# My first Betta. I couldn't resist those eyes looking at me from the tiny Walmart cup.



## Siee (Sep 18, 2014)

OK, I'm not really a message board kind of person so bear with me...

I guess I should tell you the story first. I'm an animal lover of all kinds. I'm also one of those people that hate how most are treated and I try my best to help do what I can to make things better for them whenever I can. All they got to do is make those cute pitiful eyes and I'm attached forever  That's actually why I now have my first Betta fishy. It wasn't planned...all I had intended to get yesterday was some stuff for my puppies and the fishys just happen to be on the same aisle. I always go visit the fishys every time I'm at the store and check to make sure they have clean water and food and I also unstack them so they get some air. I know its not a lot but I'm trying my best to help. If its bad I hunt down the employees and watch and make sure they fix it all. I just feel so bad for the poor fishys  Anyways, usually I just visit and they all tend to just sit at the bottom of the cups and not interact (I can't blame them). Last nite though one was really active and was following me and watching me the whole time I was playing with the dog toys. And every time I went near him he'd make a circle in his cup and then would come back to the front and look at me. It was cute! Cute pitiful fishy eyes...I couldn't resist! So, there I am him in his cup on the seat in the buggy and I was like "Now what,lol?" I've never had a Betta and only rarely had any kind of fish in my life and even then not since I was a kid. I don't have a phone with WiFi so I did the only thing I could and guessed. They didn't have a big selection of tanks but I got the best I could think of. 

Here's what I got:

http://www.walmart.com/msharbor/ip/...gal-Fish-Aquatic-Pets/20693704#Specifications

Its a 5 gallon glass tank with a filter, lid and l.e.d. lights.

It also came with sample bags of Tetra water treatment and Tropical fish flake food.


Here's what I did:

I bought a small bottle of the water treatment instead. It was a squeezy bottle of the same stuff and easier to measure that way.

I also bought fish flakes made just for Bettas instead. I got flakes because that's what he's used to eating at the store so I thought it'd be less stressful to start out with.

I stopped by our animal shelter and donated the samples of water treatment and tropical flakes so they didn't go to waste.

I also bought a heater for his tank. Made by the same company as the tank, fully submersible, and has a safety shut off temperature gauge. Its for 5-10 gallon tanks. And its keeping it about 76-78 so far.

I also got a glass in tank thermometer, net, gravel, a snail statue, the smoothest plants they had, a swim through rock and a skull cave (smooth inside).



Here's what I did when I got home:

I set the tank up and followed the water treatment directions exactly.

Then followed the instructions for the heater and filter and let them both run and do there thing for a few hours like they suggested.

While the tank was heating I followed some instructions I found on a post on here and slowly started to take a bit of his cup water out and replace it with new tank water so he could adjust and slowly warm up.

After all of that I floated him for a bit in the tank (in a clean cup) until he was the same temperature and then let him out.

So far he seems really active and happy and exploring. He's even fanning out which I never saw him do until he was in the big tank so I guess that's a good sign I hope. So far he just seems happy and swimmy.

Oh, also I gave him a teeny bit of flakes and he ate all of them with no hesitation.

OK....so here's the reason I'm posting on here right now. I've done the best I know how to based on common sense and some random posts on here. I'm really hoping I did the right thing and didn't forget or screw up anything. But I really have no idea what to do now or even if I've done good or bad up to this point already. I'm paranoid and just want to know what you think about what I've done so far and if there's anything else I need to do, should have done, etc???...

I also had a few questions that I couldn't find good clear answers on:

-Should I feed him 1 or 2 times a day? Does it matter?

-Does it matter when, how long, or how often you turn on the tank light? I'm curious about if it can stress a fish out or if it bothers them?

-Should I not feed him one day a week? People on here seem to be split on this topic.

-Is there anything else I need to get for him?

-Anything else I need to do for his tank or water?

-Also I couldn't find a clear answer on changing out his water on a normal basis but especially this first week or two. Some people said to do about 20% change daily for the first while. Advice?

-Anything I need to look out for health wise especially considering what store I got him from and the conditions there?

-His tail is a bit funny in one spot but I'm not sure why or if its even a big problem. I tried reading about tail stuff but couldn't make sense of it or find any good pics to compare him to see if its the same thing. Thoughts?

-Any way to tell how old a Betta is?


Additional random info:

From what I can figure from pics online he's a pineapple colored crowntail Betta.

And his name is Ghost Fishy (Ghosty for short) 

Oh, also my husband ordered him a leaf hammock and a moss ball today while at work. He has a bad habit of shopping on Amazon when its slow at work,lol.

Other than that I think I've literally told you everything I can think of about all of this. Sorry my post is so long but I wanted to make sure to not leave anything out that I thought you might need to know to answer stuff. Anyone who has the time to advise me and help me through the Q&A stuff I just want to go ahead and pre thank you. It means a lot of all of us especially Ghost Fishy  Thank you! 

If you need to ask me anything just post on here please. I'm going to be checking it daily. 

I'm also going to try to add a pic of his tank. If it uploads right then can you give me your opinion on if it looks like its set up OK?

I appreciate any advice anyone gives me and appreciate you just taking the time to read my post. Sorry again its so long.

Hope to hear from you soon...

Thanks again


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## Siee (Sep 18, 2014)

P.s...OK...I'm not sure if ts something or not but I was reading around on here and came across a post talking about red stripes/vein looking that fish get from an infection. Mine has a little horizontal red line on him from his tail base to his side stomach area about half an inch long. I just thought it was a vein I could see since he's so light colored but now that other post has me stressing. Is it something I should worry about?


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## AlgarveblueVT (Jul 11, 2013)

get yourself some Omega one betta buffet pellets or NLS pellets and feed him 3 pellets in the morning and 3 in the evening....


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## AlgarveblueVT (Jul 11, 2013)

feed him pellets everyday as i said, say on saturday get him some bloodworms, and fast him on sunday or when u want.


