I think my fillter doesnt work right but I dont know?

LoveBetta1976

As a few know, im new to having fish and such.
I have had my tank set up for a few days before I put my betta in the tank. Well today I wake up and notice, a bunch of small white bubbles forming at the top of my tanks water on one section of the tank.
The filtter, has been on 24/7. Im starting to worry, that my filtter is not working right or something to see these bubbles form.I will be cleaning that section of the tank to get rid of the bubbles.Unless it isnt nessesary.
My betta loves staying at the top, so I dont know if the bubbles are coming from him or not.
and I have been keeping the fillter on low, instead of high so Im currious, if I should put the fillter on high
Also I had bought a heater for my tank yesterday I am kinda nervous about using it as I have the slightess clue on how it works.

willow

hi
i could be wrong.....however it sounds to me like
he has built himself a bubble nest. :)
nothing to worry about there,
hang in there for other peoples advise though just incase.
could you say what make of heater it is please,
there maybe members here familiar with the make that you have.

LoveBetta1976

I will check on the name of the heater, I bought it at walmart for 8 bucks, its for a 2 to 5 gallon tank.
I will check on the name of it tonight.
and Whew, I thought maybe I was having a bad luck experance with the filter. It would be just my luck lol.
Are bubble nest a good thing for fish to do? Sorry, for being such a fish noob, i just dont wont anything happening to my Betta (Oscar is his name)

willow

hi
:) never worry about asking questions,i'll help as much as i can
any time,
the bubble nest is not a problem,it just means he is in
breeding mood,usually what would happen(i think)
is that he mates with the female,she drops the eggs,he picks them up
and puts them into the bubble nest and looks after them,the female is removed she is of no use now.
he will look after the eggs.

LoveBetta1976

Thats strange, cause I dont have a female or any other fish with him and I dont own another fish just Oscar lol.the pet store didnt have him with any other fish either lol Does this mean I could of bought a fish, with eggs on him or somethn and not know it? Because he is staying at the bubbles and he wont move much from the bubbles. Or would it be wise to buy a female so they can mate? and I had noticed something just now, that looked odd to me, i noticed something white in the tank, that looked like it could have a tail, so Im wondering and conserned if that is an egg. Im so paranoid now l as I just have a 5 gallon fish tank ol

LoveBetta1976

I also just read on yahoo that the bubble nest, could also mean that he feels safe, in the new enviroment that I gave him, and it said, i shouldnt really get a female for the tank as it said the female would kill the male asap
but it can mean he is ready to mate. But I kinda like the he is happy enviroment lol..

willow

hi :)
i think a lot of males do this,even though there is not a female present.
male fighter fish are ment to be on their own,apart from when
there is a female introduced for breeding,and never
put another male fighter fish in there.
as for the white thing i don't know,hang in there
and i'll see what i can russel up.
:)

bettababy

Hi everyone, Willow asked me to stop in and give some input here to help. For starters, the bubbles are likely a bubble nest, which means he is happy and healthy enough to breed. It does not mean he has to breed, and a betta doesn't need another fish to blow a nest. If you break apart the nest you will find he will only go about building another.
The only other thing I know of that will typically cause any type of foaming in the water would be if either soap was used (which would be toxic to the fish) to clean the tank or equip, or if water conditioner was overdosed (also causes a deadly situation)
If you have used water conditioner properly and carefully dosed it according to the directions, then I see nothing to worry about. If the fish is not showing any symptoms of poisoning (which it doesn't sound as if he is) then again, I wouldn't be too concerned.
Is it possible for you to post a picture of it?
As for the heater, read the instructions on the packaging. Most of the small heaters for 5 gallons and under are submersible (go completely under the water) and must stay completely under the water in order to be safe. Set the heater into the water for about 30 minutes, do not plug it in yet. You'll want it to reach water temp before plugging it in, 30 minutes should be plenty. There is not usually a dial to set temp on those heaters, they are designed to keep water at a specific temp (usually 76 - 78) and they take care of themselves. If the heater were to be out of the water, even in part, while plugged in, there is a huge risk of the glass breaking and exposing electricity to water, which can be a fire hazard. The heater should also have come with some type of suction cup/bracket, please make sure you use these. You don't want the heater to rest directly on glass or on the substrate. Again here, pics of the heater and any packaging that it came with would help a lot so we know what type it is.

willow

thank you Dawn,i really appreciate your help.
:)

LoveBetta1976

Hello Willow and Dawn,
thank you guys for all of your help, on this subject, it is very much appreciated,i was very concerned, and worried, now I know I dont have to be concerned or worried.
This is totally shocking to me, as I haven't even had the fish for a week yet.
and it is very interesting learning this stuff. Im very glad I asked about this.
It all makes perceft sence now....
I may consider breeding him, but I will do a lot of researching first before doing so. I wish I could post a photo of the bubbles, but I cant.And when I cleaned the tank I just used hotwater. I didnt' use any soap Right now, the white bubble formation, is the size of a half dollar coin.
Or a little bigger then that.
But not any bigger then that.
and I just checked to see where Oscar was in the tank, and he is right undernet the bubbles still . I guess, he is very happy, and wanting a female , in the tank but Im just not ready yet to breed him.