Who Gives A Fish Forums

Hey all, I'm super excited - my Betta's finally home. The tank's been cycled for three weeks, so I'm hoping that's given her a good start. She's settling in great, but I thought I'd check in with you all for any must-know tips for a happy, healthy Betta.

I've done my research, but always love hearing from people with hands-on experience. Also, I'm having a brain blank - I think her breed started with an L? Lykrotail or something? I've attached a pic, maybe someone can help me out. Her main fin's got a slight dip, and she's got a fin on top and bottom, with those two tiny fins at the front.

The tail fin does appear to have a chunk missing, which could be due to it getting caught on something, the fish biting its own tail out of boredom in the shop, or finrot. Keep a close eye on it - damage or fin nipping should heal and the fin will regrow, but finrot may worsen. Regular water changes will help prevent finrot from developing further.

I think your Betta might be a male, rather than a female - the pelvic fins, those long dangly things under the head, seem too long for a female. To confirm the sex and breed, try placing a mirror by the tank where your Betta can see its reflection. A Betta, male or female, will usually flare out its fins when it sees what it thinks is a rival. When the fins are flared out, you'll be able to see them in their entirety, and you might be able to identify the breed.

It looks like your Betta has quite a lot of finnage. If the edges of the tail are 180 degrees apart, it could be a half moon; if they're not quite 180 degrees apart, it might be a super delta; and if the edges are more than 180 degrees apart, it could be an over half moon. The scales also seem quite thick, which might indicate it's a fluxeonscale.

As for tips, I'm curious - how did you cycle the tank? Many people think that just letting the tank run is enough, but unless you added ammonia or a bacterial starter, the tank might not be cycled. I'd recommend testing the tank water for ammonia and nitrite for a few days to make sure they stay at zero. If either of them isn't zero, do a water change.

Keep an eye on that missing bit in the tail, and do a water change every couple of days until you see signs of regrowth. Once you're sure the tank is cycled and the tail fin is healing, aim for a 50% water change every week, and suck up any debris on the sand at the same time.

Be careful not to overfeed - Bettas can be greedy, and yours will soon learn to beg for food. Don't give in! Also, make sure the light is on a timer, and the room is in daylight or the room light is on for at least half an hour before the tank light turns on and off. This will help create a natural dawn and dusk period for your Betta.

I'm glad I could help, the tips are just from my own experience and I'm sure others will have more to add. I think it's great you've been keeping a close eye on your fish, just remember to keep an eye on that fin too, and do regular water changes to prevent any finrot.

It sounds like you've done a good job with the tank, adding bio boost is a good start, and getting it tested regularly is even better. Just make sure to keep testing the water yourself with your strips, in case you can't get to the shop.

As for feeding, it's good you're not rushing into it, every other day for the first week is a good plan, just be careful not to overfeed, bettas can be pigs and will eat as much as you give them. And yeah, it's good you're waiting till tomorrow to feed, don't want to overfeed on the first day.

If the tank wasn't fully cycled, ammonia will show up first, so I think it's a good idea to get a tester for that - test strips don't include ammonia. I'm sure you might have already got one, but just in case. If you want to know more about what cycling is and what to expect if the tank isn't fully cycled, there's a good thread on Fish Forums: https://www.fishforums.net/threads/cycl ... st.421488/ - just ignore the second part, that's for before you get fish.

Ammonia is basically the fish's version of urine, so the more they eat, the more they excrete. It makes sense that the shop said to feed every other day - good advice from them for a change.

I still think you've got a male, by the way.

I've just done the test strips and they all came back fine, I think. The ammonia test strip was slightly yellow, but as long as it's not green, I'm assuming no action is needed. The others all looked okay too. I'll take a look at that article you linked, thanks for sharing. I also messaged the shop I bought the fish from and they confirmed what you thought - he's a male and they said there's no fin rot, which is a relief.

jasmine wrote: ↑Sat Jan 14, 2023 6:40 pm Hey all, I'm super excited - my Betta's finally home. The tank's been cycled for three weeks, so I'm hoping that's given her a good start. She's settling in great, but I thought I'd check in with you all for any must-know tips for a happy, healthy Betta.

I've done my research, but always love hearing from people with hands-on experience. Also, I'm having a brain blank - I think her breed started with an L? Lykrotail or something? I've attached a pic, maybe someone can help me out. Her main fin's got a slight dip, and she's got a fin on top and bottom, with those two tiny fins at the front.

Lovely betta you have there. I think essjay's got most of the advice covered, but I just wanted to chime in and say that I'm pretty sure you have a male too. There's some great threads on betta care on this forum that you'll find super helpful - I used to read them all the time before I joined, along with some YouTube videos. They really helped me get started with keeping bettas.

The edges of that missing bit on your betta's fin do look nice and clean, which is good news - no signs of redness, blackness or ragged edges that might indicate finrot. Still, keep a close eye on it, and I'm sure you will be, given how much time you'll be spending watching your new pet.

As for the ammonia strips, I'd advise you to ignore any mention of 'safe levels'. If your pH is below 7, a small reading might be okay, but if it's over 7.0, the only safe reading is zero. As one of our members always says, 'if in doubt, water change it out'.

By the way, I'd completely forgotten about the care manual in the sticky in the Betta splendens forum - thanks for reminding me, @roygun_1.

The edges of that missing chunk look clean and tidy, no signs of red or black edges which is good. Still, keep a close eye on it, I'm sure you'll be spending hours watching him anyway.

When it comes to those ammonia strips, ignore any 'safe levels' mentioned. If your pH is below 7, a small reading might be okay, but if it's over 7.0, you want zero. As one of our members always says, "if in doubt, change the water".

Thanks for reminding me about the care manual in the Betta splendens forum, @roygun_1. I'll just paste the link to the Betta Splendens Caresheet here.