I found an Abandoned betta, now what??

[kittenfish]

I found a crowntail betta fish in a little bowl outside my dorm building, near a dumpster, in filthy water, half frozen. Coincidentally enough, I had been (attempting) to cycle a ten gallon tank, for about a week, so I scooped him up, put him in a baggie, and let him float in the water in my tank until he perked up, which he did, considerably.

I fell in love with him, named him Archimedes (Archie for short =3 ) and after 24 hours of slowly acclimating him to the water in my tank, I let him loose. He seems to love his new home and is happily frolicking.

Now my dilemma: I have never had a fish or a fishtank before, not even a childhood goldfish in a bowl torture setup. He is in a ten gallon (long) aquarium, alone. It has a TopFin 10 filter (it hangs on the side and has a carbon packet). I hope this is ok, and not too weak, or too strong for a betta. There is a long airbubble pump thing along the bottom of the back, and a heater rated for a 10-15 gal. tank. It also is decorated with plastic plants in the corner, and two little caves, which he likes to rest in.
I fed him a tiny pinch of freeze dried bloodworms which he devoured (he is so skinny ).
I checked the water parameters with a kit I picked up at a LFS, and since the tank had only been running for a week with no media, and no fish, so ammonia, nitrates, and nitrites were all zero. The water here is kind of hard, the pH was 8.0, and I added the recommended dose of lowerer, but it did nothing, so I let it be. The temperature stays at a constant 80 degrees, whether the heater is on or not (hopefully this is ok).

Any advice on how not to kill him would be appreciated. I have grown to adore him in the past 24 hours. Also, I dont really plan on adding anything else to the tank, it'll be just for him (unless I should). Thank you!

Pics of the current setup:

[AuroraAustralis]

I will never understand how someone could be so cruel as to just dump a fish like that. The poor thing can thank his lucky stars you came along and saved him from freezing to death. He will love your tank (it's lovely btw). Keep feeding him tiny amounts only, no matter how hungry (or starved) he looks as he won't be able to digest anything more than a very small amount (he has probably not been fed in some while). Once he has filled back out be sure not to overfeed and stick to a small amount daily, his stomach is only tiny, even when not starved. Try to feed him a varied diet and either don't feed one day a week or give him a tiny bit of pea as it will help to keep his digestive tract clear from blockages. 80 degrees is perfect for him temp wise :thumb: and will no doubt be greatly appreciated after nearly freezing. If you had no fish in your tank to produce ammonia (or you haven't been adding ammonia and fishless cycling) it is not cycled yet. To cycle a tank ammonia must be present. It will take about a month to cycle fully. First ammonia levels will rise, then drop as nitrite levels rise. During this time you will need to test your ammonia and nitrite levels (you will need test kits) and do small partial water changes to stop the levels getting to high and adversely affecting your fish (don't disturb the gravel by vacuuming it while cycling though as it takes longer to cycle). As he is already in a weakened state I would recommend keeping a very close watch on the levels to know when to do a small water change and avoid these toxins stressing him too much. Nitrite will drop as nitrate levels are established (this is the final stage of cycling). At this point there should be no measurable levels of ammonia or nitrites, only nitrates. Nitrates are removed and kept at safe levels by performing regular partial water changes. Read up on cycling in the free ebook here on the forum and if you have any questions just ask. Good luck with your newly rescued friend. You have done a very kind and wonderful thing giving that fish a second chance for a better life :11: :11:

[Lady Hobbs]

That Betta must think he died and went to heaven. I hope it makes it altho he was probably pretty chilled outside.

[holbritter]

You are a very kind person! As already said, keep a good watch on the water. It's going to take longer for the cycling, because of the water changes, but he's gonna need them....but hang in there. Hope everything works out.

[sergo]

do research and heed the stated advice and the fish will be fine. don't hestitate to ask questions and above all... welcome to a.c. :)

[jeffs99dime]

that's horrible! good on ya' for taking the betta in!:thumb:
welcome to a.c.

