BellaOnline Forums Home and Garden Fish Community Tank Journal

I just added my Betta to the Aquarium cause of the fact that is bowl was extremely dirty and in need of cleaning. I have refilled his bowl and all and it needs a couple of days before I add him back.

He seems to be very happy, and gets along with the other fish fine. My question is this. If I were to keep him in aquarium. How would I go about feeding him? The other fish tend to want to eat his food, and he doesn't like the flakes at all. He has gotten maybe one or two pieces of food on average everytime I have fed.

Is there a solution to feeding him, or would I better off just moving him back to his bowl once it's ready? Or maybe just buy one of the hang on isolation areas for the Betta? I know he loves the warmer temps. Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated. I tested my water and the PH levels are fine, and I couldn't find anything wrong with the water. So I still don't know what killed my poor fishies.

Hi,

This may sound kind of funny... But before I moved my betta into the larger aquarium, I kind of trained him. I give him pellets. And every morning before feeding him, I shake the pellets - he knows they're his. I feed him one at a time. The pellets came with this tiny little cup. I got him used to seeing his pellet on the cup on the outside of his little tank, before I'd drop it in for him. So in the main aquarium, I get his attention with the shaking of the pellets, then do the same drill - make sure he sees the pellets before I drop them in. It works. Although my husband thinks I'm a little strange.

Oh wait. I am. Oops! <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Well the biggest problem I have with that is he hates pellets. The only thing he will eat are freeze dried bloodworms. I think I have spoiled him lol. Anwyway they catch his attention but they begin to float around the aquarium just like all the other food.

I can tell you right now the Danios eat anything and everything in site lol. The only thing I can figure is that I could maybe feed the Danios first then worry about the Betta, and hope they are to full to care lol.

Logic....try putting the flakes in for the danios first.....and while they are zipping around eating the flakes...be ready with the boodworms for the betta. If you drop them in right in front of him, one at a time, he should be able to get to them before the danios notice there's something besides flakes to eat.

Also, you may want to ween him off the freeze dried blood worms onto a betta specific feed. A constant diet of just FDBWs could bind him up some. Once you get him used to something else you can give him those as a treat now and then. Don't worry, he'll eventually eat what you give him if he doesn't have any other options.

My Zorro was very fussy and wouldn't eat anything but live blackworms...can you blame him? lol...anyway, it took awhile but eventually he decided that the Bio-Gold was ok and he dines on that now with the rest of them.

I'm glad you're having such luck with your betta in your main aquarium.. I'm having some problems. I had to move my tetras out and into the 20gallon tank. So my 10gallon just has a few shrimp, an oto, and the betta. I made one other potentially fatal mistake when moving the betta... I didn't clean up the extra algae in the tank.

What does he like? The plastic plant that's covered in it, that was also the shrimps territory. So the shrimp haven't been near it, since the Betta has claimed it, so they haven't cleaned it. Net result: Betta's fin rot is coming back. ARGH! He was fine this morning, healing and everything.

So the first thing I did when I got home.. move the tetras. Took out the plastic plant and cleaned it til it shone. I also took out my roman colisseum. It's wonderful, but again, huge algae attracter. That one isn't going back in. Did a 70% water change, and added salt to the new water, and put the plastic plant back in. Hopefully that will do it. Oh, and increased the temp to 80 degrees. If this doesn't stop the fin rot, I'll have to move him back to a hospital tank, which I don't want to do since he's now acquired the ENTIRE 10 gallon as his own! <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Now I have new decisions to make on the 20gallon mix. I wasn't planning on having tetras in there. Looks like I'll be adding a few tetras to it, and then I'll figure out what I can add to the mix. Sigh. Don't think the shark is going to go so well anymore! <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Ok I can't decide about my Betta now. I am thinking I should leave him in aquarium for awhile before just moving him back to his bowl. For one the bowl is so much colder and for two he just looked so happy.

Now he is hanging around the bubble wand. Is that a good thing? I am not sure he just keeps swimming up and down in the bubbles and then swimming around the heater. I had a lot of trouble getting him to pay attention to his food tonight. He just couldn't seem to notice it.

I am a worry wart parent. I should just shut up and let him enjoy his new home lol. Alright well if you think there is any adverse problems from what I said please let me know. or if you think I should just be patient tell me that too lol.

