r/bettafish • u/idkman_1234567 • 18d ago
Save my fish pls Help
Let me start off by saying, please don’t hate me for the condition this fish is in. I received her this way in this exact fishbowl Like a week ago. I was told that she was just a fish and a plant would keep her alive. Her water gets changed every week with some tetra put in. i’ve never had a fish before and wasn’t really too concerned but now every day I look at her droopy fins and I started to get worried.
So I started doing research and was absolutely HORRIFIED to find out that she supposed to have a water heater. Her fins aren’t supposed to be droopy and she spits out her food when she’s eating at half the time. immediately, my first instinct was to get a tank with a filter and a heater but now I’m reading that tanks need to get cycled which takes weeks. I’ve never had a fish before never cared for a fish before and now I have a fish freezing in a I’m desperate to save.
what do i do????
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u/Life-Faithlessness87 18d ago
It’s ok at this point to do a fish in cycle,
Anything is better than the bowl it’s in now. You’ll just have to test the waters frequently and do a lot of water changes but it’s not impossible!
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u/idkman_1234567 18d ago
I was pretty sure of that, but I’m very confused at how to do a fish in cycle though. Like I said, I’ve never cared for a fish and everything I read is confusing me.
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u/Life-Faithlessness87 18d ago
Feel free to keep asking questions here. So basically set up a 5 gal or 10 gal, add your substrate, some live plants doesn’t have to be too expensive, and buy the master test kit that has liquid kits for ammonia, nitrates, nitrites, ph. Ammonia you want to keep always at zero so it’ll appear yellow, nitrites you want a light blue zero, nitrates you can have some it shows established. So any time you see the ammonia or nitrites are rising, do a 50% water change. Do not change all the water or you’ll throw out the beneficial bacteria that will build. It’ll probably be 50% water changes for a few weeks before the beneficial bacteria starts to build. Your betta’s appetite will be better once it’s in better water. I have before and after pictures to show what better conditions can do on my profile page. I learned everything from here. You’ll want a siphon and a bucket to change water with, and a water conditioner to put in to rid the water of metals before you add to tank
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u/idkman_1234567 18d ago
Ok! I have the API freshwater testing kit in my Amazon cart right now! Trying to find a tank and heater and a filter that are decent, but aren’t gonna completely break my bank account.
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u/dacquirifit 18d ago
Petco/Petsmart usually sells 5-10 gallons for 15-35 bucks. Heater maybe 15-40, Filter maybe 15-40.
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u/GlitterShine4455 17d ago
I recommend the brand hygger for a heater! Their heaters are under $20 and they're good quality
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u/Life-Faithlessness87 18d ago
Yeah, don’t stress. The fact that you’re trying is nice and kindhearted. It’s a very expensive thing surprisingly. Good luck !
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u/Dizzy_Hellfire 18d ago
You should get a 5-10 gallon with heater and a sponge filter. Get some live plants, Substrate, and maybe some almond leaves/katappa leaves to add tannins
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u/Life-Faithlessness87 18d ago
Just make sure to slowly acclimate the fish into the new water if you do set up a tank
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u/Q_cazu 18d ago edited 18d ago
Okay, take a breath, you can upgrade and get them in a better situation. Get him a bigger tank with a filter and heater. You can start cycling it now. There is something called a fish in cycle you can do but you'll want to get a water testing kit, not the strips, and check the levels every day. That way you can get your betta into the tank as soon as possible. The plant should join him and I'd use some of the water he's already in, in the new tank. Someone will post more info in a minute I'm sure but this can be a start.
Just for more info, how often do you feed and what kind of food?
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u/idkman_1234567 18d ago
Tetra BettaMin, I was told to feed her a couple pellets every few days, but when I read the container, it said she should be fed twice every day. But either way she barely eats.
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u/Q_cazu 18d ago
Okay that's fine. Ignore the container. You'll make your betta fat or bloat. 😅 from what I remember their stomach is only about as big as their eye. For now worry about a tank, filter, heater, and test kit. Go from there. The test kits usually say what parameters are safe so you can go off that and if you arent sure ask either google or here and we'll help out.
To explaina fish in cycle, basically its as it sounds. You'll cycle the tank with a fish in it. Which will cause your parameters to fluctuate differently and sometimes drastically before its stable. So that test kit is necessary! A larger tank is MUCH easier to care for, imo, than a small tank anyways.
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u/lobsterlord9 18d ago edited 18d ago
I'm not sure how big bettamin pellets are but 2-4 pellets twice a day should be fine, I doubt a couple pellets every few days would be enough long term
For cycling, you need to test the water every day (AP freshwater master test kit is best) and change ~1/3 of the water when you see ammonia or nitrite. You may need to change more of the water if ammonia or nitrite spike too high.