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## Veloran (Jun 28, 2014)

Seems like Ghost is off to a 'swimming start' and he's beautiful. Good job on getting him a beautiful home, so let's get down to some details. 
Next time your husband has a slow day at work, when he's browsing Amazon, he should try to pick up some New Life Spectrum pellets (betta or small fish forumla) or Omega One betta buffet. It's better for Ghost and the sooner he learns to eat it, the better. He should also try to get some Seachem Prime water conditioner, you will initially be cycling your tank and Prime will help out with that.

Now let's look at his plants, those look like plastic. What you want to do is take them and run some pantyhose over them, if the pantyhose snags, it will snag his fins and tear them, you want to get some silk plants or better yet live plants (they're not as daunting as you might think), bettas LOVE live plants.

You will want to cycle your tank, you can read through Step by step nitrogen cycle and we can help you along the way. This is the reason a lot of people recommend 20% daily water changes. You should also consider getting an water test kit (eg. API Master test kit can be found on Amazon as well), it takes the guesswork out of cycling your tank. Pet stores usually will also test your water for free. Seems daunting, but that's the hard part, you only do it once and you're set.

Feeding: Most people feed twice a day, some once, it depends on their schedules. As long as he's not getting emaciated, you're fine. It's all up to how you want to spoil him. You should also try to get him some frozen foods as treats, like bloodworms, mysys shrimp, daphnia, all can be found in the freezer of you fish store. I recomomend the Hikkari brand.

Lights: You want to give them a tropical day/night cycle for best results, it is recommended 12 hrs of light and 12 hrs of darkness, this can be manipulated if you have live plants but for now see if you can keep that schedule.

Fasting: Can be done one day a week, it more simulates what they would get if they were in the wild plus it gives them a chance to clear out their systems. If he gives you those pitiful eyes with that waggle and you feed him, it's not the end of the world either.

Tank: We need to cycle his tank. Usually we would measure his ammonia levels and once they get in the .25 ppm - .5 ppm range we would change out some water to get those levels back down. This is where the master test kit comes in handy. 20% changes per day should do or you could even do a little more every other day if you didn't have time until we get his tank cycled (I'm not sure exactly how much ammonia builds in that tank per day, someone who's done a fish in cycle on a 5g might be more help here). You could also get a bottle of Tetra SafeStart to attempt to speed up the process.

Health: What you want to watch for is his fins clamping, him being lethargic and sitting at the bottom or floating up top, something out of the ordinary activity of him resting. That's usually the start of something wrong with him or his water.

Fins: I can't tell from the picture, if you think his fins look funny, odds are he did a little fin biting. It's nothing too serious, doesn't look infected from the picture, just keep his water clean and he'll heal himself up.

Age: Most bettas are around 6 mths when sold, from Walmart you can almost approximate that as their age since they tend not to live too long in that store.

All in all, looks good so far. We can work on tweaks to your system as we go, but it's adequate for him.


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## AlgarveblueVT (Jul 11, 2013)

get urself API freshwater test kit(very important)


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## Siee (Sep 18, 2014)

*Thank you so much for the advice! I'm still worried though.*

Thank you for the advice. I've been trying to read up on cycling with a Betta already in the tank and everything I read just makes me more worried. I keep getting split advice on the whole situation. Some say its fine others say I'm hurting my fishy by doing so. I don't want to hurt him. Now instead of being happy and spending time with him I'm stressing over the whole thing and still not sure what to do. My best understanding is to get some safe start type stuff for his tank and do daily water changes and test often. 

If I do that will my fishy be OK?

Am I really hurting him by cycling with him in there? I didn't mean to.


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## anitsirk92 (Aug 20, 2014)

http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=111960
Heres a link that has good information about cycling. A fish in cycle is fine. As long as you keep up with water changes, your betta will be fine. Good luck with your new betta! He's beautiful. I want to get a pineapple eventually


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## AlgarveblueVT (Jul 11, 2013)

that depends on your tank size and filter.....
if you are trying to do a fish in cycle, you will have to definitely get urself an API freshwater test kit to keep your eye on ammonia, nitrites and nitrates.

not to forget to keep him at 80F with a heater.


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## MadtownD (Aug 29, 2014)

It's wonderful that you've put so much thought into his care and gotten him an adequately-sized, lovely home! I'm new to betta care, myself. Our guy started doing much better when we replaced the plastic plants with several tall leafy silk ones that touch the surface. He kinda hovers in them near the surface and can breathe from between the top leaves. He ignored the plastic ones and glass surfed constantly (which he still does, but it's improved). 

I also have a 5 gallon. I cycled fish-in by just bringing in the water to the pet store at least a couple times a week initially, and doing 50% changed when ammonia, then nitrite, crept up. We now do 50% water changes once a week.

You might also consider baffling your filter if he seems to avoid high current areas or if stressed. He's gorgeous!


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## BettaBeau (May 14, 2014)

Hi Siee,welcome to you and Ghosty! It sounds like you are off to a good start. My girl InfraRed has a pale body, and I can see a pink line inside of her, I believe it is veins along the spine, nothing to worry about.


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## TerriGtoo (Jul 2, 2013)

*A pat on the back for you!*



Siee said:


> Thank you for the advice. I've been trying to read up on cycling with a Betta already in the tank and everything I read just makes me more worried. I keep getting split advice on the whole situation. Some say its fine others say I'm hurting my fishy by doing so. I don't want to hurt him.
> Am I really hurting him by cycling with him in there? I didn't mean to.


