Help! My betta fish has white flecks all over it! One day you wake up and go to feed your beautiful betta fish just like every other day and you realize there's a problem. As opposed to its normal, colorful appearance, your fish is covered in tiny, white dots! It looks like someone has shaken a saltshaker over your poor fish!
What's going on here is a bad case of Ich, or Ick. Ich is a common parasite that lives in your betta tank. When something goes wrong and your betta is weakened Ich can gain a foothold and infect your fish. Ich can be deadly to your fish, so it's important to take steps to prevent it and treat it.
For prevention it's best to make sure that your betta lives as stress-free as possible. Anything that frequently stresses a betta out can weaken its immune system. Make sure that you keep the water temperature between 76-82 degrees F. This is a normal healthy temperature for a betta. Anything too far above or below that range is dangerous to them.
Add some aquarium salt to the water when you do a water change. Be sure that you have aquarium salt. It isn't table salt! Add about 0.25 to 0.5 teaspoon of aquarium salt per gallon of water. This has a tonic effect on your fish and helps keep Ich at bay.
Now, if you've already got Ich it can be hard to get rid of. It can also be very contagious. Make sure that you don't contaminate other tanks! Treat the entire tank and be certain to scrub your hands and any common equipment before touching other tanks or fish.
Ich has three life stages, and you can only treat it in the last stage. During the first stage the parasite has burrowed beneath the fish's skin. This is where you see the white spots. Start treating now, but the medication won't hit the Ich yet.
The second life stage of the parasite sees it drop off of your betta fish and multiply rapidly at the bottom of the tank. Continue treatment, although it's not particularly vulnerable at this point.
The final life stage of the Ich parasite is where you can get it. During this stage the parasite is an adult and it is free-swimming. It swims in the water looking for another fish to live on. Here's where the medication will kill it best.
Two things can really help your treatment. First, slowly increase the water temperature to 85 degrees F. This will help the parasite speed through its life cycle and hit the vulnerable adult stage quicker. The other factor in treatment is frequently changing the water. This will help get rid of a lot of extra Ich.
To treat the parasite look for a medication based on copper or Malachite Green. Most of the Ich treatment medications you find at the pet stores will have these chemicals in them, but check anyway. Treat according to the medication dosing directions. Be sure to treat your tank for a full 14 days, even if your fish appears fine. Remember that the white spots on the fish are just the first visible stage of the parasite development. Being careful to treat after there are no white spots will help ensure that you've cleared out the infestation!
Showing posts with label fish tanks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fish tanks. Show all posts
Monday, March 10, 2008
Thursday, February 21, 2008
How to Set Up a Great Betta Fish Aquarium
If you're serious about your betta fish care then it's important to set up a great betta aquarium. While your fish can live in a small bowl or jar it will do better and be happier with more space. The problem with setting up a fish tank is that a lot of people think that it's a hard or expensive process. Luckily for you the betta fish that you're getting is pretty easy to take care of. Here's the stuff that you're going to need to make a happy betta home!
1. Get a small aquarium. They don't need much space; so don't worry about getting a big, expensive aquarium that's going to take up your entire counter. A single betta will be perfectly happy in a 1-5 gallon aquarium, which can usually be purchased for $10.00 or so and are no bigger than a shoebox. Make sure you rinse your aquarium before setting it up. Department stores can be dusty! Don't worry about using soap unless there's an obvious reason to. If you do then really be sure that you've rinsed it all out before your betta fish goes in. They don't like living in soap!
2. Install your filtration system. On a small tank like this there doesn't need to be a big filter, so make sure you check it out before you buy it. There should be a tank size recommendation on the package, so make sure they match up. A proper filter will help keep your water aerated and clean so that you don't need to change the water nearly as often. Don't get too big a filter as it can keep your betta from swimming properly, which will stress them out.
3. Get some clean gravel. If you know what color betta you plan to get then you can coordinate your gravel color with your fish color! Avoid sharp, jagged gravel, as bettas will spend some time near the bottom. The sharp gravel will really tear at their fins. You'll want about one pound of gravel per gallon-sized tank. It doesn't hurt to rinse the gravel, either.
