# 1 Weeks Vacation....



## Purplely (Feb 28, 2008)

We are going on vacation next week and would like suggestions on what to do with Purplely. What do you do with the fish? Is there some slow release food for them?

Thanks for your help!


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## Dtld9 (Feb 4, 2008)

You could get slow release foods, but an automatic feeder would be better. The slow release foods can pollute your tank pretty bad. The automatic feeder will release food at set intevals.


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## Flashygrrl (Jan 18, 2008)

Test it before you go away though.


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## sillypony (Nov 16, 2007)

Also, correct me if i'm wrong, but i've read that (with tropical fish anyways) so long as you're only going away a week, you should just not feed. That way there is no need for water changes, no risk of a malfunctioning auto-feeder, or family over feeding your 'poor hungry' fish. Tropical fish in the wild fast for up to two weeks during certain seasons, so a week, or a long weekend, while you're on vacation shouldn't be a problem.


Or at least, thats what i've read in lots of other threads.


LeeAnna


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## MattD (Apr 25, 2007)

Throw a ghost shrimp in there, he will eat it in time . . .

Slow release blocks are a big no-no, they will compromise the water quality. Feed him well before you leave, change his water, then unless you have an automatic feeder he should be all right. 

Bettas are rather resilient. Ages ago my little brother had a betta in the worst little bowl and I could easily have saved it, I'm sure all it needed was a water change. . . that was before I kept fish. Food was also scarcely put into the tank.  

Auto-feeders are the best, although one would need to spend upwards of $40 for a good one. I went through 2 crappy ones thinking they would do, returned both. Bought a digital auto feeder for $50.00 and never looked back - too reliable.

Good luck.


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## SST (Nov 17, 2007)

I never had a problem with the slow release blocks. I use a bit of crushed coral in my tank to raise the ph anyway, so throwing a bit of plaster in there doesn't do anything to my ph. Besides, the calcium in the plaster is good for fishie. When I come back, I just vaccuum any leftovers right out. My water never got gross, but then my tank was 2.5 gal. at the time (now 5 gal.).

I didn't see the size of the tank, so if a 7-day block would cause too much water quality issues, would there be an issue with throwing in a 3-day feeding block for a 7-day trip? The owner will have peace of mind that fishie will have some nutrition while gone.


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## Purplely (Feb 28, 2008)

thanks for the replies. The pet store said that the live plants I have could also provide food for him. Is this true?


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## MattD (Apr 25, 2007)

Bettas are primarily carnivores, they will not survive on live plants. I wonder how many cute little betta fishies, or any other specie, have died as a result of this guy's advice.

SST brings up a good point regarding the blocks. Depending on the size, perhaps broken in half or a frag of it at least would work just fine.


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## herefishy (Dec 14, 2006)

Carniores = meat. 

Vegetarian = taters (well, veggies anyway). 

Omnivores = meat and taters.

Bettas are, indeed, omnivores. 

That is why you should feed your betta peas a couple of times a week. That will keep it from getting constipated. Not being able to poop makes Mr. Betta an unhappy fish.


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## Purplely (Feb 28, 2008)

So I just returned from the store with 3 day tablets. The 7 day was pretty large for my little tank. 

We also just changed the water and the girl at the store suggested frozen bloodworms. She suggested putting a "cube" in now to let Purplely eat over the next day. We are not leaving until Saturday so the thought was that this would "fill him up" a bit and then toss in the tablet for the week It's Thursday evening as I write this).

We will see how it goes. Right now he looks like he is loving the worms. It does look like I am going to have to get them out at some point. As I write this the cube just sank to the bottom of the tank and is starting to really expose the worms. Again, not the nicest looking thing but he is enjoying it. And again, as I write, he is now just sitting next to the mound of worms and has stopped eating. It's almost like he s guarding them......

Now that I look at it again, I think it may be too much. I am going to give it a little more time and then I have to get them out. 

Sorry for the play-by play.....I guess too much NCAA basketball today!


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## Purplely (Feb 28, 2008)

What was I thinking (actually what was my local pet store thinking!!).....I am sitting here and Purplely is just eating and eating. I start surfing this page (is there a search function?) and read Betta's will eat until their stomachs explode. Not sure if this is true but his little belly is looking pretty bid right now. 

I do not have a tank suction vaccum so I started looking for some sort of tubing that I could use to suck up the worms. I wanted to suck them up somehow because if I tried to scoop them up they would have gone everywhere in the tank. I pulled out my wifes "pampered chief" turkey baster and was just about ready to start sucking up the worms and thought if she caught me with that in the tank I might not hear the end of it.....then it hit me. A simple straw!! I held the top so the air would stay in the straw and then went up to the clump of worms and removed my finger. After about 10 times I pulled out all of the worms! It worked in a pinch!!

