New To Bettas, Can You Help Me Sort Out Information Overload? :)

[dutchmodernist]

Hello all,

I'm really new to fish, and realize I may be a bit over my head with information. There are so many different opinions out there and different, equally complex sets of instructions.

I have 2 tanks, both 5 days old.

Tank 1:
5 gallon
5 female bettas
1 blue mystery(apple) snail
charcoal whisper filter
2 live plants
some decorations to hide in
No nitrites, no nitrates
ph 7.8
temp 76-78 degrees f

Tank 2:
2 gallon tank
1 male betta
1 mystery snail
2 plants
airstone style aerator
"under gravel filter"
some shells to hide in
Same water conditions as tank 1

So first off, I didn't know about cycling until I did some reading last night. The test strips I got don't test for ammonia, but there are no nitrates or nitrites detected. The fish seem very active and happy. What should I look for as the cycling happens, or am I good to go?

I am going to do a weekly water change. How much should I change? I keep reading different amounts. Is 10% or 25% correct?

Clearly the water is too alkaline. Do I add chemicals, or is there a better means to lower it?

They all get a mixed diet of bio-pellets, bettamin flakes, and dried blood worms. Any issues with those?

Any other advice that will help me be a better fish mommy will be greatly appreciated!! Thank you!

Pics:

 

[Kaz1814]

You may need to step up your water changes initially as the ammonia will build up and can be harmful to your fish.. A testing kit for ammonia would be invaluable to you and the liquid ones are really accurate.
Feed very little at this stage as this will also effect ammonia levels .
This should explain things better than i can: http/fins.actwin.com/mirror/begin-cycling.html
I wouldn't use the the freeze dried food for betta's, i prefer to use frozen or live but thats personal choice.
IMO the PH is fine as it is...

Lovely fishies by the way and good luck

 

[dutchmodernist]

Thank you kaz 1814 - I got an ammonia kit and it was really high (especially poor eddie, the male betta - he was at 4 ) I did a a 50% change on him and a 25% change on the girls and both tanks are down to somewhere between .25-.5 I will check again daily and keep doing water changes until the tank cycles. Why don't they tell people this stuff at the pet store?!! So frustrating, I'm very grateful I found this forum.

From what I've read the elevated ph makes the ammonia even more toxic. I've read ph can be lowered with peat moss or a chemical. Which is better?

 

[groupiekilla06]

Thank you kaz 1814 - I got an ammonia kit and it was really high (especially poor eddie, the male betta - he was at 4 ) I did a a 50% change on him and a 25% change on the girls and both tanks are down to somewhere between .25-.5 I will check again daily and keep doing water changes until the tank cycles. Why don't they tell people this stuff at the pet store?!! So frustrating, I'm very grateful I found this forum.

From what I've read the elevated ph makes the ammonia even more toxic. I've read ph can be lowered with peat moss or a chemical. Which is better?

IMO 5 gallons for 5 females is too small. Girls can be territorial and you should have as much space for them as possible so they can give eachother some space. The two gallon tank for the male is fine (I have a 2 gal also) but in order to keep them ammonia down I do 30-50% water change every 3 days and a 100% water change every other week. I also have a live plant that does help with ammonia levels.

For the ph, I would use peat moss first before trying chemicals. Its always good to avoid using chemicals when there are natural solutions.

 

[dutchmodernist]

in order to keep them ammonia down I do 30-50% water change every 3 days and a 100% water change every other week. I also have a live plant that does help with ammonia levels.

For the ph, I would use peat moss first before trying chemicals. Its always good to avoid using chemicals when there are natural solutions.

Has your tank cycled yet? Do you still need to do that many water changes after it cycles?

My girls seem really happy right now, but I will watch for problems and am prepared to get a bigger tank if need be.

 

[Kaz1814]

I have 12 girls in a 40 Gallon tank... I did a fishless cycle on mine and have an external filter so i just do 1 water change a week...
All my boys are in a 5, 6 or ten gallon tanks, again i did fishless cycles on these too and i do a water change once a week on these . I usually change about 30% and clean the gravel/sand.
Hope they cycle quickly for you...

