Water Care Questions

[aria]

Hi, I'm new to the fish hobby and currently have a male Veiltail Betta. I have a new 2.5 gallon tank for him and always condition the water (I use tap water) but I want to know:
Since I already have water conditioner do I also need declorinator / ammonia care stuff?
(I own the aqueon water conditioner btw)

 

[Essjay]

What brand is your water conditioner, and what does the bottle say it does? In most cases water conditioner is another term for dechlorinator. As long as your bottle says it removes chlorine and metals, you don't need a separate dechlorinator.

Ammonia care stuff is not needed with a cycled tank, though if your water company uses chloramine, using a conditioner/dechlorinator that detoxifies ammonia is useful. Chloramine is a chlorine and an ammonia joined together. Dechlorinators split it up and remove the chlorine part but leave the ammonia part in the water. The filter bacteria will remove this ammonia but not instantly - it has to reach the bacteria first - so an ammonia detoxifier makes it safe until the bacteria have removed it.

However, since you say the tank is new, it is probably not cycled yet. Rather than use chemicals to remove the ammonia, you need to let the bacteria grow. If the filter is not yet cycled, you should read this http://www.fishforums.net/threads/rescuing-a-fish-in-cycle-gone-wild-part-il.433778/