[Abbeys_Mom]

We ended up with a squirrel that way. Some College kid was feeding it from the time it was a baby and then left school. My sister was visiting the College and the squirrel ran up her leg and got into the pocket of her coat.

I hope your new friend makes it. Keep us posted on how Archie is doing :)

[cocoa_pleco]

NICE TANK.

Once, my buddy found a FULLGROWN common pleco in a little bag outside his apartment. Hes in his own 75g tank now.

[Drumachine09]

Great save on the crowntail!:thumb: :thumb:

[f1oored]

Good story and a very pretty fish. Welcome to the forum.

[Glasstapper]

Oh, how I just love those crowntails! I think if that little guy could talk to you, he would tell you that you're the best thing that ever happened to him. He's very beautiful. I honestly don't see how anyone could just abandon such an awesome fish.

Anyway, I love all the color in your tank! I'm sure your betta is in heaven right now in that big heated and filtered tank all to himself. If you did want to try a few other fish with him, though, you could try a few of those little cory cats for the bottom. Just keep a close eye on them if you decided to try it. Not all bettas will accept a tankmate, but it should be ok since there's plenty of room. Heck, you could probably put a few white cloud minnows in there, too, if he lets you.

Good luck with your betta and welcome to the forum!

[Incredulous_Ed]

hey Welcome to ac! you did good deed by saving the betta! He looks awesome!

[Drumachine09]

Yeah, that Betta sure is a prize!

[Rue]

I'm so glad to hear you adopted the betta! Way to go! The tank will be perfect for him!

[cocoa_pleco]

how can people abandon fish?

CRUEL


:spam: ( change spam on the picket to cruelty) lol

[fishstix88]

good lookin fish and tank! looks kinda like my crowntail :thumb:

[Lauren B.]

Once I entered a pet superstore to buy cat food and found that someone had abandoned their bagged fish at the end of the aisle. They had gone through the trouble of having an enployee catch and bag their fish from the aquarium area, and then had second thoughts. Instead of returning the fish to the aquarium area (or if they were embarrassed by their change of mind, at least abandon it anonymously at a cashier station or customer service counter where it would have been spotted after only a few minutes), they simply left the bag on the floor and pushed it behind a large display. It was wintertime, the store's tiled floor was freezing, and so were the fish. They would have been there for who-knows-how-long, and they would have been dead because they were completely out of the line of sight.

It is unfortunate that people are so selfish and heartless to think that animals are without feelings and disposable. I saw things when I worked at an animal shelter, that supposed self-proclaimed "loving owners" had done to their pets that would turn your stomach and make you lose faith in humanity. The abandoned ones that animal control picked up were in conditions that were unspeakable.

Several weeks ago, while I was still debating on whether or not I had the know-how to maintain an aquarium, I went to the Petfinder.com website to look for fish rescue groups. I wasn't sure if any existed, and I was disappointed to see that none did (or at least not in my part of the state). I was looking forward to adopting a needy, homeless fish.

Bless you and your kind heart for coming to the aid of a needy animal. You get a big gold star in my book!:malelovies: Good luck with your little guy and your aquarium....both are absolutely beautiful!

[cocoa_pleco]

Wal-mart had some sorry @$$ bettas tucked away behind 2g tanks today halfdead. If i had more tanks, id buy em all

[Lauren B.]

Wal-mart had some sorry @$$ bettas tucked away behind 2g tanks today halfdead. If i had more tanks, id buy em all

I know it's tough, and us good hearted people want to help the animals that are in need, but I want to tell you with all honesty that purchasing those bettas, no matter how much you want to save them (and I honestly know you do) would be supporting Wal-mart's live fish selling commerce. They don't know the fish are sick and dying, all they know is "we sold X-amount of live bettas. Next time we order we'll sell at least that many, so we'll order X-amount and then a few more". Then you have even more bettas being ordered and made to live in ill conditions. I know more than anyone it's tough to turn your back on the helpless, but you have to look at the results in the long run. Cocoapleco, I think you already know all of this, but it's hard for our hearts and our love and sympathy not not get the better of us.

