EVERYTHING

Question
I am so confused now that I came here to your sight. I thought I was doing everything right by our two new little friends we purchased last week. We purchased 2 beta fish, we got one of those little tanks that has a divider down the middle so they cant see one another. The store told as did the directions on their little cups that they came in told me to use distilled water and NEVER tap water because it has chlorine in it. Ive been doing this. I actually had to change their tank twice this week because my little girl got a hold of the fish food and dumped it in all at once, so I quickly put them back in the cups that they came in and cleaned their tank. Well, now one of them is turning white and losing all his color and he just doesnt look so good. Also both keep blowing a lot of bubbles in the top of their tank, is this normal? I guess what I am wanting to know is everything that I can do to keep them healthy and happy. Friends say Im crazy because they are "just fish" but I dont want the poor things to suffer because I am doing somthing wrong. Also, do they need a light? I was just told to get them a little tank, make sure I put in distilled water and feed them twice a day. Any help you can give would be great, I am off to the store right now to look at another tank so maybe they have some more room to move around.

Answer
Hi Becky;

I'm so sorry you got such bad advice. It happens all too often I'm afraid.

You should be using tap water and adding a water conditioner. The water conditioner should remove chlorine, chloramine, as well as help with stress. If your tap water is safe for you to use in your house, it is safe to use for your fish. The water conditioner works instantly so just fill up the tank with water that is the same temperature as the old water and put the fish right in. Distilled water does not have enough minerals and other trace elements to keep fish healthy. It may not appear to hurt them at first, but over a period of weeks the fish become unhealthy and prone to illness. If the store you purchased them from was using it they may be weak now and will benefit from regular tap water. Change their water twice a week if their tanks are less than 1/2 gallon each. If each is a gallon or larger, change the water once a week. Each betta does best in at least a gallon of water. If you have a tank with a filter on it you only need to change 25% of the water every week.

Hopefully with the new water the faded little guy will do better. If you find that he has a whitish slime or fuzz on him he may be infected with bacteria, fungus or protozoans. He needs medication for that. Here is a great page of info for sick bettas;
http://www.bettatalk.com/betta_diseases.htm
Another good one; http://www.petfish.net/betta/diseasemedicationlist.htm

I hope he feels better soon.

Oh, and about those who say they are "just fish"....these aren't a 'pet rock'. It's kind of insensitive for them to say that to you. They are your pets and you have cared enough about them to consider their comfort and well-being. That's a good thing. Even fish are living, breathing, feeling animals that don't have the choice where to live and they depend on us to provide for their every need. It's a responsibility as well as providing a sense of joy and happiness to provide for our pets no matter what kind they are. I'm glad you have them instead of a "they're just fish" person. ;-)

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins