Help

[kdr76]

Im a first time fish owner! I got my first betta about a week ago. I had him in a 1 gallon tank with an aerator and added 2 guppies and 2 neon tetras to the tank this past Tuesday and 1 tetra pretty much died right away and yesterday i noticed that the other one was spinning in place (side over side) and he was dead today. When i was taking him out i noticed some stuff on my betta and i am assuming that it is fungus cause it looks like mold and he's pretty slugish. i went and bought him his own bowl and treated the water in the bowl with Fungus Eliminator by Jungle. Now, do i just wait or what? I also cleaned out, changed the gravel and treated the 1 gallon tank that he was in. Im hoping my 2 guppies are ok. And how do i tell if my guppies are male or female?

Betta=Amercian (my son named him this since he is red and blue!)
orange guppie=Hannibal (he likes to bite)
black guppie=Sphincter

 

[CSM]

Welcome to the hobby.

I'll try and point out some facts and hopefully other people will fill in the details or correct me if i'm wrong.

General rule of thumb is 1 inch of fish needs 1 gallon of water. So by this reasoning. you tank is overstocked.

The tank needs to cycle first before you add fish to it. This site has some very good information about cycling. Basically this is how the good bacteria gets established in the tank. This keeps the ammonia levels down.

i made the same mistake you did when I started up my 5 gal. tank. I added my betta first than a pair of guppies. The guppies lived about a week before they died I assume due to the high ammonia levels.

Don't get discouraged. there is just some stuff you need to learn
Jason

 

[kdr76]

The bettas was dead when i got up this morning. Im going to a pet store today to get a new betta. (i got the other one at walmart :-\ ) should i totally change out the water and rocks? im still new at this!

 

[PreciousGems]

Rinse out everything with HOT HOT HOT water and let everything air dry. NEVER EVER EVER put more than 1 fish in a 1 gallon bowl. Was your water dechlorinated/dechloramined? If not, pick up some Stress Coat or let your water sit out a day in advance. Aging the water for 24 hours at least will evaporate all the bad chemicals. I don't trust my stress coat to treat the water, although people say it works, so I always have 2 gallons of aged water on hand. Don't worry about cycling, you only have to cycle for 3-5+ gallon tanks.

 

[lizwinz]

if you keep putting fish in that tiny tank they will most likely die i would take them back and start over with a larger tank

but if your sticking with the 1gal you should take those fish back and clean it and cycle it before you add more fish (or you'll just keep having the same problems) if you have had disease in your tank hot water might not cut it...youd want to clean everything with a bleach and water solution then rinse like crazy until you no longer smell bleach and then declorinate with dechlorinator

also leaving water out for 24 hours does not always remove harmful chemicals...you should check with your water board to see if they add chloramine, chloramine is chlorine bonded with ammonia and is much more stable in water than chlorine and it does not leave the water just by letting it sit for 24 hours, you need a water conditioner to nuetralize it, it is very harmful to fish

also cycling is a must no matter what size tank...in an uncycled tank ammonia and nitrite can build up and stress your fish causing illness and eventually death...small tanks also leave little room for error because there is not as much water to dilute ammonia and nitrite spikes

imo you would do better with a larger tank, at least 10gal, it would be easier to keep it healthy and you could fit a betta and maybe a few small friends for him without overstocking...a betta (or any other fish for that matter) really deserves a larger tank, he would be happier, healthier and live longer...i personally wouldnt keep anything in a 1gal tank

sorry about the super long post (i hope i didnt scare you ) i hope things improve for you (no matter what you decide to do) and good luck with your fishies

-liz

 

[lizwinz]

i forgot to mention that guppies and tetras do not do well in an unheated tank, while bettas can survive without a heater most other tropicals cannot....bettas are healthier in a heated tank as well imo

--liz

 

[prhelp]

Hi kdr -- I'm pretty new here myself, but I just got done cycling a 29g tank, and in preparing to do that, I read BOATLOADS of stuff. One thing I learned -- the most important thing, I think -- was that it is much easier to start with a larger tank than a smaller one, because in a small tank, temperature and other water conditions can fluctuate more quickly than you can keep up!

Seriously -- if you can at all afford it, get a 10 gallon -- you'll have a lot more fun, will be able to do a lot more stuff, and your fish will be happier. It'll be a LOT easier than hassling with a one gallon (which should really only keep one small fish -- and even then, you're going to be working a lot harder than you will with a 10 gallon).

If you want to go the 10 gal route, let us know -- I and everyone else here will help you out all the way! Enjoy!

 

[amishfignewton]

everyone starts out with a betta in a 1 gallon, before she knows it she will be sitting in her living room looking at her brand new 180 gallon, next to the 29 and 55 gallons... like the rest of us.. lol

 

[prhelp]

oh, DOH me -- I noticed you had a newer threat with your 10 gallon story. Sorry, and congrats!

 

[kdr76]

That's ok!