We're totally new to fish! This morning I got a beautiful white betta from PetSmart for my 12 yr old son (the kind they keep in the cups on shelves – I hate that they sit in those cups). We asked what we needed and the sales person had us buy an all-in-one tank (I opted for the 5 gallon), a live aquatic plant, a gallon of pre-conditioned betta water, and a decor tower thing for inside. We were looking to set up right now and realized the tank only came with a filter, scooper and thermometer:
1. They never told us about a heater (I thought the tank came with one), I'm reading we need to keep the water temp between 76 and 82 so need to buy one before we can transfer him?
2. They didnt tell us we needed sand or rocks at the bottom
3. They didn't tell us about the food (duh, I know, we should have bought this at the same time but I blanked).
The store is far away and we likely won't make it back before they close. I'm worried about the little guy overnight — will he be ok in his cup until tomorrow (say around 10am)? do I need to keep him warmer like put a place of warm water underneath him or add warm water? What about food? I could add some of the live plant I bought in his cup maybe?
Thank you!
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Posted by khyberwolf
9 Comments
It will be fine unheated and fasting for a day either in the cup or in the tank. Remember that it’s been in a pet store for weeks at room temperature. And fish do not need to eat daily.
Make sure to research fish-in cycling and look through the sub’s care guide and wiki.
You said you already have the tank? Do you have water conditioner or an ro tap? If so I’d recommend putting him in the tank. More water volume means more water to balance out the bad stuff then in the cup. What type of live plants do you have? Some may work well in the tank. Does Amazon not ship to your house?
He will most likely be fine overnight, as the other commenter said definitely look into fish-in-cycling. By the way, you don’t need to buy Betta water! You can use tap water and buy a water conditioner for much cheaper, add a few drops into your tap water and you’re good to go. (Of course this depends on the instructions, for mine it’s a few drops. Way cheaper and easier.)
What you can do is water test the tank and put the heater in it (submerge it completely) and float the cut in the water so he stays the right temperature. No food for him of course. I’d opt to take some of his water out and put some of the ‘betta’ water in it so he isn’t soaking in ammonia water because I can clearly see poop in the bottom so it’s currently sewer water. But ya, he’s fine if you do that till you get back to the store.
You don’t always need to buy ‘betta water’ you can get seachem Prime conditioner and use that to do your water changes, which should be about 25% a week. As for substrate, get a nutrient rich one like Fluval stratum or Aqua natural sand or gravel. The more plants the better! Make sure the decor has no sharp objects. Bettas and fish in general like an environment that is closest to their natural environment. Meaning all the colorful bright decor is purely aesthetic and for your pleasure. So try to be as natural as possible! Feed foods that are high in protein and low in wheat and gluten fillers. Finsect and Fluval Bug Bites is good.
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It amazes me how people still rely on info solely from pet stores without doing any other research.
Your fish should be fine for one night. My bettas heater got unplugged overnight and he was fine in the morning. You should also buy a API liquid water test kit as you will have to cycle the tank. It’s great you got a 5 gallon tank, so you are off to a good start in that regard.
Search on the site about fish in cycle. Many of great posts.
I never understand how people can take home a living creatures without doing any basic research first
Get some food, some water dechlor (can often find betta food and water treatment drops bundled together), keep the little guy out of the big tank until you put the substrate in, and you can snag a heater while you’re there or
https://a.co/d/0d3gKGPr
Is cheap and works well I if you don’t plan on upgrading tank size, but he’ll be fine in room temp water until you get one – he was in room temp water while he was waiting to be adopted he can make it a couple days more.