# New Bettas



## Summerwind (Jan 11, 2013)

I've taken the Betta plunge. Breaks my heart to see them in tiny containers so I got two. They each have their own 2.5 gal. tank with filter and light. I have tried all kinds of food but it seems they will only eat frozen blood worms. So much for what people told me they are used to eating. The one loves the Betta Log and the other lounges on the plants. Both eat very well when I hold the worms in a hemostat in front of them. Here are a few pictures and their "homes". The red, white and blue one is a Dragonscale Crowntail and the other is possibly a half moon tail?


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## eatmice2010 (Jan 1, 2013)

they are amazing, i would probably invest in some heaters for them since they are tropical fish


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## Summerwind (Jan 11, 2013)

Somewhere I read where you shouldn't use a heater with tanks under 5 gallons. I don't have any objection to getting heaters. Is this true?


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## eatmice2010 (Jan 1, 2013)

Im not totaly sure about it mattering for a 5g but i've always heard and known that bettas are tropical fish so they need to stay in warm water, but maybe another member will help


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## madmonahan (Aug 26, 2012)

They need heaters.  I have a one gallon that that has a heater, with the right heater it is fine. Temp should stay around 78-82F. Which means you also need thermometer, they are pretty cheap. The glass ones are the best kind in my opinion.


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## DragonFish (Mar 31, 2009)

Awww, what lovely little guys they are!  Congrats on the new boys! And very cute little setups you have there. 

As far as heaters go....really its only when you get down to something under 2 gallons that things start to get a little more difficult to heat, and anything under a gallon is just about nearly impossible(though I've heard of it done). However, provided you have a good heater of the proper wattage you can certainly heat tanks under 5 gallons....and seeing as bettas are a tropical species, unless you live in an area with a fairly warm and mild climate and your home(or room your fish are in) stays in the low/mid 80s with very few small fluctuations day-night/seasonally.....its best to invest in a heater, if only to keep the temp stable as fluctuations more then a degree or two regularly can be very stressful.
Personally, I would recommend just ordering a pair of these heaters: http://www.amazon.com/Hydor-AHY0032...TF8&qid=1357959095&sr=8-1&keywords=Hydor+Theo
They're very reliable with fantastic reviews, and you're going to have a hard time finding a 25 watt adjustable heater(which is what you want for that size of a tank....anything larger might run the risk of over-heating/would probably be too bulky to fit and you want to stay clear of the pad/present heaters as those are unreliable and often over/under heat your tank)in stores sadly. 
Of course, as already mentioned, always get a thermometer to monitor temp. 

And about the food.....most all bettas prefer frozen foods like bloodworms over most other foods, lol, but sadly bloodworms do not meet the full nutritional needs of a betta and feeding only them as a staple diet, in the long run, will leave your bettas malnourished. They're a bit like treats or biscuits for dogs....wonderful on occasion, but you need a good high quality kibble(or in this case with bettas, pellets)in order to provide them with the nutrition they need to thrive and be healthy. 

I would very highly suggest picking up a good high quality pellet like New Life Spectrum(found at Petco) Betta/Small Fish formula to provide for their staple diet. 
Once you have a good pellet, I'd suggest what I like to call the 'tough love' approach. This is where you offer them nothing but the pellets, removing any uneaten food after a few minutes, for as long as it takes for them to eat them. This can take anywhere from days, to weeks....but for it to work you must be persistent, patient, and strong...and remember its for their own good. Don't worry about your betta starving....that can take at least two weeks, probably more, and since you are offering food they will eat when they are hungry enough. 
Hopefully they'll take to NLS quickly enough....it has garlic in it already, which helps promote appetite. 

Good luck!


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## MattsBettas (Dec 18, 2012)

Those are so nice! Everyone else has said it, but a heater would help!


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## Summerwind (Jan 11, 2013)

Thanks everyone! I will definitely get the heaters and also take the suggestion on the pellet food. It will kill me to see them "not" eat for awhile, but I want to do what is best for them.


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## DragonFish (Mar 31, 2009)

Awesome. 
I can totally sympathize though, I've had to go through the process with several bettas before....its really never at all easy, I won't lie, but in the long run it really is best.


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## Summerwind (Jan 11, 2013)

DragonFish, thanks so much for the Amazon link on the heaters. Ordered them plus another betta log and thermometers. Thanks again!


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## DragonFish (Mar 31, 2009)

Sure thing.


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## blu the betta (Dec 31, 2012)

summerwind i highly suggest getting medicine.


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## Summerwind (Jan 11, 2013)

Medicine for what? Today I started with the pellets, tried soaking them first, no dice, tried floating them, nothing. Tried soaking the freeze dried brine shrimp, again nothing. Flakes, nope. They take it and spit it out. If anything they just tasted it. I will stick to not giving them the bloodworms for awhile and hope they get a taste for something else soon.


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## DragonFish (Mar 31, 2009)

While having some medications on hand just in case isn't the worst idea, so long as your boys are currently healthy and happy thats not something you have to necessarily rush out and get and worry about. Thats a little more like something you can collect gradually over time to keep on your shelf for a 'just in case' moment. Like some Freshwater Aquarium Salt in case of fin rot, unscented Epsom salt in case of boating/constipation.
But so long as you keep up with your water changes and are able to get your boys on a good diet, you shouldn't have too many/any issues. 

What pellets are you using now? Did you pick up some NLS?
Don't bother soaking any foods...its a myth that this makes them easier to eat, assists digestion and prevents bloating. A bettas digestive system doesn't work like that, and they do actually 'chew' and crush up their food....so its not like the swallow pellets or freeze-dried foods whole and it sits in their stomach and expands. Also, as soon as the food hits the water it starts to leech out and loose its nutritional value....so once its soaked, theres really not mush left in there to be beneficial. 

Ditch the flakes and freeze-dried, at least for now. You really want them to get used to the pellets, so thats all you need to be offering them for the moment. Flakes can be rather messy, difficult to dole out proper amounts(which is important with fish like bettas who tend to be prone to bloating/constipation/swimbladder issues, which is cause mainly by over-feeding), and they take on water a lot quicker and therefore loose their nutritional value unless their snapped up instantly. Freeze-dried is really a little more like candy to bettas....find wen fed carefully in moderation(about once a week I'd say), but they're notorious for causing bloating problems and there is a lot of controversy over whether they even provide any/much nutrition or do. 

Since your boys are all spoiled on bloodworms now, it is going to take some time to get them used to a good pellet. Much longer then a day.  Probably for several days they'll ignore them all together, but just be persistent! Offer 2-4(depending on the brand)pellets twice per day, remove anything uneaten after a few minutes, and just be patient. Once they get hungry enough, they WILL eat their pellets....and once they are used to pellets(after a week or two)you can go ahead and introduce other foods as treats for a little variety replacing a meal 1-3 times per week. 

Oh! Also, something I forgot to mention before....I would also suggest going ahead and removing the filters in both tanks. With a betta since they prefer stiller water and get most of their oxygen from the surface(and therefore don't need extra water movement to oxygenate their environment like most other fish), a filter is only necessary when cycling a tank....which is extremely difficult in such a small tank and something a beginner should not attempt IMO/E. Its best just to remove the filters and preform 2-3 weekly water changes(aobut 1-2 50%s and 100% per week.....personally I'd go with 2 50%s as I've always found my bettas much more active and colorful and happy in the slightly cleaner water) to keep things nice and clean. 
Don't forget to use a good conditioner like Prime though with any fresh water you add to your tank!


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## Summerwind (Jan 11, 2013)

Once again, thank you for all the good information. Regarding the filters, just as an fyi, I was concerned at first that a filter is not the thing to use but after setting these tanks up there is virtually no water movement. Even with such little movement that is cut down by the plant in front of the water coming out. I really appreciate your expertise!


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## DragonFish (Mar 31, 2009)

Sure thing.  Always happy to help.

Anyway though, I'd still suggest removing the filters anyway even if the water movement is slow if only because they're completely unnecessary and really don't offer anything when you're not cycling, take up space(though that may not be a huge issue in the Minibow as I know those filters are small), and you don't want to risk your tank possibly starting a cycle between water changes, resulting in the possible spike of harmful/deadly ammonia.


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

Hey your boys are so beautiful and thank you for rescuing them.
I agree on every advice that DragonFish gave you, especially about filters, just want to add something else
When you do 100% water changes you need to acclimate them to the new water temperature so you don't shock them with drastic temp difference.
The way i do it i have betta in his changing cup with 1/4 of the water and add small amount of the new pre mix de chlorinated water . Do it for about 5-6 times every 4-5 minutes. This way he will get used to the new water.