I wish more new betta owners were as conscientious as yourself! You are doing awesome!!! Regarding the cycling, just keep up with water changes. On a five gallon, I would do about a gallon to two gallons every other day, he should be fine and comforatable enough. You did say you had a filter in there, so keep that going at all times. don't turn it off becasue if you do the beneficial bacteria that are growing in your tank will die. (that's the importance of cycling....to get that bacteria built up.) Also, check the flow coming from the filter. If it looks like it is too strong for your betta.....he might be fighting a current or being swept around when he goes near it,....then that would be too strong and may stress him. If this is the case you may need to baffle your filter.
If it is one of those "in-tank underwater filters, you may want to consider getting a HOB (hang on back) nano filter. I use Deep Blue BioMaxx nano filters on all (14 and counting!) my betta tanks. 
For food I use New Life Spectrum (NLS) Betta pellets. I have found that they are smaller and more uniform in size than the Omega Betta Buffet pellets and easier for bettas to swallow. As far as nutrition, both have good ingredients in them. When feeding a good quality pellet such as these, I usually feed my bettas four pellets in the AM and another 4 later in the evening. One day a week I fast them for good digestion.
As others have said Prime water conditioner is a must have, top of the line. most everyone here uses it. And the API water testing kit will be indispensible.


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## Siee (Sep 18, 2014)

*Mini update and thank yous!*

Thank you everyone who's posted on here. Its my first time on this site and I was really surprised at how quick I'm getting replies. And thank you all for saying I was doing a good job so far with him. I'm trying my best and definitely needed to hear that. I'm still stressing over the cycling and the red stripe on his side but getting advice from everyone is helping a lot. I've even already went out to the store got a few of the items people suggested I buy. I got some Tetra safe start and some water test strips. I know I need better testing supplies but that was the only water testing stuff our Walmart had and where I live Walmart is literally the only store to go to and even that is a good ways away. But I figured the strips were better than nothing. But I do have a list of things to get made up with pellet food, a better testing kit and different plants for as soon as I can order stuff or make a day trip out to an actual town with pet/fish stores. If there's anything else anyone thinks I need to add to my list please let me know.

Thanks again


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## Siee (Sep 18, 2014)

*Almost forgot...*

A few people mentioned my filter. It has a very low flow setting and I have the water level matched well with it. There's barely any current from it at all and he actually likes swimming up right into the flow. Its slow enough he can float right in front of it and not really be moved around at all.


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## AlgarveblueVT (Jul 11, 2013)

please make sure its nothing serious as i posted in previous post!!!!


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## Prettyone (Sep 9, 2014)

What a pretty color your fish is.


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## hgual22 (Jul 18, 2014)

-Should I feed him 1 or 2 times a day? Does it matter? I like to feed mine twice a day. Once when I turn the lights on, and again when the lights go off. Only 2 pellets each time though.

-Does it matter when, how long, or how often you turn on the tank light? I'm curious about if it can stress a fish out or if it bothers them? On during the day, off at night. Since you have no live plants, its doesnt really matter, but jut make sure they are off at night.

-Should I not feed him one day a week? People on here seem to be split on this topic. I dont feed mine fridays. I helps clean their system and is generally healthy for them. They wont starve in a day 

-Is there anything else I need to get for him? Pellet food. Flakes are no good. They can cause bloat and constipation, and arent as nutritional. I use omega One buffet betta pellets, they are $5 at petsmart for a tiny jar, but they last a long time. Their stomachs are as big as their eyes, so feed them food as big as their eye twice a day. Once is fine too. Also, pick up some frozen food. Shrimp or bloodworms are great. Weekly frozen treats are great and they love them! They are very healthy as well. Look at seachem prime, for a water conditioner. Its great, and it detoxifys ammonia for 24-48 hours. Which is super helpful, in an uncyled tank. Since ammonia is highly toxic.

-Anything else I need to do for his tank or water? Maybe look into a betta heater. You always want to go with an adjustable one. For safety reasons. The theo hydor, on drsmithfoster.com is on sale for $14! I have the 25W version for my 5.5 and for my 3gal. They work great!

-Also I couldn't find a clear answer on changing out his water on a normal basis but especially this first week or two. Some people said to do about 20% change daily for the first while. Advice? To cycle it you wanna do it a bit more often, but for my small tanks I find weekly to be fine, though I have plenty of live plants. Buy a test kit (I got the API freshwater master kit on Amazon for $20! I have prime so shipping was free, you can also getit at petsmart for about $26) And do a partial change whenever the ammonia is above .25. Once your tank is cycled, ammonia should always be 0, nitrites 0 and you change the water to keep the nitrates below 20.

-Anything I need to look out for health wise especially considering what store I got him from and the conditions there? Keep an eye on his fins. Fin rot is when the fins are black tipped or even red, and they just kind of rot away. Treat this with warm, clean water. Also bloating is common, especially with flakes. If his stomach is large and round, he is probably bloated. Dont feed him for a day and try an epsom salt bath. Also try to get a look at his poop. Make sure its normal looking and not white/stringy. This means parasites.

-His tail is a bit funny in one spot but I'm not sure why or if its even a big problem. I tried reading about tail stuff but couldn't make sense of it or find any good pics to compare him to see if its the same thing. Thoughts? What does it look like? It could be torn or something. Just keep an eye out.

-Any way to tell how old a Betta is? Not really, but he is an adult. Probably 8 months to a year. Older if he was in the store a long time. 

Good job buying him a proper set up!


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## TerriGtoo (Jul 2, 2013)

Siee said:


> Thank you everyone who's posted on here. Its my first time on this site and I was really surprised at how quick I'm getting replies. And thank you all for saying I was doing a good job so far with him.
> Thanks again


You are welcome! When it comes to bettas....well,.... we LOVE bettas, so are very happy to help when we can! You found a great community here!


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## SabastiansMom (Jul 25, 2014)

Hi! Your boy is beautiful!! You're doing great with him, follow everyone's instructions and you'll do great. My little boy is Nick, a beautiful half moon betta that gets spoiled every chance I get. I went to my local walmart and noticed that they have three rows of brand new Betta's I happened to stand,there and looked at them. It looks like they haven't had time to get water dirty or stressed too much. I saw an absolutely gorgeous red crowntail that I fell for. But can't have right now as I'm getting ready to set up a 55g tank. Love the honey do list and it's growing for him haha.

