How often to change water

Kelly Preussner · Nov 9, 2019

My daughter has a betta tank with 2 fish separated by a divider. It is a 5 gal with filter & heater. I have enclosed a picture of the tank. My question is how often should we change the water & how much water should be changed? Thanks

Essjay · Nov 10, 2019

Water changes should be at least 50% once a week. The only exceptions are if a fish is sick, or the tank is cycling when more water changes should be done.

FishGuest5123 · Nov 10, 2019

For my bettas that we’re in a divided tank, I did a 75% water change on tank cleaning day and another 25% mid-week. That as because they were in small quarters and both producing waste.

Kelly Preussner · Nov 10, 2019

Wow, that is much more than we are doing. The tank is very clean & clear. We have been doing monthly 50% change. I don’t have a small vacuum so have not touched the gravel. Should I be cleaning gravel? Thanks

Linda N · Nov 10, 2019

It helps to use a siphon to clean the gravel, like you are vacuuming it. Lots of crud settles in there - fish waste, uneaten food. If you stir it up would probably surprise you how much can be in there.

Essjay · Nov 10, 2019

Just because the water looks clean it doesn't mean it is good. The things we need to remove from the tank - nitrate, fish hormones, things excreted by the fish - are all soluble in water and we can't see them.

FishGuest5123 · Nov 10, 2019

Most members on here do a weekly water change. My nitrates were high and is why I did twice a week water changes. What are your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate readings. That will tell you a lot on how your water quality is.

Kelly Preussner · Nov 10, 2019

Thanks for the info. Levels are all good. PH 8.0, ammonia 0, nitrite 0 & nitrate 5.0
I am sure fish waste is on gravel but probably no food. My daughter feeds them 3 pellets everyday & they eat all 3 immediately. They seem quite hungry but don’t want to overfeed. Does that seem about right for food?
We will switch to weekly water changes. Thanks

FishGuest5123 · Nov 10, 2019

I am the wrong person to ask about feeding. I know I overfeed. :-(

seangee · Nov 10, 2019

Kelly Preussner said:
I am sure fish waste is on gravel but probably no food. My daughter feeds them 3 pellets everyday & they eat all 3 immediately. They seem quite hungry but don’t want to overfeed. Does that seem about right for food?

Well done your daughter. If more people fed that way we would have a lot less help my fish is sick / my tank is cloudy / my ammonia is too high (etc etc) posts.

I also do 75% per week.

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How often to change water

Kelly Preussner

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