Welcome to the forum! Looks like you are doing your best and have done a really good deed by rescuing him from a really bad place... I would definitely follow what others have advised but I have nothing else to add other than, good job!
Rescued Betta
- Thread starter Tazzy90
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- betta fins betta scales
Oblio
Fish Herder
Do you have a liquid test kit, in particular what is your NO2+ level. 0 is great, 0.5 is not. Until you determine if your cold water in not softened, I would use drinking water. Condition it to be safe as most of those are just bottled tap water.
Thanks for the rescue, on behalf of the betta
As suggested, get a liquid test kit, the paper strips can be inaccurate and unreliable: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000255NCI/?tag=ff0d01-20
You may be in the midst of a fish-in cycle, read up on that here: https://www.fishforums.net/threads/cycle-your-tank-a-complete-guide-for-beginners.475055/
As suggested, get a liquid test kit, the paper strips can be inaccurate and unreliable: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000255NCI/?tag=ff0d01-20
You may be in the midst of a fish-in cycle, read up on that here: https://www.fishforums.net/threads/cycle-your-tank-a-complete-guide-for-beginners.475055/
TBH I don't understand these results. It appears to show the pre-softener water is soft (*which would be fine to use if accurate) , but why would there be a water softener installed?
Oblio
Fish Herder
Perhaps a good water softener salesman?
Oblio
Fish Herder
A proper softener installation will make sure that the hose bibs are bypassed as softened water is not good for plants. Not to mention that if you have a sprinkler system you are spending lots of $$ on salt. While not ideal, the tank could be filled via external hose bibs. I've heard (I think on TFF) that you should flush any garden hose before filling as the hose material leaches toxins into the standing water in the hose.
I’m not sure what the deal is with well water reading. The water softener and the well pipe? is way back in the creepiest part of the basement - old house >150 yrs old, dirt floor in that part and a bare bulb hanging from ceiling… I sent my husband to get the sample. In the meantime I bought a bunch of containers of spring water and ordered a water test kit instead of strips. I read about fishless/with fish in cycling. That’s a lot of information and chemistry. My understanding is that if uncycled, the water changes are almost continuous to struggle for balance, but to cycle my tank with the fish in his tank might hurt/kill him?
NannaLou
Fish Herder
In an uncycled tank water changes could be needed every day (potentially more than once a day) because you need to keep the Ammonia and Nitrite levels at zero, anything higher than zero is dangerous for the fish.
But, on a slightly more positive note, you only have one fish in a 5 gallon tank, so I can’t imagine him producing too much ammonia all by himself.
I would suggest that you only feed him every other day (he won’t starve and will produce less waste) and get some fast growing plants, especially those that float, as they will use the ammonia as food and prevent it from building up in the water. You don’t need to keep these plants forever, just until you are confident that the cycle has completed (although Betta fish love lots of live plants - especially floating ones).
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