# New betta owner. Advice please?



## jackfaz (Sep 16, 2013)

Warning, this is going to be a long story. 

Hi, my name is Jacky and I'm totally new to the world of fish ownership. I work in a restaurant and we recently catered a wedding reception. When the groom showed up with the decorations, he gave us a shopping bag full of bettas to use as centerpieces. (He even gave us sand from the BEACH to put in the bowls with them. Thankfully my coworkers and I aren't that stupid.) Somehow the bride and groom thought enough of their guests would want the them that they wouldn't have to worry about the future of these 20 or so fish. Wrong! Many of their guests flew into town and couldn't take the fish even if they wanted to. So the waitstaff was left with a choice, adopt them or take the chance that they would be flushed. We were able to find them all homes, although I can't speak for the quality of those homes. 

I named mine Tesla (after Nikola Tesla) and I was bound and determined to give this guy the best life possible. This is made a bit more difficult by the fact that the only pet store within a reasonable distance from my house is Petsmart. Naturally, I was told things like, "Oh, bettas love small tanks. Here, this half gallon tank over here is perfect for bettas! You don't need a heater, they're very low maintenance. Cycling? No, you don't have to worry about that!" But I knew better. 

I got Tesla a 5.5 gallon tank. (Top Fin starter kit from Petsmart.) The current from the included filter is WAY too strong, so at first I just didn't use it at all and got 2 live plants from Petsmart in hopes that would help. After a few days I realized the plants seemed to be falling apart and possible dying so I took them out today. He has a heater and according to the stick-on thermometer the tank came with the water is around 79-80 degrees. (I think it's lying so I ordered a real tank thermometer.) Obviously a fishless cycle was impossible in my predicament so I'm currently (as of today) trying a fish-in cycle and testing my parameters daily. Despite 2 50% water changes in two days, I'm still getting .5 ppm for ammonia. (Before the first change it was 1 ppm, then immediately it went down to .5 after the first change but didn't go down further after the second change.) Is there something I can do about this or is poor Tesla a slave to the cycle? Or was it because of the dying plants and now that they're out it will lower? I just rigged my filter today so he can handle the current while I wait for the Azoo Palm filter I ordered. 

Tesla himself is INCREDIBLY active. I adore him. He seems to have fin rot but it's just on the very edges so I'm assuming the best course of action is TLC and doing the best I can with water parameters until things are stable unless he takes a sudden turn for the worse? 

My major question is, am I doing anything wrong? Is there something I should be doing that I'm not aware of? 

Recap on his tank:
5.5 gallon 
filtered with a rigged top fin 10 filter (just turned on today) 
heated (possibly to 79-80 degrees but I doubt it's really that high)
had 2 live plants (I think they were amazon swords?) but they were decaying so I took them out. Now he just has one piece of bamboo. 
Testing water with API freshwater master kit
Ammonia: Stuck at .5 ppm even after 50% water change 
Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 0
PH: 8.0-8.2, comes straight out of my faucet like that 
Food: TetraBetta pellets to tide him over until I can order better quality pellets 
Conditioning with Tetra Bettasafe

Any advice you have for me and Tesla is greatly appreciated by both of us :thumbsup:

Here's a picture of his current tank setup.


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## shadepixie (Aug 19, 2013)

I'm not one to give the best advice on water testing, but good on you for doing it right and giving Tesla a proper home. I'm a new Betta owner too. I know live plants make a big difference for ammonia, so I would check Petsmart and look for hornwort and water wisteria, those are both plants that don't truly need to be 'rooted' (you can stick them into the gravel, just make sure you strip off the lower leaves on the hornwort, it sheds) and will help with the ammonia levels. I have the same tank and made a baffle using a water bottle, it works like a charm. Instructions are here: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=30139
I have two thermometers, the stick-on and a glass one mounted inside the tank, and the stick-on one is surprisingly accurate, actually. You probably are close to 80. 
Keep up the good work! Others will be better to help you with your water levels.  BTW I love the name Tesla, I would totally steal that for a Betta.


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## jackfaz (Sep 16, 2013)

Oh thank you for the tutorial for the baffle! I tried to make one myself with no guidance and while it gets the job done it looks terrible cause I just sorta squished it in there. And I'll have to check into those plants. Do you think the bamboo I have will survive or is it incompatible with my tank environment? I know nothing about plants.


