hurt betta! need advice!

19 years ago

I just bought my first betta fish a couple of days ago, and had a bad accident with him. I was transfering him from the cup to his new home and he fell down the garbage disposible [it wasn't turned on thank god!] (which was stupid on my part to have him near it), fotunitly i was able to rescue him, but some of his fins were damaged. I put a stress relief coat in the water, but the water is cloudy now. He also lost more of his fins today from getting caught on the little plastic plant that is in the tank. The fins seem to be falling off pretty easily. He does not seem very active, but is eating ok. Does anyone have any suggestions?? Also, i have him in a 1 1/2 quart container with gravel on the bottom i got from the pet store, and they said that was big enough, but i've heard some people say that bigger tanks are better. I would appreciate any information, suggestions, or advice. Thank you!!!

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Comments (11)

keithgh
19 years ago
As far as the tank size many writings about small containers they should be banned. I know many use them and will argue there is nothing wrong with that. One of my answers it would be in comparison to being in a room 6-8ft cubed and fresh air being added when some one thinks about it.

I would remove all sharp objects from the container they should never be anywhere near a Betta as this will tear their fins very easy.

I strongly suggest buying a very good product that will prevent or cure any infection it has or will have from the torn fins.

At the moment I am setting up 45lt Betta tank and that is considered a good minium size. It will be heated, filtered, extremly well planted with soft leafed live plants, plus a few other suitable fish

Keith
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CrisH
19 years ago
Bettas have amazing healing powers. Keep him clean and all sharp decorations away from him. Their fins do tear very easily and will regrow but they wont look as nice as they did. The cloudy water doesnt sound good tho, can you dip half out and put fresh in without moving the fish to another container? Watch for signs of a secondary infection such as white fuzzy fungus or a grey jelly like coating on his fins. You shouldnt have any trouble healing him up, like I said , they are amazing healers, probably from their fighting background. We had two males who got into a fight[ the one jumped into the other container over night) and when I opened the store there they were, exhausted and their fins in tatters. Both of them healed fine , although the fins were never the same and they werent sold they became store pets due to the damage.
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woeisme
19 years ago
I agree with Keith. You should have a minimum of a 2 gal. aquarium for the betta. The water should be kept about 74 -78 degrees F. A heater and some type of filtration should be used. Aswell as a cover for the top. Change 25% of the water every 2 weeks minimally. If you have the space a 10 gal. set up is not that expensive and you can add a few more tankmates as well. The fins will grow back as long as the base hasn't been damaged.
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kbm11
Original Author
19 years ago
thank you all very much for the advice. I will definitly use it.
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oceanbubbles
19 years ago
Oh poor little guy! I would be traumatized! ;) Anyways, just keep him away from sharp decorations and plastic plants. I have plastic plants in my betta tank, but they have very soft, round edges. Make sure to keep the water clean like the others said. I hope your guy recovers well! My betta jumped once when I did water change. He landed on the ground but didnt damage any fins or anything. But it was enough to scare the crap out of me! He recovered OK.. although looked a little shaken up. From then on.. I always change my water over the sink (with water in it) Haha. So just in case the little bugger decides to jump.. at least he'll be OK LOL. Good luck!
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james_ny
19 years ago
As long as he's eating he'll probably be OK. Try to keep the water clean. Man I hate when that happens. I had a goldfish jump out of my pond and was on the floor a few hours before my son in law found him. He lived but it took a month for a large cotton ball like coating to come off him.
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kbm11
Original Author
19 years ago
Yes, i was very upset when that happened! especially since he is my first fish! but, he is doing ok. I bought a bigger tank for him today and put in this antibacterial medication [BettaFix Remedy] that is supposed to help with damaged fins & fungus. He seems to be much happier in a bigger tank, and the new plant i got is softer with rounder leaves. Thank you all for your advice. I still have one question though, why do the petstores have such small tanks for the beta fish if you all say they need a minimum of two gallons? I agree that the bigger the tank, the happier the fish, but then why do the pet stores sell tiny ones?
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grice
19 years ago
Hi Kbm11. First,thanks for getting the little guy a larger home. I have all three of mine in three seperate 2.5 gallon tanks and plan to upgrade to five gallon soon.
Woeisme passed along great advice to you although I do a 25% water change weekly.
As for the stores,they are in the buisness of making money. As long as people purchase those smaller containers(which imo is appalling)the stores will continue to sell them.
Good luck with your fin buddy.
Grice
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CrisH
19 years ago
A word about stores and Bettas in jars.......

I work in a fish store that sells Bettas and other tropicals and salt water fish. We have to keep them in jars (approx 2 cups of water per jar) for display only. When you have twenty five Betta its impossible to have 25 separate ten gallon tanks set up for one male Betta in each. Our boys water is changed daily, they eat bloodworms and betta pellets and we offer many larger options for Betta housing for when they go home. We explain to the customer that the bowls are holding areas only and the boys need a bigger permanent housing . We cant keep them in with the other fish as alot of them will shred his fins and some of the tanks have too strong of a current on them for Bettas or the water conditions are not suitable for them, brackish etc. The only way for stores to offer them for sale and to keep the fish in good condition is to use the small bowls. Bettas are a solitary fish in the wild so being alone doesnt bother them and if they are kept in clean water and fed well the short time in the small jar does them no harm, many start new bubble nests everyday after the water changes.
Please dont think badly of all fish stores just because a few keep them in dirty half empty containers, a good fish store wont do that. Talk to the manager of the store if you find the fish in bad conditions , a good one will fix the trouble. I hope this helps explain why the boys are kept in jars. If you think the jars are bad you should see how they are shipped to the store!! Tiny triangle shape bags with just enough water to cover the fish, I mean a couple of tablespoons of water tops! That makes me mad, they could surely afford a bigger bag with more water.
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woeisme
19 years ago
A good suggestion to the owner is may be a 20L with 3 dividers in them made of black acrylic with holes drilled in them for water flow.This way the water could be heated as well as filtered. It will definately take more space compared to a bowl but thats less water changes and healthier fish that might last longer so unsold ones may last longer then a few days. Or at least look and be healthier. Possibly you may sell more this way as well as push the bigger setups. I imagine its hard to convince a customer they should have a bigger tank when you are displaying them in bowls along with every other fish store and walmart. Bowls are for soup not fish. (Unless its chowder)
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amanda1118
17 years ago
hello..about two weeks ago i brought a femal betta..she seemed very sweet and would always come to the tank acting very friendly..yesterday i went to the pet store with my boyfriend who was buying fish for his tank and i saw a ting baby female betta.. i had to get her. i ask if they could be put together and the employee told me yes since they are female it shouldnt be a prob.I can home in but her in the two gallon tank with the other. They loookk fine together so i left for a shower and when i came back to the room the new smaller blue bettas back fins were all torn up and she looked 2 shades darker..i was horrified and quickly took her out the tank and put her in a extra 1.5 gallon tank i had. I want the new fish to get better.. she is hinding in t he plant and wont go up to eat. any suggestions
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hurt betta! need advice!

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hurt betta! need advice!

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