BellaOnline Forums Home and Garden Fish Fish Journal - BETTAS ONLY

I am new to bettas and have had my male betta for about a month now. Four days ago I noticed he had white stringy things that looked like cobwebs in his tank, sometimes on him, sometimes on his plants. I did a complete water change for his 1 gallon bowl adding aquarium salt. The next day the white strings were back and worse than they had been before and his water was cloudy. I went to the pet store they recommended BettaFix Remedy but were unsure of what was going on. Today is day 3 of BettaFix with little improvement. I haven't noticed any new white strings on him, but the ones on the artifical plants are still there. I had the bowl at room temperature prior to this but am now using a lamp to warm him up and have been keeping the water temp around 80.

Other than the white strings and his gills moving a little faster than normal, he has been acting like he usually does. He continues to eat, is active, and has blown a nice bubble nest. I don't notice any red spots, white spots, or inflammed gills. Prior to this I was feeding him daily and doing complete water changes every 7 days. I'm not sure what to do to make him better. Please help! Thanks!

Ashley

Thursday May 17th, 07

My beautiful red Betta fish male named Toby is shedding it's skin. Is this normal? He seems awfully tired when he's not being his energenic self. He's usually very hyper, but when he's just lying down....it always seems like he's dead! But he isn't though. I think I'm feeding my baby a bit too much. x.X I feed him three times per day, a few dried bloodworms each time. Is this right? I'm still a newbie with Beta's!

Desmond, my cat, has not yet noticed or paid any attention to Toby. Either 1. He doesn't care or 2. He still doesn't know Toby exists. :P Well, this is a good thing for Toby either way.

I just bought my second betta. He's blue and green and the area around his head is black. I'm a big fan of the late Kurt Vonnegut, so I've named him Kilgore Trout. His cup at PetSmart was pretty dirty, so I probably put him in his bowl a little too quickly. However, the water was treated with a bowl buddies tablet and some stress coat.

At first he was swimming around checking out the bowl, then he started swimming around the top, sticking his mouth out a lot. My last fish swam around the bottom a lot, so this worried me a little bit.

It's been about an hour and now he's still chilling near the surface of the water. Everyonce in a while he'll get really still, but then he'll swim to the other side and chill there for a little while. He rarely goes deeper. The other fish I had really enjoyed resting on the beads at the bottom of the bowl. Maybe Mr. Trout likes to rest while he floats? I don't know.

Is it normal for Mr. Trout to be sticking around the top of his bowl like this?

::worries::

How's Mr. Trout doing? That's a great name, by the way! It's not usually a good sign for a Betta to stick his head our of the water as much as it sounds like he was doing, but it could have been just that he was aclimatizing himself to his new digs - which were apparently a lot better than the cup at the petstore! Not such a good start to have had a dirty cup, but it's possible to rehabilitate them with a lot of loving care - a great tank with a great filtration system or a lot of proper and consistent water changes to keep out the ammonias and other poisons; and, a varied diet of foods for Bettas - some dried and some live for nutrition and normal bowel function.
If they're sticking their head out too much, it can indicate compromised swim bladder function, which could result from dirty water for too long. Clean water, clean water, clean water...! It cannot be said enough. : )

How's Toby?

We can say a lot about PetsMart. They do have what you need to care for bettas - and some good reading material on bettas. The little guys in the cups do grab at your heart. It is possible to save even one who might be in a dirty cup. The sooner you tak him home and start giving him the best of care, the better for the little fellow.

Yes, it's good advice to just not let your cat know about your fish - at least at first - until you have your fish protected and even your cat trained!

Over the last few years, I've had several different bettas. With the move to northern Arizona, I gave my hobby up for a few years just with bing so busy. A few months ago, I visited the new Petco in town and discovered all of the beatiful bettas and thought I should start the hobby up again. So i purchased a bowl and a blue crowntail betta. However, I was unaware of how cold it really was in our house.

Our new house is very big, so it is very expensive to heat, so we only turn the heat on occasionaly. Mu, my betta, could only survive the fluctuating temperatures for so long. He lived for about three weeks. I found him and was totally heartbroken for not realizing that this was going to hurt him.

My friends, knowing how sad I was, decided to go together and get a little 1 gallon tank with a new betta fish for me for Christmas (they really know me too well). This one is a beautiful Delta Tail Betta and is many different shades of blue, with the tips of his fins being white. Sticking with the Greek alphabet, I named him Epsilon, Eppy for short. I now keep him the kitchen, but have a small lamp shining on the tank, since I dont have a heater for the water yet.

I was wondering if this was safe for him. He seems to be much happier than before, now that I have the light on him. He darts all around is just in general more active. But since I know you're not supposed to keep them in direct sunlight, if the light on him would be ok for right now until I can get a heater.

Hi, I'm very sorry about Mu. Yes, they're tropical fish and so need their temperature regulated to keep it warm enough and without fluctuations. So, you have to get an aquarium heater that is the right one for the size and type of tank you have for your fishy. You must also have an aquarium thermometer - that's how you can monitor his water temperature. Be sure to check it a lot so you can make sure his water temperature is a safe one for him no matter what time of day or night and whether or not there is anything else going on in the room that you should be aware of such as drafts. In the the case of a kitchen - depending on where in the kitchen you have him - check for water temperature fluctuations that could be harmful because of the stove or oven or other appliances, for example. Probably, the kitchen is the warmest room of the house, right? Is that why you chose the kitchen?

That was a great gift for you - since you are the right person to have a Betta fish and love and take care of him so well.

Yes, some people use lamps - it depends on the lamp and lightbulb and tank. Remember, if you only have a little water in a small tank - there is the possibility that the water can heat up and cool down relatively quickly compared to say, a 10 or 20-gallon aquarium. A lamp is certainly better than no heat source. There are a couple of small aquarium heaters that I've seen in Petco and a small, independent petstore that specializes in Betta fish supplies that I know of and online at www.thatfishplace.com It says on the packaging that it is made for some of the smallest Betta marinas and tanks and bowls. (I don't recommend a bowl.)

That's right - the direct sunlight grows algae.

Eppy sounds beautiful! You are already becoming quite the Betta aficionado! They are so sweet and friendly and loveable!

Hi again, Asenath,
Try www.thatpetplace.com instead! The other one seems to be under construction right now. ( :