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## shadepixie (Aug 19, 2013)

I think with the bamboo...as long as the top is out of the water you will be ok? It cannot be fully submerged. Oh, and getting a proper light in there, a CFL would be better than the incandescent that set-up comes with. Petsmart has lights that are for helping the plants grow. I fertilize once a week with water changes. API Leaf Zone is working well for me. I put it in with the water conditioner. Nothing has died yet, in fact one stem of hornwort has grown about 4 inches.


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## Torla (Aug 15, 2013)

First, good on you for wanting to give the betta a good home. 

Second, I love the Asian garden theme of your tank a LOT.

Third, for the bamboo, as long as there are no leaves in the water, you'll be just fine. Based on the other info provided, everything else looks great. Welcome to the world of bettas. Be careful...often you can't have just one.


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## peachii (Jan 6, 2013)

If you replace the lights in the hood with compact flourescent lights from Wal-Mart, Lowes, Home Depot or the pet store rated 6500/6700K then you will be able to grow just about any live plants you want.


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## Blue Fish (Jun 11, 2012)

It's been covered, but I'm so glad that he's safe with you, and cute set up!  

I'm the jungle-tank maven, so the only thing I'd suggest is putting more plants in there, especially some that are near the surface, but that's just a small thing.  

And I love his name!!


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## Chachi (Sep 22, 2013)

Sounds like Tesla is lucky to have found you!


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## jackfaz (Sep 16, 2013)

As far as plants go, I really don't want to put soil in the tank right now because I'm going to be moving soon and fully planting the tank doesn't seem very transport-friendly. Are there any plants that definitely don't need soil? And the bamboo actually didn't fit in the tank with the leaves in there so I already had it sticking out. How convenient!


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## jackfaz (Sep 16, 2013)

And thanks for all the positive reinforcement


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## fidget (Aug 18, 2013)

Have you tested the ammonia level of your water straight out of the tap? The water where I live is treated with chloramine so I get a .5 ammonia reading right out of the tap. 
My ten gallon is almost finished cycling which has brought the ammonia down to zero for the first time.
Indian Almond Leaves will lower the pH of your water which will convert the ammonia into ammonium which is safer for your fish. You can also use something like Amquel or Prime or Ammo-Lock. 
That fish is lucky to have you. I don't know why people think live animals=center pieces.


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## shadepixie (Aug 19, 2013)

The plants I listed: hornwort, water wisteria, even a cute Marimo, none of them need soil. Just stick them in the gravel. Except the Marimo, you just let him roll.


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## jackfaz (Sep 16, 2013)

fidget said:


> Have you tested the ammonia level of your water straight out of the tap? The water where I live is treated with chloramine so I get a .5 ammonia reading right out of the tap.
> My ten gallon is almost finished cycling which has brought the ammonia down to zero for the first time.
> Indian Almond Leaves will lower the pH of your water which will convert the ammonia into ammonium which is safer for your fish. You can also use something like Amquel or Prime or Ammo-Lock.
> That fish is lucky to have you. I don't know why people think live animals=center pieces.


I did test it straight out of the tap and it was a little darker than the 0 ppm on the chart, but lighter than the color for 0.25 ppm. I'll stop by Petsmart tomorrow to see if they have any of the products you suggested. Thank you!


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## jackfaz (Sep 16, 2013)

shadepixie said:


> The plants I listed: hornwort, water wisteria, even a cute Marimo, none of them need soil. Just stick them in the gravel. Except the Marimo, you just let him roll.


Cool, thanks! I'm gonna see if I can find a pet store nearby besides Petsmart to get some of these plants cause all of their plants look really bad.


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## shadepixie (Aug 19, 2013)

jackfaz said:


> Cool, thanks! I'm gonna see if I can find a pet store nearby besides Petsmart to get some of these plants cause all of their plants look really bad.


The plants perk up quite a bit once you get them in nice clean water and proper light. As long as they aren't obviously rotting, of course!


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## leejohn02 (Sep 5, 2013)

Why not get the weighted plants instead of potted since your moving soon, you can use these temporarily, you only need 1-2 and there cheap then once you house him properly U can think about adding plants, alternatively you could get a plant pot add soil and plant the plant in there, and if at a later date you want to move it to the substrate you can


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

Get Prime water conditioner, people saying that its convert ammonia to ammonium for 24 hrs, which is less dangerous. So you just need to do a few water changes to keep it down 
This is fishin cycle instructions and water changes . Just make sure you know that you need to rinse/swish the filter media in the tank water weekly for the tank size that you have.The filter can gather a lot of gunk so you need to rinse it too. And just want to let you know that its true, filters are not necessity for bettas. I don't have filters in my tanks 
http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=107771
http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=115758


