Stupid questions, but I'm trying to learn

[abm]

Ok - since I began reading this board 10 or so days ago (only that long - wow) I've learned a lot about caring for bettas. But I still have some confusion, so rather than surf aimlessly, I thought I'd post my questions here and hope someone (many someones? I hope?) can guide me.

1. Water. My guys are in 1-1.5 gallon tanks, dechlorinated, deammoniaed etc. with aquarium salt. Nothing else. They get 100% change weekly. Test strips done randomly on various tanks consistently show ph 7.0-7.2, alkalinity 120-180 (ideal, per the bottle), water hardness 0-25, nitrite 0, nitrate 0. Am I a bad mom?

2. Bettamax. I finally found some at a lps. Now I'm confused as to its proper use: If my fish are happy, apparently healthy, eating well, blowing bubblenests etc., is there any reason to add this at the next water change? It sounds like some of you swear by this stuff as a general health tonic, but the label reads like it's a medicine to be used only when needed.

3. Aquari-sol. Another item many of you apparently use regularly. Do I add it at water change time only? Is it medicinal or just a healthful additive?

4. Melafix. I've got some but didn't use it b/c Quigon was already nose-down . Its label reads like it's a tonic, add it all the time and your fish will thrive. What are y'all's thoughts on that?

5. Feeding. I inherited my first betta with Hikari Betta Bio-Gold pellets. He loved them, as do most of my other guys. Quigon and Tomahawk refuse to eat pellets, though - they only like the BettaMin flakes. Many on this forum have recommended varying betta's foods. How can I do this if they won't eat other stuff? And what about treats - bloodworms and brine shrimp? Your thoughts? What about HBH Betta Bites. I have some of those and they appear to be a cross between the pellets and the flakes - sort of soft pellets. Do they all provide adequate nutrition?

5. "Hideys". Please describe or post a clear picture! I am asking for much fish equipment for Christmas and asking for a "hidey" isn't going to guide my husband well. When you say a votive holder, do you mean the shallow candleholders, not hollow things? So the fish can just snuggle into the back of it if it's placed vertically? Am I describing this effectively? Argh!

6. Fasting. Is this basically starving my betta for a day ? If I do this, do I need a reason or just make sure he hasn't been ill previously? Do I need to watch for poops etc.? And on that subject - how do you all "catch" them pooping? Other than stuff I clean out at change time, I've never seen my boys doing that.

7. Tanks. I'm asking for new stuff for Christmas. I don't h ave tons of space to put my tanks, and I don't want to hide them in another room. Suggestions?

Ok, gotta go for now. My son is auditioning for honor band! Go saxophones! I know now that this board doesn't get much weekend traffic (apparently you all have more interesting lives than I do... ) but I'll appreciate any comments/guidance/ideas.

(edit) One more even stupider question: I'm shopping for new tanks/aquariums...does it matter to the fish whether they are acrylic or glass? Personal preferences? Your experiences, positive and negative, with both types?

[Emerson]

anotherbettamom said:

1. Water. My guys are in 1-1.5 gallon tanks, dechlorinated, deammoniaed etc. with aquarium salt. Nothing else. They get 100% change weekly. Test strips done randomly on various tanks consistently show ph 7.0-7.2, alkalinity 120-180 (ideal, per the bottle), water hardness 0-25, nitrite 0, nitrate 0. Am I a bad mom?

Why would you be a bad Betta mom? All of these parameters sound just fine. Are you testing for ammonia? In an uncycled tank, ammonia is your first enemy, followed by nitrites and then nitrates.

BTW, some people feel that test strips are not as accurate as kits with test solution, but I've never tried them (strips) and can't say for sure how they compare.

2. Bettamax. It sounds like some of you swear by this stuff as a general health tonic, but the label reads like it's a medicine to be used only when needed.

My personal feeling has always been "less is more" in an aquarium. I avoid adding chemicals (other than occasional aquarium salt and water conditioner) unless I absolutely have to -- such as treatment of illness. I wouldn't want to live in a chemical bath, and doubt my Bettas would either. Clean/stable water conditions can go a long way toward prevention of problems, but it can still happen. When disease does rear its ugly head, I have no qualms about using the recommended meds to treat it.

