# New Betta & conflicting advice



## Johnny Doinkle (Sep 1, 2005)

Hello, I'm new to the forum and new to keeping bettas (and fish in general)

I bought my partner a lovely dark blue/red betta with long flowing tail and droopy dorsal fin last week. We keep him in a 2 gallon tank with sand on the bottom and 3-4 leafy plants. No filter/pump and no heater (contrary to popular belief Scotland *is* warm and gets plenty of sun).

We have some questions/concerns about caring for our betta but there seems to be so much conflicting advice on the internet and from pet store/aquariums.

1) Feeding:
He won't eat the pellets recommended by the aquarium and will only eat live bloodworms. Is it ok for bloodworms to be his only food or should we be pushing pellets/flakes on him? Some say bloodworms are perfect cos he's carniverous, others say only as a treat cos he'll develop "gutrot".

2)Water Change: 
We've been told never to do a 100% wc as this will put him into shock and not to remove the sand as it destroys the beneficial algae that builds up in the sand & plants. Most websites take for granted that 100% wc is essential as well as clearing out the tank.
We do a 70% wc once a week and are concientious about removing food scraps & leftover "bits".

Looking forward to hearing your opinions 
And sorry for such a long First Post! :/


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## MarkMI (Aug 1, 2005)

As for water change. I have 2 Bettas, each in 1 gallon little tanks, and I do 100% WC every week. Remove everything from the tank, the plant and stones, and wash it completely. I do add, some salt, to the water though, before I put them back in. Nither of my two fish seem to have any problems.


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

You can do 100% waterchanges on the jars but 50% is fine also. 
Feeding him bloodworms as his only source of food is bad. Keep trying the pellets. It could take a week for him to start eating them. He won't starve without food for 7-10 days. He will get the idea that the its the pellets or nothing afterwhile.


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## Chazwick (Aug 24, 2005)

You did mature (cycle) the tank didn't you?


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## euRasian32 (May 19, 2005)

When you perform a big water change, make sure the paramaters are the same, especially PH and Temp. Drastic changes in either will put the fish in shock, and it is highly stressful for the fish, and it can be detrimental along with reducing the fishes overall life span.


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## mlefev (Apr 19, 2005)

Chazwick said:


> You did mature (cycle) the tank didn't you?


If you're doing multiple water changes weekly (or 100% water changes) you don't have to cycle the tank, from what I understand. Nothing has time to start creating chemical exchanges.


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## mel&ned (Jul 26, 2005)

sorry to hijack your post but just wanted to ask a q re the bloodworms. i am feeding mine freezedried bloodworms and that's all they will eat.  i was told that it was ok as the pellets are just the same in a pellet form
is this info wrong?


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## Johnny Doinkle (Sep 1, 2005)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Chazwick
You did mature (cycle) the tank didn't you? 

The aquarium gave us a big bag of "conditioned water" from their "conditioning tank" so we could set up our betta tank when we got him home. We set the tank up and let it sit for several hours before slowly adding tank water to the betta bit by bit until after an hour we added him to the tank. He seemed fine. When we do a wc we condition the water over night so it's ready in the morning.

On another note - Do you think we should have a filter and/or a heater for a 2g tank? The aquarium said we wouldn't need either for such a small tank (and that bettas don't like filters?). 
Most other web sites advocate use of both filter & heaters.

Thanks for your responses!


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## Johnny Doinkle (Sep 1, 2005)

mel&ned said:


> sorry to hijack your post but just wanted to ask a q re the bloodworms. i am feeding mine freezedried bloodworms and that's all they will eat. i was told that it was ok as the pellets are just the same in a pellet form
> is this info wrong?



The pellets we have are a mixture of "animal & vegetable" products with added nutrition & proteins... I think pellets are supposed to be a lot more balanced and are better for your fish in the long run.

We got given a batch of freezedried feed that is supposed to be a mix of larvae, grubs and worms, but when it goes into the tank it just looks like bloodworm to me.

But then I'm not a betta 

From what I everyone has helpfully told me, keep on with the pellets as your betta will eat them sooner or later.


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## lwstinkinsweet (Aug 2, 2005)

i am having the same problem with my betta. i can't bear the thought of him not eating, though. the only time i didnt feed him was when he ate the shrimp that was in his tank and it was almost as big as him and he got a huge bulge in his belly from being so full. but i am going away tomorrow and i dont have anyone to feed him i am only going to be gone a couple days so he should be hungry when i get back.