Looks like I will be cleaning up poo Saturday morning before we leave so the tank is not too dirty when we get back next Saturday...what a huge mistake!!!!!!!!!

One side of me wants to call the shop and complain. I did say I had only ONE Betta!! Next time I will have to cut a quarter (if that) of the frozen pellet (it is in a foil wrapper and just a little cube the size of a dice).


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## MattD (Apr 25, 2007)

I think it's a bit of a myth that they'll eat until they burst.

No animal on this planet as far as I'm aware, would eat until they explode purposely, what would be the point of that? Perhaps a starving animal eating too quickly/too much would die, but that's different entirely.

Plus, and I'm sure EVERYONE who has had a Betta will agree, when Bettas aren't interested in food anymore, they just ignore it. After 2 or 3 pieces of brine shrimp, my Betta just wanders around the tank, ignoring me and my attempts to feed him completely. That is how you can tell when they're full, after all.


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## Purplely (Feb 28, 2008)

I hope you are right. I just came down to check on him and his belly is sticking out pretty far. Had a little scare as he was in the plants and just sitting there with his head down. I thought he was a goner. I move the plant a bit and he swam out. Either he is sick from eating too much food or he got stuck in the plant because of his big belly!!

He is not moving around alot right now. 

Are bloodworms a good food for them? After the pet store problems, I am questioning everything they told me right now!


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## Dtld9 (Feb 4, 2008)

I feed my betta bloodworms every other night and he does fine. It's good to vary their diet.


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## MattD (Apr 25, 2007)

It is most likely constipation making him look bloated. A boiled pea can help with this, although you must not feed him anything else.


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## Purplely (Feb 28, 2008)

Well, I came down this morning and he was looking better. Moving around more so I think all is better. I still have the vacation thing tomorrow so hopefully he will do well with the tablets. If anything he still looks a little full so I guess that can not be too bad since we are leaving. 

When I return next Saturday, how much sould I feed him? Should we give him extra or just his regular feedings?

Also how much bloodworms do you give your betta at one feeding? The "pill pack" was just too big for one betta. I guess I can open one and cut off a piece and feed that to him. Suggestions?

Thanks


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## SST (Nov 17, 2007)

Just the regular amount of food for feeding will be fine.

I don't know about the frozen bloodworms. I use the freeze dried variety and I'm still trying to figure out how much is too much.


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## tophat665 (Sep 30, 2006)

Purplely said:


> Also how much bloodworms do you give your betta at one feeding? The "pill pack" was just too big for one betta. I guess I can open one and cut off a piece and feed that to him. Suggestions?


When I feed bloodworms to Dan, I put a cube in about 40 ml of water and feed him about 20 mls of it. Course, he's got Buster and Dexter the ADFs in there with him, so most of that is for them.

Incidentally, I use a turkey baster for frozen food feedings and water conditioner measurements and dosing excel. Really handy gizmo to have. Go to your local supermarket and spring for the five bucks a cheapie one will run you. While you're at it pick up an infant medicine syringe (like a mini turkey baster). Presto - all your chemical measurement needs taken care of. If you ever need to measure medicine by the millilitre, you'll be the cat's pajamas.


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## Purplely (Feb 28, 2008)

*SAD NEWS*

We got home Saturday night and Purplely was dead.........it looks like he died pretty soon after we left because when we returned he was actually floating at the top and starting to decompose. (we were gone for one week). The water was very yellow and his 3 day feeder still was about 50% there. 

The kitchen where we kept Purplely had a really strong bad odor. We gave him a cerimonial last rights and quickly flushed him because of the smell. The tank was dumped and put outside because of the smell. The kids were pretty sad. 

Not sure what did him in. It could have been the full water change the Thursday before we left (we left on Saturday). After I did it I read how many ony do a 50%. It also could have been the bloodworms. He ate himself silly and never really looked good after that. The last thing (what I am thinking) is the temperature. We keep the house at 70 degrees. When we left the house I did not think about it but dropped the temperature to 65 degrees to conserve. We live in NJ so the nights can still get a little cold. 

Your thoughts?

Well, we are going to give the kids a few weeks to decide what they want to do. Of course we have all of the "stuff" bought and now no fish!!


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## Flashygrrl (Jan 18, 2008)

Sounds like you (or him, really) had a lot working against you. 