Welcome to the forum. Good luck with ghosty


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## aselvarial (Feb 21, 2014)

I feed mine once a day. When the lights first come on in the morning. (well about 5 minutes after that as it takes them a few minutes to wake up.
I do fast mine 1 day a week, but there are weeks i've skipped that, and if they have serious fin damage from tail biting or a fight (it happens in a divided tank occasionally) then I skip it.
Cycling- with a filter, it's gonna happen. In a 5 gallon, I'd recommend 2 50% changes a week, esp at the beginning. That's what I do for my 2.5 gallon, but it's well established and has a massive amount of live plants. 
Definitely go with a pellet. Not only is it easier to feed, and easier for the betta, it's also easier to clean up if you overfeed, or drop too many in. Flakes are impossible to clean up once in the tank.
+1 on the adjustable heater. Especially as we head out of summer. Remember bettas are tropical and like it toasty. Winter is not toasty. 
If you are nervous about live plants, go with something simple like java fern. Those are low maintenance, low light, low stress plants. anacharis is another undemanding plant. Java fern is especially awesome as it can be tied to decor, or let loose to float. 
Also, good luck with ghosty, and welcome to the forum!


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

Those testing strips can be very hard to read and its not the end of the world if you can't get the liquid testing kit - just follow the below guideline:

Your first water change should start on or about day 3 and schedule the second weekly from that point.....

In 5gal-10gal filtered without live plants:
*Water changes of twice weekly for the next 4-6 weeks
Of... 1-50% water only and 1-50% with vacuum in all areas you can reach without moving anything or disruption of plant roots. *
*The 50% with vacuum will be the water change schedule for the life of the system to maintain water quality once the nitrogen cycle has established.
Filter media needs swish/rinse in old tank water a couple of time a month

**If* you have water test kit-base the water only change on: ammonia, nitrite 0.25ppm or greater.
_With a low bioload often you don't need the second water only_-I always recommend it when you don't have test kit to err on the side of caution...its the safety net....

Also---
That line you see may be the lateral line. The lateral line is a sense organ that consists of a row of scales that most fish have along their sides, extending from their head to tail. Under these scales are a system of fluid-filled canals and specialized cells which transmit vibrations to the brain of the fish.
Alternativly, with pale colored bettas you can and will see red lines that look like veins. Its normal and all bettas have them but its not visible on darker colored fish.


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## Siee (Sep 18, 2014)

*Update....tail looks different than it did this morning. Should I be worried?*

His tail had that one odd part that looked short and a bit ragged. First off the color looked fine when I bought him the other day and didn't have any dark color on it. Even this morning before I went to sleep it was fine. Tonite though now it has dark on the tips of that part of his tail. Is something wrong with him?

Advice?

Also I got some test strips and checked his water tonite. These are the results:

Ammonia- between .25 and.5
Ph- 8.4
Water hardness-soft 75
Total alkalinity-120
Nitrite-0
Nitrate-10

I changed out 25% of his water this afternoon and am using the tetra water conditioner when I change it.

I also am going to put in the tetra safe start stuff for him in the morning.

Thoughts on the water results and what I should do to help fix it?


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## Veloran (Jun 28, 2014)

Can you get a closeup pic of the dark coloration on his tail that has you worried, it's probably nothing but it would be good to have a look. There's also a good chance you see him change color as he gets older.

I wouldn't worry with messing with your water parameters, he'll adapt to whatever you put him in. The one piece of advice I would give you is that while you're cycling, get some Seachem Prime water conditioner and use that, you could always come back and finish off the Tetra water conditioner after your tank is cycled. It is possible that your water has chloramines and with a 8.4 pH, I'd personally try to keep the ammonia under .25ppm (note, this is my preference and he's not going to die if it goes over that) and this is where Prime offers you that buffer by detoxifying the ammonia for a short time.

If you ever feel daunted by the cycling process, you could always do a bucket cycle, but right now, you have a lot of people helping you through this so it's a good learning process.

Edit: It's a lot of information hitting you all at once, it's gets WAY easier once your tank cycles.


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## Siee (Sep 18, 2014)

*Update...these are the best pics of his tail I could get right now.*

I tried to take some in every kind of light I can think of. The darker ones and the one taken with the flash you can see the darkness on his tail better than the really bright pic. He's so light colored that when he swims right under the hood light it makes his tail look light colored even though its not so please remember that when looking at the pics. Thank you!


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## SabastiansMom (Jul 25, 2014)

He's absolutely gorgeous!!


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## MiriamandMoonlight (May 31, 2014)

You have one VERY happy fish there !!!! I can tell he is very happy to be with you. So, here some advise:

Tank: It's almost hard to beleave you didn't know exactly what you were doing...most are sooo uneducated that they put their bettas in .5 gal. but five full gallons is great! As with just about any pet, the bigger the better, so if you ever see an easy oppertunity to get him a 10 gallon, go for it! But no need to go too far out of your way for that, it's just that mine are always happier in 10 gallons. 5 gallons is fine, though. For a 5 gallon, in general you should do weekly 50% changes. Before I knew better I actually cycled a 5 gallon with my betta Dolphin in it, while only doing weekly or even bi-weekly 25% changes! :O I didn't test the water, I didn't even know what a cycle was (( my girl was fine, non the less. I'd never reccomend doing this kind of treatment now that I know better  but it just shows you how hardy a betta fish can be!  I did cycle my male, Yin, in a 10g with weekly 50% changes & he was fine. Both fish are doing fine now, despite the cycle with less than optimum care. However, it seems as you can do more water changes than I used to. I think 25% 2 or 3 times a week is fine/good. It would mess with the cycle to do it more, like every day!
Just do it when you notice the ammonia levels to be especially high.

Plants: The plastic plants you have look soft enough for him. If you're extra worried, I suggest doing the "pantihose test" or you could just take them out & replace them w/ live or silk plants from the petstore or walmart. You can also order them online. But if you choose live plants, don't get them from a tank that has a sick fish in it...

