# My first Betta



## Avraptorhal (Jan 24, 2013)

I was in the local Petco and saw this HM Betta w/ a bluish silver body and white tipped red & blue fins. The cup he was in was very clean but cold. The sales person mentioned she had cleaned and fed the guy this morning.

Anyhoo, he is now in his 5 gal planted, heated and filtered tank. At first he just cowered in a corner in a corner, then started to investigate the tank. I have a sponge filter in a back corner of the tank with a piece of driftwood in an odd "W" shape kinda of fencing it off. The uptilted arms of the driftwood are high enough for him to swim under so I found him between the filter and the wall. I left him alone except for an occasional peak. 

A couple of hours later I found him a little limp near the bottom between the clay flower pot and the side of the tank. I got concerned after watching him for a short period and touched the side of the tank near him and startled him. He swam away. 

It's bed time so I'll leave him alone.

Update: I think that Yankee (his name) started a bubble nest between last night and time for his morning feeding. It dissipated when I started his WC.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Congrats! He may be a little shocked to find himself in such a place. Give him a few days he should perk up. 

So good to hear people giving these guys a proper setup, thank you!


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## DarkestCloud (Mar 21, 2013)

Woo, no betta bowl! Mine went into a 10 gallon, and did the same thing. Just kinda hung out. Now, he swims up and down in his little corner, valiently defending it from the black neon tetra scourge. He coloured up quite nicely, too. So give him a while to adjust, and he should be fine. Also, imaginary cake for you! Yaaaay proper betta care!


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## Avraptorhal (Jan 24, 2013)

DarkestCloud said:


> Woo, no betta bowl! Mine went into a 10 gallon, and did the same thing. Just kinda hung out. Now, he swims up and down in his little corner, valiently defending it from the black neon tetra scourge. He coloured up quite nicely, too. So give him a while to adjust, and he should be fine. Also, imaginary cake for you! Yaaaay proper betta care!


He ignored food the first day. The second day he ate a couple of tubifex worms and next day he ate a couple of brine shrimp all I offered both days. That relieved me of concern over what he would eat.

He is currently apparently enjoying his surroundings. Swimming around. The only time he notices me is when I put a finger up against the glass if he is close to the wall.

I'm concerned about light on the tank. Since the tank is planted I will need some sort of plant supportive light for the tank. I have a timer ready for it , I had ordered a Fluval clip on CF light which arrived DOA. The [/I]"That Pet Place" handled it very well; they e-mailed me prepaid FedEx label for the return. I'm now waiting for the replacement.*whistle*


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## bolram (May 17, 2011)

Glad to hear he has perked up now. First time I had a betta he took a few days to adjust and about a week or two later he showed so much character. Got any pictures to share of him?


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## Avraptorhal (Jan 24, 2013)

majerah1 said:


> Congrats! He may be a little shocked to find himself in such a place. Give him a few days he should perk up.
> 
> So good to hear people giving these guys a proper setup, thank you!


No thanks needed! There is no reason to give your creatures anything less than the best you can,


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## Avraptorhal (Jan 24, 2013)

bolram said:


> Glad to hear he has perked up now. First time I had a betta he took a few days to adjust and about a week or two later he showed so much character. Got any pictures to share of him?


Not yet. I'll take some in the next week or so. Thanks for asking.


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## Avraptorhal (Jan 24, 2013)

I was surprised today when I fed him this AM. The feeding advice all over the place says to give the boys food no more than the size of their eyes. Trying to fish out a single FD Brine shrimp I dropped a clump about the size of a grain of wheat and he grabbed it and munched on it a time or two and he swallowed it. I repeated with another on and that got munched and swallowed.

BTW I have been feeding him once a day, is that adequate?*c/p*

Update: I picked up some frozen Blood worms. The first time I tried them he wasn't very enthusiastic about them. Not knowing how to thaw and feed them. I think I got a clue from somewhere on this forum. I thawed them in the fridge in some tank water. That allowed worms to separate nicely. The first one I showed him he wasn't impressed but ate it. He was waiting for the next and slurped it and waited for the next one with the tweezers still in the water. He is constantly patrolling the tank and has tried to blow a bubble nest a couple times.
I'm hoping that means he's settling down and beginning to enjoy his home.


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## chipmunk1210 (Jul 3, 2012)

Feeding once a day is perfectly fine. I would caution against feeding freeze dried foods as they tend to cause bloating and constipation in bettas. Plus they are really not that nutritious - kind of like candy or potato chips. The best diet for bettas is pellet food. Variety is good for them as well. So providing them with some frozen or live brine shrimp, blood worms, white worms, ect is another good thing to do.


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## DarkestCloud (Mar 21, 2013)

My betta gets fed with the black neon tetras he lives with. I crush up some flakes and drop them in there. Occasionally he gets some betta pellets, but I always forget to put some of those in as well, so flakes it is.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Jess watch him with flakes, they are notorious for swelling in the bellies of bettas and causing bloat.


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## DarkestCloud (Mar 21, 2013)

He hasn't had any problems yet, so I'm not terribly concerned. Right now he's swimming around, looking pretty. Though I will watch him more closely now. I appreciate your concern.


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