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Post by opendestiny on May 9, 2004 19:20:31 GMT -5
Two days ago I bought a betta from Wal-mart. He is absolutely gorgeous - blue and purple/red, full fins, and he's quite big. He seemed to make the transition into our 20gal. tank with our 3 other fish (I'm not sure if they're tetras or denali's (?)). We did this with our last betta (RIP, Sharky), and he got a long just fine for over a year, until he got fin rot and bloating and died.  My present betta (his name is Claudius, for future reference) is getting along fine with the other fish, and seems to enjoy the setup in the tank. My only concern is that he is not eating. I have tried feeding him both flake and pellets, and I always watch the fish to see that they always get fed. Claudius seems to have a weird habit of grabbing some food and spitting it back out again. Should I be worried about this, or do I just need to try a different food? |
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Post by Rachel on May 9, 2004 20:36:59 GMT -5
Claudius may just need a bit of time to settle in. Sometimes bettas will not eat for the first while in a new home. Additionally, while some bettas do well in a community tank, they do all have different personalities and preferences, so another betta may not react the same way to having tank mates. I'd be sure to watch for any signs that he is unhappy in there, just to be safe (clamped fins, chasing or being chased, hiding a lot, loss of color, etc).
Bettas can also be picky eaters. One of the reasons he may be spitting out the food is because he doesn't like it. This can be common with flake food, especially if it is not specially made for bettas. Bettas are carnivores so they like to eat meaty food that is high in protein. You may want to contact the store to find out what they were feeding. Otherwise keep trying to feed and eventually he will eat something when he gets hungry enough. There are many food options out there as well...pellets, freeze-dried, frozen, etc.
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Post by ACKislander on May 9, 2004 21:31:12 GMT -5
I agree with Rachel, it's vary common for Bettas to stop eating for the first few days or even up to a week or more. They are stressed by the move and just need time to settle. Most bettas are fed protein rich diets by their breeders like, bloodworms, daphnia, white worms, glassworms, grindal worms, beefheart, brine shrimp or many other things. It can be hard for them to make the switch to pellet or flake food which is nothing like what they find in nature. These foods (although they may contain the word "BETTA" in the name, are not properly designed with a betta's short digestive track in mind) While some bettas can make the switch easily, others take a little time. You can either keep sticking with what you have or consider switching to the foods most commonly used by breeders. Many of these high protein/high moisture foods can be found at your local fish store.
Also, because many bettas aqire illnesses while they are on a store shelf it's always a good idea to quarintine them for 4 weeks before adding them to any community tank. It's never fun when your other fish catch something from the new member of the family. Since yours is already in the community tank I would just leave him there, but in the future it may be a good idea to consider keeping him quarintined first. Also, as Rachel said, with bettas you always need a contingency plan when keeping him in a community tank. Some bettas can't be kept with any other fish and will need to be removed and kept alone. The only way to know is to try. Keep an eye on him and watch for behavior that says he's stressed there. Also, tetras can be vary fin nippy fish and can do a lot of damage to a betta, so watch for any signs of holes, rips, or nips in his beautiful fins.
good luck with Claudius, I'll keep an eye out for photos, he sounds gorgeous!
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Post by opendestiny on May 9, 2004 22:29:46 GMT -5
We would have quarrentined him, but we only have one tank, which might make it kind of hard. >.<
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Post by ACKislander on May 10, 2004 12:45:26 GMT -5
yeah, I know how that goes. It seems I'm always pressed for space myself. The good thing is, bettas aren't too picky. You can put him in a bucket or just about any container for the quarintine period so long as he can't jump out and you can keep the tank parameters stable.
How's he doing? Does he seem to like his new digs?
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