Food: Here's my schedule: 3 times weekly, I feed Omega One Betta Buffet pellets. You can also use New Life Spectrum, or Hikari Bio-gold. I don't have experience with these; but almost everyone reccomends them. Also, 3 times weekly, I feed hikari frozen bloodworms/brineshrimp. This is very important as it stimulates their wild instints. You can also feed live food. I do reccomend fasting every week! My bettas are much healthier-seeming when I do.

Light: It is better for the betta to have no artificial lighting. It is more natural that way! But if you must have lighting (for plants or other reasons) MAKE SURE it's off when it gets dark, no later. And not just the light by the fishtank. The whole room should be dark at night, so fishy can sleep.

Red line: This is nothing to worry about: I'm not sure what it is but my male and my female have always had it. I suppose it's just a vein.


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## MiriamandMoonlight (May 31, 2014)

And it looks like he just did some fin biting. If you take care of him well, it should just heal up nicely. If not, he might have finrot & that would be a whole other story...my male has ripped fins & they are not infected because I have him in a clean tank. They are healing well.
He also has some dirt in his scales, poor fishy  It will heal up, most likely, with just clean water, good food, space, and some love. If you notice anything else, let us know but overall he looks like a fairly healthy, just dirty, fishy!


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## MiriamandMoonlight (May 31, 2014)

Oh & I know this is sorta un-related to topic, but would you like a free picture I draw of him?! I would post it on my album!


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## Siee (Sep 18, 2014)

Thank you for the advice and the nice words about how I'm taking care of him. I appreciate it. I'm trying my best, just alot of new info in a very short amount of time but hopefully I'll get it all sorted out and going good soon. And as far as a picture of him I'd love one!!! Thank you


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## Crossroads (Jun 28, 2014)

His black points on his scales are natural. Its the same thing that causes pineapple coloration bettas. You'll also find it on red and chocolate bettas. In small amounts like that I believe its called grizzle. This is not likely to go away.

As for his fins, if you are worried about fin rot, keep up the water changes. Stress Coat is a nice thing to have if you can't get oak, maple or indian almond leaves. It replenishes their natural slime coat and relaxes them, and can promote regrowth. If you see clear edges on his fins, congratulations! Your guy is recovering and this is healthy regrowth.

Beautiful yellow by the way <3


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## MiriamandMoonlight (May 31, 2014)

His picture is drawn! You can see it on my profile, in album "pictures I've drawn."


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## Siee (Sep 18, 2014)

*Thank you for the drawing!!!*

Aaaaawwwww...its cute!!! I printed it out and put it by his tank for him. Its been a long few days with everything going on and this made me smile  Thank you!!! And Ghost Fishy thanks you too!!! 
:thankyou:


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## Kim (Apr 30, 2008)

Ok, I will admit that I did not read all 4 pages of this thread so far (I'm very short on time lately!!), but I did poke around to get the highlights. First of all, I really must commend you on your approach thus far; you have obviously put a lot of thought and effort into giving Ghosty the best life possible, and most importantly, it is clear that you have excellent common sense and deductie reasoning skills  This post restores some of my faith in humanity!

Here is my advice (sorry if some of it may be redundant!).



Siee said:


> OK, I'm not really a message board kind of person so bear with me...
> 
> I guess I should tell you the story first. I'm an animal lover of all kinds. I'm also one of those people that hate how most are treated and I try my best to help do what I can to make things better for them whenever I can. All they got to do is make those cute pitiful eyes and I'm attached forever  That's actually why I now have my first Betta fishy. It wasn't planned...all I had intended to get yesterday was some stuff for my puppies and the fishys just happen to be on the same aisle. I always go visit the fishys every time I'm at the store and check to make sure they have clean water and food and I also unstack them so they get some air. I know its not a lot but I'm trying my best to help. If its bad I hunt down the employees and watch and make sure they fix it all. I just feel so bad for the poor fishys  Anyways, usually I just visit and they all tend to just sit at the bottom of the cups and not interact (I can't blame them). Last nite though one was really active and was following me and watching me the whole time I was playing with the dog toys. And every time I went near him he'd make a circle in his cup and then would come back to the front and look at me. It was cute! Cute pitiful fishy eyes...I couldn't resist! So, there I am him in his cup on the seat in the buggy and I was like "Now what,lol?" I've never had a Betta and only rarely had any kind of fish in my life and even then not since I was a kid. I don't have a phone with WiFi so I did the only thing I could and guessed. They didn't have a big selection of tanks but I got the best I could think of.
> 
> ...


Feel free to ask any more questions! I wish you and Ghosty the best of luck! He seems to have found an amazing owner and I must congratulate you on your dedication to keeping Ghosty happy and your logical approach to fishkeeping


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## Siee (Sep 18, 2014)

*Update...Does this all sound right?*

OK...So where to begin? It's been a hectic few days but I'm hoping (fingers crossed) that by putting all of the advice everyone has given me and all of the reading online and everything that maybe, just maybe, I've gotten him all set up and going right. I just hope I didn't mess up anything (still feel lost). So here goes:

Tank...

I've been doing the 25% water changes. The numbers from what I can tell from the testing strips are OK I think (I posted the numbers a few posts back). The ammonia is between safe and stress but from what people said that is normal starting out until the bacteria stuff starts to establish. I also put in half a bottle of the tetra safe start stuff. The bottle says it was for up to 20 gallons and people recommended starting with double for your tank size so I used half of it. Also they said not to do water changes with the safe start in there unless the ammonia gets higher or anything else starts getting bad numbers because the bacteria needs the ammonia to get started. So I think I'm supposed to wait a few days or however long till the numbers change before I do a water change. And then when I do I'm supposed to add back some more of the safe start too and each time I change his water until its all cycled and set up. I think that's right but I'm not sure. Also I put the little bit of aquarium salt in there I was told to help either keep him from getting sick in case that's what's wrong with his tail or to help him heal up his tail better and help destress him a bit from the last two days (maybe I need some people salt to help myself to destress too,lol). Other than that just make sure to test his water everyday and if the numbers get bad do the water changes how ever I need to to get the numbers better. Also his temperature has been 76-81at different times throughout the day but seems to mostly stay right around 78.

