Hi
So I have never had a betta fish before. I come from salt water reef tanks. My daughter over the weekend received a betta set up and a fish as a gift. Now why you would give someone a fish is beyond me, but here we are. After reading this sub, I guess the guy sold them the wrong stuff. It is some 2.5 gallon aequon aquarium with a castle and betta hammock. I have now read here today a fish tank that small is like alligator Alcatraz for bettas. It seems a lot of "reputable" sites on the internet say 2.5-3 gallons is appropriate for bettas so I understand why they are purchased. The tank is brand new and not at all cycled so my main focus these past 48 hours is to get it cycled and not kill the betta in the process. I have added a rock with a plant attached and some java moss balls from an established planted tank as well as a sponge from a friends tank to help with the cycle. I have been doing water changes and adding erase-cl and microbater 7 to keep ammonia at bay when it creeps up. I also added a nano heater to keep the tank heat constant. What should my course of action be for this tank to have success even if it is a short term house. I can swap tanks in the new year if that is necessary but what should I be doing short term? In order to upgrade his house, oI will need to consolidate my two nano reefs to get some more space then cycle a bigger tank. This will probably take a month or two in the new year.
https://i.redd.it/apbw3kxgzh7g1.jpeg
Posted by Millerbr310
2 Comments
The tank size isn’t as important right now as getting it cycled. You’re doing the correct things by adding plants to get the beneficial bacteria up and monitoring ammonia. If you want more details, search up “fish in cycle” because that’s pretty much what you’re already doing.
I use seachem prime when I have an unplanned fish in an uncycled tank. Prime will safely bind ammonia to make it safe for the fish but allows the beneficial bacteria to consume it. A few drops each day for that size tank would do the trick.