Betta Tank Finally Cycled. What Now?

[GuppyGoddess]

Okay, I have five bettas and for some reason, even after many months, haven't been able to get any of the tanks cycled!

My first successful cycle has happened today. This is a 5-gallon with a male betta.

I had done a 40% water change last week.
His fins weren't looking great so I did a 75% change two days ago.
Today, I tested the water expecting ammonia, but that was 0 and so was nitrites and nitrates came back with a small amount. Yah!

What now? How often and how much water do I change? Is it 50% once per week?

Also, another question. . .one of my females is in a 10-gallon. Will her tank ever cycle since she's the only fish in there and she will remain that way? What do I do to cycle her tank?

 

[woodstock]

Hm, I'm definitely not the expert on cycling. My 5 gallon is cycled, though. Usually around 50% a week is a safe amount, however I do it twice a week because sometimes I just get that bored haha

Can't comment on the rest, but I'm pretty curious.

 

[dudehi]

idk much about cycling becuase i never did it i just used a carbon filter. i think you need to have hardy fish is good like danio's are very hardy idk what it rlly means but im pretty sure u need that lol

 

[GuppyGoddess]

idk much about cycling becuase i never did it i just used a carbon filter. i think you need to have hardy fish is good like danio's are very hardy idk what it rlly means but im pretty sure u need that lol

ooookay! What do I do with my betta while danios are swimming around in my tank?

ETA - your post is a bit confusing to me. . . are you saying your tanks are not cycled or just that you weren't the person who cycled them?

 

[woodstock]

And about your female in the 10 gallon - it will definitely cycle, in time, but if you ever add another fish, I can imagine the cycle dying pretty quickly. A betta isn't a huuuuuge pooper or anything. I don't get why yours took so long :\

 

[Mauricia]

Now you should figure out how much time you need before the nitrates are unacceptable. Or you could just change like 25% a week. First you'll want to test in another couple days and make sure the tank is really processing ammonia. If it has, then a week after your water change test again and see how high the nitrates are, which will help you determine how much water you need to change. I don't like my bettas nitrates to get over 10ppm so I do a weekly 50% water change but that's probably a little excessive for most bettas. Definitely keep testing your water for a couple weeks though to be sure everything is stable.

 

[GuppyGoddess]

Now you should figure out how much time you need before the nitrates are unacceptable. Or you could just change like 25% a week. First you'll want to test in another couple days and make sure the tank is really processing ammonia. If it has, then a week after your water change test again and see how high the nitrates are, which will help you determine how much water you need to change. I don't like my bettas nitrates to get over 10ppm so I do a weekly 50% water change but that's probably a little excessive for most bettas. Definitely keep testing your water for a couple weeks though to be sure everything is stable.

Thanks. . .I'll keep testing the water and see what is up. With six tanks (five betta & one guppy) I'm going through a ton of the API testing products! It's hard not to skip a few days to save some of the testing solution, you know. I'll test his water tomorrow and see how he's coming along. He seems so happy. Today he's going to get another plant to finish up his decor.

 

[LilyRose Tank]

Hi there, don't take this wrong but...
just because your results are 0 0 and say 5 nitrates for the first time, you can;t consider your tank cycled. only when the results have been ammonia 0 nitrites 0 and nitrates being produced and tested daily as being on the increase, for a week can you say your tank is cycled, to say a tank is cycled is when no ammonia or nitrites are present...with the presence of nitrates being produced....for the amount of fish in the tank...or when a full bioload would be able to be handled. For example your 5 gallon tank should support 5 inches of fish without a problem....a betta is approx 2inches without tail ( when fully grown) and has a low waste rate, so if you did add tankmates the levels would alter until the filter caught up. if any of this makes sence. My tank (48L) shows 0,0,0, and I'm pretty sure its no way cycled as the tank hasn't been running long enough and I have never had a nitrate reading above 0. as i do waterchanges whenever the ammonia and nitrites increase to 0.25 do not to harm the fish' gills. so i would imagine my tank won't be cycled for 6 months, when I rarely allow enough ammonia to be processed to start with.
If you need advise on cycling, fish in or fishless take a look at the li nks on here, they are very good ( OM47 has them in his sugnature if that helps).
If your tank continues to show ammonia 0 nitrites 0 and a steady ( but anfortunately slow) rise in nitrates for say a week to 10 days then I would consider it to be basically cycled if not fully ( as your tank is not fully stocked) hope I havn't confused you xx good luck

