the Pictures section! We'd love to see him. ;D

sef

[Leigh]

Proud First-time Fish Mom that I am, Kaluha now has his photo in the picture section.

Thanks Again For All Of The Great Advice!

[Emerson]

Leigh said:

Thanks SO much! The squash is out of the tank.

One more question, if you don't mind. When I feed him the round pellets (Gold was in the name and it came in a neat dispenser package), he initially goes after them and almost immediately spits them out. If I leave them in the tank (which I read on this site was not a good thing to do) he eventually eats them all up. Could they be too large for him? He has eaten then spit out two at a time.

Sometimes with a new food, a Betta will eat it and spit it out several times as they get used to it. Very often when I introduce a new food to my boys (and variety is good; it will help prevent constipation), they'll do the same thing. Jenny could very well be right about the sore throat; I'd keep an eye on it. You might just make sure that the 'fuzz' he's spitting out isn't little pieces of the food as he chews bits of it and spits it out.

They can be picky little eaters! LOL
sef

[Leigh]

Python it is. I am buying everything from a national pet store chain. Is this usually the best way to go? So far their information has been awful.

Thanks to all of you, I now have a way to obtain the correct information.

I am thinking that items such as the Python might be better purchased on the net? The closest non-chain store is over an hour away. Any suggestions?

[Emerson]

I buy most of my aquatic supplies on line because my local pet shop carries zilch in the way of supplies.

A couple of online companies I've done business with are:

www.aquariumpros.com
www.petdiscounters.com
www.bigalsonline.com
www.drsfostersmith.com

Of these, I use petdiscounters.com the most. They are really fast, and have the cheapest shipping around. They may or may not have the Python, though.

You can also check out Petco and Petsmart, but their shipping is usually pretty high.

sef

[mickey85]

The white stuff could mean that he has flex. I doubt it, but keep an eye on him. If he starts coughing up white stuff and has it on him, start treating him with medication. If you decide to get snails, if you want, hang a piece of lettuce on the side of the tanks, they'll go nuts. The bio-gold pellets can be too big if your betta's mouth is too small. I've got this problem with Jake. He carries tehm around for a while until they get soft and then will eat them. He loves them, so I feed him with those from time to time. If you want another type of food to try, both Wardley's and Aqua-Culture have micro-pellets. They are really teeny compared to the fullsized pellets. I use AC micropellets for daily feeding with my fish and tehy all love it.

[Leigh]

Thanks for the store links. I was amazed at the prices. The test kit I just purchased was $10 less and the Python is $30 less.

I am placing an order this evening!