Betta Fish

[Ammer]

My brother has a betta fish. I can't remember the exact breed but I know it has the word 'chinese' in it. Anywho, he/she doesn't seem to be doing any activity lately. It's water got murky so we fixed the filter and it's still a little murky, anyone know how to fix that?

The murky water is part of the problem but Pheonix (My brother's fish) hasn't been moving around it's tank lately. We're not sure if it's not being fed enough because it doesn't eat it's tropical fish flake and it only eats a specific type of food. Does anyone know what the problem could be?

[meowth1982]

Bettamax. It's a medicine you can buy at most stores where you buy betta's at and it'll turn the water blue. It sounds like he's just depressed, it should perk him right up. I always feed my two a mixture of betta pellets and dried meal worms. They love it. And it's Siamese Fighting Fish. Two males will destroy each other if put in the same tank (Unless you do it like I do it and put a divider in the tank so they can see but not get to each other. )

I reccomend a full tank water change with the Betta Max. Put the fish in a separate place, dump the water, scrub the tank and start over. Water should be filtered depending on the size of the tank every few days to few weeks. Give them some activity too, turn the light in tank on and all the exteror lights off for a half hour or so a day. There reflection will show and they will think it's another fish. Just don't do it for too long, or they will kill themselves thinking it's another fish.

Good luck!

[BeDeviled]

The water is getting murky from the tropical fish flakes, if the fish won't eat that type then get the betta food (small brown pellets). They're picky they like one or the other food and usually not both.

[Ammer]

I reccomend a full tank water change with the Betta Max. Put the fish in a separate place, dump the water, scrub the tank and start over. Water should be filtered depending on the size of the tank every few days to few weeks. Give them some activity too, turn the light in tank on and all the exteror lights off for a half hour or so a day. There reflection will show and they will think it's another fish. Just don't do it for too long, or they will kill themselves thinking it's another fish.

Good luck!

If I clean the tank, at take the fish out and put him/her in a cup, what temperature should the water be in the cup?

[BeDeviled]

I reccomend a full tank water change with the Betta Max. Put the fish in a separate place, dump the water, scrub the tank and start over. Water should be filtered depending on the size of the tank every few days to few weeks. Give them some activity too, turn the light in tank on and all the exteror lights off for a half hour or so a day. There reflection will show and they will think it's another fish. Just don't do it for too long, or they will kill themselves thinking it's another fish.

Good luck!

If I clean the tank, at take the fish out and put him/her in a cup, what temperature should the water be in the cup?

because I change the tanks water every week or 2, I always have a old plastic (cleaned thouroughly) milk jug filled with pre-treated (water & de-cholorinizer) and always have it full, that way it's already room temperature and less likely to put the fish into shock when cleaning the tank. you can do it that way with a big cup, or when I had 2 of the same tanks I use to just directly put him in the clean tank with fresh water (Of course they were just the cheap 10 beta tanks)

[meowth1982]

I reccomend a full tank water change with the Betta Max. Put the fish in a separate place, dump the water, scrub the tank and start over. Water should be filtered depending on the size of the tank every few days to few weeks. Give them some activity too, turn the light in tank on and all the exteror lights off for a half hour or so a day. There reflection will show and they will think it's another fish. Just don't do it for too long, or they will kill themselves thinking it's another fish.

Good luck!

If I clean the tank, at take the fish out and put him/her in a cup, what temperature should the water be in the cup?

I second BeDeviled. You should have de-cholorinizer drops for the tank as it is, just leave a milk jug out at least overnight so the fish doesn't go into shock. I always put my boys in a little betta tank that I bought for 5 dollars, you can always put them in a small plastic container (Not too small mind you But remember, bettas can live in the container you buy them in. They do not need much room) or a cup if you don't have a bowl available. Just remember to cap it if you're putting them in a cup or plastic container! (I've had a betta jump out of a bowl. It's not pretty )

[Amethyst]

Was the fish very active before? Some bettas just don't move as much as others, and they like to rest on the bottom of the tank...

[Kuri]

When you change the water I'd suggest using spring water rather than regular tap water because of the chlorine in tap water, or you can use stuff to get rid of the chlorine.

http://www.bettatalk.com has a lot of good information about Bettas, thats the site I used when my friend gave me my Betta.

[spacecase33]

The water is getting murky from the tropical fish flakes, if the fish won't eat that type then get the betta food (small brown pellets). They're picky they like one or the other food and usually not both.

I've seen some betta fish that are definitely picky eaters. None of my bettas have ever liked the flake food. My mom and I have both been keeping bettas for the past two-and-a half years, and we've each had two of them during that time. Only one of them ever really liked the pellet food as it was sold. We tried feeding two of them just the meal worms because they were really picky eaters, but I don't think that's really good for them.

I think we've come up with the best solution for my current betta fish (Hedwig, who I miss very much since I'm away at school). When we first got him, he was very small, so he wouldn't eat whole pellets. We didn't want to just feed him the meal worms, so my mom mashed up some of the pellets, and he loved it. He still eats his food that way now even though he's much bigger.

And about the water, my mom always uses bottled spring water too. The pH in our tap water varies a lot, and one of our fish had a really bad reaction to it. What can I say...we spoil our betta fish!

[Paulisacretin]

How big is the tank? What are the ammonia, nitrate and pH readings from the tank? What volume of water is the filter rated for?

How big is the filter? What brand and model is it?

[Tailseh]

Bettamax. It's a medicine you can buy at most stores where you buy betta's at and it'll turn the water blue. It sounds like he's just depressed, it should perk him right up. I always feed my two a mixture of betta pellets and dried meal worms. They love it. And it's Siamese Fighting Fish. Two males will destroy each other if put in the same tank (Unless you do it like I do it and put a divider in the tank so they can see but not get to each other. )

I reccomend a full tank water change with the Betta Max. Put the fish in a separate place, dump the water, scrub the tank and start over. Water should be filtered depending on the size of the tank every few days to few weeks. Give them some activity too, turn the light in tank on and all the exteror lights off for a half hour or so a day. There reflection will show and they will think it's another fish. Just don't do it for too long, or they will kill themselves thinking it's another fish.

Good luck!

My fish seems to not be moving much. He puts his nose/thing out at the top, and just sits there for hours. Betta max helps, you say?