Betta fish questions

[black_cat]

Well water or tap?

Some cities treat with chlorine.. which will evaporate if left to sit over night in a wide open top container. And in small 10% changes *may* be irrelevant.. but at larger quantities will have heavier impact.. this is also true for temperature

Others use chloromine.. which does not evaporate.. and using a water conditioner might be recommended.

The city water I have tested Ph's around 7.. That might be in your water quality report if using a city system... knowing it can be heloful when keeping larger amount of high dollar fish things get out of whack easy.

Excess algae growth is sometimes caused by stock density or over feeding. But having a plecostomus or even Chinese algae eater, might be an option.. maybe not with shrimp though.

Tap water. I'm pretty sure we're on the city system. I'll see about figuring out how to check ph, gh, and all that jazz.

 

[Fishychix]

Ok, so, if your tank is overloaded with fish, only a bit, you should never overload, then a larger water change would be ideal. If you have a normal amount of fish, then a smaller amount will be best.
As with most things in life, lots of contradictory advice. My apologies. Find someone you know that keeps fish and ask them too.

 

[black_cat]

Ok, so, if your tank is overloaded with fish, only a bit, you should never overload, then a larger water change would be ideal. If you have a normal amount of fish, then a smaller amount will be best.
As with most things in life, lots of contradictory advice. My apologies. Find someone you know that keeps fish and ask them too.

I don't know anyone with bettas, or really other fish-my friend has a betta but keeps it in a very small tank, so I'm not sure how much I trust her judgement.

 

[Fishychix]

Looking at it again, I'm really dumb-it's a thermometer XD My question still stands though: Would having something on the side of the tank marking places like halfway up, quarters of the way up, and maybe eighths be helpful when changing the water, so you know where 50% is? Or do you just eyeball it?

Ah! Gotcha. I’ve always wanted to do but didnt. Try it and see. Just remember water displacement and such. I used buckets until I knew how many minutes, or seconds, equal a gallon and after a while you get the hang of it by sight.

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

Looking at it again, I'm really dumb-it's a thermometer XD My question still stands though: Would having something on the side of the tank marking places like halfway up, quarters of the way up, and maybe eighths be helpful when changing the water, so you know where 50% is? Or do you just eyeball it?

I use a five gallon bucket to add new water and another one to hold old water.

 

[HappyClucker7]

Sounds good. Is there ever a situation where the fish needs to be out of the tank?

Not really. If you have to do a 100% water change (which should never really be necessary) you have to take the fish out. Other than that, there really is no need.

Looking at it again, I'm really dumb-it's a thermometer XD My question still stands though: Would having something on the side of the tank marking places like halfway up, quarters of the way up, and maybe eighths be helpful when changing the water, so you know where 50% is? Or do you just eyeball it?

You can if you want to. I just use a container that holds one gallon of water. I fill that up, empty it into a bigger bucket, and repeat until I've taken out however many gallons I need to.

 

[-Kiwi-]

I had a female betta colony once in a ten gallon tank, and they got along well. It's kind of cool watching them, because they have kind of a pecking order like chickens. If a betta lower on the chain got out of line, the alpha quickly showed her where she belonged. So I think a female betta colony would be cool to try, if you want to

 

[HappyClucker7]

I'm so confused-I'm getting 'yes you need bigger water changes', 'with only one fish in that size tank you should be fine with smaller', 'don't do bigger ones you will stress the fish out' and 'you should vary it' gahhhh XD

I know, it can definitely be confusing. Water changes are a controversial topic, and everyone has a different opinion. But, I can say one thing. Bigger water changes won't stress the fish out, as long as the water you're putting into the tank is roughly the same temperature as the tank water. When it comes to water changes, more fresh water for the fish is always better. Just don't overdo it and do 100% water changes every week.

 

[LaFemmeKatia]

I had a Betta in a five gallon tank. It came with the filter, it was a “kit” sort of. I got it at a pet store like Pet-Smart.
I decorated it with pretty gravel on the bottom, and two or three fake plants and a cute underwater cave-like fixture.
My betta was red and I called him Shamu. He lived for three years.

 

[black_cat]

I had a beta in a five gallon tank. It came with the filter, it was a “kit” sort of. I got it at a pet store like Pet-Smart.
I decorated it with pretty gravel on the bottom, and two or three fake plants and a cute underwater cave-like fixture.
My betta was red and I called him Shamu. He lived for three years.

That sounds super great! I love the idea of a little cavey thing.