Warning, long (sorry):
I found a crowntail betta fish in a little bowl outside my dorm building, near a dumpster, in filthy water, half frozen.
Coincidentally enough, I had been (attempting) to cycle a ten gallon tank, for about a week, so I scooped him up, put him in a baggie, and let him float in the water in my tank until he perked up, which he did, considerably.
I fell in love with him, named him Archimedes (Archie for short
: ) and after 24 hours of slowly acclimating him to the water in my tank, I let him loose. He seems to love his new home and is happily frolicking.
:help:Now my dilemma: I have never had a fish or a fishtank before, not even a childhood goldfish in a bowl torture setup. He is in a ten gallon (long) aquarium, alone. It has a TopFin 10 filter (it hangs on the side and has a carbon packet). I hope this is ok, and not too weak, or too strong for a betta. There is a long airbubble pump thing along the bottom of the back, and a heater rated for a 10-15 gal. tank. It also is decorated with plastic plants in the corner, and two little caves, which he likes to rest in.
I fed him a tiny pinch of freeze dried bloodworms which he devoured (he is so skinny).
I checked the water parameters with a kit I picked up at a LFS, and since the tank had only been running for a week with no media, and no fish, so ammonia, nitrates, and nitrites were all zero. The water here is kind of hard, the pH was 8.0, and I added the recommended dose of lowerer, but it did nothing, so I let it be. The temperature stays at a constant 80 degrees, whether the heater is on or not.
Any advice on how not to kill him would be appreciated. I have grown to adore him in the past 24 hours. Also, I dont really plan on adding anything else to the tank, it'll be just for him (unless I should). Thank you!
I found a crowntail betta fish in a little bowl outside my dorm building, near a dumpster, in filthy water, half frozen.
Coincidentally enough, I had been (attempting) to cycle a ten gallon tank, for about a week, so I scooped him up, put him in a baggie, and let him float in the water in my tank until he perked up, which he did, considerably.I fell in love with him, named him Archimedes (Archie for short
: ) and after 24 hours of slowly acclimating him to the water in my tank, I let him loose. He seems to love his new home and is happily frolicking.:help:Now my dilemma: I have never had a fish or a fishtank before, not even a childhood goldfish in a bowl torture setup. He is in a ten gallon (long) aquarium, alone. It has a TopFin 10 filter (it hangs on the side and has a carbon packet). I hope this is ok, and not too weak, or too strong for a betta. There is a long airbubble pump thing along the bottom of the back, and a heater rated for a 10-15 gal. tank. It also is decorated with plastic plants in the corner, and two little caves, which he likes to rest in.
I fed him a tiny pinch of freeze dried bloodworms which he devoured (he is so skinny
). I checked the water parameters with a kit I picked up at a LFS, and since the tank had only been running for a week with no media, and no fish, so ammonia, nitrates, and nitrites were all zero. The water here is kind of hard, the pH was 8.0, and I added the recommended dose of lowerer, but it did nothing, so I let it be. The temperature stays at a constant 80 degrees, whether the heater is on or not.
Any advice on how not to kill him would be appreciated. I have grown to adore him in the past 24 hours. Also, I dont really plan on adding anything else to the tank, it'll be just for him (unless I should). Thank you!
