# The New Member (warning pic heavy)



## TwilightNite (Mar 3, 2011)

Today I brought home my fourth Betta.... I believe he is a marbled half moon plakat! His cup said he was a half moon but due to his short tail I knew this was not the case. He is living in a 2.5gallon AquaView 360 with a heater and filter and a live plant! By looking at him he seems generally healthy and seems to be active, which is amazing due horrendous water conditions.:shock: He is also unnamed, so I am open to any name suggestions any of you may have!:grin: Also I will update daily on how he is doing, with new pictures! (Yay XD) 

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Picture #1 The new tank!

Pic #2 Getting acclimated 

Pic #3 Car ride home

Pic #3 Just him 

Pic #4 In his new home


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## mattoboy (Feb 4, 2012)

Wow! Very cute! Make sure to take before and after pictures so you can see the difference!


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## TwilightNite (Mar 3, 2011)

I will! Can't wait to see him color up!


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## MattsBettas (Dec 18, 2012)

Very nice new boy! He is a normal half moon though, not a hmpk.


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## TwilightNite (Mar 3, 2011)

Oh my bad!  I might be because he is a little clamped :/ ifeelkindastupid XD


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## TwilightNite (Mar 3, 2011)

Anyone have name suggestions?


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## TwilightNite (Mar 3, 2011)

Sorry pressed the post button on accident computer glitched on me!


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## callistra (Jun 29, 2010)

Very cute!

I'd be really really careful about putting shells in fresh water fish tanks. It will raise the ph and hardness of your water..

Hopefully you aren't going to leave him in the bathroom.. the aerosols can kill him.

What size tank is that?

Is the heater topfin?


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## TwilightNite (Mar 3, 2011)

Oh! I did not know shells did that..... I am going to be cleaning the tank twice weekly with a gravel vacuum..... So with a filter and 2+ water changes weekly is this going to be something that will harm him?


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## callistra (Jun 29, 2010)

Personally, I wouldn't bother filtering something this small.

This is what I wrote on another person's thread about the same thing..

I wouldn't filter anything smaller than a 5g because it just creates current the fish can't get away from it. Also trying to cycle anything smaller will require more careful monitoring and more supplies and it probably still won't ever fully establish. 

If you did want to do that I would use a sponge filter, with pump and airline. Then you will need a drops kit for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. You need to be testing daily with a reliable drops kit for ammonia and nitrite and doing an extra 50% change any time you see either. In addition to this a weekly 50% with siphon or new fresh turkey baster that has never seen chems is needed to remove poop and other debris from the gravel. It is not enough to just scoop water off the top ever. 

First you will see ammonia, then nitrite. Eventually, hopefully, you will see ammonia fall and stay at 0 even after a week of no water changes, and finally nitrite. At this point you will be left with only nitrates after a full week of no changes and these can be kept <20ppm by twice weekly 50% change with baster/siphon. However, cycling will take up to two months to complete and many if not most people will tell you that you can't cycle a tank of this size and you will always need twice weekly 50% and 100% water changes or you will always see ammonia continuing to build and the cycle will never finish..

If you don't cycle it and while you are not cycling it you should do two water changes a week of 50% and 100%.

The 50% changes the betta can be kept in the bowl and use a turkey baster to remove half the water and as much of the debris as possible. For the 100% you need to remove him - scoop him out with a plastic solo type cup and set aside while you thoroughly rinse the bowl and gravel to remove the debris. Then he should be acclimated to the new water by floating for an hour while you slowly add a couple tablespoons of new water to the cup every 10 minutes. When you release him, try to let as little of the old cup water back into the tank as possible. All water changes should use same temp water, matched to running tap using the in tank thermometer and the water needs to be premixed with conditioner before adding it to the betta tank. If you don't already have anything, you can use gallon water jugs from the grocery store - rinsed thoroughly in hot water but no chems.


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## TwilightNite (Mar 3, 2011)

Thank you so much for your help and advice callistra! This helps a bunch. Right now I am using a Tera Whisper filter with a air pump and airline tubing..... I have been watching him closely and the filter flow is only creating a small wake on the surface...... It does not seem to be pushing him around in any way....... I am going to baffle the filter I have later this week to insure that he is not being pushed around  And the 2.5 gallon he is only temporary until I have funds to afford him something bigger.


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## TwilightNite (Mar 3, 2011)

*Update!*

Today, he seems a little more active than he did yesterday! He has been darting around the tank and seems very intrigued by his new home..... The tank has maintained a steady 80 degrees..... I added root tabs to the tank yesterday afternoon and the water has finally cleared up! He still has not eaten anything, but I guess he still does not know what it is yet! XD But he does like to eat the bubbles coming from his filter.:lol: He is still in need of a name!  Suggestions would be greatly appreciated! 

@ callistra I am not keeping him in that bathroom, I just got the tank prepared there... I have just recently had hardwood put in my house and I did it there just in case anything was dripping it would not mess up the new floors.  And the heater is topfin.


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## TwilightNite (Mar 3, 2011)

*Quick Update*

*So far he has been quite active....* *I have attempted to feed him three times in the past two days..... He has not eaten anything, this most recent time he did take the pellet in this mouth but unfortunately...* *He spit it back out.....:-? Does anyone have a suggestion on how I can get him to start eating? Thank you in advance for your help! :-D *


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## Alcemistnv (Jan 29, 2012)

it could be thay the pellets are too big as well 

I have three different sized pellets for my fish because some can only eat really small ones.


