# Normal behavior?



## vaetki (Jul 7, 2015)

I got my new boy today (from Thailand, then sat in Arkansas for a week before coming here). He was really pale when I first got him out, but after floating him in his 80 degree tank water, he colored up nicely and started being a lot more active and feisty. I added/removed some water over the course of 2 hours then added him into his new 5.5g planted home. It has decent coverage right now, large java fern leaves, anubias, wisteria and some driftwood. I've left the lights off the entire time and at first he was acting alright, exploring everything, etc. but then he started pacing? He's just swimming around back and forth frantically and it looks like he has a stress stripe. I did feed him some NLS pellets that he ate eagerly and dosed him with a small bit of Kordon Fish Protector. I put a towel over his tank for now because my desk lamp is on (no other lights in the room, unfortunately) and I wasn't sure if that was too much for him. Does anyone know if this is normal behavior? I've never had a new betta act like this before so I'm worried D:


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Tank surfing, very normal for new fish or new homes. Likely he's seeing his reflection, you can try adding more plants or if the tank is large enough, some schooler fish to keep his attention, or try angling the light differently if that's possible to do. You can also tape up some black matte paper (like construction paper) to reduce glare as well, you may want to do all three sides or just the back, whatever you want to try out.


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## vaetki (Jul 7, 2015)

lilnaugrim said:


> Tank surfing, very normal for new fish or new homes. Likely he's seeing his reflection, you can try adding more plants or if the tank is large enough, some schooler fish to keep his attention, or try angling the light differently if that's possible to do. You can also tape up some black matte paper (like construction paper) to reduce glare as well, you may want to do all three sides or just the back, whatever you want to try out.


I kinda figured it had something to do with seeing his reflection, haha. I'm glad it's normal, hopefully by tomorrow he'll mellow out.  I plan on getting some more plants at some point, just not sure what exactly yet. Here's a shot of his tank:









I'm getting frogbit in the mail soon so I'm hoping the long roots will help take up some of the empty space in the center. The wisteria and banana plant should provide more coverage in the future, but until then I also have some java moss to throw in. I might just let a portion of it float as well. I'm not sure how he'll react to his actual tank light being on, I guess we'll find out tomorrow!


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Yeah, that's definitely a bright tank, You can also float any of the plants you have as well for the time being to help reduce lighting. Or if your wood isn't leeching enough tannins, you can add Rooibos tea or Indian Almond Leaf as well to help darken the tank for the time being until your plants grow in more. But yeah, definitely float that moss, it will grow better too ^_^


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## vaetki (Jul 7, 2015)

lilnaugrim said:


> Yeah, that's definitely a bright tank, You can also float any of the plants you have as well for the time being to help reduce lighting. Or if your wood isn't leeching enough tannins, you can add Rooibos tea or Indian Almond Leaf as well to help darken the tank for the time being until your plants grow in more. But yeah, definitely float that moss, it will grow better too ^_^


I'll definitely grab some Rooibos tea tomorrow! For the moss, should I break it apart to let it float or leave it in a wad? Thanks for your help  I can't wait to show him off here :3


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Yeah, go ahead and break it apart. It may not do too much but who knows, maybe he'll like it! At this point, it's going to be a lot of experimentation to figure out exactly what it is and what will help him stop. As I said, this is pretty common for new fish anyway and after a time they usually do settle down in about 2-3 weeks so I wouldn't worry _too_ much about it but as usual, Betta's love top cover anyway and stained water so it won't hurt him to do those things of course ^_^


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## vaetki (Jul 7, 2015)

lilnaugrim said:


> Yeah, go ahead and break it apart. It may not do too much but who knows, maybe he'll like it! At this point, it's going to be a lot of experimentation to figure out exactly what it is and what will help him stop. As I said, this is pretty common for new fish anyway and after a time they usually do settle down in about 2-3 weeks so I wouldn't worry _too_ much about it but as usual, Betta's love top cover anyway and stained water so it won't hurt him to do those things of course ^_^


I've spent all morning weaving the java moss through these little make-shift mesh tubes for him to help provide coverage! I also added the frogbit I got in the mail today and some water spangles. He's still glass surfing but he doesn't appear to be stressed anymore and he does stop every once in a while to explore and say hi. I'm going out in about an hour to hunt down some rooibos tea as well! Here are some pictures  he's really hard to photograph right now because of how zoomy he is, so I'll start off with the picture his breeder listed: 


















































He likes his tunnels! They aren't very nice to look at right now but hopefully once the java moss takes over, they'll look better 

I haven't noticed a change in his behavior with the light on or off, he zooms around regardless. I'm sure it's a big adjustment going from a tiny bag/cup to a whole 5.5g tank to himself!


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Lookin' good!! Glad he likes it and feels better now ^_^


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## vaetki (Jul 7, 2015)

OKAY SO I added a seeded filter from a cycled tank (up and running 6+ months now with perfect levels) thinking it would automatically cycle my 5.5g like it has in the past. However after testing the water today, the ammonia and nitrites were both between 0.25 and 0.50 x_x I did a 25% water change and dosed his tank with prime after reading about how to cycle a tank with a fish in it. I'm really stressed out, I don't want to accidentally kill this fish somehow because of a stupid accident. Is there anything else I can do in the meantime for him or should I just take him out and float him in another tank for the time being until this tank is cycled?


