Temperature, Food, Lighting Etc.

[stang1]

just make sure evrything is low and you'll be fine...don't worry too much about cycling..it just happens with water changes and stuff

stang, dont mean to put you down, but try not to bog the kid with tons of info about cycling and stuff. Just let the tank go, tell him about the nitrites and nitrates and ammonia and such but dont tell him about cycling ingeneral. That may and probably already has confused him. Look at my 10g for example. I knew about cycling but didn't even test my waters. It's six months later and I treat it the same way I would back when I got it and all the fish are fine.

Halfpass, just make sure that there isn't serious direct sunlight because that'll creae algae on the side of your tank. Only do this untill you have the Marina LED light. Fake plants obviously don't need light, or that I know of , and light on for 8-12 hours gives them enough light for the day.

Hoep it helped

I'm so glad that you don't feel cycling is that important!
If it is her first new fish then the cycling is an important part of it. To add a fish to a tank that hasn't cycled isn't necessarily the best thing for a fish. I don't disagree with people using fish to cycle if that's what they choose to do. I personally prefer to do a fishless cycle.
You've been lucky with your fish as a few other people may have been but I believe in getting the tank just right before I add anything to it. If his fish dies in a few days due to high nitrites would you rather I mentioned it after the fact?
I was actually trying to encourage her and help her out with her first fish but maybe I should leave that to you. You obviously know more than I do!
Just found this on the forum:
I have a betta in a fish bowl. Can I cycle without a filter?
You certainly can (and should). Just follow the same procedure as for a larger tank - the bacteria should colonise your gravel. Since the bacteria really need oxygen to do well, adding an air-pump with an air-stone, or better yet, a small tank filter of some kind, will improve things even further

 

[zoekin8yg]

actually without a filter you arent really going to be cycling. You will need to do 2 20 to 30 % water changes a week with a gravel vac and then a really really big water change once a week. You could get a small filter if you wanted to that would mean less work with the water changes. If you didnt wash the gravel before you put it in then that will be why the water is cloudy, do a big water change and really make sure you give the gravel a good vac.

 

[little_betta_boy]

Yo big sistah...I think you just got told off!! I am now in loove with stang1!!


Your bro...SiMoN

 

[stang1]

Yo big sistah...I think you just got told off!! I am now in loove with stang1!!


Your bro...SiMoN

Thankyou Simon.
I just have my own opinion and people will always agree and disagree on certain things. I was more upset with Matty for suggesting not bothering with cycling, got my back up a bit when all I was doing was trying to help out!

 

[matty101]

stang, I wasn't trying to be rude or all. I just believe that cycling doesn't have to be done whe the fish is already in there as that can harm the fish I didn't mean do it at all. Obviously you should cycle your tank but when a brand new fish is in the tank probably days after his arrival, this could cause great stress and thus, killing the fish. I didn't want to cycle my tank because I was just hoping that it would be ok, which it is. I also used Bullseye 7.0 to get the hardness to a neutral. Please don't accuse me of being a bad fishkeeper becaus emany people do And this makes me feel like !!!! (probably know what << word is). It hurts to be made fun of or put down because you do things your own way. I didn't cycle my tank to try to keep the stress levels minimum. I know I should've but I received the betta BEFORE the tank. I wouldn't want to keep the betta in that tiny cup and wasn't allowed another tank. So I had only hoped, while only knowing so much about cycling, that it would help. Sorry stang if I sort of didn't explain or made situations worse but that's my situation. In future tanks, ofcourse it will be cycled like I should've but didnt. Sorry! But I know, from past occasions, that sorry isn't enough. I will almost 100% get ranted and raved upon and that's why I sort of hate forums. You state your OPINION ( let me remind you this is my opinion not fact) and get busted for saying something wrong. Sure heck if I was giving him WRONG info, bust my chops, ut I wasn't. It was pure opinionated

 

[stang1]

I don't think your a bad fishkeeper at all. You chose to do things your way and everything has worked out ok for you, I'm glad of that. I know it's confusing when someone first gets a fish and they get bogged down with information, I felt exactly the same when I set up my first tank! But it's best to have all the information and make sure things run as smoothly as possible. At the end of the day, it's the welfare of the fish that concerns me and I just wanted to make sure that the OP was sure about things.
I also apologise for getting on at you, I shouldn't have got so defensive but I was only trying to help.

 

[matty101]

not at all needed...my apolgies sent to you

 

[halfpass]

Okay, so my brother, who happens to have made his identity known, tested my tank

pH- 7.0-7.2
NH3- 0!
NO2- 0.6 (this is underlined his note... it that bad?)
KH- 30mg
GH 40mg

Is this good? Bad? What do I do to fix problems?

 

[stang1]

Okay, so my brother, who happens to have made his identity known, tested my tank

pH- 7.0-7.2
NH3- 0!
NO2- 0.6 (this is underlined his note... it that bad?)
KH- 30mg
GH 40mg

Is this good? Bad? What do I do to fix problems?

Hi Halfpass,
Your NO2 (nitrite) needs to be 0. You ideally need to do daily water changes to bring this down. NH3 or NO3 (nitrate) might need double checking because it's quite rare to have a reading of 0, mine is about 20.

 

[Kyrielle]

I think he means ammonia with NH3.

 

[halfpass]

I think he means ammonia with NH3.

Yeah it's ammonia.

I cleaned the tank and was very careful to rinse the gravel a comple of times. The water is nice and clear now.

How exactly do I know when it needs to be changed again?

 

[Kyrielle]

If you got a kit that would test nitrate, you'd change the water when it gets to 40 or above. But, you could always just make it regular practise of changing the water twice a week. Oh and be sure you rinse your gravel in old tank water or at least dechlorinated water. Tap water will kill all the bacteria in the gravel. Possibly too late for that advice, but now you'll know for next time.

 

[halfpass]

If you got a kit that would test nitrate, you'd change the water when it gets to 40 or above. But, you could always just make it regular practise of changing the water twice a week. Oh and be sure you rinse your gravel in old tank water or at least dechlorinated water. Tap water will kill all the bacteria in the gravel. Possibly too late for that advice, but now you'll know for next time.

I plead guilty to the charge of ignorant manslaughter of innocent gravel bacteria

Good to know for next time. Thank you.

Is it normal for a my betta to "sleep" right beside his heater. I think it might be his best friend. Whenever I look at his tank he's got himself withing milimitres of his heater. The tank is usually at 80F (27C) at the opposite end from the heater. Is that too cold. Is that why he stays right against his heater???

 

[Kyrielle]

Probably just feels that it's the safest place to sleep that's close to the surface. =) When they sleep, they'll look for a place to rest that's close to the surface as they need to periodically go up for a breath of air. Also, it's nice and warm and solid...a good place to duck behind if a fish comes by to pose a potential threat (regardless if there are other fish actually in the tank or not).

 

[stang1]

I think he means ammonia with NH3.

My apologies, I was having an incredibly dense moment!