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## BeautifulBetta123 (Aug 27, 2012)

What brand is your good? Some brands that are not high quality don't taste good to the fish.


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## Alcemistnv (Jan 29, 2012)

I have Hikari Gold, Omega One, and Tetra mini pellets.
As well as two different flakes and tetra mini bites.


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## TwilightNite (Mar 3, 2011)

The pellets I use are Aqueon Betta Food...... The other bettas go wild for it and there are big enough for my little girl with the itty bitty little mouth.


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## Agility4fun (Nov 16, 2012)

Cool little guy Twilight!

I can't quite see his colors, but Granite for a name comes to mind.

Some fish need a few days to get acclimated so eating can be the last thing on their minds. Try one pellet and if he doesn't eat it, scoop it out and try again later.


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## TwilightNite (Mar 3, 2011)

@Agility4fun, Thank you! And I really like that name!  With the food I keep trying this week and if he still does not eat next week I will figure out something.  It is very frustrating when he eat the bubbles from the filter instead of his food! Silly boy! XD


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## Tabbie82 (Jan 24, 2013)

TwilightNite, your new guy is very pretty. I can't wait to see his progress. Marbles are fascinating because they change so often. As far as his not eating- that is pretty normal for a new betta. My Maui would not eat for the first week I had him. I was worried sick about that. I did find, though, that he would eat if I turned off his filter. At the time, he had an undergravel filter that produced a lot of bubbles. I know you said that your betta likes the bubbles, but you might try unplugging the filter when you go to feed him and see if that helps. That's just my experience with it. Eventually they will eat. I am terrible at coming up with names! It took forever for me to name my boys. At some point a name will feel right or will just stick. Congrats on your new addition!


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## TwilightNite (Mar 3, 2011)

@ Tabbie thank you and yeah I'm pretty horrible with names as well XD but the three that are in the running for a name is Pie, Blueberry Scone and Granite! I just can't decide which I like best!


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## Tabbie82 (Jan 24, 2013)

Hmmm... I like Pie! :-D

*EDIT* You could even spell it Pi and get all mathematical!


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## TwilightNite (Mar 3, 2011)

*Update!*

Today he has been active like normal seems to have settled into his home nicely.... I am very happy to say that he finally took interest and is eating! He scarfed it down! Finally I think he realized that real food is is much yummier than a bubble filled with air!:lol: Here is a couple pictures I took last night of him..... There is hardly a second he is still so sorry for poor image quality!


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## Tabbie82 (Jan 24, 2013)

Yay for successful feeding!!


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## TwilightNite (Mar 3, 2011)

Tabbie82 said:


> Yay for successful feeding!!


:-D


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## JBonez423 (Mar 11, 2013)

What about Bubbles for a name? Like the character off of Finding Nemo who's obsessed with the Bubbles that come out of the treasure chest? ;P


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## TwilightNite (Mar 3, 2011)

@JBonez423 Ooh that is cute ^__ ^ I never thought of that in that way


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## MoonShadow (Feb 29, 2012)

Oh!!! He is just precious!! OMG!! Great find!


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## JBonez423 (Mar 11, 2013)

=P That was the first thing I thought of (I could just picture a little betta zooming after the bubbles), I was hoping he had a cooler name when I looked him up, but it's a super cute name nonetheless!


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## TwilightNite (Mar 3, 2011)

*Update!*

Today I fed the little guy breakfast... He did not eat this time but I'm sure in time it will he will know what it is and it will become routine like it did with the others, the others *know* when it's feeding time! ^-^ But today I have decided on a name.... Buble:-D (pronounce b -ew- b- lay) I was really liking the name Bubble but I wanted something like that just somthing a little different and came out with Buble, like the singer Michael Buble and I just used his last name because it kind of sounded like a french pronunciation of Bubble :lol: Do you guys like it? ^_^


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## JBonez423 (Mar 11, 2013)

Fabulous! I feel special! ^.^ I love the variation, too, very different. I like saying it. Kind of pops off the tongue.


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## TwilightNite (Mar 3, 2011)

Thank you! I'm glad I chose it! I really suites him. But I can't find the thing to but the accent on the E so it looks like Bubble spelled wrong lol:lol:


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## JBonez423 (Mar 11, 2013)

Yea, but it adds to the mystery! Someone new will stumble upon your posts and be like, "Don't you mean 'bubble'?" And you can tell the story!


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## TwilightNite (Mar 3, 2011)

^_^ That is a great way to look at that!


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## TwilightNite (Mar 3, 2011)

*Update!*

Bublé today is doing wonderful! And yes I actually did find the acute accent mark ^_^ now his name does not looked like "Bubble" misspelled XD. He still has not eaten since probably Monday.... He is in fact un-clamping and no longer looks like a Plakat  Here are some new pictures of him! And just wondering... His head, it looks to me like the color of his body put over top that is like orangeish brownish spots... I hope that makes sense but I was wondering if his head is supposed to be like that or is that like some sort of ammonia burn? And sorry for my fuzzy images my phone takes.


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## JBonez423 (Mar 11, 2013)

Excuse me while I mop up drool off the floor... *cough*


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## xjenuhfur (Jan 30, 2012)

Hes adorable! Its probably not ammonia burn, my roomie had a fish exactly like that color (we named him Derpy) but his head was red. He started marbling and more & more red starting coming out the older he got. If he turns out anything like derpy, he's going to be gorgeous!


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## TwilightNite (Mar 3, 2011)

Thank you guys! ^_^


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