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## JustinieBeanie (Apr 22, 2013)

Everyone else gave really great advice already, so I don't really have anything to add there, except for check out some of the betta care stickies on this site. But I will say that this is not the first time I've heard of a wedding doing this! A friend of mine went to a wedding where they had bettas in little bowls on the table as decorations, and I never did find out what happened to the fish after the wedding, I shudder to think. I don't know where people are getting the idea, if its just from seeing or hearing about other weddings doing this, or if they saw it in some bridal/ wedding website or magazine, but people really need to take into account that most of your guests do not want to go home from your wedding accompanied by a scaled slimy creature they didn't ask for and now have to take care of and buy food, a tank and other things for.


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## Hallyx (Jun 11, 2011)

Good plant advice on this thread. More in the Planted tank section. ANHEL gave the most important advice: Use Seachem Prime as your water conditioner. You're dealing with high ammonia. Prime detoxifies ammonia for a day. You need that help, especially with your high pH. Live plants will make your cycle safer, but Prime is really important right now.

Always keep your ammonia below 0.25ppm. Same for your nitrite when you get it. Don't worry about nitrate right now.


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

i have a betta at work. Well someone just came to my work and said how beautiful he is. When i ask how he knows about betta, he told me the story how he was on the wading and someone left all gifts , and of course left the betta . It was winter time and betta freeze to death.
Very sad, i just wish that people who don't care about fish at least will respect live creatures or i would say afraid the god to do something like that.


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## jackfaz (Sep 16, 2013)

Since I'm a college student and therefore money is tight, I'm trying to prioritize the most important things first. I got Ammo Lock to help with my ammonia problem. But after 3 50% and 1 75% water changes over 4 days it's still the same so I'm wondering if I'm doing something wrong in the testing process and it's not that high in reality. Or could the conditioner I'm using (Tetra Bettasafe) somehow be giving me a false positive? I just think it's not chemically possible, especially directly after the 75% water change, for the ammonia to still be stuck at .5 ppm. 

If I can't get it down within the next couple of days, I'm taking Tesla out of the tank, scrubbing everything with hot water, and starting over. I'm worried that I really messed something up with those rotting plants being in there. 

My other question is this, should I even bother with plants until I get the ammonia sorted out, or should I get plants to help with the problem? And do the "easier" plants mentioned in this thread require a CFL lightbulb or is the one that came with the tank okay for now? 

You all have been so helpful with all of this. Thank you so much


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## Hallyx (Jun 11, 2011)

Ammo Lock detoxifies ammonia the same way Prime does, by converting ammonia into harmless ammonium. Your test kit can't tell the difference, so it looks like a high ammonia reading when, in fact, it's mostly ammonium. As long as you're using enough Ammo Lock your fish is safe. In my opinion, Seachem Prime is a better conditioner. It splits chloramine (which is what you probably get out of the tap) into chlorine and ammonia. Then it removes the chlorine and detoxifies the ammonia. That's what your two products do together. Prime also handles heavy metals and provides slime-coat protection. Prime protection, also Ammo Lock and others, only last for a couple of days. So keeping your ammonia reading >0.25ppm is still important.

The "fast-growing: plants that really help with ammonia require a 6500K CFL. The easy plants look good and are nice for the fish but don't eat much ammonia. Wisteria, Hornwort, Anacharis, Frogbit, Water sprite, Duckweed all eat ammonia. They are all floaters, although some can be planted.


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## jackfaz (Sep 16, 2013)

I ended up completely taking my tank apart and refilling it today. When I went to do another water change I realized the tank was full of this black dust like substance to a very extreme level. It had all settled to the bottom and when I started taking water out it kicked it up. I moved some of the gravel and the black stuff was everywhere! So I took everything out and scrubbed it with hot water, rinsed my gravel, and replaced all of the water. My new filter and heater came in yesterday so I figured it was a good time to install those. 

Tesla seems perfectly fine, but he really fought me when I had to get him out of the tank. Every time I went after him with the net he went straight for a corner where I couldn't get him without running the risk of crushing him against the wall (smart fish.) Hopefully this will be the only 100% water change I ever have to do, but I am moving sometime soon and I'll be taking him with me. Obviously I can't keep him in the tank for the ride so does anyone have any advice for how to catch a feisty fish without hurting him?