Red line on him:

The general consensus seems to be that its normal and just shows up a lot more on him since he's so light and almost see through color.

Tail:

Its been a split on if people think its the start of fin rot or if its just funny looking because he's trying to regrow right now. That's what the salt was for. To either help stop the fin rot or to just help him heal better in general right now.

Food:

I got him some freeze dried bloodworms and have been cutting them even smaller for him individually after reading some of the choking stories on here. I also got him some beta pellets by Aqua Culture (was the only ones the store had). I've also been soaking them before hand to make sure they're soft enough for him so no choking on them either. The flakes I'll use up a little at a time randomly for him as more entertainment than strictly food since he likes to chase them around the tank.


I think that's right but like I said its a lot of random info and confusing to have to put it all together.

I'd really like everyone's opinions on if I'm on the right track and doing OK or not? I really hope I am. I haven't even really slept or anything the past two days worring about him (I have really bad anxiety issues).

I just hope I'm doing good with him...

P.s...the pic is of my fishy supply stuff I have so far.


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## Bettalova68 (Sep 18, 2014)

Good with yo Berta fish!


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## MiriamandMoonlight (May 31, 2014)

You really don't have to keep worrying soo much  He's probobly going to end up just fine, whatever the exact things are you do  And yes, it seems you are off to a great start, doing most everything right, & you have a happy betta there ! I'd say just keep doing what you'r doing, and I think the bucket cycle trick is a good idea, if you'r really worried about him. Keep up the good work! And one little tip:
bloodworms that are freeze dried aren't nearly as good as frozen ones!


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## Kim (Apr 30, 2008)

I'm sorry that you are having such a rough time of it - the hobby really does get easier and much more enjoyable, even for stress-prone people like us (yes, I'm definitely an A type personality prone to anxiety as well!). You are doing really well so far, and one thing that you should consider if you begin to doubt yourself is that had you not brought Ghosty home, he would either still be languishing in the pet store cup or would most likely have been bought by someone who would treat him as an insentient decoration. Even if you make mistakes (we all do!), he is still in a MUCH better situation than he could otherwise hope for. You are doing a great job giving him a good home! If you are still worried though, seriously try the bucket trick. Like I said, I also have anxiety issues, and fish-in cycling is just too stressful for me, so I always go fishless


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## MiriamandMoonlight (May 31, 2014)

Well-said, Kim. It's true that any other home (or almost any) would not be as good as the one you have given him. 

Bettas are very hardy.
meant to live in Thailand rice paddys. When, in very hot weather, rice patties dry up, the poor bettas die or are forced to hop into any other enclosure of water there is, and these are often little "hoveprints" with barely any room for the fish! These are dirty, ammonia-poisoned filthy puddles that would kill (easily) alot of other tropical fish, but bettas know how to survive in tiny bodies of water. A healthy betta fish, if lucky enough, would survive for MONTHS on end untill the rains came and fish got bigger bodies of water. While our domestic betta versions are alot more sensitive than their wild counterparts, they are still very hardy; so while if they were kept in a tiny, obviously dirty, half the size of a petstore cup size hooveprint they would probobly die, they can survive also for years in a weekly cleaned 1 gal. bowl that should be cleaned daily. It is 100 times better than a tiny cup, what you have Ghostie in. It is 1000 times better than a puddle. So, you can see that way what a chance there is that your betta will be fine even if there is some ammonia for a while!!! It is so much better than what a betta would live with for their whole life, & it's only going to last
a few weeks.


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## ArcticBeauty14 (Jul 17, 2014)

Your fish is beautiful!


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## SunnyCydUp (Aug 31, 2014)

Gorgeous fish. (and not to bash Wallyworld, but he's an amazing find!)

Kudos for doing all of the research and the obvious care and attention you're devoting to your guy. Echoing what others have said, bettas are hardy fish and adaptable to changes in their environment (provided they're not extreme changes). 

When in doubt, do what you're doing now - put questions out for the community. 

Good luck!


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## Siee (Sep 18, 2014)

*Thank you to everyone for your help!!!   *

I just wanted to take a minute and thank everyone who has been giving me advice and helping me out the past few days. Its been a long few days but I can definitely say it was worth it. And I definitely know a lot more about Bettas now then I ever did before. I'm really happy I made the splurge decision to get him the other nite at the store. I probably had to look a bit crazy at Walmart that nite with a buggy full of fish stuff and a tank, pushing it with one hand carrying his cup in the other hand at 3 in the morning,lol. But...I love my little guy and he makes me happy!!! So far I think I got his tank cycle started OK and his health seems to be good and he seems happy and active. So I guess I'm off to a good start and I think he's happy too. Either way I at least now feel like I have a good place to go filled with nice people to help me out if I ever have any more questions or concerns. I'll post updates randomly about it all especially while cycling. But for now I just wanted to say thanks again to everyone!!!
:thankyou:


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## Siee (Sep 18, 2014)

*Two more random questions?...*

I had two just off the wall random questions that I posted elsewhere on the site about tank decor but I thought I'd add them here too in case anyone wants to read them and give some suggestions or advice for Ghost Fishy's tank. Any are appreciated. Thanks 

Question 1:

http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=461618


Question 2:

http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=461610


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## Siee (Sep 18, 2014)

*Silver scales/flecking/shiny today...Thoughts???*

OK...I'm not sure if this is something bad or maybe just something Betta or fishys just do. But over the last few days he has gotten what seems to be shinny silvetish flecked scales on top of is gills, under his chin, and at the end if his body by his tail. Does anyone have any thoughts on this? I just want to make sure its not a sign of something bad but reading online I can't find and info on it yet. Any help is appreciated.

P.s...I know some might ask for me to post pics but I can't of it. Its not from lack of trying but after about 30 times trying to get a good view of it doesn't show up good enough to see in the pictures especially due to lighting. I can see it best when he's a few inches in front of my eye and a shine a mini flashlight on him. But it can be seen some without shining light on him as well.


