Not Marine Related...Betas

[Astinus]

Beta Question.

 

We have 2 Betas. In Separate Gold Fish Bowls.

I do Weekly Water and Gravel cleaning. 100% Water Change.

1 Beta Looks and Acts Fine. The Other, not so much.

Been looking Fat and sluggish (Hangs at btm of Bowl) For the past 2 weeks.

Anybody have experience with Betas and maybe have advice?

[Hammerstone]

They are pretty lazy. Does it eat? Are the fins clamped to the body? What's the temperature in your house. Are the scales normal looking or are they standing up. Lots os questions.

[Astinus]

Fat Belly, Lies on Side (kind of) Does eat but swims to surface in a Vertical manner to eat and is eating.

We feed the Pellet stuff for Betas. (Cobalt Aquatics, Beta Minis)

House Temp is 77. Physically, aside from the "Bloated Belly", looks okay.

The other Beta is lazy, but is in the water column and not on gravel bed.

[Tamberav]

Could be constipated since you mention bloated.

 

Betta's like to explore and in a decent sized aquarium with plants/decorations, they swim a lot. Most people do not keep them in large tanks so they don't see this behavior as much. Some varieties fins do make it difficult to swim though. They will still sometimes lay on plants, ect. But it shouldn't be a constant thing.

 

I would test the water for ammonia/nitrite/nitrate just before your weekly water change. These parameters will effect bettas the same as any other fish.

[Astinus]

Could be constipated since you mention bloated.

 

Betta's like to explore and in a decent sized aquarium with plants/decorations, they swim a lot. Most people do not keep them in large tanks so they don't see this behavior as much. Some varieties fins do make it difficult to swim though. They will still sometimes lay on plants, ect. But it shouldn't be a constant thing.

 

I would test the water for ammonia/nitrite/nitrate just before your weekly water change. These parameters will effect bettas the same as any other fish.

Totally agree!

The water starts to get stagnant and cloudy (No Filter).

BOY! When I rinse the Gravel! OMG! That chit stinks to high hell!

TBH, I would love to put him in our 75g Tropical "Community" Tank, but, He won't last long in there.

What I am saying is, Testing is wasted time as I do a 100% WC.

I do treat the "Tap" water with Prime.

[Tamberav]

Totally agree!

The water starts to get stagnant and cloudy (No Filter).

BOY! When I rinse the Gravel! OMG! That chit stinks to high hell!

TBH, I would love to put him in our 75g Tropical "Community" Tank, but, He won't last long in there.

What I am saying is, Testing is wasted time as I do a 100% WC.

I do treat the "Tap" water with Prime.

 

The fact there is no filter could be negatively impacting them since it gets pretty stinky. Something like a divided standard 5g would be easy to fit a filter on.

 

The reason I was saying to test was just to see if it was the water causing the issue. Like perhaps a week is too long between changes.

[Hammerstone]

A happy Beta will usually blow a bubble nest

On the surface to attract females. They will usually hover under it, constantly messing with it. I don't like the bloated belly though. Also make try to keep the top of the waters surface clean as they breath air with their labyrinth organ as well as with their gills so they have to come up every so often. Any pics?

[erinmegan85]

I have found that my betas that I have had do much better in a tank that has filtration. I have one Beta in a 5 gallon little tank from Petsmart, and our other beta is in our 90 gallon tropical community tank. Here's Fredinand, He's in the 90 gallon tank:

 

 

And here is Bob:

 

 

[Hammerstone]

Beautiful fish!! I like your tanks! Perfect for them.?

[Clown79]

I love your betta tanks. Very pretty!

 

It could be dropsy- a bacterial infection which is pretty common in fw fish. The bloating, shifting to its side, or vertical swimming are often signs of dropsy.

 

A small hob filter would help alot with maintaing good water conditions and it is recommended for bettas as well.

[Astinus]

TY All for the Help and Info.

I will pass on this info to Shar.