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

I would vote for carrying on with the fish-in cycle. Poor guy has just traveled halfway around the world. Should probably let him sit still for a moment. Don't worry it won't take long with a seeded filter  you know what you're doing.

Also: good thing he's a PKEE. If he's just PK we'd be in a bidding war LOL blue and white combo is my weakness <3


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## vaetki (Jul 7, 2015)

Olivia27 said:


> I would vote for carrying on with the fish-in cycle. Poor guy has just traveled halfway around the world. Should probably let him sit still for a moment. Don't worry it won't take long with a seeded filter  you know what you're doing.
> 
> Also: good thing he's a PKEE. If he's just PK we'd be in a bidding war LOL blue and white combo is my weakness <3


Yeah, I really didn't want to have to move him again D: Do you know how often I should do the 25% water changes? Also ahhh blue and white <3 <3 <3 I love him so much, he's absolutely perfect ;3;


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

How big is the tank again? Did fish-in cycle in my 2.6 with ~30% wc every other day, and of course there's the Prime. If you have the time and patience, do an ammonia test every day. Anything above zero = water change time. I was not that patient, so I just bring out that siphon whenever I'm home and bored. Either ways it's Prime every other day.


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## vaetki (Jul 7, 2015)

Olivia27 said:


> How big is the tank again? Did fish-in cycle in my 2.6 with ~30% wc every other day, and of course there's the Prime. If you have the time and patience, do an ammonia test every day. Anything above zero = water change time. I was not that patient, so I just bring out that siphon whenever I'm home and bored. Either ways it's Prime every other day.


Tank is 5.5 gallons. I'll keep on top of testing the ammonia!


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

With seeding a tank, you just text for ammonia and do a water change when it gets above .25ppm is all, nothing to it! Likely you won't really even need a water change! Maybe once a week. Takes about two weeks to fully cycle unless the tank the seeded material came with, had more fish in it than just a Betta.


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## vaetki (Jul 7, 2015)

lilnaugrim said:


> With seeding a tank, you just text for ammonia and do a water change when it gets above .25ppm is all, nothing to it! Likely you won't really even need a water change! Maybe once a week. Takes about two weeks to fully cycle unless the tank the seeded material came with, had more fish in it than just a Betta.


Okay cool! The filter media came from a heavily planted 20 gallon tank that has one betta and 5 otocinclus. I figured it wouldn't be that much of a difference in waste production but maybe I'm wrong...


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

He's lovely. What did you name him? "Zoomy?"


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## vaetki (Jul 7, 2015)

RussellTheShihTzu said:


> He's lovely. What did you name him? "Zoomy?"


LOL Zoomy would certainly suit him! He never stops swimming, it's awesome. I don't have a name picked out yet, unfortunately!


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

It sometimes takes me weeks to find a name for a personality. Poor little Russell the Shih Tzu was "Puppy" for six weeks; Edward, another Shih Tzu, was "Puppy" for a month. To this day I can't tell you why I settled on those names; just popped into my head.


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## vaetki (Jul 7, 2015)

RussellTheShihTzu said:


> It sometimes takes me weeks to find a name for a personality. Poor little Russell the Shih Tzu was "Puppy" for six weeks; Edward, another Shih Tzu, was "Puppy" for a month. To this day I can't tell you why I settled on those names; just popped into my head.


Lol I'm the same way! My dog's name just popped in my head too and it just seemed perfect for him. I'm sure it'll come to me eventually, he has so much personality and energy, he's very different compared to the bettas I've had before. I wish I could get a decent picture of him, he won't sit still long enough  I might have to just post videos of him instead!


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Yep, Russell is a therapy dog at a residental home and rehab residence. I started taking him at 12 weeks and the residents kept asking for his name. When I settled on "Russell" I realized my favorite (and Russell's favorite) resident was Mrs. Russell! I asked her if she minded his name. She was tickled pink and told everyone I named him after her.


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## vaetki (Jul 7, 2015)

RussellTheShihTzu said:


> Yep, Russell is a therapy dog at a residental home and rehab residence. I started taking him at 12 weeks and the residents kept asking for his name. When I settled on "Russell" I realized my favorite (and Russell's favorite) resident was Mrs. Russell! I asked her if she minded his name. She was tickled pink and told everyone I named him after her.


Awww, that's so awesome!!


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## vaetki (Jul 7, 2015)

So these are my levels currently: 










The nitrates look kind of high and the ammonia looked more yellow than green IRL so I'm not sure what to think now @[email protected] Should I do another water change to be safe? Also, I rinsed out the sponge filter in his tank water the day before yesterday so I'm not quite sure why the nitrates are like that. :/


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Nitrates only look to be at 5 or 10ppm, that's not bad at all! That's good! That's about average really. If it gets above 10ppm, that's when you can do water changes.


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## vaetki (Jul 7, 2015)

lilnaugrim said:


> Nitrates only look to be at 5 or 10ppm, that's not bad at all! That's good! That's about average really. If it gets above 10ppm, that's when you can do water changes.


Oh okay!! It looked higher to me for some reason, lol. Awesome, thanks!


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