This is the same way puppy stores/puppy mill dogs operate. You see a cute-as-pie puppy and you want it. Buying that puppy just guaranteed an order of at least one more puppy from a puppy mill, of which the $$ you just plunked down is keeping the mill running.
*if anyone is unfamiliar with puppy mills, it is a house/farm/property where dishonest people keep dogs in deplorable conditions. The dogs are forced to breed over and over producing more litters than is healthy by any standards. They have little to no vet care and are neglected in every way. The puppy mortality rate is very high, and the mothers are culled or discarded in other ways after they are too ill to produce any more offspring. The so-called breeders/owners are only out for money and care nothing for the dogs at all*.

I don't mean to make this post and forum my soapbox, but a lot of people don't know and aren't aware (up until recently I had no idea about the horrors of dyed and tattooed fish). I think that every member here is an animal lover to some extent, and should become aware that buying certain products (whether it be dyed fish, a puppymill puppy, or a product from a company that has undesirable practices) funds and supports them and keeps them strong and in business.

[cocoa_pleco]

i get what your sayin. If people stoped buying painted fish, there would be no demand anymore, meaning stores dont want em to sell. So the bettas and painted fish are really taking a downfold for future generations of their species, and paving a road to no more cruelty.

[Faith_at_Large]

If you haven't already, I strongly recommend wrapping a filter foam piece around the filter intake - use plain elastic bands to secure it over the filter intake slits and underneath. This material will still allow filtration, but will also protect your betta's lovely finnage from being sucked into the filter tube. I read that this can happen, and I have seen what this tube can do to smaller fish. I now have mine covered.

[cocoa_pleco]

yeah, do what faith said.

For some reason, my honey gourami in my 20g likes to be a dumbass sometimes, and will go by the aquaclears intake and get drawn in.

I think she learnt her lesson now and stays away from intakes

[*Sarah*]

Once I entered a pet superstore to buy cat food and found that someone had abandoned their bagged fish at the end of the aisle. They had gone through the trouble of having an enployee catch and bag their fish from the aquarium area, and then had second thoughts. Instead of returning the fish to the aquarium area (or if they were embarrassed by their change of mind, at least abandon it anonymously at a cashier station or customer service counter where it would have been spotted after only a few minutes), they simply left the bag on the floor and pushed it behind a large display. It was wintertime, the store's tiled floor was freezing, and so were the fish. They would have been there for who-knows-how-long, and they would have been dead because they were completely out of the line of sight.

It is unfortunate that people are so selfish and heartless to think that animals are without feelings and disposable. I saw things when I worked at an animal shelter, that supposed self-proclaimed "loving owners" had done to their pets that would turn your stomach and make you lose faith in humanity. The abandoned ones that animal control picked up were in conditions that were unspeakable.

Several weeks ago, while I was still debating on whether or not I had the know-how to maintain an aquarium, I went to the Petfinder.com website to look for fish rescue groups. I wasn't sure if any existed, and I was disappointed to see that none did (or at least not in my part of the state). I was looking forward to adopting a needy, homeless fish.

Bless you and your kind heart for coming to the aid of a needy animal. You get a big gold star in my book!:malelovies: Good luck with your little guy and your aquarium....both are absolutely beautiful!

I'm with you all the way. I will NEVER understand the cruelty of humanity when it comes to helpless creatures. It makes me sick just thinking about what people have the capacity to do. We are BIG time animal lovers, and we have a Siamese that we adopted from the local SPCA that was picked up as a STRAY! I just can't believe that NO ONE bothered to even look for her :( She is the most wonderful cat imaginable, and I couldn't imagine life without her now:41:

YOu did a great thing saving that Betta, good for you:19: I hope he survives this ordeal.