[Mariaface]

Bettas are still tropical fish, and require a cycled tank - they're affected by ammonia the same as any other fish, and need aerated water even if they're anabantoids and can gulp air from the surface. If the more lethargic fish was carrying any disease, the stress can easily leave him susceptible and make him show symptoms that the other one doesn't.

 

Would it be possible to put gentle filters on their bowls? If the water's getting cloudy and is stagnant, and the substrate stinks when disturbed, it sounds like weekly water changes aren't enough and a filter is needed to maintain the fish's bioload. Whatever's stinking up the gravel is decomposing and attempting to start the nitrogen cycle - completely cleaning out the tank every week may be resetting things, and ammonia can easily build up in a week's time.

 

Good luck!

[Hammerstone]

I used to swish the gravel around in running water and keep pouring it out and swishing it with my hand round and round and dumping the water out. In a weeks time I would never have any scum on the surface or have a stinky tank. That will help with that. Sorry that your fish is sick!

[Astinus]

I used to swish the gravel around in running water and keep pouring it out and swishing it with my hand round and round and dumping the water out. In a weeks time I would never have any scum on the surface or have a stinky tank. That will help with that. Sorry that your fish is sick!

I do exactly this.

Shar is in Hospital ATM.

I did have an Air Stone in the Tanks to start with. That was 6 or 7 Months ago.

Shar insisted that she kept a Beta once w/out 1.

The Bowls are on the Bathroom counter and, well, Space limited.

 

Bettas are still tropical fish, and require a cycled tank - they're affected by ammonia the same as any other fish, and need aerated water even if they're anabantoids and can gulp air from the surface. If the more lethargic fish was carrying any disease, the stress can easily leave him susceptible and make him show symptoms that the other one doesn't.

 

Would it be possible to put gentle filters on their bowls? If the water's getting cloudy and is stagnant, and the substrate stinks when disturbed, it sounds like weekly water changes aren't enough and a filter is needed to maintain the fish's bioload. Whatever's stinking up the gravel is decomposing and attempting to start the nitrogen cycle - completely cleaning out the tank every week may be resetting things, and ammonia can easily build up in a week's time.

 

Good luck!

I will see if I can find something (Filter)

I will see if I can find this Locally.

https://www.amazon.com/Aqueon-100101218-Kit-Betta-Falls/dp/B00INCRSFC

[Hammerstone]

I hope everything is okay!

[GoingPostal]

Bettas usually survive, not thrive in the typical no flow unheated tiny bowl setup. My sister keeps them like that and kills about 4 to every one I keep and they always look very dull and inactive compared to mine. You can try improving the setup and see if that helps, it definitely sounds like they are not living in very clean or ideal conditions atm. I use a 5-7 gallon tank with a small filter and heater with a ton of plants, it's almost maintenance free.

[Astinus]

Bettas usually survive, not thrive in the typical no flow unheated tiny bowl setup. My sister keeps them like that and kills about 4 to every one I keep and they always look very dull and inactive compared to mine. You can try improving the setup and see if that helps, it definitely sounds like they are not living in very clean or ideal conditions atm. I use a 5-7 gallon tank with a small filter and heater with a ton of plants, it's almost maintenance free.

What Substrate do u use for the plants and so the plants require anything "special" like lighting or CO2?

I'd like to try this TBH!

I do agree with everyone! This is not the Ideal situation for them.

 

 

[Clown79]

Its a marketing tactic- bettas is bowls with no filter, no heaters, etc.

 

Its a lot easier to sell a fish for $5 while promoting it being kept in a bowl.

 

Its actually not natural for them.

 

The best set ups for them is a filtered system with a small betta heater and even plants.

[thilankasp]

In my experience when you keep them in a small space they sometimes develop swimming problems.. Despite their popularity, they thrive on a large system. It's great to see them swim around a tank blowing bubble nests..

It may also be a problem due to internal parasites because of the stagnant water..

