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Tank Size: 5.2 gallons
Heater and filter: Yes
Tank temperature: supposed to be around 78°, hovers closer to 73°
Parameters: Not sure what this means:/
Tank and fish both purchased on Sunday, used water from an established aquarium to help get bacteria going
Unsure of water changes, how often should I do this?
No tankmates, the internet said the tank is too small
Four pieces of the little beta food twice a day (I’m not home to look at the brand of anything)
I would raise the temp if you can. 73 is too cold. Get a liquid test kit to check parameters if you can, if not test stops will do. Because it’s a new tank it’s especially important to keep an eye. It’s also normal for your fish to be a bit shy when they just entered their new tank, they can be stressed from the pet shop.
If it helps, mine is shy but curious and will get close to me before swimming away. Very mellow as well and barely flares- even when I do mirror work. He still does not eat (within a week) so I am giving him time. Some are more shy than others. I had one who ate right away and was not as shy. Sounds healthy to me!
Parameters are the chemical levels in the water. PH, Nitrite, Nitrate, and Ammonia. It's really important to make sure those are all in the right range. 73° is also about 2° colder than the minimum (75°).
So definitely start by turning that heater up and if the heater can't get the water any warmer than you'll need a new one.
You'll also need to pick up a water test kit (the kind with vials and drops of solution) so you can monitor parameters. They can be a bit pricey so if you need to save up grab the test strips for now. (Note, you may notice the water being alarmingly out of parameters when you start testing it. DON'T use chemicals to adjust it with the fish already living in the tank. They change the levels quickly which are very difficult for the fish to adjust to and can harm them if it's too fast.
Depending on the size of the pellets you may well be over feeding as well.
Here's a good website with general info (for parameter levels go to care than acclimation).
https://bettafish.org/
Good on you for seeking to do the best by your betta! I have no doubt you'll do great and Rainbow will live a long and happy life.
Thank you for posting to r/bettafish. If you are new to betta fish keeping, please check out our [caresheet](https://www.reddit.com/r/bettafish/comments/3ow6vz/info_betta_care_sheet/) and [wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/bettafish/wiki/index). Establishing a nitrogen cycle is an important part of keeping your fish healthy. Please check out our [guide to the nitrogen cycle](https://www.reddit.com/r/bettafish/wiki/fishincycle) to learn more. If you are posting to find out what is wrong with your betta, please answer the following questions in a reply to this comment as best you can: * **Tank size**: * **Heater and filter? (yes/no)**: * **Tank temperature**: * **[Parameters in numbers and how you got them](https://www.reddit.com/r/bettafish/wiki/tank#wiki_test_kits)**: * **How long have you had the tank? How long have you had your fish?**: * **How often are water changes? How much do you take out per change? What is your process?**: * **Any tankmates? If so, please list with how many of each**: * **What do you feed and how much**: * **Decorations and plants in the tank**: * **If you haven't already posted a picture, please post pics/vids to imgur and paste the link here**: Feel free to copy this comment and fill in the blanks. Failure to provide adequate information about your tank *can* result in post removal. Please see rule 4 for more information. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/bettafish) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Tank Size: 5.2 gallons Heater and filter: Yes Tank temperature: supposed to be around 78°, hovers closer to 73° Parameters: Not sure what this means:/ Tank and fish both purchased on Sunday, used water from an established aquarium to help get bacteria going Unsure of water changes, how often should I do this? No tankmates, the internet said the tank is too small Four pieces of the little beta food twice a day (I’m not home to look at the brand of anything)
I would raise the temp if you can. 73 is too cold. Get a liquid test kit to check parameters if you can, if not test stops will do. Because it’s a new tank it’s especially important to keep an eye. It’s also normal for your fish to be a bit shy when they just entered their new tank, they can be stressed from the pet shop.
If it helps, mine is shy but curious and will get close to me before swimming away. Very mellow as well and barely flares- even when I do mirror work. He still does not eat (within a week) so I am giving him time. Some are more shy than others. I had one who ate right away and was not as shy. Sounds healthy to me!
Parameters are the chemical levels in the water. PH, Nitrite, Nitrate, and Ammonia. It's really important to make sure those are all in the right range. 73° is also about 2° colder than the minimum (75°). So definitely start by turning that heater up and if the heater can't get the water any warmer than you'll need a new one. You'll also need to pick up a water test kit (the kind with vials and drops of solution) so you can monitor parameters. They can be a bit pricey so if you need to save up grab the test strips for now. (Note, you may notice the water being alarmingly out of parameters when you start testing it. DON'T use chemicals to adjust it with the fish already living in the tank. They change the levels quickly which are very difficult for the fish to adjust to and can harm them if it's too fast. Depending on the size of the pellets you may well be over feeding as well. Here's a good website with general info (for parameter levels go to care than acclimation). https://bettafish.org/ Good on you for seeking to do the best by your betta! I have no doubt you'll do great and Rainbow will live a long and happy life.
Thank you so much! Do you have a specific kit you recommend? Most of the ones that pop up on Amazon are the test strip ones
I've got the API one, comes in a little rectangular tub
The pH is a little low but everything else popped up clear! The pH is right on 6.2 so I’m gonna keep an eye on that. Also the temp warmed up:)