Celura, this is a very good read on betta water; I really like this site:
http://www.bettatalk.com/water.htm
http://www.bettatalk.com/water.htm
My Betta fish
- Thread starter Celura
- Start date
Originally posted by Celura
[..] Wow, I feel like such a bad mom.
:shake:
A bad mom would never have checked. Sushi is lucky
Hey, did you see the chick that runs that site? Talk about defying the stereotypes.. lol!! http://www.bettatalk.com/about_myself.htm
tricksterpup
It's SPRING!!! BUNNIE RABBITS
Jenny,
You have done fine.. do not worry.
As everyone has stated, slowly let him get used to your tap water, slowly add tap water to his changed water, maybe a 1 cup of water a week. When I did research during my time at the university, I used to use distilled all the time. The minnows we raised were fine in this water.
So now the next thing I want to say is welcome to the hobby. You are under way on a marvelous trip. I can see you are an animal lover and you show responsilbilty with your pets. This is a very good thing. You will have some ups and downs in this hobby but do not be discourage. We all go through this at one point or another. I do not want to count how many tanks I have experienced in my life that has crashed for one reason or another.
So remember a few basic few things.
there is no stupid question when starting. so always ask, we do not mind.
Do your research, go out and buy a few books on bettas and tropical fish. Learn as much as you can, and then learn again. I am always learning.
Heck, if you lived Minnesota, I would probably donate Sushi a spare small tank I have. (cause its good karma)
Jim
You have done fine.. do not worry.
As everyone has stated, slowly let him get used to your tap water, slowly add tap water to his changed water, maybe a 1 cup of water a week. When I did research during my time at the university, I used to use distilled all the time. The minnows we raised were fine in this water.
So now the next thing I want to say is welcome to the hobby. You are under way on a marvelous trip. I can see you are an animal lover and you show responsilbilty with your pets. This is a very good thing. You will have some ups and downs in this hobby but do not be discourage. We all go through this at one point or another. I do not want to count how many tanks I have experienced in my life that has crashed for one reason or another.
So remember a few basic few things.
there is no stupid question when starting. so always ask, we do not mind.
Do your research, go out and buy a few books on bettas and tropical fish. Learn as much as you can, and then learn again. I am always learning.
Heck, if you lived Minnesota, I would probably donate Sushi a spare small tank I have. (cause its good karma)
Jim
what's the matter with the bowl she already has the fish in i've seen people keep them in much smaller and the betta is still happy.
Betta Advice
Celura,
(1) That bowl looks awfully small to me. If the $40 for a 5 gallon kit from Walmart is beyond your budget at the moment you might want to price just a 5 gallon rectangular tank and see if that is affordable. Another suggestion would be to try and find a large goldfish bowl. I saw a 4 gallon plastic one in a fish store several days ago and I think it was pretty cheap. You could do a 33%-50% water change with this bowl each week just using some clear tubing as a siphon and you would not have to put your betta through the stress of being moved ... siphon from the bottom to remove any waste there. Lastly, if you know anyone who works in a restaurant you could ask them if they have any 1 gallon glass containers with the lid left over (condiments come in these). You would have to clean the container thoroughly using water and salt or vinegar with a very thorough rinse, also drill a few small air holes in the top. Bettas do jump so it is a good idea to keep a cover with some air holes on top of their home.
A healthy betta likes to swim around and needs space to do so.
(2) Distilled water is actually bad for your fish as mentioned in previous posts. I think your betta would be happier in your well water but I am not sure about the water softener you mentioned ... is there any way to get the well water before it hits the water softener? I seem to recall reading that water softeners can have adverse effects on fish, maybe someone else here will have more info on that.
Another suggestion would be spring water sold in supermarkets. Poland Springs which is sold here in Massachusetts has a pH of 6.8. You should transition your betta slowly from distilled to whatever water you end up using so the change won't shock him, maybe in thirds (1/3 each week for three weeks).
Make sure the temperature of the new water is equal to the old water.
(3) If your budget can stand a pH test kit (about $3 for the Wardley Jr pH Test Kit) that would be a good investment. Water hardness test kits are more expensive, usually in the $10-$12 range for the Nutrafin one I use.
Good Luck!
Celura,
(1) That bowl looks awfully small to me. If the $40 for a 5 gallon kit from Walmart is beyond your budget at the moment you might want to price just a 5 gallon rectangular tank and see if that is affordable. Another suggestion would be to try and find a large goldfish bowl. I saw a 4 gallon plastic one in a fish store several days ago and I think it was pretty cheap. You could do a 33%-50% water change with this bowl each week just using some clear tubing as a siphon and you would not have to put your betta through the stress of being moved ... siphon from the bottom to remove any waste there. Lastly, if you know anyone who works in a restaurant you could ask them if they have any 1 gallon glass containers with the lid left over (condiments come in these). You would have to clean the container thoroughly using water and salt or vinegar with a very thorough rinse, also drill a few small air holes in the top. Bettas do jump so it is a good idea to keep a cover with some air holes on top of their home.
A healthy betta likes to swim around and needs space to do so.
(2) Distilled water is actually bad for your fish as mentioned in previous posts. I think your betta would be happier in your well water but I am not sure about the water softener you mentioned ... is there any way to get the well water before it hits the water softener? I seem to recall reading that water softeners can have adverse effects on fish, maybe someone else here will have more info on that.
Another suggestion would be spring water sold in supermarkets. Poland Springs which is sold here in Massachusetts has a pH of 6.8. You should transition your betta slowly from distilled to whatever water you end up using so the change won't shock him, maybe in thirds (1/3 each week for three weeks).
Make sure the temperature of the new water is equal to the old water.
(3) If your budget can stand a pH test kit (about $3 for the Wardley Jr pH Test Kit) that would be a good investment. Water hardness test kits are more expensive, usually in the $10-$12 range for the Nutrafin one I use.
Good Luck!
Mhm. Even a 10g tank (just the tank) is 6$ at our walmart. You could even get one of those and with time, buy a filter, a heater, etc and be on your way to a "real" tank!
I bet he gets very stressed when you move him. Also, as mentioned, if you still feel the need to move him, make certain that the water you are moving him into is very similar to his bowl water.
Most lfs's will test your water for free, too.
I bet he gets very stressed when you move him. Also, as mentioned, if you still feel the need to move him, make certain that the water you are moving him into is very similar to his bowl water.
Most lfs's will test your water for free, too.
Thank you SO much everyone!
Shewlett: some of my restrictions are budgetary at the moment, as I have a pricey trip to Texas coming up next month. Mostly, it's a matter of space. I just have absolutely nowhere to keep a very large tank right now, as I live with others who are extremely restrictive of the space we share.
Shewlett: some of my restrictions are budgetary at the moment, as I have a pricey trip to Texas coming up next month. Mostly, it's a matter of space. I just have absolutely nowhere to keep a very large tank right now, as I live with others who are extremely restrictive of the space we share.