4. Add plants. There are all kinds of options as far as real, plastic, or silk plants. As long as you clean the plants and they are soft then all of those are fine. Make sure you get soft plants without jagged edges as the plants just like the gravel can damage the betta’s fins. Real plants obviously take more care, but can be beautiful.
5. Add distilled, treated water. Tap water can be full of all kinds of chemicals that can be harmful to your fish. By getting distilled water and then conditioning it (get some water conditioner from your pet store) you'll be giving your fish a much healthier environment.
6. Let the tank run for a couple of weeks. This step is optional, but it helps the tank get going. When you have a new tank the helpful microorganisms that build up in the gravel and filter aren't there. They take a while to get going. Until they get a foothold the tank won't filter as well as a mature tank will. Letting the tank go for a couple of weeks without putting your betta in will help ensure a nice home for your betta.
There are six easy steps to building a low-cost, happy home for your betta fish that doesn't have to take over the whole room. With a little bit of preplanning you can give your betta a pleasant place to call home, for both them and you.
1. Get a small aquarium. They don't need much space; so don't worry about getting a big, expensive aquarium that's going to take up your entire counter. A single betta will be perfectly happy in a 1-5 gallon aquarium, which can usually be purchased for $10.00 or so and are no bigger than a shoebox. Make sure you rinse your aquarium before setting it up. Department stores can be dusty! Don't worry about using soap unless there's an obvious reason to. If you do then really be sure that you've rinsed it all out before your betta fish goes in. They don't like living in soap!
2. Install your filtration system. On a small tank like this there doesn't need to be a big filter, so make sure you check it out before you buy it. There should be a tank size recommendation on the package, so make sure they match up. A proper filter will help keep your water aerated and clean so that you don't need to change the water nearly as often. Don't get too big a filter as it can keep your betta from swimming properly, which will stress them out.
3. Get some clean gravel. If you know what color betta you plan to get then you can coordinate your gravel color with your fish color! Avoid sharp, jagged gravel, as bettas will spend some time near the bottom. The sharp gravel will really tear at their fins. You'll want about one pound of gravel per gallon-sized tank. It doesn't hurt to rinse the gravel, either.
4. Add plants. There are all kinds of options as far as real, plastic, or silk plants. As long as you clean the plants and they are soft then all of those are fine. Make sure you get soft plants without jagged edges as the plants just like the gravel can damage the betta’s fins. Real plants obviously take more care, but can be beautiful.
5. Add distilled, treated water. Tap water can be full of all kinds of chemicals that can be harmful to your fish. By getting distilled water and then conditioning it (get some water conditioner from your pet store) you'll be giving your fish a much healthier environment.
6. Let the tank run for a couple of weeks. This step is optional, but it helps the tank get going. When you have a new tank the helpful microorganisms that build up in the gravel and filter aren't there. They take a while to get going. Until they get a foothold the tank won't filter as well as a mature tank will. Letting the tank go for a couple of weeks without putting your betta in will help ensure a nice home for your betta.
There are six easy steps to building a low-cost, happy home for your betta fish that doesn't have to take over the whole room. With a little bit of preplanning you can give your betta a pleasant place to call home, for both them and you.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Video of Three Betta Tank Designs
Check out these three great betta tank designs I found on YouTube. They're simple, clean, and make nice homes for your betta. Take some ideas and give them a try!
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Betta Fish Care: Choosing Appropriate Betta Tankmates
While you often see bettas living by themselves in bowls or small fish tanks they don't have to be solitary fish. With some care and taking the betta personality into account you can select the right tankmates for them. A fish tank with great species diversity can be a beautiful centerpiece to the room.
Multiple bettas can coexist but some care needs to go into the planning of the arrangement. Two male bettas probably aren't going to work out. They are territorial and need to establish dominance over the other betta. In the wild once one has triumphed over the other the loser will usually swim off. In an aquarium there isn't enough space to get away, however, so the winner will keep attacking the loser. This can result in death.