 

[Viettxboii]

Could try driftwood, beautiful and it works for buffering hte ph.
In my case, and not sure about others, but ive read that others have had sucess with driftwood.

 

[groupiekilla06]

in order to keep them ammonia down I do 30-50% water change every 3 days and a 100% water change every other week. I also have a live plant that does help with ammonia levels.

For the ph, I would use peat moss first before trying chemicals. Its always good to avoid using chemicals when there are natural solutions.

Has your tank cycled yet? Do you still need to do that many water changes after it cycles?

My girls seem really happy right now, but I will watch for problems and am prepared to get a bigger tank if need be.

Most people don't cycle tanks under 5 gallons. Since I have 2 and 1 gallon betta tanks I don't cycle them, I just do frequent water changes to keep the water params stable. I don't do 100% water changes on my 10 but I will do a full cleaning (take fish out, drain water,and vaccuum VERY thoroughly) once a year ensuring my filter media stays in a bucket of old tank water to save the cycle and beneficial bacteria. I'm glad the girls aren't fighting yet, they should have established their little territories by now so as long as nobody trespasses into another's space, they should be good.

 

[Bubblenester]

Wow, those are pretty females. If you're doing research and asking questions, then you already are a good fish mommy.

If you change the pH of your water, it's really hard to keep it stable, and having a stable pH is more important than an "ideal" pH. Yours is well within a decent range for bettas (mine is around 8.3 and they do fine) so I wouldn't worry about it at all, honestly.

I'm going to have to agree that your 5-gallon tank is probably too small for the females. You will probably see a lot of fighting amongst them... I really would upgrade them to a 10-gallon if possible.

Tanks that small are hard to cycle, because the waste builds up really quickly. You could probably cycle the 5-gallon if you put in a sponge filter (or even just a plain sponge hidden in the back of the tank- NOT one with anti-microbial junk that they're putting in kitchen sponges nowdays) to help grow bacteria, and kept an eye on the nitrate and nitrite levels. I really don't think it's possible to cycle a 2 gallon tank... for that size, I'd do either a full water change every two weeks or 50% change every week. Keep in mind that bettas can tolerate higher waste levels than most fish, and find a balance between keeping the water clean and having a life.

As for food, consider picking up some frozen bloodworms. They're really not that much of a pain, and bettas go crazy for them. It also gives them a little more balanced diet than just dry foods.

Oops, one more thing. If you have real shells in your tank, they will slowly dissolve and make your water harder. I like to use terra cotta flower pots, because they're perfect for bettas to hide in, and actually look pretty nice in a tank.

 

[dutchmodernist]

Bubblenester - thank you so much for the great advice. I had no ideas about the shells! eek. My water is already quite hard.

They are really beautiful girls, I feel so lucky - I pulled them all out of the back rows of the shelves at Petsmart (betta cups stacked 4 deep, most of the ones in the back were dead, but I grabbed all the pretty girls who responded to me)

They eat from my hand, and they haven't been fighting since the first couple of days. Such a joy.

Also, your sponge idea is good - I'm wondering, does the filter media in the whisper filter work for growing bacteria? I think I get confused when people talk about the "filter media" for cycling, and the actual filter. I thought they were the same thing, but after reading more I realize they might be different!

Everyone here is so awesome and helpful!

 

[FishWishDish]

You can also get conditioners like Prime or Ultimate Conditioner or perhaps others that detoxify ammonia in the water. The API total ammonia test kit will still show you how much ammonia is in the water--you can put a toxic ammonia meter in the tank to make sure it's all harmless ammonium (NH4) rather than toxic NH3 (Seachem makes one they say lasts a year, Mardel makes 4-6 week ones).

Either way, watch for the nitrite spike and do lots of water changes (every day or two if that's what it takes to keep ammonia and nitrites below .25) until ammonia and nitrites are both 0 - expect 4 weeks - 4 months. FYI Ultimate conditioner also detoxes nitrites and provides electrolytes (so you don't need stress coat with it).