is my tank okay?

[ags]

so i’ve bought 2 sets of 2 gallon tanks 1 week ago. one for my betta and one for purposely breeding pest snails and algae.

so im focusing more on my betta tank

• no filtration
• planted (only 1 stem plant)
• theres soil and in where the live plant is planted and artificial green colored gravel
• i feel him once or twice a day with mosquito larvae or pellets
• i think i don’t need a heater since normal temperature here is about 81 degrees F
• i clean his tank 2x a week for 50% of water
• i use my lamp as light and i plan to buy soon if it is completely necessary
• he’s a blue veil tail betta with a touch of red
• so far he sometimes is jolly or flares at my presence and would make id watch him make bubble nests
• he’s with some pest snails

so considering these details here are my questions

1. is the space enough?
2. will he get mad at my colored gravel?
3. do i need to replace my lamp for a aquarium light?
4. if it gets hotter than usual, what should i do?
5. how many times a day/week/month should i clean his tank along with the gravel?
6. is flaring at me okay? is it maybe i muts have woke him up at night because i have an unstable body clock lol
7. is the pest snails okay??
8. im planning to use indian almond leaves, how many would i put inside the aquarium?

 

[FishGuest5123]

A betta should have no less than 2.5 gallons. The color of gravel won’t matter. With no filter, I would clean the tank every couple of days. Glaring at you is fine. Pest snails are fine. What wattage lamp are you using?

Are you aware of the nitrogen cycle and did you cycle your tank before adding your fish? Here’s some info on it. https://modestfish.com/how-to-cycle-your-aquarium/

 

[PheonixKingZ]

I agree with @Deanasue. I personally recommend a 5g tank for bettas. The snails will be fine, no harm there. And yes, him flaring is completely normal.

I also recommend getting a filter. Check out the link @Deanasue provided.

 

[Naughts]

1) no
2) no
3) no
4) remove lid wh you are in the room, aim fan at tank
5) once a week
6) yes
7) yes
8) one

 

[Waterstrider]

Depends what you mean by cleaning, in a tank that size (too small)
I’d use a turkey Baster to suck junk out of gravel , don’t actually rinse it if you don’t have to.
I’d swap to a 10g when you can. It will use the space.

 

[Essjay]

no filtration

5. how many times a day/week/month should i clean his tank along with the gravel?

5) once a week

Because there is no filter in the tank the water needs to have a daily 50% water change and a weekly water change of just about all the water.

@ags I recommend buying a water testing kit so that you can monitor the build up of ammonia and maybe nitrite in the tank. Test every day and whenever you see either ammonia or nitrite above zero, do a water change. Until you have a test kit, you need to do daily water changes as you don't know if there is anything in the water. Liquid testers are more accurate than strip testers, but if you choose strip testers you'll need to buy an additional ammonia tester as strips do not include an ammonia test.


If you get a filter, and even better a bigger tank with a filter, then once it is cycled, you only need to do water changes as Naughts said.

 

[Naughts]

Because there is no filter in the tank the water needs to have a daily 50% water change and a weekly water change of just about all the water.

@ags I recommend buying a water testing kit so that you can monitor the build up of ammonia and maybe nitrite in the tank. Test every day and whenever you see either ammonia or nitrite above zero, do a water change. Until you have a test kit, you need to do daily water changes as you don't know if there is anything in the water. Liquid testers are more accurate than strip testers, but if you choose strip testers you'll need to buy an additional ammonia tester as strips do not include an ammonia test.


If you get a filter, and even better a bigger tank with a filter, then once it is cycled, you only need to do water changes as Naughts said.

Sorry, I was rushing a bit and thought question 5 was how often should OP clean the gravel/tank, not how often should they do water changes.

 

[Essjay]

I do that too. Read through something quickly and miss something

 

[Essjay]

@ags Can I ask a silly question?

Why do you have a tank just for growing pest snails and algae