# Worst. Betta Keeper. Ever.



## Chaz385 (Nov 16, 2010)

i just came back from a 5 day vacation. a couple days beforehand i realized that i didnt know what to do with my betta. no one i knew could take care of him so i had no choice but to leave him with one of those 7 day feeding stones. the only problem is i have a heater that requires constant attention because it doesnt have a temp limit. if i leave it on for too long it reaches temps in excess of 90 degrees F, so its either leave the heater on and boil Commander Grumpy Gills or keep it off and let him freeze. you can see my dilemma here. i spoke with a friend of mine who has kept bettas before and he told me that if you fill a small fishbowl or tupperware with the warm water of the bowl, the fish's movement and body heat will keep the bowl warm enough.

he was wrong.

i came home at about 9am this morning to find that thankfully he was alive, but the water in the tupperware i kept him in was just hovering above 40 degrees. i immediately turned on the heater, moved him into his usual tank (which was also around the same temp.). not only that, but the food stone didnt dissolve in the cold water so he mustn't have eaten in at least a couple days. i checked him over as the tank was slowly heating up, and i took this picture of him as he swam near the surface. what is this discoloration? ive never seen it before? is there anything else i should do to make sure he recovers fully?


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## Bettawhisperer (Oct 1, 2010)

He should be fine now. You can treat him with some Betta Revive if you're worried about him. As far as the feeding goes fish can live up 7 days without food. I have heard of fish that are in shipment take 2 weeks in transit and are still alive when they get to where they're going.


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## fishloverzj (May 3, 2010)

Give him some stress coat. Be careful about extreme temprature cahnges.


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## Revolution1221 (Apr 20, 2010)

Bettawhisperer said:


> He should be fine now. You can treat him with some Betta Revive if you're worried about him. As far as the feeding goes fish can live up 7 days without food. I have heard of fish that are in shipment take 2 weeks in transit and are still alive when they get to where they're going.


yeah i believe most can live somewhere right around 2 weeks without food but its better not to push it that far. i would agree with betta whisperer i would say next time just feed him right before you leave and he will be fine. 

and idk where ur friend got that idea that it would stay warm. the fish's body heat? he does know that they are cold blooded and cant regulate their own body temperature right? so there for they cant produce their own body heat to heat the water up. even though the cold temperature of the water would over power their body heat even if they were warm blooded so it wouldn't have been safe either way. im assuming it got so cold because you shut your heat off in your house? next time drop him off at someones house and just tell them not to feed him. shouldn't have that problem if u dont leave them any food lol. or you can just leave them a tiny pinch and tell them to feed him halfway through your vacation. the discoloration is due to stress most likely didn't have the energy to produce his usual colors.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

> the fish's movement and body heat will keep the bowl warm enough.


 This is a bizarre idea. Fish are cold-blooded, they take the temp of the environment. Worst advice ever. Opposite would have been better, put the fish in a full bathtub and it will take longer to cool off than a little bowl. I would have said, put a hot light over the tank, or set it on a heating pad, or a space heater in the room or put the fish in a breathable bag and take it with you.

Google everything that friend tells you from now on.


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## Chaz385 (Nov 16, 2010)

thanks everyone, i know my friend isnt a very good source, he used to have a betta that lived for almost four years, i assumed he would know what he was talking about. =p hes doing alot better now, he even has new friends in his bowl


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## someonefishy (Oct 14, 2010)

If I were you, I would ditch that unreliable heater and get one with a thermostat that automatically shuts off when it reaches a pre-set upward temperature. Get a good heater that works, and then test the thermostat next time you have to leave for an extended period to see that it, too, is functioning properly.

I don't trust those white drop-in feeding stones. I used a couple of them when I kept fish back in the 80s, and they didn't work. Not sure if the ones they make today are any better, but I would use an automatic feeder you can pre-set to dispense a certain amount of food at certain times during the day.

You have one tough little fish, there. Bet he's glad you're back!

-- someonefishy


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## DevinsFish (Oct 24, 2010)

They also have the automatic timers for power strips you can get. You can adjust the settings to power on whatever is plugged in for a certain amount of time and then power it off as well. My friend used this with his lighting system for his tank and it worked extremely well. As someonefishy said earlier though, those automatic feeders do work great, but for your temperature, I think it would be a good idea to invest in a new heater. Depending on the size of your Betta tank, you can get an inexpensive heater at wal-mart that has a thermostat. In fact, i don't know if I have ever come in contact with a heater that DIDN'T have a thermostat since I have started keeping fish.


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## someonefishy (Oct 14, 2010)

Some thermostats malfunction and stick open, causing the tank to overheat. That's why you should test the thermostat on any new heater you get just before you leave for another long period, to ensure it is working. You might also have a friend or family member stop in and check on the heater while you're gone. I wouldn't advise using the same friend who said to keep the betta in a small bowl, however. He doesn't sound very reliable.

-- someonefishy


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## fishloverzj (May 3, 2010)

A betta can go a month without eating. Your temp is the only worry, I've heard horror stories about the "Vacation Feeders" killing the betta as the water got to filthy. If you're super worried about it, get a Automatic fish feeder.


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