Betta fish problems

Hi all
I have a fish sized problem. I got myself a little blue Betta Fish after I put my guinea pig down a couple weeks ago.
He's pretty small, at least in comparison to my dad's fully grown Betta. Dad's eats about 5 pellets a day. When I got my fishy home, he was eating about 2-3 pellets a day, and I figured it was because of his size. Then I left to go to Chicago for a week with dad, leaving instructions for mom to give him 2-3 pellets a day. When I got home there were about 6 pellets in the top of the bowl from the previous evening. Mom's explaination was "well you just can't get just 2 pellets out at a time, I don't know how much I fed him!" so I don't know if he was eating while I was gone or not. I cleaned it out and then fully cleaned the bowl (no soap) the next day. Since I've gotten home (Saturday Oct 29th) he hasn't eaten to my knowledge. I've been giving him 1 pellet in the morning and one at night in hopes that he'll snag at it. So far nothing.
He lives in a glass bowl with 2 litres of water in it, glass beads in the bottom and we just got him a plant, thinking he may like to have something to hide behind. I use bottled mineral water (just like dad always has) and have fresh pellets that are the same brand as dads. He's pretty darn active and isn't loosing colour that I can tell.
Does anyone have any idea what might be going on?
Also, he keeps on sticking his head in between the beads on the bottom. I've read that they like to move things around to make the floor more flat to lay on, but that seems strange. thoughts?
Thanks so much for any imput.
Jess

I wouldn't worry about it just yet. Maybe he's protesting that you left him. If dogs and cats can do, why can't fish? I think your Mom overfed him and he's just not hungry. Give him a couple more days. I think he'll come around for you. Btw, we feed our Beta flakes and most just float to the bottom, but he is healthy and fine.

How big is the bowl? Pellets are ok to feed, but just them alone can injure the betta's stomach, they need more than just pellets, you know a variety. NO Flakes they hate them and the flakes have zero to none nutrition. I know they will eat 5-7 small live blackworms that you can buy in a pet store. They also like (only as a treat) a live brine shrimp or two. Here is a good setup for bettas, and a site for care on them. Remember to have a cover, they can jump out of the water! Also for circlualation, a slow moving filter or small bubble filter will give them good oxygen. If your going to have live plants make sure they get enough light, but if they start to rot or turn brown get rid of them they will pollute the water and get the fish sick.





http://www.bettatalk.com/basic_care.htm

what kind of pellets are you feeding?
If you're not already using it, I would suggest the Hikari brand betta food. I used to have a betta and that's the only pellet he would eat. You can also try bloodworms.

If the fish is still active and responsive, I wouldn't worry. Fish can go a long time without eating.

Betta talk is a really great website to visit regarding betta care. I found it very helpful when I had my betta Bob.

Beta's are such odd lil fish. We had one named Booger and he got the "Pop Eye" It was sooo werid! He also did that eating thing - never very constant. ALSO - he died a few times! LOL We were staying with my mom and she said, "I think your fish died, but I didnt want to flush him without you knowing ..." He was. Then .. as I went to get my husband .. lo and behold .. he was swimming. That happend once more before he really did get the big flusharoo.

Good luck with yer betaboy!

Our site owner also has this site: http://www.bettafish.info/

Do you have a declorinator?? how often do u change the water ?? Bettas can go about 10 days without eating ... I give mine a variety... live frozen pellet flake

Originally Posted by Deb25

Our site owner also has this site: http://www.bettafish.info/

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Very cool website!!, thanks for the link!

Originally Posted by marie-p

what kind of pellets are you feeding?
If you're not already using it, I would suggest the Hikari brand betta food. I used to have a betta and that's the only pellet he would eat. You can also try bloodworms.

If the fish is still active and responsive, I wouldn't worry. Fish can go a long time without eating.

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Ooh, but if you get some frozen bloodworms, you will probably really see your little guy pep up. Bloodworms are actually mosquito larvae, and that's a betta's natural food. They love 'em!