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## Giddy012 (Feb 16, 2007)

Hi, I have had Bettas for a couple of years now, and have found that they do the best when these conditions are met.
-5gal tank
-Adjustable filter (Bettas are not a big fan of strong water flow)
-They are a tropical fish and should not have water at a temp lower than 78 degrees farenheit.
-They are often only fed pellets at the fish stores, so your fish has most likely tricked you into giving him only what he wants. You should hold back food for a day or two, then start by giving him two or three pellets twice a day. They should flowt so you can leave him the oppertunity to eat for a half an hour or so, and then if he still has not eaten them, remove them, and try again later. Once mine get oust to eating the pellets they now turn down the Bloodworms, and even sometimes Brine Shrimp.
-With the filter you would also not need to change the water as often, say a 50% change every other week. You could also put a small alge eater (chinese alge eaters are pretty cool) in there to keep the alge at a minimum, as I've never has a Betta that will eat any of it themselves, can become a problem. Only if you bump up the tank size!
Good luck, hope this helps.


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## (RC) (Jan 18, 2005)

Without a filter the tank doesn't cycle. You don't need to do 100% wc's. Small water changes more often will do just fine. He can live on just one food just like a person can, but he will not be as healthy or live as long as he could if he was eating a mix of foods.I well fed Betta can go a few weeks without eating. If the water is normally 75 or warmer you shouldn't need a heater.


RC


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## AquaGirl (Feb 17, 2007)

Like everyone said, you really need a filter.


> or should we be pushing pellets/flakes on him?


 Bettas don't eat flakes.


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## (RC) (Jan 18, 2005)

If you will do the WC's needed you don't need a filter. A betta will eat almost anything. I knew a guy who's betta ate chocolate cake. 


RC


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## jdwoodschild (Jan 22, 2007)

Johnny Doinkle said:


> Quote:
> Originally Posted by Chazwick
> You did mature (cycle) the tank didn't you?
> 
> ...



Bettas with all of their finnage have a hard time swimming in any sort of water current. You are doing good with aging the water over night! And if the air temperature fluctuates/gets lower than 75 degrees, get a heater for it. Also, don't let it be in direct sun light. It will cause the temperature fluctuations and the algea build up. Partial water changes every couple of days, and a complete one every week or two (depending on how often/how much you do the partial water changes) (more often partial, the longer you can go with out complete water changes).

Basically, when it comes to keeping bettas, take all the advice you can get and meld it/mold it to what works best for you/your situation. Just keep the tank out of sunlight is the one really die hard rule that I can think of!


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## anasfire23 (Jan 19, 2005)

ok, that's alot of info to read!! I'm just going to post what I do at my house with my fish and you can pick and choose different methods that work for you. I do a 100% water change of all my fry tanks once a day and the larger tanks (under 3ga) once a week. All I do to the water is add tap water conditioner/ager and fill up the tanks then add the Fish back to it. I don't have a heater in any of my Betta tanks (except the spawning tank and one of my fry tanks) because it is summer here and I live in the tropics. During winter though I will have my new barracks system set up with it heated and filtered because I will only have my adult Bettas left (all the fry will be rehomed). 

With regards to feeding, it is better that they have a varied diet of pellets and live foods. I'm having the same problem with my fry at the moment actually. They were reared on live foods and turn their noses up at the pellets. What I've done is only offered them pellets for the past 3 days (no live foods at all) and some of them have started taking them from sheer hunger alone! Others are being stubborn so if they don't take the pellets at their feed tonight I will offer blood worms on the morning. An adult betta can go without food for a week or so, so it is an option to fast him and only offer pellets, I really doubt he will stubbornly starve himself to death. 

Also Aquagirl, Bettas will eat flakes. There are specific Betta Flakes on the market and I've had all mine eat them at one point or another as well as that, all my females that live in our community tank live off tropical flakes (and whatever left over blood worms there are at the end of the day) so they will indeed eat flakes. 

In conclusion you are best off getting a heater at the very least for when it gets colder and have it set no lower than 78F. A filter isn't necessary at all if you are doing regular water changes. Even if you did a 30% water change every other day that would suffice. 


The idea really is to keep your betta as happy and healthy for as long as possible making sure he has a good quality of life so really we should do all we can for them. They aren't just decorations as most people believe, and whilst I'm not one of those animal activists that believe that they all have souls etc etc I do believe that every living thing deserves to be treated well and with the utmost respect. As their keepers we have a responsibility to ensure their quality of life and conditions are kept at an optimal level.

Good Luck and I hope he brings joy into your lives for a long time to come.


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## Giddy012 (Feb 16, 2007)

Well said


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## Kyoberr (Dec 6, 2006)

The bettas that I have had in the passed have always eaten flakes recommended for bettas. As for the water change, I have always been fine with having some water that has been sitting for a while (so it can adjust to room temp., and so that any harmful gas that it might have can evaporate) and that seems to work well. I don't keep any of the water that I had before, though I could be wrong about this. But my bettas have always lived quite a while, so it seems to work pretty much swell.


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## Guest (Feb 20, 2007)

Ya'll realize that this thread is from September 2005, right?


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## anasfire23 (Jan 19, 2005)

hahahaha nope, did not realise that. Who was the one who posted on an 18 month old threat to begin with? Giddy012!!! Why post on a thread that wasn't even made in the last 6 months? Mind you I should have checked also before I posted! oops oh well


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