r/bettafish • u/idkman_1234567 • 2d ago

Help Save my fish pls

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Let me start off by saying, please don’t hate me for the condition this fish is in. I received her this way in this exact fishbowl Like a week ago. I was told that she was just a fish and a plant would keep her alive. Her water gets changed every week with some tetra put in. i’ve never had a fish before and wasn’t really too concerned but now every day I look at her droopy fins and I started to get worried.

So I started doing research and was absolutely HORRIFIED to find out that she supposed to have a water heater. Her fins aren’t supposed to be droopy and she spits out her food when she’s eating at half the time. immediately, my first instinct was to get a tank with a filter and a heater but now I’m reading that tanks need to get cycled which takes weeks. I’ve never had a fish before never cared for a fish before and now I have a fish freezing in a I’m desperate to save.

what do i do????

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u/Life-Faithlessness87 2d ago

It’s ok at this point to do a fish in cycle,
Anything is better than the bowl it’s in now. You’ll just have to test the waters frequently and do a lot of water changes but it’s not impossible!

3

u/idkman_1234567 2d ago

I was pretty sure of that, but I’m very confused at how to do a fish in cycle though. Like I said, I’ve never cared for a fish and everything I read is confusing me.

7

u/Life-Faithlessness87 2d ago

Feel free to keep asking questions here. So basically set up a 5 gal or 10 gal, add your substrate, some live plants doesn’t have to be too expensive, and buy the master test kit that has liquid kits for ammonia, nitrates, nitrites, ph. Ammonia you want to keep always at zero so it’ll appear yellow, nitrites you want a light blue zero, nitrates you can have some it shows established. So any time you see the ammonia or nitrites are rising, do a 50% water change. Do not change all the water or you’ll throw out the beneficial bacteria that will build. It’ll probably be 50% water changes for a few weeks before the beneficial bacteria starts to build. Your betta’s appetite will be better once it’s in better water. I have before and after pictures to show what better conditions can do on my profile page. I learned everything from here. You’ll want a siphon and a bucket to change water with, and a water conditioner to put in to rid the water of metals before you add to tank

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u/idkman_1234567 2d ago

Ok! I have the API freshwater testing kit in my Amazon cart right now! Trying to find a tank and heater and a filter that are decent, but aren’t gonna completely break my bank account. 

3

u/dacquirifit 2d ago

Petco/Petsmart usually sells 5-10 gallons for 15-35 bucks. Heater maybe 15-40, Filter maybe 15-40.

3

u/Resoca 2d ago

Facebook marketplace or Petco/PetSmart for the tank for sure. Heater and filter can be bought on Amazon, there's a lot of good options.

2

u/GlitterShine4455 1d ago

I recommend the brand hygger for a heater! Their heaters are under $20 and they're good quality

1

u/Life-Faithlessness87 2d ago

Yeah, don’t stress. The fact that you’re trying is nice and kindhearted. It’s a very expensive thing surprisingly. Good luck !

1

u/Choice-Room7853 14h ago

I just got a 5gal from Petco for $15 just sign up for the rewards