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first off, a 2.5 gal is too small for white clouds and they should be in a school.


Last edited by von dutch at 10-Oct-2005 05:40

~elaine~

Thats not what the lfs told me when I asked himhe said they would be fine in a pair and in the tank size I had with the betta did he tell me wrong?? If so what size tank do they need and how many of them need to be together? Also please still answer my first question about my betta I really am worried about him thanks.

Ok I will try to answer both of your questions. First off some bettas just tend to be calmer (for lack of a better term) than others and don't do much. It could however also be something to do with the white clouds also beign in there considering they are crowding the tank. Schooling fish do best in groups of 3 or more I have found. Atleast a 10 gallon tank for them woudl be good. If you really want your betta to have a "buddy" of some sort, I have heard of people puttign a ghost shrimp or snail in there with him or maybe even a dwarf frog. Try gettign those white clouds out of there and see how your betta does after that. If that doesn't work then maybe somethign else will need to be done. I really hope that I have helped.

Oh yea sidenote... a lot of the pet store guys don't exactly know what they are talkign abotu SEVERAL times I have overheard or even been told something completely wrong, I have also read forums on here from people that have heard wrong things too. So, you cannot always believe what they tell you, try talking to someone you KNOW has experience with them and knows what they are talkign about, once again good luck.

Hey ashes welcome to the site!
As has already been pointed out some (okay many) LFS employees dont exactly give the best information. White cloud mountain minnows (WCMM) are very active fish. They may also be nipping a bit at the longer fins of the betta. I have a school of 6 in my 20 gallon and they chase the zebra danios around....and zebras are often considerd some of the craziest fish :%).

Another thing to consider other than being pestered by the WCMM's is that bettas often get very sluggish in lower temperatures. Many LFS's will forget to inform new betta owners that they are tropical fish and DO need heat. I noticed this first hand when I spotted my sister keeping one in an unheated vase . He perked up just as soon as I liberated him from her and got a small heater. What temperature is the tank at? It's also not entirely uncommon for bettas to rest from time to time either on plants or on the bottom.

My suggestion is to get a larger tank for the WCMMs. A 20 gallon would be preferable, a 10 is still a bit on the small size for the activity level of these fish. And a heater for the betta. If you cannot buy a larger tank talk to the LFS about returning the WCMM for store credit (put it towards the heater ). Explain the fact that the information the employee provided was inaccurate if they give you a hard time .

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If you do not want to get a heater you can also get a light, that is all i have ever needed for my betta tank who is in a 2-2.5 gallon tank i do not remember what it said on the box. It came with a light and that is more than sufficient for mine. He is perfectly content in his tank and VERY active.

Thanks all for the info and the welcoming to FP. If I had known the white clouds needed that much room I would have never gotten them. I live with my grandma and she won't let me get anything bigger:#( all just have to see what I can do. The white clouds don't bother my betta at all if anything there afraid of himany time he gets to close to them they swim away and give him his space. The only ones they bother are eachotherthey always look like there playing tag and seem really happy. I feel so badI just wanted my betta to have some friends to keep him company when I was at school and at work.

The temp in the tank is always 70-80F I even have a small heater in my room to keep it that way not only for my fish but for my hermit crabs. My betta was vary active and seemed happy when I got him last month on the 16th is it just that he's calmed down and settled into his tank? His favorite resting places seem to be in his hiding cave and behind a small plastic plant up against the tank wall. What is the smallest tank I can use for the 2 white clouds b/c a 10 or 20 is out of the question my grandma is so anti-pet it drives me nuts:%)thanks again for the help...

If you cannot do anything with the white clouds you coudl take them back to the lfs and see if they will give you a refund. Bettas are solitary fish they really do not need company, but if you really want him to have a buddy you could get a snail, ghost shrimp, or dwarf frog, really all he needs is a plant and food and of course a good clean water and warm enviroment and he is pretty darned content forever if you keep him up. They are quite content alone I promise, actually puttign them wiht other fish can actually "depress" them because the other fish will sometimes nip at their fins... well good luck I hope I have helped you out.

