Q: Smelly Water

Answered by Tviokh on 10/6/03, 2:26 pm

A: Problem = bowl.

> Tank History:
> 1/2 gallon bowl since April 03
> Water changes 3x a month - 2 85%% 1 50%%
> No water filter
> Feeding 4 pellets (TopFin Betta Bits) once inthe AM once in
> the PM skip Sat and Sun

First and foremost, this is a WHOLLY inappropriate setup for any fish and is quite honestly why you're having this problem.

Foul smell and cloudiness are usually caused by a combination of waste buildup and bacterial blooms.
High ammonia levels, which are commonplace in bowls, can also cause both.

In this case, it's likely high ammonia, and the betta is NOT okay.
He seems 'droopy' because he's receiving a constant dose of chemical burns and it's stressing him terribly.

The worst thing you could've done was throw out his gravel; you threw out any bacterial colony that may have had a chance to build up in doing that.
That also solidifies my thought that this is ammonia, not bacteria.

For now, take a sample of this water to your pet store and have them test it; chances are your ammonia is off the scale.
Your nitrates and nitrites are bound to be high as well.

Pick up some Bio Spira (http://fishstoretn.com/bio_spira.html) immediately as well, as it's essentially refrigerated 'good' bacteria for a tank.
You'll also need to get this poor guy into better housing, as he is not in an appropriate home, and this problem will recur if he's kept in such an enclosure.


From my Betta FAQ:
Bettas, or any fish for that matter, should not be kept in vases or bowls.

Why?

Contrary to popular myth, bettas do not ''live in tiny puddles'' in the wild. They DO live in rice paddies and shallow streams; neither of these amount to ''small puddles''.
Rice paddies, if you've never seen one, are very large and have quite a bit of water in them. Yes, the water is shallow, but there's a LOT of it, and it's always in motion due to people and animals moving through it, and due to the wind.
This movement helps keep the water oxygenated and livable

In a bowl, vase, or other small unfiltered container, the water is essentially stagnant.

A fishbowl would be akin to you living in a small bathroom, with a toilet that doesn't flush, that has someone stopping by once or twice daily to feed you and stopping by once every few days to clean up...if you're lucky.

Since many people get bad information from stores, well meaning friends, etc, they tend to think it's okay to only clean the bowl once every week or three.
Without filtration of any kind, or at LEAST daily partial water changes, the fish literally gets to swim around in its own waste.
Over time that waste gets more and more concentrated, stresses the fish (fish waste has ammonia, which burns), and has a devestating impact on the fish's health.

Other reasons bowls, vases, etc..are not appropriate for bettas:

1) Bettas are TROPICAL fish. They require temperatures of 76-78 degrees to thrive. Unless you keep your house that hot, the water is too cold.

2) Bettas need a tank with filtration. There is no filtration in a bowl, and high levels of ammonia, nitrates and nitrites build up extremely quickly. These can kill a fish in a matter of days.
If you insist on keeping the betta in a vase/bowl, she will NEED to do 15%%-20%% water changes every single day and 50%%-60%% water changes once per week.

Ammonia in a bowl will spike just a few hours after a water change; if you are only cleaning your bowl 1-2 times per week or less, your fish is essentially being burned by ammonia 24 hours per day between cleanings.

If you want to get an idea of what it's like for your fish, fill up a bucket of cool water, add some pure ammonia, keep your eyes and mouth open, and dunk your head in.
Breathe in a little through your nose for the full effect.
Obviously I'm not seriously suggesting you do this, as you would suffer painful burns to your eyes & mucous membranes.

However, this is what your fish feels, only your fish can't get out of it. Day in and day out his gills, skin, eyes, mouth and fins (all of which have nerve endings) are being constantly burned by the ammonia from his waste.

In an uncycled, unfiltered bowl, ammonia spikes just HOURS after a water change, and remains high until you next decide it's convenient for you to change the water.