About blood worms i had a few bettas like that. It common especially with new bettas, as soon as you give them blood worms they refusing pellets. All you need to do just keep trying. But always remove the food,because if it sink to the bottom of the tank it will contaminate the water . It was easy for me because i had them at my work so i tried to offer food many times a day. And even that one of the betta took me about a month. I even fast him for about 4 days. You can try to trick them too. What i did i crashed the pellets also . Good luck.
.


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## Summerwind (Jan 11, 2013)

Just so everyone knows I now have heaters in both tanks and the guys are doing very well. Still no luck on the pellets even when I tried crushing them. Will continue to try. They are eating the flakes and 3 kinds of freeze dried food pretty good. Been doing a 50% water change making sure the temp in the new water is fine for them. Thanks for all the info from everyone.


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## DragonFish (Mar 31, 2009)

Awesome! Great to hear you've got the heaters and things are going well. 

I didn't really go over the thread before typing this up, so I apologize in advance if I repeat a few things.....

What pellets are you using now? Did you manage to pick up the NLS?
In order to switch them over to pellets, you're not going to have much success unless you feed them NOTHING else....no frozen, no freeze-dried, no flakes....just offering pellets. Like I mentioned previously it can take anywhere from a few days to a couple weeks or even a little longer, but they will eventually eat the pellets and they will not starve. They will just eventually get hungry enough and eat them. 
If crushing didn't work, you can try soaking the pellets in some garlic juice to make them a little more enticing....I believe there is even a fish-specific product made(Seachem Garlic Guard), through just using a regular clove of garlic will work just as well. 

What kinds of flakes are you feeding? Also, don't feed the freeze-dried too often and be careful when feeding....freeze-dried has a higher risk of causing bloating issues. I wouldn't suggest offering it more then twice weekly.

Have you only been doing 50% water changes? Did you read up on cycling and decide to try it? Have you been testing your levels?
I still wouldn't suggest cycling and would advise just doing the 100% as well, but if you're really set on trying to cycle or something.....so long as you've done your research, well, they're your tanks.
Also, +1 about the acclimating after a 100% change....thats something you always want to do when you remove your fish from the tank and add him back in for any reason really. However, the temperature if your new water shouldn't be drastically different then the temp of the old water with any water change.....ideally, and so long as you have a good conditioner like Prime to use this shouldn't be a problem, you want your new water to be within a couple degrees of your old water. If you pre-mix your water, that means a heater in your container is probably a good idea....though really in most places water straight from the tap(with a good conditioner)is just fine....just use a mix of hot and cold and be sure to test with a glass thermometer.


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## Summerwind (Jan 11, 2013)

flakes= omega one
pellets = tetra betta
Yes, I've been doing 50% water change and make sure it's the correct temp.


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## USNavyWife (Feb 7, 2012)

I don't know if it was mentioned, but another good thing to have on hand is a water chemistry set. The one I have is a little pricey, it was like 30-35.00 but it tests just about everything except kH & gH. You could easily get just a pH and an ammonia test kit to keep around to make sure things are in check. I find it's always good to know what your pH is coming out of your faucet and to make sure when you are moving fish and doing any changes that nothing is causing any pH issues. Sometimes new toys and plants can cause changes. 

I don't know how many times my test kit has saved my butt. I obviously checked the pH every time was working with my larger tanks and tested for ammonia and nitrates/nitrites. I've only got 1 guy now, but it still came in handy when I was taking him from this tiny tank his owners had him in to a 2.5 gallon. There was obviously a discrepancy between the tanks, so I just slowly acclimated his small tank to the new tank so when he got put in, he wasn't stressed out  

Just a suggestion and something to perhaps purchase in the future, especially if you expand your tanks. It's an addiction xD


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## DragonFish (Mar 31, 2009)

Summerwind said:


> flakes= omega one
> pellets = tetra betta
> Yes, I've been doing 50% water change and make sure it's the correct temp.


