filter needed?

[black angel]

hi everyone

my female betta is in a 4 gallon (uk) heated tank and has an air driven sponge filter which takes up a bit of room. does she need the filter as i do half a water change each week? thanks

 

[AlexsDaddy]

Is the tank cycled? If it is and you take the filter out, you will get a crazy ammonia spike. If it's not, you can take the filter out, but might want to think about adding a 100% water change into your changing routine. With a 4 gallon, I'de say once every 2 weeks for 100%, with a couple 50% in between. If you cycle the tank you wouldn't have to worry about that 100% change as there is no ammonia in a cycled tank.

 

[MyDogIsJealousOfMyFish]

You can probably find a smaller filter out there. I saw one yesterday at the LFS. It had charcoal and fibre in it, was smaller than a deck of cards and was driven off an air pump. Something like that would probably work great on your tank.

 

[black angel]

thanks for that. its only been in for two weeks, so will take it out and do the suggested water changes. i have test kits to monitor levels so thanks

 

[black angel]

i have a box filter too but that takes up even more space, thanks though

 

[rdd1952]

They do need a filter for the bacteria colony but they don't like fast moving water so you don't need much more than a trickle. Just something that keeps the water moving through the bacteria.

 

[AlexsDaddy]

rdd1952, They only need a filter for a bacteria colony if the tank is cycled. If it's not cycled, there's no bacteria so there's no need to keep water moving.

 

[BettaMomma]

From what I've learned, if you can have a betta tank without a filter (which creates current), you're better off.

Filters cause stress if the current they kick out is of any speed.
If you're only doing 50% water changes, you will need a filter.
If you aren't going to have a filter, you will need to do 100% water changes periodically.

It's just a matter of convenience for you - but think of your fish too, analyze whether or not he really likes the current.

Good luck to you!