# New to a Betta Bowl



## Jes93086 (Jan 27, 2016)

I have a betta bowl sitting on my desk at work, for a week now. I is 2.5 gallons. I have marbles for the bottom, and two green smaller plants. The water was a little colder then what it should have been so I bought a heater to put under the marbles (it's a flat circle that sits on the bottom of the bowl). For about a week now, my male betta has been acting strange. Not eating much, not being really active. The heater has been in since Monday morning and I thought that he would perk back up, but he has not. The water has heated up to 78*F. I feed him the tetra betta pellets-about 4 pellets once a day. Starting today as well, there has been a group of bubbles that are sitting on top of the water in one area of the bowl.


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## henningc (Apr 17, 2013)

Well your betta may have some swim bladder malfunction due to being in prolonged cold. Give him a few days. Also, the bubbles were likely blown by him and that is normal. Keep an eye out for any water discoloration as those bubbles could be from toxic ammonia levels. I'd do a small waer change, say 10% every 2-3 days for at least two weeks just in case.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

He is cold. He should be at a temp of 82 to stay warm active and healthy. Did you rinse the heater? Be aware marbles are not a good substrate, they are too slick to hold enough beneficial bacteria and pose a threat of your fish getting caught under, especially the fins, trapping him where he cannot reach the surface to breathe.


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## Summer (Oct 3, 2011)

As I spoke to you in chat I hope that things are better now, please keep us posted!


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