# New Betta Won't Eat



## JDLang76 (Mar 2, 2020)

I'm new to this. I bought a betta fro Petsmart 5 days ago. 
I got a 1 gallon tank, a heater set to 79 degrees, a filter, water conditioner, pellet food and blood worms.
He ate 2 pellets while still in the petsmart cup day 1. Since then, he has been in the tank and will not eat pellets or blood worms at all. He hasn't eaten in 5 days.
Petsmart said they have no idea why. He seems lively and looks no different then when we got him. 
Can anyone help?


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## Veloran (Jun 28, 2014)

Give him a little more time to settle in. Also, can you post a picture of his home?
As long as he's active, don't worry much about him, they can go a couple of weeks without food. I assume that you are performing the multiple regular water changes a 1 gallon needs each week and this could also making him a little nervous.

Offer him one pellet, if he doesn't eat it, take it out and try again later. Given that he ate the pellet in his cup, he's used to it as food and its now about making him comfortable in his new home before he comes out to eat. Some bettas eat right away, some take a little time to get comfortable.
Also, try to not get him conditioned to eating bloodworms, have him start with pellets, it will pay off down the road.

If he goes another week or starts looking lethargic, we can look at soaking his food in some garlic juice to entice him.


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## JDLang76 (Mar 2, 2020)

What water changes? I was unaware of water needing to be changed. 
There is a filter in it. 
Changing water multiple times a week sounds impossible if what we were told about conditioning is true. 
We were told that conditioning drops must be put in water 24 hours before the betta is. We'd have to keep him in a bowl half the week to do that.
So obviously Im missing something. 
Can you fill me in there?


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## Veloran (Jun 28, 2014)

Sure thing, we're always here to help.
The good news is he's new and his tank is new.

Us humans have mechanisms to have our waste products piped away from our homes, fish do not, they swim around in it and we need to remove it.
A cycled filter helps convert the ammonia (their waste byproduct) into, eventually, less toxic nitrates. Unfortunately, a filter is a 1 gallon tank is difficult to cycle.
For optimum health, it is not recommended that fish live in water where the concentration of ammonia is greater than 0.25 ppm. In a 1 gallon tank, the ammonia for a single, active betta fish, disregarding any decaying food or plant matter, can reach these levels in 48 hours.

For a 1 gallon tank without any live plants, it is generally recommended a 50% water change every day or every other day to keep the ammonia toxicity down. Water conditioners do a fine job of removing the chlorine and chloramine in the water which is harmful to fish, but they don't do anything for the ammonia in the water. Most water conditioners work almost instantaneously so I am not sure why the recommendation for your water conditioner is to wait 24 hours. In the old days of chlorine only water, 24 hours was the minimum timeframe you would wait for the water to offgas to make it safe.

When it comes to ammonia toxicity, some fish may show it immediately in the form of lethargy, labored breathing and reddening gills, others can go quite some time before showing any symptoms. 

Around here, we typically recommend bigger tanks as they are easier to manage (less frequent water changes, easily cycled filter and a lot of buffer space should something go wrong) and in many cases can almost wind up costing only slightly more than the smaller tanks.


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## JDLang76 (Mar 2, 2020)

That helps a lot. I'll start changing 50% daily and see how he eats this week. 
How important is it to remove uneaten pellets?


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## Veloran (Jun 28, 2014)

In a 1 gallon tank, it is very important. Uneaten pellets will start decomposing right away and foul the water. It can also be a breeding ground for fungus if you're not careful.
You can get a new, clean turkey baster and use it to suck out the uneaten pellets when they sink.


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## JDLang76 (Mar 2, 2020)

OK. So I replaced all the water and cleaned the rocks with water (where some pellet were. 
Now, a few minutes after putting him back in, the are "mini-bubbles" on the surface of EVERYTHING in the tank. 
Any idea what causes that and should I be concerned?
Thanks for all your help


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## Veloran (Jun 28, 2014)

Hi, nothing to be concerned with, that happens with the water changes. I see this post was yesterday so it all should have cleared up by now.


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## Mbpoppy (Nov 3, 2019)

How are things? 
You added oxygen to the container, that's what those bubbles were.
Has your baby boy started eating yet?


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## OrchidxBetta (Mar 18, 2016)

Hi there. Would you be able to post a picture of your fella? The forum has several great resources and stickies that can also guide you: BETTA BASICS.


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