Dirty Tank or Immediate Attention?

[noraoodle]

So I recently had went to petsmart and picked up my new male twin tail halfmoon betta fish. Throughout the research I have done, when first getting a betta fish you are supposed to clean the tank for the first 6 weeks weekly and then transition over to 2 weeks per cleaning. The girl who helped me said 2 weeks from the start due to the food im giving him (pellets).

I started to notice these slow moving mucus thing with white tiny pecks in them. I examined him to make sure it was not growing ich or too many nutrients etc. They seem to be growing on the plants and the pebbles.

Is it just the fact his tank may need a quick cleaning or can I let him stay in this condition for an extra week?

 

[Essjay]

Fish tanks should have water changes every week once they are cycled, and it should be cleaned at the same time - hoovering up debris from the bottom of the tank unless the tank has a lot of live plants. However with a tank that is not cycled, water changes should be done more frequently.

Do not believe anything a shop worker says until you have researched it for yourself.


We need a few more details from you about your set up.

How big is it? (2.5 gallons/10 litres is the absolute minimum with 5 gallons/20 litres or bigger being preferable)
Does it have a heater? (Bettas are tropical fish)
Does it have a filter? (If the tank is very heavily planted with live plants you might get away without a filter otherwise one is needed)
Did you cycle the tank before buying the betta? (This is done by adding ammonia. If you didn't do this, the tank is not cycled)
Do you have testers for ammonia and nitrite? (If the tank is not cycled, you need to measure these every day until it is cycled)

Once we have the answers to these questions we'll be in a better position to advise you.