Is It Still Pretty Bad To Put A Beta Into An Uncycled Tank?

[afh5073@gmail.com]

Cuz it seems like they are usually in those kind of situations. Could you use a beta to maybe cycle a small tank without harming him?

 

[stang1]

I wouldn't recomend using any fish to cycle a tank, it's not fair on the fish.
What sort of tank are you planning on keeping one in?

 

[afh5073@gmail.com]

LOl i cant beleive I made my name my email wtf

anyways yea I know thats why i'm asking. I just hattte the thought of testing and waiting a month for a fishless cycle. And it kinda seems like people always just throw betas into little uncycled bowls and whatnot. I don't know what kind of tank I want. I'm gonna go out and buy all the gear sometime soon. I used to be super into fish keeping but I've moved a ton of times and have had to get rid of all my stuff, but I really wanna get back into it.

 

[*Fishkies*]

!!!


Putting a betta in an uncycled tank is really not always good, however the little buggers are quite tough, so if they need to be in one they can manage for a little. Good Luck!!

you'll love it when you get back into fish again!

 

[Xavier]

no joke those bettas are pretty hardy.

 

[SouthernCross]

If its possible get some filter media from an established tank and it'll speed the cycling process right up - you might even be able to get enough to effectively clone the filter and it will be instantly cycled. I transferred filter media from my community to my new betta tank and it worked great being such a little tank and betta producing so little waste there were no huge dramas.

 

[Amunet]

Most bettas are very hardy so you could, but of course it's not recommended.
You'll have to watch the water parameters and make sure to do water changes frequently to keep ammonia & nitrite lvls (when you get them) down as low as possible.

 

[OohFeeshy]

The point you're missing is that betta tanks generally aren't cycled- theres no need. While on a general community tank, you'll change 20, 25% a week, on a betta tank the water changes are more frequent, so theres no oppertunity for ammonia or similar to build up.

 

[dwarfgourami]

As Oohfeeshy said. Traditional betta tanks are simply not cycled at all- instead frequent and big water changes are done so as to prevent any build-up of ammonia. Provided you do this religiously it isn't cruel, but the point is that you never let the ammonia build up, so there won;'t be anything to sustain a colony of ammonia-eating bacteria; in other words, it doesn't do anything towards cycling.

 

[gilaesther]

In another topic, there was discussion of using sol bactinettes to help cycle a tank. Your local LFS may have some in their fridge. If it's been properly refrigerated, it should help speed up the process considerably. Put that in with the betta, or other a few other hardy fish, and do the testing. If the ammonia and nitrites stay down then you can slowly stock with other fish.