Sorry for the awkward spacing in this post. I'm cutting and pasting, but I think it's still readable.
I got Bubbles (my betta) a 1 gallon tank with an undergravel
filter. I ran the tank for 5 days before I brought Bubbles
home Saturday night. I use some water conditioner that I
got at Petsmart that says it's for bettas. I also had
Petsmart do a water quality test and they said everything is
great. Bubbles seems very happy in his new home. He's very
active, always swimming around, and he swims up to you if
you go near his tank.
Question #1: Should I get a tank heater for Bubbles? We do
let the temperature of our house drop while we are at work
and at night. The lady at the petstore said I should just
keep Bubbles' light on all day and turn it off at night and that would keep him warm enough. That's what I have been
doing. He seems warm enough, as he's quite active.
Question #2: Should I run the air pump that came with the tank? I've read conflicting information about whether to
use filtration with bettas or not. I would prefer to keep
it on because it would keep his water cleaner, but I want to
do whatever is best for Bubbles.
Question #3: Should I change all the water or just part of
the water? I was thinking of doing 25% changes weekly and
using the air hose that came with the pump as sort of a
little vaccuum to clean up the gravel. The instructions that came with the tank said you can use the hose to clean off the gravel and as a siphon for water changes. But maybe it's easier to just clean out all the water and rinse off his gravel and decorations.
Question #4: I bought Bubbles some pellet food for bettas, but they don't float very well. I tried turning off the filter when
I fed Bubbles this morning, but they still sank pretty
quickly. They are sinking before he notices they are there.
I'm not sure if he's eating any. When I fed him Saturday
night (after giving him a couple hours to get used to his
new home) the pellets seemed to float longer and he ate a
couple. Sunday night I fed him some freeze dried bloodworms
and he loved those, so maybe he doesn't want his pellet food
anymore. Can he eat just bloodworms? I thought they needed
some pellet food to keep their diet balanced. Also, the
betta pellet package says to feed him twice a day, but the
lady at Petsmart said to only feed him 3 times a week. I
would think they would need to be fed at least daily. How
often should I feed him? And should I buy him some
different food? Also, once the pellets sink, how can I get
them out of the tank? I read that you're not supposed to
leave uneated food sitting around.
Sorry for so many questions! Bubbles is just such a neat
fish, I want to take great care of him!
I got Bubbles (my betta) a 1 gallon tank with an undergravel
filter. I ran the tank for 5 days before I brought Bubbles
home Saturday night. I use some water conditioner that I
got at Petsmart that says it's for bettas. I also had
Petsmart do a water quality test and they said everything is
great. Bubbles seems very happy in his new home. He's very
active, always swimming around, and he swims up to you if
you go near his tank.
Question #1: Should I get a tank heater for Bubbles? We do
let the temperature of our house drop while we are at work
and at night. The lady at the petstore said I should just
keep Bubbles' light on all day and turn it off at night and that would keep him warm enough. That's what I have been
doing. He seems warm enough, as he's quite active.
Question #2: Should I run the air pump that came with the tank? I've read conflicting information about whether to
use filtration with bettas or not. I would prefer to keep
it on because it would keep his water cleaner, but I want to
do whatever is best for Bubbles.
Question #3: Should I change all the water or just part of
the water? I was thinking of doing 25% changes weekly and
using the air hose that came with the pump as sort of a
little vaccuum to clean up the gravel. The instructions that came with the tank said you can use the hose to clean off the gravel and as a siphon for water changes. But maybe it's easier to just clean out all the water and rinse off his gravel and decorations.
Question #4: I bought Bubbles some pellet food for bettas, but they don't float very well. I tried turning off the filter when
I fed Bubbles this morning, but they still sank pretty
quickly. They are sinking before he notices they are there.
I'm not sure if he's eating any. When I fed him Saturday
night (after giving him a couple hours to get used to his
new home) the pellets seemed to float longer and he ate a
couple. Sunday night I fed him some freeze dried bloodworms
and he loved those, so maybe he doesn't want his pellet food
anymore. Can he eat just bloodworms? I thought they needed
some pellet food to keep their diet balanced. Also, the
betta pellet package says to feed him twice a day, but the
lady at Petsmart said to only feed him 3 times a week. I
would think they would need to be fed at least daily. How
often should I feed him? And should I buy him some
different food? Also, once the pellets sink, how can I get
them out of the tank? I read that you're not supposed to
leave uneated food sitting around.
Sorry for so many questions! Bubbles is just such a neat
fish, I want to take great care of him!