Don't forget, a Betta's natural habitat is generally a tiny pool of stagnant water. You do NOT need a filter or anything like that for a betta tank. You do need a couple of plants for him to hide behind, and yes, they do like to lie flat on the bottom - strange but true. Make sure the pellets you are feeding him are for bettas only, not just any old tropical fish pellets. They love live bloodworms and you can buy these from petstores. That's what I used to feed mine with pellets a couple of times a week. Don't use bottled mineral water - it doesn't have enough natural nutrients in it. You need to use tap water that has been treated with a tank conditioner. You also need to have a whole bucket of tap water and treat it, and then leave it overnight for the conditioner to do its job and for it to reach the right temperature. Bettas are pretty sturdy little fish but you must have their water right. They don't need anywhere near as much work as other tropicals (ie, heater, filter etc) but they do need good water.

Is he blowing bubble nests? This is a sign of a healthy, strong betta. He won't do it to start with cos its a new environment etc, but they all do it, it's part of their nature - like kitties scratching and dogs marking their territory.

If he's active and a good colour, I wouldn't worry. They're picky eaters anyway. But make sure you change the water, and it's a good temperature and just normal tap water with a proper conditioner. They also like things to hide in - like hollow shells etc.

Love to see a pic - I used to breed Bettas and they're the mintest little fish!!

I gave my bettas freeze dried blood worms and occasionally live blood worms and live black worms. They always eagerly ate them. If your betta is making bubbles at the top of the water, then he's happy but if the fins are clamped, then the water is too dirty and not clean enough. Plants are good as it gives the water a bit more oxygen, since they need to surface for air since they have lungs. Also, yep...they do 'rest' so that's why sometimes they appear to have died. From experience of many bettas, I found that if the fish was truly dead, it would be in a nose dive position with the tail floating up.

Originally Posted by Loubelia

I gave my bettas freeze dried blood worms and occasionally live blood worms and live black worms. They always eagerly ate them. If your betta is making bubbles at the top of the water, then he's happy but if the fins are clamped, then the water is too dirty and not clean enough. Plants are good as it gives the water a bit more oxygen, since they need to surface for air since they have lungs. Also, yep...they do 'rest' so that's why sometimes they appear to have died. From experience of many bettas, I found that if the fish was truly dead, it would be in a nose dive position with the tail floating up.

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Which is what happened to my darling favourite of all my bettas, Kevin. I later found out that my moronic ex-husband and sprayed fly spray everywhere without covering his tank properly. Yes, we are no longer together....

I apologise for the choppyness of this responce, but it seemed like the best way to do it.

Originally Posted by KitEKats4Eva!

Don't forget, a Betta's natural habitat is generally a tiny pool of stagnant water. You do NOT need a filter or anything like that for a betta tank. You do need a couple of plants for him to hide behind, and yes, they do like to lie flat on the bottom - strange but true. Make sure the pellets you are feeding him are for bettas only, not just any old tropical fish pellets. They love live bloodworms and you can buy these from petstores.

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Ok, I'm going to go and try to find some bloodworms today. I think the local small petstore has some stuff in a freezer...but I'm not sure what it is. There's also a store in the neighboring town that specializes in reptiles, so I think they're probably a good one to try for such things.

That's what I used to feed mine with pellets a couple of times a week. Don't use bottled mineral water - it doesn't have enough natural nutrients in it. You need to use tap water that has been treated with a tank conditioner. You also need to have a whole bucket of tap water and treat it, and then leave it overnight for the conditioner to do its job and for it to reach the right temperature. Bettas are pretty sturdy little fish but you must have their water right. They don't need anywhere near as much work as other tropicals (ie, heater, filter etc) but they do need good water.

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Is there a special conditioner that you'd suggest? Are we talking about a dechlorinator?? The problem with not using bottled water is that we are on a water softener that's run on salts. I've heard from time to time that that can cause problems for some kinds of fish who are ultra sensitive to salts. Dad's fish has been fine on mineral water for quite some time now, but then he might be lucky.

Is he blowing bubble nests? This is a sign of a healthy, strong betta. He won't do it to start with cos its a new environment etc, but they all do it, it's part of their nature - like kitties scratching and dogs marking their territory.

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Well, there are bubbles on the top of the tank, but I don't know if I'd call them nets persay.

If he's active and a good colour, I wouldn't worry. They're picky eaters anyway. But make sure you change the water, and it's a good temperature and just normal tap water with a proper conditioner. They also like things to hide in - like hollow shells etc.

Love to see a pic - I used to breed Bettas and they're the mintest little fish!!

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I have one photo that actually turned out out of the 20 I took. I'll try again soon, but here he is. I'll let you know how it all goes! Thanks so much.