4. Melafix. I've got some but didn't use it b/c Quigon was already nose-down . Its label reads like it's a tonic, add it all the time and your fish will thrive. What are y'all's thoughts on that?

Melafix is very safe and I've had good luck using it to treat torn fins, but, again, I'd save for times when it's really necessary.

5. Feeding.

A varied diet and not over-feeding are the best ways to avoid constipaton and ensure good health. Sometimes it takes a Betta a while to get used to a new food. Trial and error. Do be careful with the BioGold, though; several people here (including myself) have had bad experiences with it. Freeze-dried bloodworms should also be fed with care to avoid constipation.

5. "Hideys". Please describe or post a clear picture!

I use silk plants (for aquariums), castles, artificial (acrylic) driftwood, etc. It's really up to individual taste as far as how you want to decorate your tanks. There is no "right" or "wrong" hidey as long as it's safe for the fish, and it gives them a place to rest/hide/explore. You can go out to some of the online pet shops and search for "aquarium decorations" for more ideas.

6. Fasting.

If you feed them a varied diet and avoid overfeeding, constipation generally doesn't occur. Fasting is a preventative for some people, but I don't do it. You should find poo whenever you clean out their tanks, but may not necessarily catch them "in the act."

sef

[abm]

Thanks sef,
I appreciate the thoughts. Keep em coming!
Also, is it normal for them to poo while flaring? Is that part of why it's good for them to get exercised this way? (I know, probably in months to come I will be supremely embarrassed for showing my betta-ignorance this way). I'm asking b/c I have been letting my guys interact the past few days and two of them pooed while flaring and flying around th eir tanks. Coincidence or just healthy?

[mickey85]

For hideys, some people use hampster tubes, but yeah, it is preference. Betta max is used when you notice your fish being mopey or depressed-looking, and tehre isn't really any obvious signs. If it is a disease, the betta max will help, and if it's not, and just a vitamin deficiency or something, then it'll help with that too.

[abm]

so a hidey isn't necessarily to hide in...it's just something to break up the monotony of water and gravel? all my guys have silk plants that they snuggle in but it sounds like many of yall use other stuff too.

[mickey85]

I've got a little skull in there for Wolfgang, but besides that, I have tiny (2 inch opening) flower pots and plants in my 10 gallon, and a couple plants for my other 2.5.

[Emerson]

Are you from down South?

[abm]

If that question relates to my stupidity level, I probably shouldn't answer ;D But if you're just curious, then yes, I live near Atlanta GA. But I'm originally from New Jersey!

[jedicat]

i think sef asked if you're from the south because you said "y'all"

As for hideys...I don't have any clear photos of my fish (crappy webcam) but here's to give you a sort-of idea:

www.stupidmormons.com/theboys/admiralcolor.jpg
www.stupidmormons.com/theboys/admiraltank.jpg (shows the top part)

Basically, it's a castle on a hill with a bridge, made of the same stuff most aquarium decorations are made of (I think it's polyresin.) The inside is hollow, and has three openings in the bottom and lots of space. The top has the turrets and a bridge, and a space for him to swim through under the bridge. There are very small, narrow openings for "windows" in the turrets, but his mouth is wider than them, so he doesn't try to swim through them.

Just make sure that any openings in the hidey are either small enough that they can't fit their face through, or large enough that they can fit their whole body through. You'd be surprised at some of the spaces these boys will cram themselves through!

Also, if possible, give your husband a pair of nylons to do the "pantyhose test"...stretch the pantyhose, then rub the decoration against the stretched nylon. If it snags, then it might snag the betta's fin.

I also use hamster tubes in my other tanks.