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## shadepixie (Aug 19, 2013)

Try baiting him with a bloodworm and scooping him then. I just bait Louie and scoop him right into a cup, no net. Too easy. I wonder what all that black stuff was?


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## jackfaz (Sep 16, 2013)

It's possible that somehow the carbon from my filter leaked. It looked like dirt, not slime or mold or anything scary, but I wanted to play it safe, especially with my ammonia problem. I've only had Tesla for 2 weeks so it couldn't have been fish poop or even food debris, there was simply too much of it.


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## sugarunicorn (Aug 20, 2013)

Java fern and anubias are also a good choice for plants. They dont like to be buried -- you can just tie it to rocks or other decor and it will be happy.


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## Blue Fish (Jun 11, 2012)

They've covered the plants, so I'll leave that there, as for getting him out of the tank, cupping or just scooping him out with your hands into a waiting cup are the easiest and gentlest methods. 

With a cup, just take the cup like you would the net, except that it will be easier to scoop him up with it, and it doesn't touch him, which is important for his slime coat and his immunity.  Also, you can try the bait-cup method that Pixie detailed.  My guys don't fall for that one more than once though, lol!  They love blood worms, but they don't like the cup even more!  

Or, you can use your hands. This is what I usually do, because your hands are quicker, and you can get into tight spaces. Just form a shallow cup with your fingers and palm, and scoop him up with a small amount of water and then immediately plop him into a cup or whatever container you have waiting with some of his tank water in it.  You will touch them this way, but sometimes with the fast or tricky ones, it's almost the only way to catch them. 

Also, the faster you can catch and put them into a container, the better, because all that swimming and chasing is stressful for them, so minimum and easiest capture is your golden ticket.


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## jackfaz (Sep 16, 2013)

sugarunicorn said:


> Java fern and anubias are also a good choice for plants. They dont like to be buried -- you can just tie it to rocks or other decor and it will be happy.


What can I tie it with? Is regular cotton thread like you would get at the craft store okay or do I need something special?


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## jackfaz (Sep 16, 2013)

Also, as far as the CFL lightbulb goes, I have no idea what I'm looking for. I keep trying to look in stores and I just keep getting frustrated and not finding what I'm expecting to find. Can someone link me an example of what I need from a store website? I really need something that will fit in the hood I already have if at all possible.


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## sugarunicorn (Aug 20, 2013)

jackfaz said:


> What can I tie it with? Is regular cotton thread like you would get at the craft store okay or do I need something special?


You can do regular cotton thread -- it will decompose after a while in the water and it might need to be retied if the roots havent thoroughly attached themselves yet. Some folks use fishing line or nylon thread. 

You can also use Superglue gel -- its safe in aquariums, just apply the glue to the rhizome of the plant only and stick in place, then put your decoration back in the water.


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## jackfaz (Sep 16, 2013)

sugarunicorn said:


> You can do regular cotton thread -- it will decompose after a while in the water and it might need to be retied if the roots havent thoroughly attached themselves yet. Some folks use fishing line or nylon thread.
> 
> You can also use Superglue gel -- its safe in aquariums, just apply the glue to the rhizome of the plant only and stick in place, then put your decoration back in the water.


Thanks! What exactly is the rhizome? I know nothing about plants. Seriously. My mom and I managed to kill an aloe plant once. This whole growing plants in an aquarium thing is a big leap for me.


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## sugarunicorn (Aug 20, 2013)

jackfaz said:


> Thanks! What exactly is the rhizome? I know nothing about plants. Seriously. My mom and I managed to kill an aloe plant once. This whole growing plants in an aquarium thing is a big leap for me.












the horizontal bit that the leaves shoot up out of. :3


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## Hallyx (Jun 11, 2011)

A hood that came with the tank. Check your bulb. It should be flourescent (CFL) You want around 6500K (Kelvin). Take your bulb in to where you got it and make sure it says "daylight" or, look for the color rating on the package. Check your bulb.


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## jackfaz (Sep 16, 2013)

Hallyx said:


> A hood that came with the tank. Check your bulb. It should be flourescent (CFL) You want around 6500K (Kelvin). Take your bulb in to where you got it and make sure it says "daylight" or, look for the color rating on the package. Check your bulb.


The bulb the tank came with isn't CFL, so I know I need a new bulb but the hood says it's compatible with CFL. But the fixture is screw in. So is something like this what I need? http://www.petmountain.com/show_product/11442-524654


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## Hallyx (Jun 11, 2011)

Something like that. That's why I suggested you take your bulb in with you. That is the right Kelvin.


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