This is Tanjiro
He is a male Butterfly that was gifted to me a week ago today by my best friend. I recently got laid off and my friend thought he would cheer me up.
Of course he did! Look at what a cutie he is.
But I am not an experienced pet owner, especially with fish. I can barely keep succulents alive. And having just recently lost my job, I can’t really blow everything I have left to give him the highest quality of life as possible (as much as I want to).
Along with Tanjiro, my friend brought a 2.5 gal tank that came with a filter, a light (that I think is way too bright) a plastic looking plant, substrate, pellet food and water conditioner. We set up the tank, conditioned the water, and (to my friends displeasure “just throw him in there!”) waited 24 hours per the instructions to introduce him to the tank.
In that 24 hours I went to youtube, reddit, etc. and proceeded to overwhelm myself with information re: the tank not being big enough, cycling, live plants, and all the rest. I focused on the things that wouldn’t break the bank: a heater, one live plant, a leaf perch (which is plastic, I know 😔) and a rock “hide” which I now regret cuz why does it have a hole at the top?! He doesn’t go in there too much but he loves hanging out on the leaf perch. He swims up to me anytime I’m even remotely moving around near him and eats 4 pellets spread out throughout the day 2 daytime 2 nighttime). Eats well and enthusiastically.
I also bought a water testing kit which was showing that the PH and Alkalinity were low so I threw in some shells which seems to have improved the water quality a bit, but I feel like Tanjiro’s behavior has changed a bit. I did a 50% water change on Monday and Thursday and after yesterdays he suddenly perches in the gap between the tank and the heater and spends a lot more time near the bottom of the tank than he used to. He also seems to be developing some white lines on his fins that I haven’t noticed before.
I have a new rock hide as well as a floating log and a silk plant to replace the plastic one coming in tomorrow, but otherwise I’m capped out on how much money I can realistically spend on him. But I would like to give him the best quality of life I can, and once I get a new job I will definitely upgrade to a larger tank.
I continue to monitor and read up on Betta care to figure out what I can do within my means to give him the best life possible. Any thoughts, advice or feedback ya’ll can provide would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading!
https://www.reddit.com/gallery/1of6rz1
Posted by jolito-x
13 Comments
i’m still learning but it could be because your tank isn’t cycled. i would look into fish-in-cycling and do that until everything has reached some sort of homeostasis
Ideally he needs at least 5 gallons. Get real plants, not fake ones. Read up on doing a “fish-in cycle” and get an API freshwater test kit. I’m sure someone else can give additional advice but that is where I would start.
The silk plants will definitely be an improvement over the plastic. Live plants are the best, but theyre expensive so definitely not an urgent thing that needs to be changed. The more clutter you can add to the tank the better. Fish like to have hiding spots, and ironically the more hiding spots you have the more you see the fish as they feel more comfortable coming out to say hi. If you have any nice peices of driftwood that could work well for the tank, just make sure you boil them first.
As a side note, can Tanjiro still use sun breathing if hes underwater?
What did the shells do for water quality? Ideally you *don’t* want the water to be alkaline, as bettas do better in slightly acidic water and the shells will raise pH over time. Tannins from organics like catappa leaves or alder cones are typically easy to get.
Sites like craigslist and facebook marketplace are good for anyone nearby who might be giving away or selling a tank for cheap for a future upgrade, he’ll be fine in this until then just monitor quality and keep up on water changes. Some easy live plants like duckweed or other floaters can be pretty cheap or if you can find a hobbyist near you who’d be willing to give some away (they can grow like crazy so be warned lol).
Quite honestly without spending more money, the best thing you can do is make sure you are doing regular water changes with temperature matched conditioned water.
Not that I condone it but many Bettas will live for years in worse conditions than yours so whilst a 5 gallon plus is recommended you will be fine for now whilst you save / get yourself back on your feet.
The really important thing to remember is 2.5 gallons is a tiny amount of water and in your situation is not cycled so will not be able to process the waste produced by your Betta. It’s great that you have bought a live plant, anubias and limnophila sessiliflora are a great place to start, the latter is extremely fast growing, cheap and can literally be grown just floating in the tank, whilst being a huge toxin sponge, so I would really suggest you make this one your next purchase.
Going back to what I started with, for the next 6 weeks do 20% water changes every other day, I know it sounds like a lot of work but if you don’t want to see your boy suffer it will be worth it. After that you could move to a 30-40% change each week. Less if you were to get a bigger tank but I wouldn’t focus on that right now (I may get flamed by others for saying that) just make sure the environment you currently have is as comfortable and safe as it can be.
Wish you all the best.
I love the shells In the tank
This is a temporary home right?
I’m sorry you’re so down on your luck, I hope it gets better soon!
While the tank is cycling, make sure to test the water daily and if there’s any ammonia or nitrite, do a water change immediately. Try to get some live plants when you can but don’t stress about it too much now if it’s not financially viable. Facebook is good for aquatic plants, I’ve gotten cheap and even free plants off marketplace and local fishkeeping groups. Marketplace is also great for cheap tanks. I’ve even gotten quite a few free ones over the years from there too.
You need a bigger tank and real plants. Put some almond leaves in it and make the temperature 26 to 27 degrees Celsius
Your tank isn’t cycled, I’m guessing your betta might be starting to feel ill because of rising levels of ammonia. Your filter likely hasn’t grown enough beneficial bacteria to detoxify the ammonia. This is usually why we let tanks cycle for a month before adding fish.
You will need to also measure ammonia, nitrite and nitrate along with pH.
Learn about “fish in cycling”, there are many videos on YouTube – this is what you’ll need to do.
Once you start doing fish in cycling, I would recommend getting Seachem Prime water conditioner (it will protect your betta somewhat when the ammonia levels in your tank rise). You could also get some Bactrial supplement – I think the one by Fritz is supposed to be really good.
Ideally, if you could go to the fish store and ask them for a bit of filter media from one of their filters and pop it into yours, that will give your tank a head start and it will cycle more quickly.
All the best with Tanjiro!
https://preview.redd.it/rb3jh1hhj5xf1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7923f1762e3d52c92057abbc537fe9975b914253
There are many things you can do that cost a lot of money. Keeping a healthy animal isn’t cheap. But you are in charge of this fish’s life and wellbeing now, and you should to do the best with what you have.
Focus on specialized products and upgrades later. Right now, keep up with your water changes and get some live plants. If the light is too bright, some floating plants would be a good idea to help buffer that glare.
Make sure to condition your water. Don’t worry too much about specific parameters like alkalinity, pH,or GH/KH. Get some basic test strips if you can (ammonia is your biggest concern right now, so ammonia test strips are a good idea), stick to a water change schedule, and never remove more than 50% of the tank’s water.
The more specialized products you add, the more likely water parameters are to swing. It’s easiest to change your tap water as little as possible. As long as your pH is between 6.0 and 8.0, does not contain ammonia/nitrites/nitrates, and you properly dechlorinate it before adding it to the tank, you shouldn’t need to worry about much else. Bettas are not picky when it comes to these parameters, but they ARE sensitive to change. Keep it consistent.
Remember to never change your filter or introduce the media to untreated tap water.
Hey friend!!! I did the same thing this summer. After learning about tank cycling and stuff I upgraded and went thru the process. So don’t worry about any mean comments if there are any. Sounds like you’re researching more. Not our fault pet stores market them to us as quick easy and small projects. You’ll figure it out! Tanjiro is so handsome and sounds like he’s gonna have a great home.