Well I took my betta boy out of the 2.5gal today and put him in a 1gal bowl I got at walmart with some new fish gravle and plastic plants to hide in/behindI hope he gets better his long tails are sticking togetherHe was like that when I got up today thats why I moved himI really hope he doesn't die on me i'm so worried:#(Does anyone know why his tails would stick together??

The 2 white clouds are still in the 2.5gal and seem happy and eat real good. For now thats just were they will have to stay the lfs wouldn't take them back]:|

Hi I have a male betta named Big Red in a 2.5gal with two small white clouds. In the tank is 3 platic plants and a nice hiding cave. I'm worried becouse just recently he has been spending time resting on the bottom alot but he still eats real good is there somthing wrong or am I just worrying to much?? Any help is much appreciated.

Hi yes my betta boy is looking better every day and he eats normaly now as well. My WC are doing great the male displayes to the 2 females all the time it's cool to watch. Thanks for checking in oh and I have a question. My teacher is setting up a 10g tank at school what do you think will be a good mix of fish for it?
It's going to have live plants and plastic, a wisper in tank filter, and fish rocks for the floor.

Just wondering, but how is the lil guy doin? and the white clouds? I thought I woudl check in jsut to make sure they were still doing well!

That's GREAT Ashes. I am so happy he is doing better! I hope your white clouds like their new home as well! Good luck with all of them.

Update: My betta boy is feeling much better I even got him to eat some freez dryed blood worms this morningI'm so happy it's the first time i've gotten him to eat in a little over a week. As for my white clouds I got them the tank they needed and now have a group of 3 (1 boy 2 girls)that seem to be doing good. Thank you all for your help!

Hi well I went a head and got some of those fungus clear tank buddies and just added a little of that to his bowl. He seems more active but still not eating. I had tryed the mashing of the green peas and adding it to his bowl but it didn't seem to help. I even got that hikari beta food but he still wont eat. I'm ganna try again tomarrow sence he seemed to be feeling better.

Callatya,
No he wasn't on his side at all he just seemed to float back up to the top of the water when he tryed to swim down. The temp runs between 75-80F no heater for the bowl but I have a small space heater in my room to keep it at a pritty steady temp.

Ashes, is he floating on his side and struggling to get back down?

What is the temperature of the bowl?

If you have some antibiotics, I think now is a good time to use them on him, as to me, it sounds like an infection.

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Get some green peas, and warm them and mush a couple into the tank with him, he may be constipated and this will help Also didn't read all the way through so i apologize if it's been mentioned or if you've answered the question before, but get some hikari beta food for him, i haven't seen a beta or other fish that can turn them down
heidi

"I've got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom." Thomas Carlyle

Update: PLEASE HELP:#(my betta boy has stopped eating and now it looks like hes stuck at the top and can't swim to the bottom when he does he just floats back up to the topwhat is this??? Please help I don't know whats wrong thanks.

Thanks for the information I didn't know they could make there tails/fins stick together like that. All keep a close eye in him and hope for the best. The room he is in has a small space heater that is always clicking on and off to keep the room at a steady temp so i'm sure he is fine. Thanks again for the information and comments if anyone has more information feel free to add on!

Not surprising that they wont ...honestly I suggest you find a real LFS...one that handles just fish, or at least has a really good fish section. It may take some looking but it will really be worth it in the end.

As for the betta....stress can make them clamp their fins together. That is likely the case although it could be something more. Keep very good water quality especially since it's such a small ammount. I'd suggest daily water changes of about 50%. You can buy a small gravel vac either online or at your LFS like [link=this one]http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=19133;category_id=2001;pcid1=3347;pcid2=" style="COLOR: #EB4288[/link]. Be sure the temp of the new water matches the temp of the tank and dont forget to add dechlor.
Keep it calm and quiet around the betta as well, at least till he gets used to his new home . You'll also want to double check that his bowl doesnt shift in temperature more than one to two degrees during the day...that is a huge stress factor for fish, and such a small body of water is likely to shift rather easily.
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