Getting a small bowl setup for my first fish!

[gutsofgold]

Hey all
I just got a beautiful betta fish as my first fish and I want to do things right.
I have some fake plants and a small little Buddha ornament (all purchased at Petsmart) that will go in his bowl. Its a smaller bowl...well coffee pot to be exact but its still much bigger than the betta bowls I saw at Petsmart.

I also have white gravel that is going in. For the water I bought two things. TopFin Betta Water Conditioner and BettaCare Bowl Buddies.

I would like to know how to...
-Clean the gravel correctly
-How much gravel to use
-Treat the water correctly before putting it in the bowl (pot)
-Cleaning the bowl
-And how to move the fish

I basically just need a walk through to keep my fish going strong.
If at all possible I would like to know how to get his bowl started correctly now and also...how to clean it the right way every week or so.

Thanks!

[William]

Do you know the volume of the bowl?

[gutsofgold]

12 cup bowl...

[William]

ok
-Clean the gravel correctly
rinse it several times before putting it in the bowl. only use water.

-How much gravel to use.
thats up to you. no gravel is "needed".

-Treat the water correctly before putting it in the bowl (pot)
Depends on the water parameters in yoru area.

-Cleaning the bowl
Remove the debrise and change 2 cups of water every other day. Make sure the new water has roughly the same temp as the old.

-And how to move the fish
what do you keep it in now?

[MagickFish]

I was wndering the same thing. I hope the poor fish has not been in the plastic bag for days waiting for his tank to be ready, for then I fear one will have a eaiter weary dead or wery unhappy or both betta.

[gutsofgold]

Thanks for the replies so far.
Just to let you know...my betta was waiting in the plastic container he came in when I bought him.

He is in his bowl now however...the water seems a bit cloudy and he seems to be loosing his darker color. His dark blues are now neutral blues and his once dark green/dark blue body seems to be getting much whiter. Is this a bad sign?

I feed him two betta pellets three times a day
The gravel and bowl were both cleaned and air dryed
The water was treated

Any suggestions?

[DemonShark]

You should feed more betta pellets and also give him a variety of food also you must make water changes which mean taking out about 1/3 of the water and replacing it with new water also watch out for clorine or clormine which can make the fish ill

[William]

Your betta sounds stressed. How is your nitrite/nitrate and ammonia levels?

[DemonShark]

o i thought it was under feeding

[William]

Overfeeding is a likely cause of the problem. Stress due to high nitrite/nitrate and ammonia levels the results.

[DemonShark]

o i didnt think of that

[AQUA_KING]

One thing take out the plastic plants. They look fake and can cut and tare a bettas soft fins. This can lead to infection and finally the death of your betta. real plants can be a hiding place and look nicer. If you want fake get silk.