New Betta

[Questions?]

yay! i just got a new halfmoon male betta. he is now in a 5.5 bowfront gallon tank acclimating. the tank has 6.6 gallon filter fully cycled. i think a 100 watt heater.
planted substrate, inhabitants are currently 1 cherry shrimp, one ghost shrimp, the betta, and maybe a nerite snail? or 2 more shrimp depending on how he handles the shrimp in there now. plants are 1 mother crypt, i rosette sword (ill probaly add another), water wisteria (planted, not floating) and java moss. 25w light. The filter is a "little" too big, so i will be looking for a smaller one. i plan on 20% water changes (is that enough?) weekly.
pics to follow, soon once hes finished acclimating

 

[Questions?]

Him in his cup




In the tank




The Tank

Side of Tank

you can click on the pictures to make them bigger
also any idea on how to improve my tank? i also have no idea why the picture is upside down, sorry

 

[LDBartholow]

Hi there. I have a 5.5g planted betta tank. I do small daily water changes. Usually just a quart. Then once a week, I do a 20% change. The daily water changes are to make sure that the surface of the water is always clean. They are labyrinth fish, so they do come up to the surface to gulp air every once in awhile. If you have enough surface agitation, I supposed you don't have to, but I baffle my water filter outflow so there is little/no surface agitation. I've read bettas don't really like strong currents, or surface agitation, so I keep it to a minimum and just make sure the surface is clean.

 

[Questions?]

ok

 

[Paradise3]

Hi there. I have a 5.5g planted betta tank. I do small daily water changes. Usually just a quart. Then once a week, I do a 20% change. The daily water changes are to make sure that the surface of the water is always clean. They are labyrinth fish, so they do come up to the surface to gulp air every once in awhile. If you have enough surface agitation, I supposed you don't have to, but I baffle my water filter outflow so there is little/no surface agitation. I've read bettas don't really like strong currents, or surface agitation, so I keep it to a minimum and just make sure the surface is clean.

Why? Sorry but you need more water surface movement if you are having to do daily waterchanges to keep the surface clean. The saying "Betta's don't like strong currents" doesn't mean no water surface movement... It just means a slower flow, it doesn't mean no flow at all... I had my males in a divided tank with a fluval filter on it and they were fine. I bred my betta's and the only ones I've ever had to do daily waterchanges on is the fry because the fry need the clean water to grow.

Questions?: Just make sure he doesn't get bloated as Betta's get bloated easily

Weekly waterchanges is a little too much. I do fortnightly on my tanks and I do 25%

 

[LDBartholow]

Hi there. I have a 5.5g planted betta tank. I do small daily water changes. Usually just a quart. Then once a week, I do a 20% change. The daily water changes are to make sure that the surface of the water is always clean. They are labyrinth fish, so they do come up to the surface to gulp air every once in awhile. If you have enough surface agitation, I supposed you don't have to, but I baffle my water filter outflow so there is little/no surface agitation. I've read bettas don't really like strong currents, or surface agitation, so I keep it to a minimum and just make sure the surface is clean.

Why? Sorry but you need more water surface movement if you are having to do daily waterchanges to keep the surface clean. The saying "Betta's don't like strong currents" doesn't mean no water surface movement... It just means a slower flow, it doesn't mean no flow at all... I had my males in a divided tank with a fluval filter on it and they were fine. I bred my betta's and the only ones I've ever had to do daily waterchanges on is the fry because the fry need the clean water to grow.

Questions?: Just make sure he doesn't get bloated as Betta's get bloated easily

Weekly waterchanges is a little too much. I do fortnightly on my tanks and I do 25%

You misunderstand. Nowhere did I say I HAVE to do the daily water changes because of water conditions. I prefer to do small daily changes to ensure that the surface is clean. Every once in awhile, I do get a film from the various plants, snail waste, or a bubble nest gone awry. I have an AquaClear 30 which is more than enough for a 5.5g tank, but even at the slowest flow, it is still creates too much surface agitation and current for the tank size. I have it baffled with an additional sponge to create a little surface agitation, but I like to provide the best conditions for my fish. He seems to appreciate it.

As for only water changes twice a week, that wouldn't work in my small tank. The water parameters would not be healthy. As someone who tests vigilantly, my process works perfect for my tank (which happens to be the same size referenced in the OP), and that is what I've suggested based on my experience. Once a week water change on a 5 gallon tank, in my experience with that tank size, does not promote healthy water conditions, even in a planted tank such as mine. The longest I have been able to go is about a week and a half before nitrates start to really climb. Please note: I do have a snail with my betta which produces a lot of waste. I test my water parameters often, and that tank is always at 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and below 40ppm nitrates at any given moment.

With that said -- it is all relative. If you're testing your water, and the parameters are fine for your tank every two weeks with only a 20% change, then more power to you

I know, personally, that would not work with my 5.5 gallon tank and maintain high water quality.