 

[GuppyGoddess]

Hi there, don't take this wrong but...
just because your results are 0 0 and say 5 nitrates for the first time, you can;t consider your tank cycled. only when the results have been ammonia 0 nitrites 0 and nitrates being produced and tested daily as being on the increase, for a week can you say your tank is cycled, to say a tank is cycled is when no ammonia or nitrites are present...with the presence of nitrates being produced....for the amount of fish in the tank...or when a full bioload would be able to be handled. For example your 5 gallon tank should support 5 inches of fish without a problem....a betta is approx 2inches without tail ( when fully grown) and has a low waste rate, so if you did add tankmates the levels would alter until the filter caught up. if any of this makes sence. My tank (48L) shows 0,0,0, and I'm pretty sure its no way cycled as the tank hasn't been running long enough and I have never had a nitrate reading above 0. as i do waterchanges whenever the ammonia and nitrites increase to 0.25 do not to harm the fish' gills. so i would imagine my tank won't be cycled for 6 months, when I rarely allow enough ammonia to be processed to start with.
If you need advise on cycling, fish in or fishless take a look at the li nks on here, they are very good ( OM47 has them in his sugnature if that helps).
If your tank continues to show ammonia 0 nitrites 0 and a steady ( but anfortunately slow) rise in nitrates for say a week to 10 days then I would consider it to be basically cycled if not fully ( as your tank is not fully stocked) hope I havn't confused you xx good luck

Okay, thanks! It's been a few days since I checked his water, so I'll do that today and see how he's doing. I thought in a 5-gallon a betta should be alone? The tank just doesn't seem big enough to put more fish in PLUS he's type of betta who is constantly exploring and swimming all over the tank. He's also a major biter. He bits me every time I put my finger in the tank! lol

Re: the 10-gallon. I checked her water and it's 0,0,0 and I don't want to add another fish to her tank b/c she's easily stressed. The only time she's been a solid, rich color has been when she's alone.

 

[Honeythorn]

I thought in a 5-gallon a betta should be alone?

That's really best. 5 gals is a small tank by any logical standard and a betta can swim it's entire area in a minute or two. Unless you had absolutely tiny micro rasboros or something like that, ( who would run the risk of being eaten ) fishy tankmates are best avoided. They'll only take up space you don't really have, and add more cack into your filter than it would be able to deal with.

Shrimp are fine, adult cherries or amanos are a good choice and a few shrimp add pretty much nothing to the bioload . But since your betta is a biter even they are best avoided I'd say.

 

[LilyRose Tank]

sorry, I hope I wasn't misunderstood, I wasn't saying add more fish at all, I was just nsaying from a total stocking point of veiw ( for future reference is all) but if you get ammonia 0 nitrites 0 and nitrates present with nitrates increasing over a period of time, (at least a week) then its cycled.... hope that helps. Sorry to hear you have a biter. My Blaze is wonderfully interactive, and comes to the surface to say hi if the lid is open. (I think he thinks itas food time bless) he has mini pellets in the morning( about 4) and one or two in the evening. I do put more in too for the 9 pygmy corys and a tiny bit of flake too. The corys are fast enough to get away from him, they are funny too. but my plants are growing lots so I assume the nitrogen cycle products are helping on that score too. good luck with the both of them xx

 