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## BettaBeau (May 14, 2014)

Most bettas "color up" when they are given clean, warm water, that means that they are getting healthier with their better conditions. Many bettas have a metallic sheen to them, especially on the gills. Probably nothing to worry about, unless he is also acting ill.


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## Siee (Sep 18, 2014)

*Cycling update....Does this sound right?*

Ok., so I've been trying to follow everyone's advice for 1 and a half weeks now. I'm still a bit lost on the whole cycling process but I'm trying my best to get it right. I just wanted to see what everyone's opinions on the following are:

He's been in the 5 gallon tank for a little over a week now. 

I got some tetra safe start and put in there 1 week ago. I put in the amount recommended for a 10 gallon tank since most people and the tetra company itself suggested to use a double amount to start. Then with each water change I followed the instructions on the bottle an added some back in the water 24 hours after the water change. I've been doing 25% water changes so have been adding back the amount needed for JUST the amount of water I removed. I've also been adding it directly into the filter as some advised to do.

I've done a few 25% water changes but not many. I've been doing them when the ammonia was getting high (some of the numbers below are after water changes...I did changes everytime it got to be a solid .5 for ammonia) or when the numbers indicated that if I didn't change the water today by tomorrow it would be high again.

I've been testing his water everyday and this is what I've recorded do far:


Day___
Ammonia___
Total Alkalinity___
PH___
Water Hardness___
Nitr(i)tes___
Nitr(a)tes___

Monday_____
.25 - .5____
120__________
8.4_______
75/soft__________
0__________
10_____


Tuesday_____
.25_______
120_______
7.8 -8.4____
25-75/soft_________
0__________
10_____


Wednesday__
.25 - .5____
120_________
8.4_______
75/soft___________
0__________
10_____


Thursday__
.25 - .5_______
120__________
8.4_______
75/soft_________
0__________
10_____


Friday_______
.25 _______
120______
7.8-8.4_______
25-75/soft_______
0__________
10_____


Saturday__
.25 - .5_______
120__________
8.4____
25-_75/soft________
0__________
10_____


Sunday______
.25______
80-120_____
7.8-8.4____
25-75/soft__________
0__________
10_____


Monday__
0 - .25______
80-120_______
7.2-7.8_____
25-75/soft_______
0__________
10_____


Tuesday__
.0 - .25_____
80-120__________
7.8______
25-75/soft_______
0__________
10_____


I'm still not really sure what exactly the numbers are supposed to be like. 

Does anyone have any thoughts on the above?

Am I going about all of this right yet or is there something wrong I'm doing or maybe something I'm forgetting to do?

Also...when exactly will I know when its completed cycling? What should I be looking for eventualky as an indication that's its done?

Any help is appreciated. Thanks!!!


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## farmgirl82 (Jul 30, 2014)

Looks ok so far. I wouldn't let the ammonia stay at .5 for too long. Its better if you can keep it below .5. 
When you feed anything freeze-dried you should soak it first in a little tank water. Freeze - dried foods are a common cause of bloating & swim bladder problems if they have not been rehydrated prior to feeding. 
Hes a very pretty & very lucky fish! Keep up the good work!


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## Cari (Jan 8, 2014)

If you want help with cycling, there is a link in my signature to a log I made of starting Flareon's cycle! And he was in an even smaller tank, 3 gallons. It was my first time ever doing the cycle so I wanted to document everything. It should help you out a bit, and let you know what to expect.

Also, if no one has mentioned it so far:

1. If it is not too late, return those plastic plants!! They will inevitably just hurt your betta's fins, and silk plants are safer and softer for them to lay on. You can find some really great silk plants like the ones in my tank from Amazon, for great prices.

2. Again, if it is not too late, return that skull decoration and look into other natural decorations like rock caves or driftwood! Most people on this forum have had nothing but trouble with painted decorations from the pet store. They will peel and leech chemicals/paint chips into the water and possibly hurt your betta 

That's all I can really think of right now. Best of luck, and I think your little guy is in great hands!


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## Tree (Sep 29, 2013)

Siee said:


> Aaaaawwwww...its cute!!! I printed it out and put it by his tank for him. Its been a long few days with everything going on and this made me smile  Thank you!!! And Ghost Fishy thanks you too!!!
> :thankyou:



THAT is adorable! What a beautiful boy! I love Crown tails. <3 you doing such a great job taking care of him and a worried mommy like the rest of us. LOL keep up the great work.


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## MiriamandMoonlight (May 31, 2014)

I said that I did 25% water changes before I knew better...you must have misinturprated it, that's OK! But I meant you should be doing 50% changes once weekly. (unless you mean you did MULTIPLE 25% changes weekly, it was hard to tell from your post.)


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## Siee (Sep 18, 2014)

Hi. Thanks again to everyone for their advice. As for the questions:

Plants and skull...Right now they are the best I can get for him until I'm able to make the long trip to another town or order them offline. I just bought what I could for now so he had something but I've already been working up a plan on what to change them out with.

Water changes... Sorry for the confusion. I've been doing 25% water changes every few days. The way my tank is set up after taking out 25% it leaves all the ornaments still covered with water,the heater still fully submerged and the filter still mostly filled with water so the pad doesnt dry out any and its still able to run, plus he still has room to swim. I figured doing 25% just more often would equal the same as 50% once a week. Plus until I get a better test kit instead of the strips I have right now I just wanted to be safe than sorry since I know the strips are not super accurate. Thanks for checking up on us two and my post, it means a lot. Aside from the water change confusion can I ask how you think the cycling is going so far? Or if there's things I should or shouldn't be doing? And again thank you for the picture


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## MiriamandMoonlight (May 31, 2014)

I'm not an expert on cycling, but I have not much doubt that it will go just fine. It's only been less than a week (I think...) & so I think there isn't a whole lot that can be told yet. But I'm pretty sure that with frequent water changes like what you say your doing, & since he seems like a pretty strong & healthy fishy, I think it's certainly going to not be much of a problem fir him!


