I have my new betta in a 5 gallon tank with heater which maintains 78 degrees and Whisper 10 filtration system and 15 watt light. Yesterday when I first introduced him to the tank he seemed fine. He swam around, ate a pellet of food, and explored his plants. At night I turned of his light, leaving only the living room lights on and he went to sleep hiding at the bottom in the plants. When I went to bed I turned off all lights and sometime during the night he moved to the bottom corner, out of the plants. Today he hasnt' done anything except hang out along the edge of the tank at the top. He didn't eat, no swimming. He looks healthy and vibrant but seems very unhappy. I am going to swap out the Whisper 10 for a sponge filter so there will be less current but I'm not sure what else to do. Any help is appreciated!
2008-10-21T15:53:37Z
I did add water conditioner (Start Right) to my water (it is well water; I am going to swap that out for bottled water 5% every three days, always making sure the new water is conditioned and the same temp before I add it). I replaced the power filter with a sponge filter; the bubbles were a bit much so I made sure the lifter releases just at the water level, creating enough current to gently stir the water so the heat doesn't stay in one place. He seems a bit happier now that the current is so much less. He's been swimming more and exploring a new leafy silk plant but he always returns to his favorite corner to stare at my cat, who likes to lay on a table a couple of feet away. The mirror scares him away. I think he's a bit timid so I'm going to get him a cave to hide in next.
2008-10-21T16:05:31Z
PS (I did let his bag float in the new tank for about 90 minutes to adjust to the temp before introducing him to his new home. He's a red half-moon betta, BTW. Maybe they just take longer to adjust.)
Anonymous2008-10-20T17:31:47Z
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you seem like a very good fish owner :) he may just be a little nervous in his new home. whenever i would get a new betta they wouldn't eat at all for a few days. he should be fine!
also if you want to give him some excitement and exercise that may perk him up some, take a small mirror and place it against his tank. he'll think it's another fish, so he'll puff up and dart around chasing it. leave it there for a few minutes and put it back whenever you feel like it.
Maybe try turning up the temperature. I keep my beta at 82 and she loves it. Higher temperature also discourage diseases. You are doing the right thing with the lights and you are right to reduce the current. If you turn up the temperature watch out for the light because some aquarium lights will raise the water temperature significantly so that needs to be taken into consideration too.
he might be in a little bit of shock. Did you use water conditioner? (if using tap water) Did you acclimate him into his tank water? Sometimes moving a fish into water at a different temp might stress him a little bit. Also I would recommend adding some aquarium salt to the tank (if not done so already) This will get rid of any disease that he might have & help him to feel more comfortable in his tank. I always use aquarium salt in my betta tank and so far *knock on wood* it has prevented any diseases.
it is lonely try A not more than one sucker fish the ones that clean the tank i have a beta and the sucker and they are great also read passage Betta is a large genus of small, often colorful, freshwater ray-finned fishes in the gourami family (Osphronemidae). There are 28 known species of betta. The type species is B. picta, the spotted betta.[1] By far the best known Betta species, however, is B. splendens, the Siamese fighting fish. Contents [hide]
All the Betta species are small fishes, but they vary considerably in size, ranging from under 2.5 cm (1 inch) total length in B. chanoides to five inches in the Akar betta (B. akarensis).[1]
Bettas are anabantoids, which means they can breathe atmospheric air thanks to a unique organ called the labyrinth. This accounts for their ability to thrive in low-oxygen water conditions that would kill most other fish, such as rice paddies, slow-moving streams, drainage ditches, and large puddles. [2]
The various bettas can be divided into two groups, based on their spawning behaviour: some build bubble nests, like B. splendens, while others are mouthbrooders, like B. picta. The mouthbrooding species are sometimes called "pseudo bettas", and are sometimes speculated to have evolved from the nest-builders in an adaptation to their fast-moving stream habitats.[3]
Food
Betta fish are not big eaters but should be fed a small amount once a day to once every other day.[4] They can be fed floating flake food, freeze dried blood worms, live black worms, or frozen brine shrimp.
Betta pellets are small, round edible pellets that are food for most betta species. Betta pellets are made out of crude protein, crude fat, crude fiber, crude ash, moisture, phosphorus, certain vitamins, and other ingredients.
Name
There is often much confusion in terminology regarding these fish. So-called "Siamese fighting fish", B. splendens, are frequently sold in the United States simply as "bettas." Fish fanciers are thus often unaware that, as of 2006, there are around 65 species classified within the genus Betta. A further source of confusion is that while the generic name Betta is italicized and capitalized, when used as a common name it is usually not capitalized. [5] The common name of Betta pugnax, for example, is thus Penang betta. Siamese fighting fish, B. splendens, is often referred to as betta in the U.S., leading to some confusion Siamese fighting fish, B. splendens, is often referred to as betta in the U.S., leading to some confusion
The name Betta (or betta) is pronounced /ËbÉtÉ/.[5]That is, the first part is the same as the English word bet. By confusion with the name of the Greek letter beta, the name is often pronounced /ËbeɪtÉ/ in American English, and may be misspelled with one t. The name of the genus is unrelated to that of the Greek letter, being derived from ikan bettah, in a local language in Thailand.[1]
Conservation
While many Betta species are common and B. splendens is ubiquitous in the aquarium trade, other bettas are threatened. The IUCN Red List classifies several Betta species as Vulnerable. In addition, B. livida is Endangered, and B. miniopinna, B. persephone, and B. spilotogena are Critically Endangered.[6]
The United Nations Environment Programme lists an unconfirmed species, Betta cf. tomi, as having become extinct in Singapore between 1970 and 1994.[7] This likely refers to the extirpated Singaporean population of B. tomi, which continues to exist in the wild in Indonesia and Malaysia as well as in captivity; the Red List classifies it as Vulnerable.[8][9]
SpeciesThe currently described Betta species can be grouped into "complexes" for conservation purposes. (This grouping of species makes no claim at representing a taxonomic reality.) The complexes of the associated species are:[1] [10] [11]
* Akarensis complex: o Betta akarensis Regan, 1910 – Akar betta o Betta antoni Tan & Ng, 2006 o Betta aurigans Tan & Ng, 2004 o Betta balunga Herre, 1940 o Betta chini Ng, 1993 o Betta ibanorum Tan and Ng, 2004 o Betta obscura Tan & Ng, 2005 o Betta pinguis Tan and Kottelat, 1998
* Albimarginata complex: o Betta albimarginata Kottelat and Ng, 1994 o Betta channoides Kottelat and Ng, 1994
* Bellica complex: o Betta bellica Sauvage, 1884 – slim betta o Betta simorum Tan and Ng, 1996
* Coccina complex: o Betta brownorum Witte and Schmidt, 1992 o Betta burdigala Kottelat and Ng, 1994 o Betta coccina Vierke, 1979 o Betta livida Ng and Kottelat, 1992 o Betta miniopinna Tan and Tan, 19