BellaOnline Forums Home and Garden Fish Fish Journal - BETTAS ONLY

I have a new little betta and yesterday he had an accident. He got his head stuck in an ornament. I did't even think he could fit his head in, but he did and he got stuck. I was so worried that he wouldn't be able to breathe. He wasn't able to get out so my husband helped him but he has an injury on the top of his body just back from his head. As I have other fish and snails in the tank I wasn't sure if I could put some medication in to help him so I've taken him out and put him into a small container. I've put a dose of "Betta Plus" in but I'm not sure if I have done the right thing.
Any suggestions on what I should do next?
Thanks

I've never used Betta Plus, so I really don't know what it is. But maybe some extra Stress Coat (it has aloe in it which helps a lot) and keep his water nice and warm. Anybody else have any ideas?

im going to try and keep a few notes about my betta

this is one of the first aquadic experiments i've done, so please feel free to fill in with any suggestions, even those that might seem stupid and obvious <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
I'm currently 23 (birthday is march) and I live with 2 roommates, one of wich has two tanks and he's gotten me interested. I believe his is 20 and 15 gallon.

anyways, I changed spots water again today because it was looking a little dirty, last time I did it I put him in the roommates tank using a containment chamber, but he seemed to get flustered with the other fish and I believe it was stresssfull for him with his new home, so this time I kept him in the same container just not in the tank with the other fish, im more careful now not to disturb his tank much while he's in there cause he's a little jumpy but today he seems better and I think he might have been blowing a bubble or two while I was at work today, though im not possitive that it wasn't just the water. regardless I don't think he felt that the water change was tramatic today, even though i did use a net to put him back in, he is pretty active.
im keeping his water at 78-80 degrees according to the thermo. feeding him when I get home from work about the same time everyday 3 pellets, occasionally giving him bloodworm in exchange of the pellets and sometimes some betta flakes that I don't like because they make the tank dirty very quick.

im considering a 2.5 gallon tank, though my roommate does have a 5 gallon tank he isn't using.

how do you guys (and girls) go about capturing your betta's in a cup or whatever you do when you change the water? I think spot is responding well with the water changes but I don't think he likes being moved around so much.

the bottle of Better Plus says "Makes tap water safe for Bettas, coats scales and fins to protect against scrapes and cuts"
So it should be ok for him, How long should I leave him in this small container?
He is eating ok but doesn't seem too happy.

Hello all you Betta people!. I've been reading this journal for a couple of weeks now, and feel like I know you all, and have gotten great info on Bettas. I have had 2 bettas now for 1 week, and am a total slave!(inagine that!!). will follow with lots of questions, as I am at work and hve no home puter.

spot seems to be doing well, as always active, though im thinking more and more about the bigger tank, he seems to have gotten bored pretty quickly and occasionally I still see him sitting at the bottom, he has an exceptional appitite and i've pretty much figured out that it is in fact him thats blowing bubbles, though only patches of like 4 or 5 bubbles together max, so they don't resemble bubble nests or anything but im hoping that thats an indication that his living habitat is good.

this is around day 5 or so I think

are any of you guys finding these posts interesting?

anyways I went ahead and got a 2.5 gallon tank for my betta, hooked the heater up in there which is working alot better in the big tank, got him an awsome hide spot type of rock and changed his rocks out at the bottom because the old rocks looked real sharp to me. anyways the setup looks great and I feel like its a great size for a betta, I could see a 5 gallon being a good size as well. he seems to really like his new found home. I also added a bit of aquarium salt to his mixture as advised on the site, he is not sick, but I wanted his environment to be as good as possible.

and now im going to try and help a friend of mine cure her betta of the ick. so far I know to put him in a heated tank of about 82 degrees, add some aquarium salt, and keep a close eye on the cleanliness of the water, i've heard to add a few different brands of itch rid type things.. what should I use or should I just use salt? Please Help!

Sorry silverstagboy, sometimes people get busy and don't get a chance to reply to posts/questions. I know it can be frustrating when you're new and looking for feedback, but keep on with the betta journal to monitor your progress.
I'm sure your betta will do really well in the 2.5 gallon tank. There is no reason that I know of not to put a betta in a bigger tank. They can do well in smaller environments, but more room means more toys etc. Aquarium salt helps with stress and other assorted problems. I don't know very much about ich as my bettas never had it. You could use the "search" tool for this forum and see what you come up with. I'm sure you'll find alot of useful information. I've never personally heard to use "a few different brands of ich rid" so I can't comment. If I'm not mistaken, Bettafix remedy can be used to treat ich and is gentler than some of the other treatments.
My son saw your picture of Spot and thought it was our betta, they look alot alike... minus the spots of course. <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Sorry. I know it's tough when you put out a call for help and everyone is busy leading their lives.

As for the ick. Definitely raising the temp and changing the water helps. A course of betta fix should also help. There are stronger medicines, but I would try the bettafix first as it's not so invasive. Be sure to do the Bettafix everyday. You can pick it up in just about any pet store. If that doesn't work (or you can't find it) try Aqua-Sol. Just make sure you're not mixing medicines. Like people, mixing meds can lead to major problems. Pick one and stick with it. Ick is a common fish disease so any medicine for ick should work if you're following the directions. And make sure you keep it going even if the fish appears to have lost the white spots because I believe the ick parasites have a free-swimming phase that needs to be taken care of. Follow the label.

As for catching bettas for water changes. If the tank is large enough and the opening is large enough, I use a measuring cup that I keep just for catching fish (don't clean with soap---only really hot water). My old man betta (Rex) seems to appreciate the easy change this makes for him. He's about four and a half years old and pretty much swims right into the cup. My two younger bettas are in their winter homes right now. I have a drafty apartment so I move them to smaller tanks on my bookshelp for the winter months. I net them. They're not happy about it, but that's the way it's gotta be. But they seem fairly used to it and the whole process goes so quickly that they swim right out of the net. If you're using a conditioner with aloe, it should add a little bit of protection for anything lost during the netting process. Good luck and keep us all informed.

thank you so much guys for responding, though I didn't really mean to come off as frustrated or anything, more or less curious if anyone were interested in hearing about my experiences, being a new guy.

i've been forum lurking for some time, so I know how trivial it can be to answer every little question, especially when it seems the person didn't even try to search themselves BTW thanks fishwife, I did not know that bellaonline had a search function, forgive me for so easily over-looking it <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

this fish is owned by a friend of mine, so I can only give advice right now i've advised her to give him regular waterchanges, aquarium salt and rid-ich exactly by its directions.. im at work, so i'll post more later.