Two male bettas can be in the same tank if there's a divider between them. A sheet of glass or a tank separator will do. There is a possibility that they'll keep squaring off through the glass and that can really stress them out, however. Two males from the same batch of eggs can usually coexist until they hit maturity, too. Then you'll notice bullying behavior and it's time to separate them.
Male and female bettas don't coexist much better than two males unless it's breeding time. A male will often attack the female just as it would another male betta. The same rules as two males apply here.
Multiple females can exist together, especially if you have several of them. Two females sharing a tank will often result in bullying behavior, but several together will result in some scrapping until a hierarchy is established. Once the pecking order is in place they'll usually calm down. Keep an eye out for especially aggressive females, though. Sometimes they are just too aggressive to be kept together.
Other species of fish can coexist well with bettas. Make sure that the species aren't exceptionally aggressive or a great deal larger or smaller than the betta. Platies, corydoras catfish, mollies, shrimp, and types of loaches make good betta tankmates.
Female bettas are a bit more accepting of other fish and can probably be kept with danios, tetras, barbs, and gouramis.
Be careful with the following types of fish, they aren't recommended to share space with bettas.
-Fancy guppies, as the bettas will chew on their fins.
-Schools of barbs. Sometimes they'll go after the betta's fins.
-Aggressive fish will take on a betta. These could be tiger barbs, piranhas, bluegill, or oscars.
-Male bettas may attack dwarf gouramis or pygmy gouramis as they have a similar look to a male betta.
-Paradise Fish can grow much larger than bettas and have similar mentalities on territory. They'll go after a male betta and kill it.
-Any fish much smaller than a betta could be at risk of bullying.
Bettas can be a central jewel to a tank, but please use some thought when you're deciding to add one to a tank. Keep an eye on the behavior of both the betta and the other fish. If one is continuing to bother the other then probably the combination isn't going to work. Set up a backup plan before you add the fish so that you're not stuck without a place to put the betta.
Multiple bettas can coexist but some care needs to go into the planning of the arrangement. Two male bettas probably aren't going to work out. They are territorial and need to establish dominance over the other betta. In the wild once one has triumphed over the other the loser will usually swim off. In an aquarium there isn't enough space to get away, however, so the winner will keep attacking the loser. This can result in death.
Two male bettas can be in the same tank if there's a divider between them. A sheet of glass or a tank separator will do. There is a possibility that they'll keep squaring off through the glass and that can really stress them out, however. Two males from the same batch of eggs can usually coexist until they hit maturity, too. Then you'll notice bullying behavior and it's time to separate them.
Male and female bettas don't coexist much better than two males unless it's breeding time. A male will often attack the female just as it would another male betta. The same rules as two males apply here.
Multiple females can exist together, especially if you have several of them. Two females sharing a tank will often result in bullying behavior, but several together will result in some scrapping until a hierarchy is established. Once the pecking order is in place they'll usually calm down. Keep an eye out for especially aggressive females, though. Sometimes they are just too aggressive to be kept together.
Other species of fish can coexist well with bettas. Make sure that the species aren't exceptionally aggressive or a great deal larger or smaller than the betta. Platies, corydoras catfish, mollies, shrimp, and types of loaches make good betta tankmates.
Female bettas are a bit more accepting of other fish and can probably be kept with danios, tetras, barbs, and gouramis.
Be careful with the following types of fish, they aren't recommended to share space with bettas.
-Fancy guppies, as the bettas will chew on their fins.
-Schools of barbs. Sometimes they'll go after the betta's fins.
-Aggressive fish will take on a betta. These could be tiger barbs, piranhas, bluegill, or oscars.
-Male bettas may attack dwarf gouramis or pygmy gouramis as they have a similar look to a male betta.
-Paradise Fish can grow much larger than bettas and have similar mentalities on territory. They'll go after a male betta and kill it.
-Any fish much smaller than a betta could be at risk of bullying.
