# He's stressed out, what can I do to ease him into his new home?



## Behati (Sep 4, 2011)

Housing 
What size is your tank? 1.5G http://www.petco.com/product/102093/Tetra-Water-Wonders-15-Gallon-Aquarium-Kit.aspx 
What temperature is your tank? 75-ish.
Does your tank have a filter? Yes, but it's not in use. Or rather the filter component is not in the filter.
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? Yes, the "filter" component utilizes an airstone. 
Is your tank heated? Yes, with a preset heater.
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? He is all alone.


Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? I have not fed him yet, but I have freeze dried bloodworms and pellets.
How often do you feed your betta fish? 2-3 pellets 1-2x daily (he's a smaller guy)

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change? It is 100%, I brought him home from the store a few hours ago.
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? I will be doing 50%.
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? API Stress Coat

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? He has some faint horizontal lines which are probably stress stripes.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? He's trying to dig himself into a hole in these marbley rocks. Or trying to hide under them.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? When I turn on the filter he freaks out.
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? No, just an extra dose of stress coat.
Does your fish have any history of being ill? Not sure.
How old is your fish (approximately)? He looks really young because of his small size, but his fin-age is fully grown.

A miniscule amount of pet store water may have leaked into the tank but probably no more than a teaspoon worth. He was so small so I scooped him out of his cup with a spoon. He was really curious and at the same time he immediately tried to hide under a rock which is impossible considering there isn't even enough rock to cover the bottom of the tank. There are no other items in his tank aside from the little rocks, a small heater, and the aeration device. He is acting a bit floaty,wishy washy, as if he was high or something (swimming head down, head up, in weird angles, etc). I acclimated him by adding treated half as much tank water to his cup and floating him. Then I moved him over to the tank water. He wasn't a very active guy to begin with. When he was at the pet store he was at the bottom of his cup, but when I put him closer to another betta he started picking fights.


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

I would give him a place to hide, such as a silk plant or a mug. Bettas generally enjoy hiding in mugs. They come from densely planted areas in the wild - an open area is a spot for predators to see them, so cover will always make them feel more secure. 
Double-check that temperature - 75ish might not be 75 and could easily be too cold. A few degrees warmer would be great.


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## Behati (Sep 4, 2011)

I have a stronger heater but it isn't made for a 1.5 gallon, and it so happens that after introducing that heater it has made 2 of my bettas sick so I don't want to reintroduce that heater if I don't have to at the moment. If it seems lethargic I will definitely find a way to adjust his temperature. The heater is preset to 78, but the thermo strip reads 75. I agree, it is a bit chilly but it is definitely warmer than being in his cup at pet smart. 

The tank setup came with plants, but they will definitely shred this little guy's fins. I will find some time to double back for a hiding spot and some more marbles since he seems to really want to hide under them. There's a lot of stuff I still need to do like bring in his water to get tested.

He seems to have calmed down after I moved him away from the edge of the window and I have been able to turn on the filter while putting something on top of the plastic tubing to minimize the vibration. His home is a little empty right now but I don't want to scare him with too much stuff since he has been living in his cuppy for a week or two (He is a part of a new shipment that came in last friday).

Does anyone know if using the whisper filter with the filter component needs cycling? The filter uses this cartridge: http://www.petmountain.com/show_pro...gle&utm_medium=datafeed&utm_term=11442-520983


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## vilmarisv (Apr 17, 2010)

You wont be able to maintain a healthy cycle in a 1.5gal, so don't bother. 
Just keep up with the water changes and removal of debris. 
I'm gld he's calmed down. Sunny places can stress out a betta, it's a good idea to introduce males to their tanks and have their tanks covered up for a few days until they get comfortable.


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