While this may not kill the fish immediately, and you may not see outward signs, it is happening. If your ammonia readings are ever above 0ppm, they are too high.

Ammonia laced water is extremely painful for the fish, and stresses them a great deal. It can also cause gill damage, and cause fins to take on a 'melting' appearance; they ARE actually being burned off.
Stressed fish are also more likely to become ill, have recurring illness, and die well before their lifespan should be up.

Bettas can live 2-4 years when kept in proper conditions.
Bettas kept in bowls, 'betta towers', vases, etc..tend to live 6-8 months.

3) The plant (if there is one) can cause problems. The plant in vases sucks nutrients out of the water, the roots also take up precious space in the small (yes, even a 3 gallon vase is small) enclosure. The last thing a fish kept in already cramped quarters needs is more space restrictions. The plant also blocks the top, which helps prevent movement in the water and natural circulation and oxgyenation; over a period of time, the betta will begin to become oxygen starved. The betta IS able to gulp air from the surface with its labyrinth organ, but this is still extremely stressful on the fish. In addition, the plant's base/roots being at the top tend to prevent it from doing this. That stress, coupled with the stress from high ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite levels, AND coupled with the cool water temps is more than enough to kill a fish.
Underwater aquatic plants, on the other hand, are beneficial.

4) What exactly is the recommended food? :) Just as an example, this is what I feed my bettas:
Hikari Betta Bio Gold
Bloodworms
Brine Shrimp
Wingless Fruitflies
Chopped pea.
Daphnia
Tubifex Worms
Live black worms (when I can get them)
Just as an aside, none of my bettas have every liked Wardley foods. YMMV. :)

5) Another question in this vein: How often do you feed the fish? Contrary to what pet stores tell you, bettas should be fed every day or at least every other day.

6) How often are you doing partial water changes? If it's not every day, it's not often enough.

7) When you DO do water changes, DO NOT dump all the water, scrub the gravel, etc...if she's scrubbing and dumping all of the water, that could be part of what's doing it.
Even though bowls/vases have poor filtratrion and biological activity it IS there, and doing a ''full cleaning'' like that destroys any beneficial bacterial colonies that may have built up.

8) How large is the bowl/vase? If it's under 3 gallons, it's TOO SMALL! Bettas do not live in ''small stagnant puddles'' in the wild. They live in rice paddies, which are more like flood plains, are not small, and are not stagnant, and they live in shallow streams and rivers in the same area.
They do not live in ''tiny puddles''; this is a myth spread by pet stores and ignorant owners.

So, what do I recommend you do?

Put together this list, and head for the pet store to buy:

1) A five gallon tank
2) A Penguin Bio Wheel Mini
3) A 10W heater
4) A thermometer so she can keep the temp stable.
5) At least one SILK plant (plastic plants can tear a betta's fins; even plastic plants that feel 'smooth' to us can shred a betta's fins like a razor blade.)
6) A clip on light
7) A small bag of gravel, if you want one..it's not necessary in a tank with biowheel filtration.

If you want to buy a kit, Eclipse System Three, or a smaller Eclipse Explorer would work as well, however it's more expensive that way.

Once you get all that, get it home and set up. DO NOT DUMP THE VASE WATER! You'll need it.

Get water temperature in the tank close to what the temp in the bowl/vase is.

Put the betta, ALL of his vase water, and ALL of the gravel into the tank.

After an hour or so, start slowly raising the water temp until it's 76 degrees.

I've kept bettas in a setup as mentioned above for several years, and haven't had one betta die young. :)

You'll find that her betta is much more active and well colored in a larger, heated, lighted tank too.

Also, don't feel bad for not knowing about how bad vases/bowls are...I fell into that trap when I first started keeping bettas too..I used to use those awful BettaHex things(I'm sure you've seen them), and lost a LOT of fish before I figured it had to be something I was doing wrong...and I'm VERY glad I did my research before trying with bettas again. :)

You may also find the following sites helpful:
http://www.healthybetta.com
http://www.bettadreams.com