 

[Paradise3]

I never said water conditions, I said you shouldn't have to do daily waterchanges to keep the surface clean. Betta's love flow! I've had Halfmoons, Plakat's, Halfmoon Plakats, Crowntails... All sorts and all of them have enjoyed the flow of the filter. The filter needs to move the surface to keep it clean. You doing daily waterchanges is more stressful to the fish. Also, with plants your nitrates shouldn't climb like that, I had a 25l tank set up with the same waterchange regime as my 75l and all the stats were good constantly. 0ppm Ammonia, 0ppm Nitrite, 20ppm Nitrate. So I was also suggesting on experience. How have you managed to fit an Aquaclear 30(which does 30 gallons) into a 5.5 gallon tank with room for the fish to swim? I'd recommend a smaller filter like a PF mini.

 

[Questions?]

ok ill do fortnightly. i also just got another rosette sword to fill in the space between the heater and the wisteria. i also got more 2 ghost shrimp

 

[Paradise3]

ok ill do fortnightly. i also just got another rosette sword to fill in the space between the heater and the wisteria. i also got more 2 ghost shrimp

Awesome Just keep an eye on water stats to make sure Fortnightly is working for you.

 

[LDBartholow]

I never said water conditions, I said you shouldn't have to do daily waterchanges to keep the surface clean. Betta's love flow! I've had Halfmoons, Plakat's, Halfmoon Plakats, Crowntails... All sorts and all of them have enjoyed the flow of the filter. The filter needs to move the surface to keep it clean. You doing daily waterchanges is more stressful to the fish. Also, with plants your nitrates shouldn't climb like that, I had a 25l tank set up with the same waterchange regime as my 75l and all the stats were good constantly. 0ppm Ammonia, 0ppm Nitrite, 20ppm Nitrate. So I was also suggesting on experience. How have you managed to fit an Aquaclear 30(which does 30 gallons) into a 5.5 gallon tank with room for the fish to swim? I'd recommend a smaller filter like a PF mini.

Look at my signature picture. It is a HOB filter which only inserts a tube. It works just fine and is actually less obtrusive than an internal filter. We will definitely have to agree to disagree.

 

[Paradise3]

I never said water conditions, I said you shouldn't have to do daily waterchanges to keep the surface clean. Betta's love flow! I've had Halfmoons, Plakat's, Halfmoon Plakats, Crowntails... All sorts and all of them have enjoyed the flow of the filter. The filter needs to move the surface to keep it clean. You doing daily waterchanges is more stressful to the fish. Also, with plants your nitrates shouldn't climb like that, I had a 25l tank set up with the same waterchange regime as my 75l and all the stats were good constantly. 0ppm Ammonia, 0ppm Nitrite, 20ppm Nitrate. So I was also suggesting on experience. How have you managed to fit an Aquaclear 30(which does 30 gallons) into a 5.5 gallon tank with room for the fish to swim? I'd recommend a smaller filter like a PF mini.

Look at my signature picture. It is a HOB filter which only inserts a tube. It works just fine and is actually less obtrusive than an internal filter. We will definitely have to agree to disagree.

I don't seem to see what we disagree on...

I just wondered about the filter as I've never had experience with Aquaclear's...

The only disagreement I see is the fact that daily waterchanges will stress your fish unnecessarily.

 

[Questions?]

so, anyone know how i could improve my tank?

 

[LDBartholow]

so, anyone know how i could improve my tank?

Upon looking at your pictures, I would suggest turning your heater to a 45 degree angle instead of straight up and down. The theory is the angle will keep the heat from reaching your thermostat before the tank has reached the optimal temperature. I just found this out myself last week. I am cycling a 20 gallon tank right now. I was wondering why I had my heater cranked to 86 degrees and it was holding at 81. Turned it 45 degrees, and I had to turn the heat down to 84. It's actually holding at 84. The whole tank is warm, not just the area around the heater. It worked for my tank.

Until my plants grew tall enough, I had a taller silk plant that gave him a place to rest on near the surface of the water. He liked that. He had something to keep cover in when he went up for air. He also used it to build bubble nests.

Sometimes, my fish likes to hide. I have a skull for him to take refuge in when he doesn't want to associate with the world. I didn't see if you had a hiding place, but they do like a little place of their own. The picture was hard to decipher upside down. Some people use small terra cotta pots.

Maybe a background for aesthetics? I have that cheap vinyl pre-printed cling stuff on the back of mine. It helps cover up the cords hanging in the back so you can't see it through the back of the tank. I think some posts I read suggest even plain black cardboard/poster board taped to the back. Might make your plants/fish pop out a bit more.

I saw you were going to try to change the filter. I really like my hang on back (HOB) filter. The only part in the water is the intake tube which gives more space for the fish. I don't know if that would work with you tank, but I like it better than internal filters. That is also a matter of preference. I feel like I can control the filter flow better with a HOB.

Here is a picture of my tank (pre-finding out about the 45 degree angle heater trick and missing the red silk plant). You can see the single intake tube in the back.

 

[Questions?]

nice tank. i have a sponge filter, i just need to cycle it, and the heater in there is just temporary until i find a smaller one.