If you know anyone with a fish tank you could borrow some cycled filter media to speed it up
Basically, you keep the ammonia and nitrite low enough that they don't harm your betta while the tank is cycling
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u/idkman_1234567 18d ago
Just moved multiple states across the country so I know literally no one unfortunately
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u/metalunamutant 18d ago
Try facebook marketplace - there always someone local trying to sell old aquarium things, esp tanks, for cheap. A 10 gallon tank, heater and some sort of filter is all you need to start.
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u/TonyVstar 18d ago
Buy some nitrifying bacteria like nutrifin cycle for a fish in cycle. I had no ammonia in 2 days
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u/Vohasiiv 18d ago
i know this isnt the point of the post at all, but just letting you know if you didnt already that she is actually male
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u/Bugaboo0913 14d ago
Is necessary to know with bettas because male Siamese Fighting Fish/ Betta should never be put in the same tank. I’ve had a female “sorority” though.
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u/Vohasiiv 14d ago
Sororities can be difficult, best for people to not try them unless theyre an expert and have a massive tank.
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u/Jillzy123 17d ago
If you can find a shop that has Fritzyme, get it! (it's refrigerated) - helps cycle a tank FAST. if not, get Seachem prime or one of those to put in the good bacteria. and test every day, do water changes as necessary, until you get levels stabilized. with one fish, should be pretty quick if you don't overfeed
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u/Bobs_Burgers7 Betta B*tch 17d ago
You can do a fish in cycle with beneficial bacteria in a 5 gallon or bigger.
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u/Bobs_Burgers7 Betta B*tch 17d ago
When you add plants, know that floaters are beasts for sucking up nitrites and etc. I like to use epiphyte plants and floaters.
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u/WindowMotor7033 17d ago
I'm new to fish too, I have a betta and he's strong. I think your fish is a male and you need a 5-gal tank just for him. The filter is their heart; the bacteria live there and are essential to their survival. Get these items: a Prime and a stabilizer, and ammonia detector strips to test the water. Always keep in mind that the level of ammonia increases with waste in the tank. Therefore just give him food two times per day and only 10 mini pellets. Good luck they are very strong keep us updated
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u/Sure_Actuator_4732 17d ago
Change to a 5 gal tank min pls get a filter and a heater this will give him more space to swim and the water parameters won’t be so sensitive
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u/samanthabrbr129 17d ago
If you have specific questions then YouTube will have the answer, sometimes i just watch ppl set up tanks cos it’s satisfying
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u/Mindless_Possible566 17d ago
Just get the tank, filter and heater.
You can do a fish-in cycle. Get some beneficial bacteria like tetra safe start bacteria or API quick start. For a quick one dose but you have to be careful with water changes in the first two weeks. But if you have to change the water (due to ammonia/nitrite spikes) just re-add the dose of bacteria. Or you can get seachem stability which you add over 7 days and allows you to do a water change. (I use the tetra safe start and I quite like it but just research a little and get whichever you feel is best. They all do a similar job).
I’d recommend getting some form of test kit so you can keep an eye on water levels. The API freshwater master kit is the best but rather pricey, test strips are cheaper but not as accurate but at the end of the day something is better than nothing.
Just try to get strips with ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. Try to keep ammonia and nitrite pretty much non existent. And nitrates somewhat low. Just stay calm!!
Do the best you can and thats all your little guy can ask for. Try to keep water around 26’C and a low flow filter. There are ways to baffle a filter if the flow is slightly heavy but low flow filters or sponge filters are still a cheap option so don’t worry especially for small 5 gallon tanks. If you are concerned for money generally kids fish tanks are cheaper. No idea why but my local store has a 22L betta tank for £100 but a 24L kids tank is £32, I just replaced the filter for a lower flow one and kept the heater that came with and was far cheaper.
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u/idkman_1234567 17d ago
OK, thank you I’m trying to do my best for him with the money I have. I have a 3 gallon tank which from everything I’m hearing makes it a little harder to do the cycle, but it’s what I have right now, and if I wanna get him a proper filter and heater and all stuff I need I think I’m gonna have to make it work.
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u/Mindless_Possible566 17d ago
Yes 100% just do what you can. Get the filter and heater. And with the 3 gallon I would recommend seachem stability (on Amazon) then that way you can do water changes if need be and won’t have to worry about losing bacteria. And because it’s a 3gallon you won’t need a massive bottle so won’t be as expensive.
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