Hi, I’m 18 years old, (please don’t be mean) I’ve had my fish marble since 2024, and I love her so much and I talk to her everyday. I’ve had a 15 gallon tank for her for a long time, but my mental health has declined and made it extremely difficult for me to take care of such a big one, so I downsized yesterday. (The person at the store recommended a 3 gallon but my guess is I should have gotten a different/bigger one, but I don’t think I can change her tank again.)
I’ve been observing her since the change (as well as in general) and I just want to make sure she’s happy. I’ve done everything I could for her but she doesn’t swim around all that much, (she was like this before the change) but if I interact with her she interacts right back, following my finger as usual, and her colors are brilliant.
I remember when I first got her she had made a huge bubble nest, but I got a bubbler shortly after that so I can’t tell if she’s happy.
I have a sponge filter, a bubbler with light bubbles, a heater and a light, as well as a few live plants and a nice piece of wood for her and a leaf hammock.
She’s always had swim bladder issues which is another reason why I thought downsizing might help, but I just feel the need to make certain she’s okay because I love her more than anything, can someone help me?
I feed her “ micro floating betta pellet food with krill and stabilized vitamin c” just a little once a day every night.
I bought three shrimp yesterday but one died (I’m not sure why) so there are two shrimp in the tank. The only test strips I have are remarkably old but I’m asking my partner to bring some when they come over.
When I had the larger one water changes were kind of infrequent, but I tried to do it at least once a month, but I’m guessing I’ll do more when she needs it now that this is a smaller tank.
I usually just put water in a bucket and I sometimes let it sit, as well as add conditioner, and then pour it in slowly, I have a siphon but it doesn’t seem to work right.
She has a few fake plants and two real ones.
https://www.reddit.com/gallery/1s5d1a3
Posted by Calilily7642
4 Comments
What size tank have you downgraded to? Did you properly establish the new tank, and move over your cycled filter media?
It’s a common misconception that the smaller the tank, the easier it will be to maintain. You will now likely be in for more work than you were before — water changes and top offs will need to be done more frequently in a smaller tank. What were you struggling to keep up with in the 10 gallon?
i’d say when you can, get her into a 5 gal. they are still pretty small tanks, but thats the absolute minimum for any betta. for the time being, make sure her water is cycled. test strips aren’t as accurate as liquid tests, so i recommend the api master freshwater test kit. you want to aim for 0ppm ammonia, the rest should follow. because you do have a small tank cycling might be a little more complicated than doing a bigger tank. watch for little white worms/bugs climbing on the glass, those should be detritus, planaria, and copepods, means your tank is doing well. i would’t be surprised if your betta eats the shrimp, my betta unfortunately ate my entire shrimp colony in three days. look for api quick start at the pet store too, it has bottled bacteria in it so should help with cycling. i have been in that place before, where tanks aren’t worth doing, and literally everything sucks. so i completely understand, but i do mean it that larger tanks are so much easier. cycling wise, but it gives you more room to decorate. make it look fun, you AND your betta will appreciate it more than you realize. its so tricky to get out of a mental health rut, but you do learn to adapt. i wish you the best of luck, you and your fishy!
Get them a lot of plants too – they help with water filtration and parameters— and makes your fish happy too :3 and definitely don’t keep them in the 3gallon – too small. 5 gallons or so should be the minimum for a betta.
I use AI like copilot with help with my fish, I recommend it..
You can do a 3 gallon tank but heavily planted . Easier to clean . And that goes for any size tanks . Heavily planted means less cleaning . You could have done that with your 15 gallon .
Low tech tanks is what i think people call them .
Do you have a heater ?