Completely ignorant newby

[Suzie-Q]

I've never had an aquarium and I know little to nothing about aquariums,
but I've decided that I want one. I'm hoping you folks will help me from
time to time when I have questions or problems.

Meanwhile, I've got myself a betta male in a one-gallon fishtank. He eats
freeze-dried bloodworms (since feeding him the bloodworms he won't eat the
other pellet-type food) and has an aquarium plant that he seems to enjoy.
I have river rocks and glass "beads" on the bottom of the tank.

Two questions:
1. Is it okay if he eats nothing but bloodworms, or should I force him
to eat some of the pellet food by cutting out the bloodworms? (The pellet
food is "Wardley" brand "premium betta food.")
2. I'd like to change the water in the tank. Should I stick with the 1/3
at a time process, or could I scoop the betta out into a container and
change all of the water?

I've tried to use one of those tank vacuum things, but it doesn't seem to
get enough of the stuff off the bottom of the tank.

Thanks in advance.
--
8^)~~~ Sue (remove the x to e-mail)
~~~~~~
"I reserve the absolute right to be smarter
today than I was yesterday." -Adlai Stevenson

http://www.suzanne-eckhardt.com/
http://www.intergnat.com/malebashing/
http://www.intergnat.com/pussygames/

[Derek Benson]

On Sun, 10 Jul 2005 10:37:00 GMT, Suzie-Q >
wrote:

>I've never had an aquarium and I know little to nothing about aquariums,
>but I've decided that I want one. I'm hoping you folks will help me from
>time to time when I have questions or problems.
>
>Meanwhile, I've got myself a betta male in a one-gallon fishtank. He eats
>freeze-dried bloodworms (since feeding him the bloodworms he won't eat the
>other pellet-type food) and has an aquarium plant that he seems to enjoy.
>I have river rocks and glass "beads" on the bottom of the tank.
>
>Two questions:
> 1. Is it okay if he eats nothing but bloodworms, or should I force him
>to eat some of the pellet food by cutting out the bloodworms? (The pellet
>food is "Wardley" brand "premium betta food.")
> 2. I'd like to change the water in the tank. Should I stick with the 1/3
>at a time process, or could I scoop the betta out into a container and
>change all of the water?
>
>I've tried to use one of those tank vacuum things, but it doesn't seem to
>get enough of the stuff off the bottom of the tank.
>
>Thanks in advance.

I think what I would do with such a small tank is to use a large
container, scoop out the water from the top of the tank with a glass
or something into the container, saving as much of the tank water as I
can, 60-70% or something. Move the Betta into that. Then I would take
the tank to the kitchen sink and rinse it out in water that is
approximately the same temp as the water in the tank, using my finger
to judge the temp. Stir around the substrate to get out all the gunk.
One doesn't want to use hot water for this rinsing because there
should be beneficial bacteria growing on the rocks, and one doesn't
want to kill these off. It may be that if your tap water is
chlorinated, then the bacteria in your substrate might be killed
anyway. Then I would move the saved water and Betta back in and fill
up with fresh water.

-Derek

[NetMax]

"Suzie-Q" > wrote in message
...
> I've never had an aquarium and I know little to nothing about
> aquariums,
> but I've decided that I want one. I'm hoping you folks will help me
> from
> time to time when I have questions or problems.

That's the idea and there are lots of knowlegable folks here to help. As
well there are many web sites with good basic newbie info, in particular
http://faq.thekrib.com/

> Meanwhile, I've got myself a betta male in a one-gallon fishtank. He
> eats
> freeze-dried bloodworms (since feeding him the bloodworms he won't eat
> the
> other pellet-type food) and has an aquarium plant that he seems to
> enjoy.
> I have river rocks and glass "beads" on the bottom of the tank.

Sounds good. One gallon bowls can be a little problematic for Bettas
because of the waste build-up (which is addressed by plants and water
changes, as you are doing), and temperature (only 1 gallon can bounce in
temperature a lot, and Bettas are actually tropical fish preferring
warmer than your average ambient room temperature water).

> Two questions:
> 1. Is it okay if he eats nothing but bloodworms, or should I force him
> to eat some of the pellet food by cutting out the bloodworms? (The
> pellet
> food is "Wardley" brand "premium betta food.")

They *do* love their bloodworms (which I think are actually midge fly
larvae). Bettas are somewhat unique in the fish world by being far less
predictable than most fish. Being carnivores, they are relatively (for a
fish) thoughtful planners and schemers. If they want bloodworms and
nothing else, then once they have their handler (you) properly trained,
then they might not go along with a food change voluntairily. Despite
that, it is important that they have a more varied diet. For any fish,
when changing diet, stop feeding them for a couple of days before
introducing the new food. A bridging food is frozen brine shrimp, and
then soft pellets, freeze dried foods etc. I like to offer 3 to 4 types
of food, and if in an unfiltered bowl, I would not feed very much
(equivilant to 2 small pellets, once or twice a day, though opinions will
surely vary on this point).

> 2. I'd like to change the water in the tank. Should I stick with the
> 1/3
> at a time process, or could I scoop the betta out into a container and
> change all of the water?

Derek's procedure is also what I would do. Add de-chlorinator as
applicable. Ideally, a 3 to 5g tank with a small heater and lights would
be a more suitable for a Betta (jmo, but you didn't ask ;~). Generally
speaking, the larger the aquarium, the more stable it is and this can
reduce the maintenance and make a much more pleasant hobby and fish
environment. I say 'generally' as there are many variables, particularly
in regards to the fish-load and ease of water changes. Generally
speaking, a 20g tank is a nice starter size for mixed tropicals (and 3-5g
for Bettas and a few tank-mates).
--
www.NetMax.tk

> I've tried to use one of those tank vacuum things, but it doesn't seem
> to
> get enough of the stuff off the bottom of the tank.
>
> Thanks in advance.
> --
> 8^)~~~ Sue (remove the x to e-mail)
> ~~~~~~
> "I reserve the absolute right to be smarter
> today than I was yesterday." -Adlai Stevenson
>
> http://www.suzanne-eckhardt.com/
> http://www.intergnat.com/malebashing/
> http://www.intergnat.com/pussygames/