[abm]

jedicat,
how large is your tank? since my guys are currently in teensy 1 gallons, i guess plants are the best i can do. but i'll upgrade them asap!

i hope sef was just referring to my use of "y'all" ... when i first moved here (over 20 yrs ago now) i hated "y'all" - thought it was a lazy way of talking. funny how reality changes youthful idealism

i have been reading about fin rot - i am wondering if my taz has that or maybe it's torn - when we got him his tail fin looked like it had been truncated/chopped short instead of flowing like my other guys. he was very active and feisty though so we bought him anyway and since i've been figuring out most of this betta stuff on the fly i haven't treated him for anything. but when i changed his water today i noticed the tail again so i added a couple drops of melafix to his water... do you have any idea how quickly i might see a change if the melafix is helping? i change water weekly (now) so i guess i'll need to decide whether to add it next week ... just wondering. have never successfully medicated a fish (yet) - hoping this will be my first ;D

also, is fin rot/torn fin painful or contagious? do i need to treat it with anything stronger? so many on this and other sites seem to feel comfortable throwing all sorts of medicines in there but i am very leery of adding anything i'm not sure is needed. he's acting a little odd tonight but that could be b/c of the water change - stresses me and them all out while my husband looks on in confusion, wondering why i couldn't have taken up knitting or something if i wanted a hobby... ;D

thanks for reading!

[jedicat]

Hehe, don't worry. I personally would probably tease you more about being from New Jersey! I'm from New York; originally from Staten Island, to be exact, and since we're Brooklyn's scapegoat, we need a scapegoat of our own. Anywho...

The Admiral's in a 3-gallon bowl in that pic. You'll definitely need a larger tank for a hidey that size (And the fish would definitely love you if you got them bigger tanks ) but I'd imagine a silk plant and a piece of hamster tube (I use the T-joints, but the angled ones or the straight pieces could work, as well) could fit in a 1-gallon drum bowl.

As for fin rot...it's hard to say. Fin loss can be caused by so many different things (bacteria, fungus, ammonia level too high, sharp gravel, rough edges on decorations, etc.) What exactly are you seeing on their fins? Blackened edges could mean either fin rot or ammonia burns.

If you see clear edges on their fins, that usually means new fin growth, so you shouldn't do anything...just keep his water clean, and let him regrow his fins

I would check the ammonia, and do a pantyhose test on the gravel, because they're the easiest culprits to fix. If the ammonia's above 0, it could be stressing him out and causing burns.

If it really comes down to medicating for fin rot, in my experience, Melafix doesn't always cut it. One of my rescues, Biggs, had this persistant fin rot. I had treated him with Tetracycline, then Kanacyn, and he would seemingly heal, but as soon as the round of meds was over, he would start losing his tail again. Finally, I successfully treated him with Tetracycline and a compatible anti-fungal medication (Aquarium Pharmaceuticals' Liquid Fungus Cure....most antibiotics claim they treat fungus, but they actually treat bacterial infections that can look like what we think fungus should look like.) It's been a few months, and his fins are still growing back. (They were very damaged though...almost to his body.)

It takes time, lots of it. And lots of patience. If you start any fish on an antibiotic for any illness, unless it's an absolute emergency, finish the round.

edit:
I forgot to answer this:

I'm not sure if fin rot is contagious, I think it might depend on exactly what is causing it (which strain of bacteria, which strain of fungus, etc.). Luckily, I've never given myself the opportunity to find out (I wash my hands very well before and after touching anything in their tanks, and have seperate supplies for each fish.)

If a fin is ripped or torn due to stuff inside the tank, then it's not so important whether or not it's contagious. Torn fins should be considered open wounds, which can become infected easily. Most common fish illnesses are really just opportunistic infections.

[Rhyn]

For hideys, I've tried making my own with sculpey (which I'm willing to do for others if anyone wants - completely customized), but the ones I've done so far are a bit small for some of the larger boys (though my tiny girls love 'em). For the guys, I picked up a few 1 1/2" PVC connectors from Home Depot. I rinsed them in the sink with hot water to get the tag/stickers off, then used a grinder (though a sander and/or sandpaper would work, just slower) to remove the two tiny scratchy spots (if you were feeling lazy, you could probably get away with just burying them in the gravel ). The guys love 'em, and they're cheap. Plus, they look kinda cool.

[abm]

What a great idea!