JP....it isn't the algae that causes finrot, but the conditions in the tank which encourages the algae to grow,things like too much leftover fish food settling on the bottom, dead or decayed plant material.. etc.. You did good with the water change.

Did that tank ever cycle? What kind of filter do you have in it...you probably mentioned those things in a prior post but I can't remember.

If you tank hasn't cycled yet, I would take the betta out until it does. Thier fins are very delicate and don't do well through a cycling process. I put a "how to do a fishless cycle" in the "New Tank-New Troubles" thread. It's some directions I copied from another site. The nice thing about fishless cycling is that you don't need to do the water changes...you just let the ammonia and nitrite spikes happen...and just keep an eye out to be sure they do. Then when both go to zero, you do a water change and you can start adding a few fish at a time. It's FUN ! :rolleyes:

Oh, bettas tend to eat shrimp after they get bored with the novelty of them..lol..

Hi emg,
It's definitely a cycled tank. It's been set up since last May. filter is an aquaclear. I'm going to watch him today, see how he goes, and if it doesn't improve, I'll take him out.

logic, I'd say just do what you can to get him to notice food. I've seen other posts about bettas loving bubble wands... which doesn't make sense since they prefer still water. Those crazy betta personalities! <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
I worry about my betta as much as you do, and yes, my husband thinks I'm crazy <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I like the bigger tank because it's heated. Much nicer than the fluctuating temps in the half-gallons.

Let us know how he's doing with the food!

Sigh. my 10 gallon just isn't having any luck these days. Now Ich is showing as well. Sigh. Hopefully Maracyn-II will solve both problems. Starting treating yesterday. Will see.

On a good note... the 20gallon is doing great! The plants are growing like wild, the otos are having a blast - my husband thinks they're mating. I don't think so. Ok, yes, they spend every second together, but I don't think they're mating. I've tried to find info on mating habits and can't find much. Who knows? Maybe we'll end up with baby otos!

I lucked out and received a ramshorn snail with my plants. He's growing really fast. In three weeks he's tripled his size. He's about 1/2 an inch long now. I've seen them grow to 1.5 inches.... that would be nice!

Starting next weekend I can continue stocking this tank. I think I'm going to round out the school of tetras - get 3 more to make it five, and a few swordtails. Still thinking about getting a red tail shark... not sure on that one yet. This is fun!

Lol JP..yes it is fun, but can be frustrating too....I too am having trouble with my 10 gallon...the divided one...(sigh)...

Ich..same as you JP. Don't have a clue what brought it on except that I increased the lighting in that tank..next thing I know Neon has ich.

I treated with Ich Clear 2 nights in a row. Ran out of that and had to pick up some "Ich Away"..(walmart didn't have anymore "ich clear tabs"..dang) I hate treating tanks..such a nuisance and so hard on the fish. All three of the ones in there were doing sooo well too ! Fins looking good, healthy and active....now they all have tattered fins...slumping on the bottom of thier bowls...I hate ich! <img src="/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />

Well, today I have cleaned out the whole tank..took out all the water, syphoning the gravel very well...replaced with clean fresh aged treated water that I just happen to have laying around.. <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> ..cleaned off all the stuff that was in there...OH..I had taken out all the live plants before I treated with the ich med. they are all in a large jar full of water. I did another dose of the ich med, but when the water comes to full temp I'm just going to replace the water in thier sick bowls with the treated water from the tank. Instead of letting them swim around in the tank I'll just float them in the bowls in there so that any ich on them stays in the bowl and doesn't get in the tank.

I do have a 15 gallon running with the danios in it that has a nice bacteria filled filter pad in there that I will put in the divided tank when I'm sure the ick is all gone. Till then I'll do 20% water changes every few days to try and get rid of any ich that might be left in there. Hopefully with the bacteria colony in that filter pad and what may be left in the gravel..it won't take that tank long to get back into shape.

What an incredible pain this all is, just when I had that tank all set and cycled and running nicely! Oh Well...such is life, I just hope the fish make out o.k....one of them is my daughter's new white fella, whom she named Ruth/Chip (she likes the name chip but admits that Ruth is a good name too..lol) The tips of his fins are starting to redden... <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> such beauty and now he has to go through the tattered fins odessy...(whaaa whaaa whaaaa <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> !)