Tank getting dirty as heck...

[FlareBettaGuy]

My one gallon tank for my betta is getting very filthy. And it's not like I don't clean it, either cause I just got it. I put the plants in, the water, the gravel, hole, castle and decoration in. Then, lastly, the betta. After a day or two, I noticed the water was somewhat cloudy, and I said to myself: "It's problebly just old food. A water change later would do the trick." Well, the next day, I did one. Got some of the old water out, put new water in. Still dirty. Very dirty. Perhaps even dirtier than before. So, I repleated the process two times. Still dirty. And I was all like: "DARN IT! Now I have to do a complete water change again!" I have a feeling that there's a lot of stuff in the gravel. I got the gravel from my friend, who has a big tank. A big, DIRTY tank full of fish poo. So I guess that's the reason. Maybe. I just don't know. The betta does not seem to be bothered, but hey, how in the world can I tell? Maybe it's annoying him as much as a lot of dust in the air annoys us. He has to breathe the little particles in the water in, ya know! So I have to transfer the betta to a different bowl, give it some bloodworms, and let him eat while I wash the gravel and plants and stuff with hot water, and refill it. That won't stress him out too much, will it?

 

[MAM]

um, did you rinse the gravel before you used it then? i know you might have been hoping to keep the beneficial bacteria, but if your friend didn't maintain his tank well, you might just want to rinse out the gravel a bit.........

 

[FlareBettaGuy]

You bet I did. And boy, did I rinse it well. I put all the gravel into a bowl, put HOT water in it, stirred, poured the dirty water out, and repeated a lot of times. Everytime, there would be a bunch of "stuff" in the water when I pour it out. I repeated until I can't really see anything in the rinsing water anymore, but I guess that wasn't enough...

 

[MAM]

hmmmm, not sure then. maybe just it a week so. could be there was something funky going on with your water (some days ours is cloudy, other days it stinks to high heaven, other days it smells like a pool). hope it clears up for you, since you haven't had the best luck with bettas so far. do your betta seem happy otherwise, acting normal?

 

[FlareBettaGuy]

Well, yeah, if you call swimming around in the same pattern over and over again as normal. Seriously, yesterday, he kept looping around two plants while going up like a figure eight, went to the top, does a little flip, swims back down, and kept doing the same EXACT thing, not stopping. Seems crazy.

 

[MAM]

thats something my betta do when stressed..........................

 

[MizPlaya692003]

You should get some water cleaner. I think that the Jungle Clear Water chemical works real good. You can find it wal-mart. And it removes odors and cloudinedd.

 

[MAM]

just my opinion, but i'd steer clear of any chemicals just yet. just keep up the regular water changes and give it a little bit of time.

 

[FishHeads]

You bet I did. And boy, did I rinse it well. I put all the gravel into a bowl, put HOT water in it, stirred, poured the dirty water out, and repeated a lot of times. Everytime, there would be a bunch of "stuff" in the water when I pour it out. I repeated until I can't really see anything in the rinsing water anymore, but I guess that wasn't enough...

Sounds like you may be overfeeding your beta without realizing it. How much you feed and how often?