Water Changes For My Betta

[Birdie]

I have one (very gorgeous) male Betta in a 27litre filtered, heated, planted tank. However, I'm a bit of a newbie ninny, and didn't understand that it might have been a good idea to cycle the tank properly first, before putting the fish in.

The tank was filled 2-3 days before the fish went in. That was 18 days ago.

Since the 13th I have been diligently testing the water - and the results are consistently
pH7.8, NH4=0 NO2 =2. Every time.

On the 13th Nitrates were 0 but yesterday they were 20.

I did a 50% water change on the 13th (advice of lfs)
and a 40% cahnge on the 15th
and a 20% change yesterday ( 16th) - because I started reading lots of references to only changing a max of 20% at a time.

So, the results aren't gettng any worse - but they aren't improving, either. I do understand that it will be weeks before the tank is properly cycled. (Somebody from the forum is v kindly giving me some mature filter media, which I will get in a few days, so hopefully that will speed things along a bit)
In the meantime, though, until the tank is cycled - how much water should I be changing? Is daily too often? Not enough? Should I be really thoroughly vacuuming the gravel to reduce the waste levels - or does that remove good bacteria? Anything else I should be doing? I have reduced his feeding, too - how much should I reduce it to? Or is that wrong?

I just want my fishy to be happy and healthy.

TIA

 

[zoekin8yg]

you should be cleaning the gravel with a gravel vac everytime. I wouldnt worry too much as bettas are quite good at withstanding alittle amonia, but you obviously dont want high levels if you can help it. To be honest I think you are doing pretty good. I think everyother day for a change should be ok, keep an eye on the levels. NitrAtes are rarely lower than 10 in most tanks as the water from the tap contains nitrAtes. NitrItes and ammonia should be zero. Have you been adding dechlorinator to the water?

 

[Glod]

Ok just to clarify ....

As long as your PH remains stable, the actual number doesn't matter hugely.
Ammonia will be the first problem you get, it will start to rise as you fish produces waste.
Once the bacteria in your filter start to multiply they will convert that ammonia to nitrIte.
NitrIte is even more dangerous to the fish than ammonia. Slowly the nitrIte eating bacteria will reproduce and convert the nitrIte to nitrAte. The end product of which is NitrAte.
NitrAte is far less toxic to your fish, so it's not a problem if it gets to 20-40. Regular water changes will deal with nitrAte.

As for the water changing, the problem is to cycle the tank there has to be some ammonia present so the bacteria can feed and multiply. However any serious level of ammonia is not a good thing for your fish, especially over an extended period. Same thing goes with nitrIte when you get that far in the cycle. The trick is to change enough water to keep the fish safe, but leave enough traces of ammonia/nitrite so the cycle can continue.

Cycling with a fish in the tank is a slower process than fishless cycling simply because we have to reduce the levels for the benefit of the fish.

In Summary:
That's a lot of typing just to say... I would change about 30-40% daily if necessary. Only if you have a reading of ammonia or nitrite tho. Apart from that, if you are only reading nitrAte then you can probably get away with 50% once a week. Make sure any water you add to the tank has been dechlorinated first so it does not kill the bacteria in the tank.

Hope this helps.

Les.

 

[Castellop123]

I would change 20 - 30 % of your aquarium water every week... Everyday is to often... Betta Splendens are sensitive to temperature change... and REMEMBER TO WASH YOUR FILTER MEDIA IN TANK WATER! many beginners of the aquarium hobby always wash it under the tap which contains chlorine and chloramines ( in some cases ) and these chemicals can destroy your beneficial bacteria that take weeks to grow and mature.

sorry if you already knew this ( as I'm sure you do ) but beter safe than sorry...

 

[Birdie]

Thank you all.

Yes - I'm using dechlorinated water - I should have said so.

How much should I be feeding him while the nitrites are so high ( theya re 2.0)? I have read that I should cut down, to reduce the laad on the filter ( obviously, I'm removing any uneaten food). I dont' want to starve him - but I also don't want to cause him more harm if feeding him less will actually help [shrug]

 

[zoekin8yg]

they can easily go a week without any food at all, I only feed one everyother day actually. You should have one day a week where you dont feed. 5 ish pellets a time is enough I think.

 

[sharkbaitwoohaha]

i leave mine and feed every other day. he never has flakes though cos he hates them. he gives me a "what do you expect me to do with that" look. bloodworms, peas (which he has to 'kill' first! haha), prawns, cucumber etc.

 

[Birdie]

i leave mine and feed every other day. he never has flakes though cos he hates them. he gives me a "what do you expect me to do with that" look. bloodworms, peas (which he has to 'kill' first! haha), prawns, cucumber etc.

I shall look forward to that - feeding him prawns and peas. When you say prawns - do I have to buy stuff from an aquatics shop - or does "prawns" include the little pink chilled things from Tescos? (I'm guessing I'd have to cut them up into little bitty pieces as I've heard discussed with the peas? Or is my Betta likely made of sterner stuff than that? )

Harhar har - I've just realised that prawns and peas are my husband's two least favourite things to eat. Maybe I shoud start offering him the fishy flakes

 

[lisa_perry75]

Try testing your tap water! Tap water can contain nitrates from fertilisers from farmers and things. I don't believe 2 is high for nitrate either... The english legal limit is something like 40 (maximum allowed in tap water)

 

[Glod]

Not feeding him for a day or two will be no big deal. How much to feed him depends on what you are feeding him. A Bettas stomach is about the size of his eyeball. If you use pellets probably 3-5 per day depending on the size of pellet and the size of your fish is fine. My betta is a gredy pig, but also very active. He gets 10 hikari bio-gold betta pellets split 5 in the morning 5 at night, and still looks for more, lol.

Water changes are the way to go with high nitrItes opr ammonia. Daily if necessary. Obviously you don't want to do it long term but it's preferable not to have your fish suffer nitrite poisoning than to be slow to change the water.

Assuming you change 30% at a time, as long as the water is close to the same temp it won't bother the fish. Cold water does upset them tho. Ideally leave the jug of water you are going to add out to get to room temp for a few hours before you do the change.

In my opinion it's better to have a betta in a bad mood for a week or so and healthy than one who's suffering for lack of clean water.

 

[fishrcool]

Not feeding him for a day or two will be no big deal. How much to feed him depends on what you are feeding him. A Bettas stomach is about the size of his eyeball. If you use pellets probably 3-5 per day depending on the size of pellet and the size of your fish is fine. My betta is a gredy pig, but also very active. He gets 10 hikari bio-gold betta pellets split 5 in the morning 5 at night, and still looks for more, lol.

Water changes are the way to go with high nitrItes opr ammonia. Daily if necessary. Obviously you don't want to do it long term but it's preferable not to have your fish suffer nitrite poisoning than to be slow to change the water.

Assuming you change 30% at a time, as long as the water is close to the same temp it won't bother the fish. Cold water does upset them tho. Ideally leave the jug of water you are going to add out to get to room temp for a few hours before you do the change.

In my opinion it's better to have a betta in a bad mood for a week or so and healthy than one who's suffering for lack of clean water


i hate fish!!!