Who Gives A Fish Forums

I just got my new male black orchid betta and I'm beyond excited, but also super nervous. Yesterday was a disaster - I brought home this adorable tiny veiltail female betta, but she didn't make it past an hour. I'm pretty sure it was my fault, so I double-checked my heater and filter today, and I even got my water tested at PetSmart. They helped me figure out the issue with my water's pH level and taught me how to fix it and introduce my new betta to the tank. I followed all their advice and everything I've learned from the betta community on tumblr.

I'm still really paranoid, though - I fell in love with that little female betta, and it broke my heart when she didn't make it. I'm determined to give my new betta the best home possible and catch any potential problems before they become major issues. This is not going to be a trial-and-error learning experience.

My new male betta seems healthy and strong - he's been responsive to light changes and my finger near the glass. However, he's been hanging out near the surface of the water for a couple of hours now, and I'm getting a bit worried. I read online that low oxygen levels might be the culprit, so I'm hoping adjusting the placement of his waterfall filter will help. If that's not it, I'm stumped. He's not even looking at the log I got for him - is this just his personality, or should I be concerned?

This is actually my first time being solely responsible for a fish, and I want to make sure I'm doing everything right. I chose betta because I've heard they're pretty hardy, and we've had them before when I was younger. Any tips or advice would be amazing - even if it's just reinforcing what I've already heard.

I'd love to see a picture of your new betta and his tank - orchid bettas are just stunning. I've heard that it's pretty common for bettas to hang out near the surface of the water, and that's because they have this really cool organ called the labyrinth organ that lets them breathe air from the surface.

As long as your betta isn't struggling to breathe or constantly stuck at the top, you're probably okay. I've also learned that new fish can be a bit shy when they're first introduced to a tank, and they might hide for a day or so - but if that hiding lasts for too long, then you might want to look into what's going on.

Do you have a water test kit? I've been thinking about getting one, and I've heard really great things about the API master test kit. Having a test kit would give you a way to keep an eye on your water quality and make sure everything is safe for your betta.

juicebox wrote: ↑Fri Jun 02, 2023 12:28 pm I'd love to see a picture of your new betta and his tank - orchid bettas are just stunning. I've heard that it's pretty common for bettas to hang out near the surface of the water, and that's because they have this really cool organ called the labyrinth organ that lets them breathe air from the surface.

As long as your betta isn't struggling to breathe or constantly stuck at the top, you're probably okay. I've also learned that new fish can be a bit shy when they're first introduced to a tank, and they might hide for a day or so - but if that hiding lasts for too long, then you might want to look into what's going on.

Do you have a water test kit? I've been thinking about getting one, and I've heard really great things about the API master test kit. Having a test kit would give you a way to keep an eye on your water quality and make sure everything is safe for your betta.

Hi, thank you for the advice - I'll definitely keep an eye on his breathing and actions. If he does start breathing heavily, what are the steps I should take to address the issue?

Although I don't own a test kit, I did get the water tested at PetSmart, and I can share the results with you if you're interested. I recall that our water was close to the extreme end of the pH spectrum, but I'm not sure of the exact numbers. The employee helped me adjust the water accordingly, and I've been trying to follow their instructions carefully. If you think a test kit is essential for maintaining a healthy environment for my betta, please let me know - I'm eager to learn and provide the best care for him.

I do have some pictures, but my camera has been struggling to focus on him instead of the water, so they're not the best quality yet. As for his tank, it's an older one I found, and I got conflicting opinions on its size - one PetSmart employee said it was five gallons, while another thought it might be closer to three. The tank has three small moss balls, a small to medium-sized plant with an artificial log for hiding, and about three inches of gravel at its deepest point. It's a curved bowl, and I'm hoping it's sufficient for my little guy.

He's really a stunning fish - his head is black, fading into this beautiful, reflective dark blue, and his fins have white edges. The pictures don't do him justice, but I'm hoping to get a better camera soon to capture his beauty more accurately.

I'd love to see those water test results if you're willing to share. Knowing the exact numbers will give me a better idea of what's going on.

Also, have you heard of the nitrogen cycle? It's pretty important for keeping your tank healthy, especially if you didn't do a fishless cycle. If that's the case, you'll need to do a fish-in cycle.

One thing I want to stress is to avoid using pH adjusters. They're not very effective and can actually harm your fish with the chemicals they contain.

Here are the circled numbers from the report - Ammonia is 0, Nitrate is 0, Nitrite is 0, Total Hardness is 0, Total Chlorine is 0, Total Alkalinity is 300, and pH is between 7.8 and 8.4.

The worker at the store mentioned that when Total Hardness is zero, it usually affects either Alkalinity or pH in the opposite way, but we weren't entirely sure about that since there might be something else in the water that's counteracting it.