Bettas can be a central jewel to a tank, but please use some thought when you're deciding to add one to a tank. Keep an eye on the behavior of both the betta and the other fish. If one is continuing to bother the other then probably the combination isn't going to work. Set up a backup plan before you add the fish so that you're not stuck without a place to put the betta.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Betta Fish Facts - Betta Tail Shapes
One of the most recognizable features about the betta fish is its tail. Male bettas have a variety of splendid tails to complement their bright colors. Females tend to have shorter, less vibrant tails. The different tail shapes when combined with certain colors are sought after by betta enthusiasts or collectors.
Here's a rundown of different tail shapes to keep in mind when picking out your betta.
Short Tails: The short tail bettas look much closer to wild bettas. These tails are shorter and more utilitarian. A wild betta can't afford to have the long, flowing tails as it impairs their swimming ability. Short tailed bettas also don't tend to be as vibrantly colored, as they're closer to wild specimens.
Veil Tails: The veil tail bettas are just one step from the short tails. These bettas have tails of the same shape as the short tails, just longer. This makes them droop at the ends. When the betta is calm they simply hang down. When the betta flares its fins the tails do come up, but still don't fan out. These are very common in pet stores and are likely to be your option if that's where you get your betta.
Crowntails: There's a variation of a betta called a combtail, which means that the spines of the fins extend out past the edge of the tail membrane resulting in a "comb-like" appearance. The crowntails have been bred for this trait to the point where the tail is sharp and looks like a crown.
Fan Tails: A fan-tailed betta is one whose tail is solid at the bottom then flares out symmetrically to create a rounded-edged fan.
Delta Tails: The delta tail is another step past the fan-shaped tails. Instead of a rounded fan this looks more like a triangle with sharp edges running down to a rounded tail.
Super Delta Tails: The super delta tail is a delta tail with a very broad width angle. Anything above about 130 degrees from the base can be considered a super delta tail. For show purposes an angle of 170 degrees is desirable.
Half-moon Tails: This is currently the ideal for the betta show quality world. These tails have a full 180-degree spread to them, making the tail look like a half-moon. Half-moon tails are beautiful but also very fragile. The betta is likely to tear them often, which makes showing them a tricky adventure at times.
Double Tails: The double tailed bettas are bettas with two tail lobes instead of one.
As you can see there are a bunch of different tail shapes in the betta world and more are being bred all of the time! It makes them a fun and exciting fish to follow and collect.
Here's a rundown of different tail shapes to keep in mind when picking out your betta.
Short Tails: The short tail bettas look much closer to wild bettas. These tails are shorter and more utilitarian. A wild betta can't afford to have the long, flowing tails as it impairs their swimming ability. Short tailed bettas also don't tend to be as vibrantly colored, as they're closer to wild specimens.
Veil Tails: The veil tail bettas are just one step from the short tails. These bettas have tails of the same shape as the short tails, just longer. This makes them droop at the ends. When the betta is calm they simply hang down. When the betta flares its fins the tails do come up, but still don't fan out. These are very common in pet stores and are likely to be your option if that's where you get your betta.
Crowntails: There's a variation of a betta called a combtail, which means that the spines of the fins extend out past the edge of the tail membrane resulting in a "comb-like" appearance. The crowntails have been bred for this trait to the point where the tail is sharp and looks like a crown.
Fan Tails: A fan-tailed betta is one whose tail is solid at the bottom then flares out symmetrically to create a rounded-edged fan.
Delta Tails: The delta tail is another step past the fan-shaped tails. Instead of a rounded fan this looks more like a triangle with sharp edges running down to a rounded tail.
Super Delta Tails: The super delta tail is a delta tail with a very broad width angle. Anything above about 130 degrees from the base can be considered a super delta tail. For show purposes an angle of 170 degrees is desirable.
Half-moon Tails: This is currently the ideal for the betta show quality world. These tails have a full 180-degree spread to them, making the tail look like a half-moon. Half-moon tails are beautiful but also very fragile. The betta is likely to tear them often, which makes showing them a tricky adventure at times.
Double Tails: The double tailed bettas are bettas with two tail lobes instead of one.
As you can see there are a bunch of different tail shapes in the betta world and more are being bred all of the time! It makes them a fun and exciting fish to follow and collect.
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