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## Veloran (Jun 28, 2014)

You can also check out the DIY thread.
I highly recommend the coconut cave (not sure if it's on that thread, you might have to google it) or making stuff with perler beads.

Also, it could be weeks for your tank to cycle, the shortest I had so far was 12 days, and that was essentially a bucket cycle using Tetra SafeStart.


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## Siobhan (Nov 11, 2013)

My guys have plastic plants. I just made sure to get plants that weren't spiky and felt smooth to the touch. One of mine has that same skull, too, and he loves it (so do his snails). If the water is warm and clean, and the filter current isn't too strong, he should be fine. I feed mine morning and night and I don't fast them at all. The way they attack their pellets every day, they must be hungry every time I feed them. I do a 50 percent water change once a week and vacuum the gravel with an aquarium vacuum. It's like a siphon and it picks up mess from the bottom. My guys follow it around and are very nosy, so I have to be careful that they don't get too close to the business end. Bettas are pretty easy to keep happy. You might consider a mystery snail for a roommate for him. Snails are fun to watch, too.


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## Siee (Sep 18, 2014)

*Ghost Fishy update   *

Sorry it took so long to post anything else. There some nasty cold bug going around my town that seems to have made its way to my house  Anyways...while I felt up to it I just wanted to give an update on everything. 


Health/Attitude...He seems to be dong just fine. He's even started making his first bubble nest (its so cute!!!). Plus the choppy part if his tail seems to be growing back in pretty good. Aside from it being extremely thin (almost invisible) its starting to get long again and take shape. 

New tank...We found a 10 gallon stater tank kit on sale a few days ago for the same price as the 5 gallon kit we had him in. So he now has twice as much room. So much so he seemed a bit confused when we put him in there, almost like he got lost in his new tank,lol. 

Accessories... We got a few silk plants when we bought the tank and switched out all but two plastic plants (they're protecting him from the filter intake until I can cover it better soon with a sponge). I also made him a feeding ring from some air tubing for temporary so the current stops stealing his food until I can do a sponge baffle (the bottle method won't work on this filter). I even made him a little swim through from some of his decor beads and the plastic bottle baffle I had made for the other tank. Its the pink and green looking house in the middle of the tank. Also we got him a really cute background (hard to see in the pictures) that he's still getting used to but he's progressively flaring at it less and less so I think he'll be used to it sometime soonish.

Cycling...I completely changed the water when I set up his new tank the other day...but...I kept the ornaments and gravel wet during the whole process in case they had grown any of the good bacteria on them and I also put some of the other filter in with this new one. I also got another bottle of the Tetra Safe Start Plus. So hopefully it won't get effected too much by switching tanks. Either way the numbers are all still good when I'm testing so worst case scenario it might take a bit longer to cycle. But from what I've read it should be more stable after it does in a 10 gallon versus a 5 gallon anyways so that's a plus.

Other than that were doing OK so far. We even gave him a few Halloween decorations yesterday 

I just wanted to post so everyone knew how he was doing and so I could say thank you again from all of us for your help!!!

Oh...and...Happy (very early) Halloween!!!


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## Odinsfury (Oct 25, 2012)

I see you have already received a lot of praise, but I am very impressed with your tank choice and he is a very beautiful fish. 

My two bettas love these. I didn't see that anyone else mentioned them. http://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Floating-Betta-Log/dp/B0027ITKBS


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## BlueLacee (Dec 8, 2013)

Veloran said:


> Seems like Ghost is off to a 'swimming start' and he's beautiful. Good job on getting him a beautiful home, so let's get down to some details.
> Next time your husband has a slow day at work, when he's browsing Amazon, he should try to pick up some New Life Spectrum pellets (betta or small fish forumla) or Omega One betta buffet. It's better for Ghost and the sooner he learns to eat it, the better. He should also try to get some Seachem Prime water conditioner, you will initially be cycling your tank and Prime will help out with that.
> 
> Now let's look at his plants, those look like plastic. What you want to do is take them and run some pantyhose over them, if the pantyhose snags, it will snag his fins and tear them, you want to get some silk plants or better yet live plants (they're not as daunting as you might think), bettas LOVE live plants.
> ...


+1 and he is absolutely stunning


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## Siee (Sep 18, 2014)

*Thank you for the compliments!!! *

Thank you for the compliments about how pretty he his. I relayed them to Ghost Fishy and he says thank you too  

I've actually had a lot of people tell me how pretty he is and one thing I didn't even think to write about was something actually about how he looks and his color. Just something i thought was interesting. I was so worried about his care and tank before but that things are going OK I thought maybe I'd add it. 

When I saw him that nite I admittedly I had Halloween on my mind since we had just came from the Halloween section right before going to the pet stuff. After our whole interaction after I had decided to buy him already me and my husband were coming up with names for him while we picked out his tank and decorations. That nite though in his little cup he was white colored , extremely pale with the vaguest of yellow tint to him. And with his style of tail the way it moved when he swam he reminded me of an old ghost or banshee from classic movies. Even the pale white color fit with the classic look from those movies. I thought he was a white fishy, hence the name Ghost Fishy,lol. He was white the first nite we took him home, bright yellow the next day and then progressively got darker yellow and got more black coloring on him over that first week. I didn't know he'd ever be this color so it was kind of a surprise and cool thing to watch over that first week. Plus he is really pretty no matter what color he is. And he has a kind of funny story about his name origin as well. From what I know now and can tell from reading on here is that he was probably so white because of the bad conditions he was living in at the store and was probably on his way to getting sicker and dying there. So for me his color progression that first week was kind of like my own little guage showing that he was starting to feel better and get healthier. 

I just thought it was a cute story and wanted to share. And again thank everyone for the nice comments and advice!!!

P.s...The Betta log. I had looked at them but because of the mixed reviews I read I decided to make him something sort of like it myself. Its still a work in progress deciding which type floaty tube I want to make but I'm going to make one soonfir him.


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## MiriamandMoonlight (May 31, 2014)

Well of corse he got healthier!  You took such good care of him what else could he do?


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