Moving to a New Tank

[Chrissy]

Ok, my betta is going to be moved from his 1 gallon tank to a 5 gallon tank within the next month or so. I'm planning on getting the tank and filling it part way up and letting it cycle. I'm going to buy real plants and let them grow in there until they are pretty big. (The ones at the LPS are about 2 inches in height) This way I will have time to cycle the tank and everytime I do a water change from my betta's current tank put some of his water into the new tank. I'll also be able to make sure the current isn't too strong, and if it is I'll have enough time to attempt at fixing it.

Is there anything else I should do? Am I doing everything completely wrong?

Sorry for asking a lot of questions, but I don't want to do anything to harm my betta.

 

[bettaboi]

sounds like it should work to me but im not an expert remember to do your homework

 

[Chrissy]

Ok, thanks!

 

[Skylar]

I would suggest not cycling it. Just do 2 or 3 water changes a week. Faster and more efficient. Don't bother putting water from his current tank into the new one, water doesn't carry the bacteria that help cycle the tank.

 

[Chrissy]

Ok, the water going into the old tank to the new one was my dad's idea. He doesn't know much about fish, though.

I have to wait until after I go on vacation to move him to the new tank, so I might as well let it start cycling now, right? Anyways, I was supposed to get the tank last week but couldn't. So hopefully I'll get it soon!

 

[Skylar]

You could put some of the existing tank's gravel in the tank and it will make the cycling process a lot faster.

=Skylar=

 

[BettaMomma]

Any kind of big move like that is really stressful for them.

I'm not sure if you read or know anything about the story of my little Amos, but he passed away during the night a few nights ago. His whole downward spiral in health started when I upgraded him to a 5 gallon tank from a 2.5G tank. He wasn't used to the current and it stressed him out to the point where he got really sick and eventually he died. (NOT that this is a common event when someone upgrades their betta to a new home, but....)

If you've had your betta in the 1 gallon bowl for any length of time, I would consider possibly leaving him right where he is.
My story might be a fluke, but whenever I hear that someone wants to "upgrade" their betta's home, I always wish someone had told me about the risks before I went ahead and did it

 

[Chrissy]

I'm so sorry about Amos BettaMomma.

The tank he is in now has a filter, so he is used to a slight current. And if the current seems too strong, or it doesn't seem like he'll like it, I won't use it. I don't want to completely stress him out.

Anyways, I have to clean out the tank he is in now. My little sister decided that he looked hungry... (This was after he looked sick, though) I couldn't get the food out with the net, so I'll have to try again when my mom isn't so stressed out about me making a mess in her house.

Thank you again for thehelp everyone!

 

[KageBunshin]

I think Bettamomma's problem was her current in the 5 gallon... not the size. My friend's 5 gallon had this filter current problem, but he fixed it by putting a sponge over the output, this diffuses the current and his betta is really happy and now he has a really tall bubble nest.