cloudy water

[kwejko]

We have just inherited a lovely betta, he is great and we love him but it seems like his tank water is cloudy after 1-2 days ? He is in a plain glass bowl, 1 gallon, I took all the gravel and plants out to eliminate that as a possibility. We condition the water when we change it, we do a complete change of the water, any thoughts ???

When I got his little bowl for him, I asked at the pet store about filtration and they said bettas don't like water flow, what are we doing wrong ?

[kyjm37]

When I first put in gravels they made the water cloudy so I had to wash them with water(no soap).

When you take a betta home with the water from a store, just dump the water and give him clean water.

You are supposed to clean the tank once 5-7days so keep that up and there wont be any problem.

[Blaxicanlatino]

like kyjim said, you must wah the gravel off because usually its dusty

[SST]

But the gravel isn't the problem, friends. They removed it from the tank and the cloudiness still persists.

I don't know what the problem is, though.

The store was wrong about the filtration issue. Filters are always good. It's the strong current that is bad for bettas as it can shred their fins. They do prefer still water, but there are ways to filter the water without hurting the fins. I do believe there are micro filters for small bowls. If you're going to go that route though, it would be worth it to upgrade Mr. Betta to a larger tank (2.5 - 7 gals) with a heater and a filter.

[King of Candlesticks]

I agree with everything susan said. Filters and Heaters are very important.

[miagrrl]

i would upgrade to a real aquarium - and ditch the bowl. all fish need filtration, no matter what an LFS or big box pet store says. heater is also a must, unless you keep the little guy in a fairly warm room (with a consistent temp).

Also, one gallon is mighty small space. i would go with a bare minimum of a 3 gallon tank. I have an eclipse 3 gallon, its small- but still has enough space for him to swim around, and it provides filtration without a strong current of water flow.

with a really small tank be extra careful about over-feeding, and you need to do regular water changes more often (i do 50% twice a week).

[herefishy]

My betta breeding tanks are 5g with elodea, java moss, and a sponge filter, the "billi" type. As true as it is that bettas don't like moving water and can breath atmospheric air they still need a clean tank. The cloudiness could come from an algae bloom, bacteria die off or overpopulation, or an over mineralization of the water. Get the water tested and test the water from your fauscet too. You may be surprised at whatthe results are.