# My Betta Fish Isn't Eating(continued)



## kevinoh33 (Jan 1, 2008)

I added a post earlier about my betta fish not eating And its still not eating.... I'm really worried about him. today i got him some different food, but he just spits it out. i thinki he liked the old ones better....
He floats on the top doing nothing, but he is not dead. maybe the water temperature is too cold??? today, i got him a big 10 gallon tank  with a heater. by tomarrow he would be able to live in it.... I'm still worried that my fish isn't eating!!!



Read my other post:
wut types of fish should i put in wit my betta?


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## It'sJames (Nov 15, 2007)

How long have you had him? Bettas don't always adjust to new foods quickly. I bought a new female betta on Saturday, and so far she won't take the Hikari betta food I offered, only frozen bloodworms. My male betta loves it though - he actually jumps out of the water at feeding time! Just give you betta some time, and offer different foods. 

Also, about your other post... I wouldn't add any other fish to the new 10 gallon right away. An aquarium needs to be cycled before being overloaded with too many fish. Even if you go with the right amount of fish for the tank, adding them all at the same time could kill them. Since the tank isn't cycled for the betta, do some extra water changes to keep the ammonia down.


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## MegK (Aug 23, 2007)

bettas usually spit out the food to soften it before eating. have u watched him long enough to kno if he eats it after he spits it out, or do u just remove the food?


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## KikiNBatta (Jan 2, 2008)

Bettas are generally known for being picky eaters. It might take some time for it to really get used to it. Or maybe it's full, picky, softening it, or sick. Those are the 3 things I know of that would make it spit out its food. Your betta is probably softening the food or a little picky =)

PS: What does 'cycled' mean?


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## Oldman47 (Sep 7, 2007)

Cycling refers to the process of allowing the tank to accumulate the needed bacteria to deal with the ammonia that comes from fish being in the tank. The bacteria ultimately will get to the point of converting toxic ammonia to the almost non-toxic, at least by comparison, nitrates. Try a quick read here to get an idea of it. http://www.fishforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=3738


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## KikiNBatta (Jan 2, 2008)

Oh, okay! Thanks for the link. Is cycling always required? If not, my fishie will be in his new home soon, but if so, I'll try to make heads or fins out of how to cycle!!  I think that the tank has been used before - I'm going to clean it out a few times with just hot water. Come to think of it, I might use boiling; or would that deplete any good bacteria =?

(I posted nearly the same thing on another board - not trying to spam, just say thanks along with getting multiple opinions)


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## Sushi (Dec 31, 2007)

He'll love the tank. Maybe he'll be so happy that he'll start eating. I think he'll eat when he is hungary enough. But, i think i said this before, it takes at least two weeks for a betta to starve to death, so you have time to try a lot of new things. It'll all work out.


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## It'sJames (Nov 15, 2007)

Hey KikiNBatta, boiling or even washing in hot water would kill the bacteria. Unless the tank you're going to use was kept full of water, the bacteria are probably already gone. Once the tank/gravel/filter dries out, the beneficial bacteria will mostly be wiped out.


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## KikiNBatta (Jan 2, 2008)

Actually, there's no filter or gravel (it's so annoying, trying to get all of the dirt off of gravel - I've given up on gravel completely).
It has been sitting on a shelf, gathering dust. No water in it or anything, just dust. I already washed it with hot water - now it's just sitting on my counter and has water standing in it, until I can decide what to do with it next. Would it actually hurt my fish to be put into it? (After putting fresh, dechlorinated water into it, of course)


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## It'sJames (Nov 15, 2007)

Putting fish into an uncycled tank can definatly hurt, or even kill them. It depends on the type of fish you want to put in and how many, but I would certainly cycle it.


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## KikiNBatta (Jan 2, 2008)

I'm planning on putting one male betta into it - nothing else. 
I don't think that it would hurt him, because the betta we have now was put into a (rather small) tank as soon as we bought it and washed it out. Less than an hour passed before putting him into it, and he is happy...bubble nest and everything. So it would be okay, wouldn't it? :-/


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## Oldman47 (Sep 7, 2007)

If your betta is already in an uncycled small container, it will be no worse off to have more swimming room. The ammonia build up will depend on how much food and poop is in the water. As long as you remove uneaten food, all of it right now based on the post, the ammonia build up will be slow. It will be much slower in a larger container than a small one which will give you more time to deal with it.


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