Betta Disaster

"thewes" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi, I'm new to googlegroups so i apologize in advance lol. Anyway this
was my original dilemma. I have three male bettas in a ten gallon tank,
separated of course (too small for three? i know..ive been kinda
thinking about that lately...).

Ten gallons is heaps enough room for three!


.. Being new to owning bettas, i thought their water seemed a bit
too cold for them (low 60s at the bottom of the tank)

Yes, it is much too cold. Bettas hate big temperature fluctuations, and do
best in water around 78 - 80 F. Get a heater, otherwise they'll keep on
falling prey to ich and fin rot. What's more, higher temps make the ich
greeblies complete their life cycle faster, and therefore quicker to treat.


So this vomit/decaying food
matter/etc is lingering at the bottom of my tank...and im figuring i
need to get busy and siphon out the bottom....but i cant! the fish are
so stressed because of the water temp craziness that they would
probably flip out and die after i terrorized them thouroughly with a
siphon in their homes.

No they won't. A clean environment is a necessity, especially if they've
got ich and fin rot.

Do a 50% water change and siphon the bottom of the tank. Keep up the
Rid-Ich treatment for the full 7 days, and remember to do a 25% water change
before each new dose. Do another big water change after treatment, use
Melafix or Bettafix and add a bit of salt to the water (1 tsp per gallon).
Keep testing for ammonia and nitrite frequently, in case the Rid-Ich has
affected the biological filter. And make sure you get that heater. Good
luck

Vicki PS