Hey everyone

[EmilyM]

Hey guys i'm just new to this forum i've had 5 of the fighter fish but 2 have die just this week. The two that died both had fin rot and where laying to much on the bottom of the tank. Out of the 3 i have left 1 of them is looking sick (laying on the bottom and the fins look like they are twisting together) i've asking alot of people how to look after them but no one has really said anything only just do water changes so offen. i've been changing the water at least once a week and feeding them betta pellets. Could anyone please help me here? What should i be feeding them, the temperature of the water, how much water change and offen i should be doing and the ph level of the water I don't want anymore of my fish to die.

Cheers Emily

[melsy]

hi
the water should be change a least 1-2 times a week or suck the crap off the bottom at least once a week. ph should be 7.0 neautral. make should that you use conditioning salts aswell. bettas love live food. white spot teatment is great for fin rot but use need to use airation with it. room temp is fine for bettas but in winter they might need a heater in tank upto 27degrees. hope this helped.

[malignau]

Welcome to the forum. Here is a post i wrote a week or two ago.

All aquariums need filtration, and tropical fish need heated water.

Here is an okay simple article to read to get you started http://www.petalia.com.au/templates/sto ... ry_no=2022

Okay, filtration. By the sounds of it, you bought one of those little plastic tanks that are 'pre-divided'. They probably hold around 1 litre of water and dont allow for anything other than a fish and maybe some pebbles to be put inside the tank. I suggest you buy three separate tanks, that hold at least 10-15L of water each. The bigger the tank, the more water there is to buffer the build up of liquid waste in the tank, which is better for your fish.

***BTW If anyone tries to tell you bettas will die in large tanks, you have my permission to smack them. ***

Now that you have them in a tank big enough to allow filtration you need to decide whether or not you want to filter the tank. Filtration is always the best way to keep your fish healthy, but if your tank is only holding one fish, you can choose to not filter the tank but do more constant water changes. In a tank of 10L you should do 2 or 3 water changes a week, equalling 50% the amount of water the whole tank holds. The bigger the tank, the less water you need to change per week and of course if you decide to filter the tank then it will be even less.

Here is an indepth article about filtration and what it does for the water and for your fish http://www.firsttankguide.net/filters.php

Bettas are tropical fish that need temperatures between 24 and 28 to live, so a heater is a must. Do you live in a tropical area? In tropical regions it would be okay to go without a heater in the summer months, but its always best to have a heater to prevent temperature fluctuations between day time and night time.

These are the basics for keeping a betta. Feeding i assume you are feeding with dry food which is fine. However you should try to soak betta pellets in a little bit of tank water till it absorbs water so that it doesnt absorb water in your betta's stomach. This can cause constipation, block up his digestive system and be life threatening.

How big are the tanks your keeping your bettas in? Fin rot is most common in smaller tanks where it is hard to maintain good water conditions, so performing more frequent water changes will help prevent fin rot from occuring.

Now that they already have fin rot, you'll need to treat it. I've found that doing frequent water changes and using a little aquarium salt can help cure fin rot. If it isnt making any different after a week, you'll need to move on to antibiotics to help cure the disease.

Have a search through the forum, there is a lot of information in the questions that have already been answered. If there is anything else that you dont understand, post it up and we'll answer it for you.

[EmilyM]

thanks everyone the info is very helpful =)

Cheers EmilyM