[GuppyGoddess]

sorry, I hope I wasn't misunderstood, I wasn't saying add more fish at all, I was just nsaying from a total stocking point of veiw ( for future reference is all) but if you get ammonia 0 nitrites 0 and nitrates present with nitrates increasing over a period of time, (at least a week) then its cycled.... hope that helps. Sorry to hear you have a biter. My Blaze is wonderfully interactive, and comes to the surface to say hi if the lid is open. (I think he thinks itas food time bless) he has mini pellets in the morning( about 4) and one or two in the evening. I do put more in too for the 9 pygmy corys and a tiny bit of flake too. The corys are fast enough to get away from him, they are funny too. but my plants are growing lots so I assume the nitrogen cycle products are helping on that score too. good luck with the both of them xx

lol re: the biter. Actually, his biting is very enduring to me All my bettas are that way and it's probably because they've been fed by my finger from the beginning. I love that it gives them more personality than my guppies. That tank-cycled betta is a bit more "naughty" though in that he attacks the syphon when I clean his tank, too. He's a funny fish.

How big is your betta/pygmy tank? I tried pygmies out but eventually they all passed away. They were SO cute!

 

[LilyRose Tank]

sorry, I hope I wasn't misunderstood, I wasn't saying add more fish at all, I was just nsaying from a total stocking point of veiw ( for future reference is all) but if you get ammonia 0 nitrites 0 and nitrates present with nitrates increasing over a period of time, (at least a week) then its cycled.... hope that helps. Sorry to hear you have a biter. My Blaze is wonderfully interactive, and comes to the surface to say hi if the lid is open. (I think he thinks itas food time bless) he has mini pellets in the morning( about 4) and one or two in the evening. I do put more in too for the 9 pygmy corys and a tiny bit of flake too. The corys are fast enough to get away from him, they are funny too. but my plants are growing lots so I assume the nitrogen cycle products are helping on that score too. good luck with the both of them xx

lol re: the biter. Actually, his biting is very enduring to me All my bettas are that way and it's probably because they've been fed by my finger from the beginning. I love that it gives them more personality than my guppies. That tank-cycled betta is a bit more "naughty" though in that he attacks the syphon when I clean his tank, too. He's a funny fish.

How big is your betta/pygmy tank? I tried pygmies out but eventually they all passed away. They were SO cute!

Hello again,. My Betta/pygmy tank is 48L Its a real planted tank and they love it as there are plenty of hiding spaces. I think 48L means 9 G I think,.

 

[Essjay]

I think 48L means 9 G I think,.

48 litres is bigger than 9 gall. It's 12.7 US galls, and 10.6 imperial gall - though it's usually US gallons when talking about fish.

That's even better than 9G

 

[GuppyGoddess]

sorry, I hope I wasn't misunderstood, I wasn't saying add more fish at all, I was just nsaying from a total stocking point of veiw ( for future reference is all) but if you get ammonia 0 nitrites 0 and nitrates present with nitrates increasing over a period of time, (at least a week) then its cycled.... hope that helps. Sorry to hear you have a biter. My Blaze is wonderfully interactive, and comes to the surface to say hi if the lid is open. (I think he thinks itas food time bless) he has mini pellets in the morning( about 4) and one or two in the evening. I do put more in too for the 9 pygmy corys and a tiny bit of flake too. The corys are fast enough to get away from him, they are funny too. but my plants are growing lots so I assume the nitrogen cycle products are helping on that score too. good luck with the both of them xx

lol re: the biter. Actually, his biting is very enduring to me All my bettas are that way and it's probably because they've been fed by my finger from the beginning. I love that it gives them more personality than my guppies. That tank-cycled betta is a bit more "naughty" though in that he attacks the syphon when I clean his tank, too. He's a funny fish.

How big is your betta/pygmy tank? I tried pygmies out but eventually they all passed away. They were SO cute!

Hello again,. My Betta/pygmy tank is 48L Its a real planted tank and they love it as there are plenty of hiding spaces. I think 48L means 9 G I think,.

Looks perfect. Very pretty tank set up