1. You should have had a heater for him, 70 degrees itself is insanely cold for a Betta.
2. No filter. You said the water was pretty yellow? Probably ammonia or junk from the feeder block, and leftovers from the bloodworm fest. The full water change (never ever advisable in a tank that's not a bowl and no need for it with filtration) only served to stress him out more.

I hope you learn something from this experience...this forum is all about learning and asking questions, but it's extremely important that when given an answer, that answer be followed or stuff like this happens. I'm not saying this to be rude or mean, and I'm sorry if it seems a bit harsh (losing a fish sucks) but hopefully it also serves an example to other new people so they don't have to go through the same thing.


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## Flashygrrl (Jan 18, 2008)

One more thing..by all means you and your kids should get another Betta. But I'll advise you this time to take the time to read the truly excellent sticky put together by Cody and a few others, get a mini-heater and sponge filter or small Whisper Intank if it'll fit, and take the time to let your tank cycle after a thorough cleaning, no soap. Show your kids how it's done right, and don't hesitate to ask questions.


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## SST (Nov 17, 2007)

Oh, I'm so sorry to hear about your fishie. That's so hard. I would suspect the stress of the cold did him in.

I hope you do decide to get another one. They are such neat pets. I don't know what size tank you have, but a heater and a thermometer (the kind that stick inside the tank, not the stick on the outside one) are a wise investment. You can do without a filter. I don't have one on my 5 gallon. I used to, but I pulled it for a different tank. My water has gone through the nitrogen cycle so I only need to do 25% water changes a week, sometimes 50% every two weeks. When I started with a smaller bowl, I did 100% water changes weekly. It just depends on the size of the tank, how big your fish is, how much you feed him, etc.

Let us know how we can help.


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## Purplely (Feb 28, 2008)

Flashygrrl said:


> Sounds like you (or him, really) had a lot working against you.
> 
> 1. You should have had a <span style="color:#3300FF;" onmouseover="return escape('A very important equipment used to regulate the temperature of the aquarium. It may or may not be included with a thermostat.')">heater</span> for him, 70 degrees itself is insanely cold for a Betta.
> 2. No filter. You said the water was pretty yellow? Probably ammonia or junk from the feeder block, and leftovers from the bloodworm fest. The full water change (never ever advisable in a tank that's not a bowl and no need for it with <span style="color:#3300FF;" onmouseover="return escape('Process of removing waste material from the tank water to prevent pollution')">filtration</span>) only served to stress him out more.
> ...


Wow, just a little harsh on the answer thing Flashygirl.....if you read the post here on this message, some say add the slow release, and others say not to. Some said not to feed him, others said to. Then I read to change the water 100% then the next search brings up only to change 50%. I really did try to ask alot of questions and follow the advice here. My petshop tended to lead me down the the opposite road of what advice I got here and to be honest, this site is were I want my information. I guess I did not filter enough or ask the right questions. 

My pet store suggested putting in a bunch of bloodworms and 2 3 day slow releases...yeah, that would not have caused any problems!! It seems everyone has a method that works for them but Purplely's end I think came from the darn heat in the house being turned down. It was a oversight as the family was loaded up in the car and as I did my quick last run throught the house to make sure everything was off and past the thermostat and thought why run the heat at 70 all week. I kicked it down to 65 and that was it. The temp in our house is a constant 70 degrees and he seemed fine with it. I read alot of post of people having their bettas at the office. I know my offcie building can get pretty cold on the weekends. Somehow I wonder if 65 is really too cold considering the conditions others must see. 

My set up was a simple pet store set up. We had a bowl, it is a 1.5 gallon along with 2 live plants in the middle and rocks. He seemed very content with a nice bubble nest about a week prior to leaving on vacation. When we left he still looked a little full from the bloodworms. My wife thinks it was the worms that did him in. He never looked great after he gorged himself that week before we left. 

Well, we will try again. Our original plan was to start off with the 1.5 and then when a room being redone is completed, we were going to get him a larger tank with all of the filters and heater. I guess we will have to wait until the room is done and then just get the right set up and not the pet store version. 

Thanks to everyone for your help in this. This is a very knowledgealbe forum and I appreciate everyones insight.


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## Falina (Feb 25, 2007)

I'm sorry to hear about your loss.

I think you're doing the right thing however by waiting until you can get the proper set up before trying again. having fish can be very enjoyable, but also very sad when things go wrong. by having patience and doing all you can to make sure everything is "top notch" you greatly reduce the chances of anything going wrong and both you and your fish will be much happier.

Best of luck to you for next time. if you have any questions in the mean time, or when you get your new set-up, we'll be here to help.


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