This is Lady. I got her yesterday and she was very active when she was in her cup but when I put her in her tank she mainly stayed in one of the front top corners. Idk if she’s just adjusting or there’s something wrong. Please help.
https://www.reddit.com/gallery/1t2znau
Posted by Librioxen
7 Comments
Turn the lights completely off. Completely ditch the painted gravel and fake plants. Get either silk or real plants. Make sure she has a heater, slow filter, and she will take a couple days to settle in!! Message me if you’re still confused and I’d be happy to help 🙂
She’s beautiful and go a ton of space to swim! 😊 Could be adjusting, but to know for sure, what are your water parameters? How long did the tank cycle before adding her? (I would also suggest angling your heater to make sure it is completely submerged, I can’t tell if it is or not, but it looks like the top may be hanging out of the water)
Edit to add: the painted gravel may leach paint flakes over time, as well as painted decor(plastic plants and decor may also have sharp edges or points that can tear fins). Also add a hammock, betta leaf, or betta log so she has lounge spots near the surface.
1. Is the water up to the minimum water level on your heater? It looks low
2. Did you cycle your tank before buying the fish?
3. Is she being pushed around by the flow of the water? Does it seem like she can swim around the tank without issue?
I’d definitely look into replacing the decor, a lot of it will be too sharp by the look of it. Also, bettas need resting spots near the surface of the water. Look up betta hammocks
I think that tearing the whole tank apart and changing everything all at once is going to be more traumatic for the fish than anything. Focus first on water parameters. Ditching the gravel and fake decorations because they may or may not flake off paint in the long run isn’t what’s going to help your fish right now. Try putting the filter off to one side, rather than the middle so she’s got one side at least that’s calm and without a strong current. You do need more hiding spaces- if you can get your hands on live hornwort, it’s great for hiding higher up in the water column. They like to have plants to hide in and lounge on. Even if you can’t get hornwort, if you can get something nice and big, tall, that may help.
You can keep the gravel, just add live plants. Also get the master test kit. I know it’s pricey but I rely on it for water parameters
Got her yesterday and threw her into a tank… did you cycle it?
Turn off the light if not algae will grow and it’s a pain to clean