[Jcon_343]

Betta's are tropical fish, and need to be in a tank/bowl that are 3+gal or larger Heated+filtered. I keep a double half moon in a 5.5 gal that is heated and filtered and stocked with live plants. I do weekly 50-70% water changes. A few things to try for the bloated fish. Give it a Pea to munch on, it will help with digestion. Cut into a small piece and mash it up a little. Change the water daily until it heals. May want to put it in a small med tank shallow and warm water (shallow so it doesn't have to swim to far to get air as betta's are Labyrinth Fish and can and will breath air). Do not use the "Betta Fix" crap that is sold it is garbage. Clean warm water is the key. Also look into getting IAL to help with the healing (Indian Almond Leaf)

 

PM me if you have any other questions, Betta's are my second hobby next to my reef have keep a few over the years for extended periods of time. My most recent that recently died was about 7 years old!

@erinmegan85

 

I love that piece of drift wood you have in that first tank! They all look nice! I need to see if I can find a pick of my current tank and I'll post it later!

A happy Beta will usually blow a bubble nest
On the surface to attract females. They will usually hover under it, constantly messing with it. I don't like the bloated belly though. Also make try to keep the top of the waters surface clean as they breath air with their labyrinth organ as well as with their gills so they have to come up every so often. Any pics?

 

 

A bubble nest means that the Male is sexually mature giggedy

What Substrate do u use for the plants and so the plants require anything "special" like lighting or CO2?

I'd like to try this TBH!

I do agree with everyone! This is not the Ideal situation for them.

 

 

 

 

I would get some different rock as well, that colored stuff could also be leaching chemicals into the water. I would go either bare bottom or get a nice sand, as you would for you reef, or some nice river rock!

[Astinus]

TYVM for the replies!

I had asked above, regarding plants, what substrate?

No heater needed here, really. The House stays around 78 degrees.

AC runs all the time and winter, well, folks flock here from the North!

[Jcon_343]

TYVM for the replies!

I had asked above, regarding plants, what substrate?

No heater needed here, really. The House stays around 78 degrees.

AC runs all the time and winter, well, folks flock here from the North!

 

I would at least get like a 10-15w heater just to keep the temp stable.

 

As for substrate, as i mentioned above, river rock, anything that is natural really, I would stay away from the colored crap.

 

Plants, just about any type of aquatic plant will work. My current tank I have bamboo and Ivy/lily.. Get some stuff that will float on the surface as bettas come from rice fields in Thailand they will perch up leaves and hide under them as they would in their natural environment.

 

For the bamboo, if you go that route, make sure it is already acclimated to being underwater or it will start to rot slowly.

[Tamberav]

What Substrate do u use for the plants and so the plants require anything "special" like lighting or CO2?

I'd like to try this TBH!

I do agree with everyone! This is not the Ideal situation for them.

 

 

Low Tech planted tanks are very easy and inexpensive, they do not require CO2 and lighting is inexpensive (I have even used daylight CFL's with great results). My current substrate is petco black sand.

 

Google "Low Tech Planted Tanks", there are many examples and guides. Here is a good one: http://www.fishlore.com/fishforum/content/297-how-set-up-low-light-low-tech-planted-tank.html

 

This is the most important part: Remember the most important part of keeping aquatic plants is balancing the 3 main factors.....light, nutrients/fertilizers, and CO2. You can't have one factor high and others low. They all have to be in balance. If they are out of balance you will have problems with algae, nutrient deficiencies, plant melt, die offs, stunting, etc. This is what makes low light / low tech tanks so great, as it keeps things easy. With low light, you don't need a rigorous and strict fertilization schedule, you don't need extra CO2 injection. Just a little bit of light, some fish waste, and you are most of the way there, just fine tune things a bit, and find your "balance", as it's different for every tank.

 

Basically more light is not better since you won't be using CO2, it would only promote algae.

 

This is my low tech 20g planted I had set up before I moved:

 

 

 

 

Here is my current 7g planted tank, it has 7 female bettas (sorority).

 

 

2016-07-18_12-55-09 by Tana Jahangier, on Flickr

 

2016-07-18_12-54-18 by Tana Jahangier, on Flickr

[Astinus]

NICE!

Now to convince the Wife

[Jcon_343]

Beautiful!!!

 

I like the way that 20 looked