New To Fish; Cycling A Tank

[fishtanksmomma]

I posted last week about my daughters betta possibly having fin rot. His fins have started looking tattered and redish so I am going to treat him with daily water changes and salt. I also noticed that he seemed too big for his tank so I bought a new 5 gallon to house him in once he is healed. I have a few Annunis plants that I bought and plan on getting a peice of drifteood for his tank as well. My question is, how do I go about cycling his new tank so it's ready for him? I tried reading up on it but I'm sure exactly how to do it. And do I need to sanitize his smaller tank with every water change? How do you sanitize a sick fish's tank if you can not use bleach?

I'm sorry if these are redundant questions or if they are dumb questions. I am new to fish and I was duped into buying my daughter a Betta by the pet store employee who told me they were easy to take care of and didnt need anything but a bowl and food. The more I read up, the more I learn that to take care of one properly takes a little more time & effort.

 

[OldMan47]

Anubias are just fine plants for any fish. They are easy care and slow growing. They can even flower like mine did.

With a new tank you are going to be doing a fish-in cycle. Please read through the fish-in cycle thread that can be reached from my signature area and return here with any questions that you still have. There are bound to be a few.