I've never heard of the nitrogen cycle before, so I'd love to learn more about it. I want to make sure I'm doing everything right for my betta.

I don't think we used a pH adjuster, but the worker recommended a water treatment called Prime by Seachem. It says it removes chlorine and detoxifies ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite. I added about 7 drops to the water a few hours before introducing my betta, after acclimating him to the tank.

I just saw him swim down from the top of the water for a little bit before going back up. I also adjusted the filter placement again and swirled my finger in the water to see if it's an oxygen issue. I might need to move the filter higher to get more oxygen in the water, but it's suction-cupped and comes off with a lot of force when I try to move it. If I need to, I can take my betta out temporarily to relocate the filter.

I've been checking my betta's gill movements, and they seem really fast. Is that normal? I've been noticing it nonstop since you mentioned it, and I want to make sure he's breathing okay. Can you tell me more about what betta breathing should look like?

I'm not super knowledgeable about the nitrogen cycle, but I've heard it's pretty important for keeping fish healthy. I think @coltin or @fineman would be way better at explaining it to you than I would - they seem to know their stuff.

Hey there, I think you might want to read up on cycling your tank if you didn't do it before adding your betta. I'm not an expert, but I've heard it's super important for keeping your fish healthy. Check out this link: https://www.fishforums.net/threads/cycl ... st.421488/. Come back and let us know what you think after you've read it. Also, what's the size of your tank? If you can get your hands on Tetra Safe Start, it can help introduce some beneficial bacteria into your tank. Just read the article first, and we'll be here to help you out.

I just read through the article you linked and I'm going to have someone help me go through it again tomorrow to make sure I didn't miss anything important. I have a slight reading disability, so if there's anything urgent I should know, please let me know and I'll get on it as soon as I can.

I'm a bit concerned about getting a test kit, though. I live in a pretty rural area and our PetSmart might not have them in stock. If they're expensive, I might need to ask my mom for help since I already spent a bit on the essentials for my new fish and I'm running low on funds. Do you have any recommendations for affordable test kits that are reliable? I'd really appreciate it.

I'm not sure if doing a fish-less cycle is going to be possible for me, since our house is cold and my betta would need a heater to survive. I didn't see any instructions on how to do a fish-in cycle in the article, though - do you have any tips or resources on that? I'd love to know how to safely store my betta until the cycle is complete.

To be honest, I'm getting a bit worried about the size of my tank. I was told it was 5 gallons by one employee, but another said it was more like 3 gallons. I've seen different minimum tank sizes recommended, from 2.5 to 5 gallons. If you'd like, I can send you some pictures of the tank with something for scale so you can give me an outside opinion.

I've been watching my betta's breathing and I'm still a bit concerned. I looked up some videos of healthy betta breathing and my fish seems to be breathing a bit faster than the ones in the videos. I've been comparing it to the beat of "Staying Alive" by ABBA - his breathing is a bit slower than that. Is that okay?

I'm not the best person to explain the nitrogen cycle, but I can give it a shot. @coltin or @fineman would probably do a way better job, though.

So, basically, the nitrogen cycle is how you get rid of ammonia and nitrite in your tank. You want to get them down to 0, and the way you do that is by using good bacteria to "eat" the bad stuff. There's this one type of bacteria called nitrosomonas that eats ammonia and turns it into nitrite. Then, you've got other bacteria like nitrobacter and nitrospira that eat the nitrite and turn it into nitrate.

You can speed up the whole process by using a "bacteria bottle" like Tetra Safe Start. It's basically a way to add the good bacteria to your tank and get the cycle going faster.

aquagone wrote: ↑Sat Jun 03, 2023 7:10 am I'm not the best person to explain the nitrogen cycle, but I can give it a shot. @coltin or @fineman would probably do a way better job, though.

So, basically, the nitrogen cycle is how you get rid of ammonia and nitrite in your tank. You want to get them down to 0, and the way you do that is by using good bacteria to "eat" the bad stuff. There's this one type of bacteria called nitrosomonas that eats ammonia and turns it into nitrite. Then, you've got other bacteria like nitrobacter and nitrospira that eat the nitrite and turn it into nitrate.

You can speed up the whole process by using a "bacteria bottle" like Tetra Safe Start. It's basically a way to add the good bacteria to your tank and get the cycle going faster.

I'm really glad to hear that Tetra Safe Start could be an option - it sounds so much simpler than I thought it would be, and honestly, it's a huge relief. I've never heard of cycling before today, and we've never done it with any of our fish, so I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. I can definitely do more research on it, but it seems like it's something that's really important for keeping my betta healthy. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make sure he thrives, even if it means going back and doing things the right way. It's just frustrating that I didn't know about all this before I brought him home - I really wish I had waited until I had everything set up properly. Thanks again for all your advice and help - it really means a lot to me.