Betta Tank Problems

[Curious_george_747]

Yesterday I cleaned out my betta's 2.5 gallon tank and I decided to put a small piece of iron wood in the tank that I got from a local fish store(they said it was iron wood), well anyways the tank was perfectly clean last night then I woke up this morning and the tank was cloudy. Is this from the iron wood and is it anything I should worry about after I clean out his tank today???

 

[Nekukurai]

Did you rinse the decoration before putting it in? How long has the tank been up?

 

[Curious_george_747]

Yes I rinsed the decoration very well before I put it in the tank. The tank has been up for about 1 day now.

 

[clutterydrawer]

what colour is the cloudiness?

 

[Curious_george_747]

It's kinda like a yellowish light brownish color. Sorry for the bad description.

 

[Curious_george_747]

I just thought that maybe the iron wood is to big for the tank. It's a 2.5 and it takes up about a fourth of the tank. Is that to big?

 

[clutterydrawer]

sounds like the usual wood problem of leaching tannins. take the wood out and boil it in a pan, chaning the water every now and then till the water is clear.

 

[Curious_george_747]

what is leaching tannins?

 

[Curious_george_747]

is it anything i should worry about? i just cleaned the tank and put the iron wood back in but i just took it out...

 

[modernhamlet]

Wood placed in aquarium will tend to initially leach some of its tannins into the water. Tannins are naturally occurring acidic molecules found in many plant parts, including wood. When released, they tend to turn the water the "yellowish light brownish" color you mentioned. While this process will tend to lower the pH somewhat, it is not generally harmful to fish. Your betta should be fine.

The only problem is, it tends to make it hard to see the fish! Just do regular water changes to keep things clear. There's no need to add chemicals. The wood should stop leaching tannins in a few weeks or so.

Good luck!

 

[Curious_george_747]

Thank you so much! So I don't need to boil the wood in water?

 

[modernhamlet]

That'll speed up the process, yes. If it's small enough to boil for a bit, you can do that. Just make sure the boiling process doesn't harm the wood. Not likely with a really hard wood like you've got though.

Another option is to soak it for a few days submerged in a bucket. Replace the water whenever you have time (daily).

 

[Curious_george_747]

Thank you.