HELP HELP HELP

[Hugo5150]

hi every one !! just got a betta fish from a coworker who keeped it in their office, tbh I don’t no what I’m really doing I got a heater and a 25 litre tank because YouTubers recommended as the fish was in a 10 litre, been doing 25% water changes with gravel vac every Sunday.
What else should I do and does the fish look ok ??? I really don’t no as this is the first time having a fish
Thank you !!!

 

[Slaphppy7]

Welcome to TFF

Get a good test kit, many of us use this one: https://apifishcare.com/product/freshwater-master-test-kit

You'll need a good water conditioner, get either some Seachem Prime, or API Tap Water conditioner

The new tank is more than likely not "cycled"; read about fish-in cycling here: https://www.fishforums.net/threads/cycle-your-tank-a-complete-guide-for-beginners.475055/

Post any questions you may have here...good luck, and thanks for the rescue

 

[Wills]

hi every one !! just got a betta fish from a coworker who keeped it in their office, tbh I don’t no what I’m really doing I got a heater and a 25 litre tank because YouTubers recommended as the fish was in a 10 litre, been doing 25% water changes with gravel vac every Sunday.
What else should I do and does the fish look ok ??? I really don’t no as this is the first time having a fish
Thank you !!!View attachment 160350

Hi welcome to the forum Your Betta is gorgeous!

Were you able to take the filter from your colleagues tanks? This is the most important bit as it houses the bacteria to process the ammonia from your fish.

Getting into a good water change early on sounds great! Do you have a water testing kits? The API liquid test kits are the best - they are £25 off Amazon. With the test kit check all the levels and see what is going on. If you have any ammonia or nitrite in the tank make sure you up your water changes to keep it as close to 0 until the filter kicks back in.

Wills

 

[emeraldking]

Welcome to TFF...
Some good tips are already given to you as a novice aquarist. Enjoy keeping your betta...

 

[Hugo5150]

Welcome to TFF

Get a good test kit, many of us use this one: https://apifishcare.com/product/freshwater-master-test-kit

You'll need a good water conditioner, get either some Seachem Prime, or API Tap Water conditioner

The new tank is more than likely not "cycled"; read about fish-in cycling here: https://www.fishforums.net/threads/cycle-your-tank-a-complete-guide-for-beginners.475055/

Post any questions you may have here...good luck, and thanks for the rescue

hi thank you Slaphppy7 ill have a read up on it know that i'm back home cheers

 

[Colin_T]

The fish looks really good

I would increase weekly water changes to 50-75% and do a gravel clean when you do a water change. You can buy basic model gravel cleaners from any pet shop or online. You can also make them from a 1, 1.5 or 2 litre plastic drink bottle and plastic hose or garden hose.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

The following link has an image of a basic model gravel cleaner.

Aquarium Cleaning Made Easy

Aquarium cleaning should take 30 minutes every two weeks. Learn how the professionals do it in 18 easy steps.

www.about-goldfish.com

If/ when you get a test kit, monitor the ammonia and nitrite levels and do a 75% water change any day you have an ammonia or nitrite reading above 0ppm, or a nitrate reading above 20ppm.

You can check the tap water occasionally for pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate to make sure it doesn't have any.

 

[Hugo5150]

Hi welcome to the forum Your Betta is gorgeous!

Were you able to take the filter from your colleagues tanks? This is the most important bit as it houses the bacteria to process the ammonia from your fish.

Getting into a good water change early on sounds great! Do you have a water testing kits? The API liquid test kits are the best - they are £25 off Amazon. With the test kit check all the levels and see what is going on. If you have any ammonia or nitrite in the tank make sure you up your water changes to keep it as close to 0 until the filter kicks back in.

Wills

hi wills and no had to get a new filter, I filled my tank up with the water from the local fish store

The fish looks really good

I would increase weekly water changes to 50-75% and do a gravel clean when you do a water change. You can buy basic model gravel cleaners from any pet shop or online. You can also make them from a 1, 1.5 or 2 litre plastic drink bottle and plastic hose or garden hose.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

The following link has an image of a basic model gravel cleaner.

Aquarium Cleaning Made Easy

Aquarium cleaning should take 30 minutes every two weeks. Learn how the professionals do it in 18 easy steps.

www.about-goldfish.com

If/ when you get a test kit, monitor the ammonia and nitrite levels and do a 75% water change any day you have an ammonia or nitrite reading above 0ppm, or a nitrate reading above 20ppm.

You can check the tap water occasionally for pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate to make sure it doesn't have any.

 

[Wills]

hi wills and no had to get a new filter, I filled my tank up with the water from the local fish store

Hi so you are probably in whats known as a fish in cycle which means the filter is in the process of growing bacteria that can process the ammonia produced by your fish's poop. The best way to deal with this is water changes - large daily to start with - but you need the test kit to understand what kind of water changes to do and how much you need to do.

The water from the pet shop is that RO water? I know from experience here London has pretty rubbish water (same as me, though I'm up north) so I understand why they have recommended that but that will impact you doing water changes - are you able to stock up on the RO water as it were? Do you know if they are remineralising the water or do you add anything to it at your end? Pure RO water is too pure for fish to live in and you need to add a type of remineralising salts to the water to help the fish live in it.

Wills