Ahh, I see now....Tetra betta is really a horrible pellet brand. Its basically mostly all fillers like wheat and soy, which are difficult for a carnivorous betta to digest and really aren't all that tasty. Tetra betta has been refused by the fish of probably at least half of the keepers who have fed this that I've read about, even if your betta is the tiniest bit picky they're not going to take to it....and since you've already spoiled them on bloodworms, you're not going to get them to eat this brand probably.
I would very highly suggest heading over to your local Petco/ordering online some New Life Spectrum Betta/Small fish formula pellets, cease feeding of all other foods, and get them on that as a staple diet(as I described in one of my previous posts). Never had a betta who refused NLS(its nice and small, has a few good meats and meat meals up nearer the top then most brands including the first two, and includes garlic to promote appetite and has some anti parasitic properties), and have only ever heard of a couple rare cases where they did.

Once they are on a good pellet, you can certainly incorporate the flakes/frozen/freeze-dried foods back into their diet for variety(which is always good), but a good pellet as a staple is important to keep their diet well rounded. 

Also, be careful with the Omgea flakes...I've read a lot of things about bones being found in them, which can be dangerous. Lately I've also been reading a LOT about the somewhat iffy ingredients in Omega products(I'm afraid I don't have any links right in front of me, but you can do a search of the forum/google and find a few things if you're curious), so I'd be cautious of them over all. Not saying you should just throw it all out or anything, but it never hurts to be aware.

Okay, so....a little confused. 50%s and no 100%s? Are you trying to cycle?


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## Summerwind (Jan 11, 2013)

Next time I am at petco I will get the NLS pellets for sure. As far as your question on trying to cycle...no. I do have the filter running, it's not strong at all and the fish don't seem to mind it. It sure isn't bothering their appetite lately! haven't used the bloodworms for a while now either.


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## DragonFish (Mar 31, 2009)

If you aren't trying to go for a cycle, then its really best to remove the filter and you do need to preform at least one full 100% water change during the week(on top of 1-2 50%s) in order to remove all of the toxic ammonia that will buid up. 
Here, this might explain things in a little more detail....
http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=66595
And just as a little added information for information's sake....if you would like, here are a couple of links that describe cycling.
http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=47838
http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=98795

Current with the filter is not the issue so much as the possibility that you may start to cycle(which will happen if you have a filter, every tank with some kind of filtration will attempt to cycle)between water changes that will cause ammonia to spike a little higher, which can of course be dangerous......which is why I had previously suggested the removal of the filter anyway, on top of it just being unnecessary and whatnot. 

Anyway, good luck! So long as you stick to it and you offer them nothing at all but the NLS pellets, I'm positive you'll have success.


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## BETTACHKALOVE (Nov 22, 2010)

+1


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## AyalaCookiejar (Nov 20, 2012)

That HM is BEAUTIFUL!! I'm jealous


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## lillyandquigly (Nov 24, 2011)

Beautiful bettas! But one thing, your crowntail is not a dragonscale, looks more like a blue wash to me


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## Summerwind (Jan 11, 2013)

The picture is not a good one of the crown tail. All I can say is that is what he was labeled as when I got him.


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## lillyandquigly (Nov 24, 2011)

Dragonscales have much thicker scales, you can tell from the picture that he's definitely not a dragon, very pretty nonetheless


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## Summerwind (Jan 11, 2013)

View attachment 75030
Ok these pics are about the best I could get. He's a bit more blue than green as shown. He was sold as a dragon scale so what does everyone think, yes or no?


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## lillyandquigly (Nov 24, 2011)

Yeah my betta Cheng does the same thing, but dragons have thicker scales and are generally a ssilver or white color, and when they move that changes color.


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## DragonFish (Mar 31, 2009)

Hes not a dragon. Very lovely with a gorgeous green iridescence to him, but hes just a Multi-color. 

The 'Dragon-Scale Crowntails' they've been selling at Petsmart aren't really dragons....or at least, I think I've only ever seen maybe one or two that was a true dragon. Most of the time they're metallic or iridescent or copper, but not dragon. 
Dragons have a very 'thick' looking metallic coloration meant to look like a dragons thick scale armor on just their body, stopping off at where their fins begin and usually with at least a partial mask(meaning the scaling is on at least part of their head). A plain metallic can look similar, but its still different....and a fish with an iridescence, like your guy, usually just looks sort of 'shiny' and often looks a little different from different angles depending on how the light catches it. 
This offers a pretty good basic color guide: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=29868

It can definitely be difficult to tell sometimes of course though, telling apart the different coloration and patterns is just something you learn over time with experience and looking at a LOT of fish. xD


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