Too many water changes??

[cpark95]

Hey I have a question: can you ever change the water in a betta's aquarium too much? I really don't want my betta "Bubbles" to get sick or get any fin rot. His tank is only about 2 and a half gallons so it needs to be really clean.

[TigerRegalia]

I think it is possible to change the water so much that 1) the betta fish gets stressed out, and/or 2) beneficial bacteria do not get a chance to build up. I've been having this battle, too! Let's wait to see what some of the other more experienced aquarists say, though.

[Zero186]

There isnt a need to change it to much, but constant moving around is stressful for the fish. With a 2.5g a Weekly 50% and 100% water change will keep Bubbles nice and healthy without any unneeded stress. Also bettas to not produce alot of waste (compared to most fish) so making sure you are feeding the right amounts and that none of the food is being left to rot at the bottom is also key.

With a tank that small it will pretty much impossible to develop bacteria, and your best bet is just stay on top of water changes.

[kfish]

If the tank is filtered, 2-3 50% changes a week (vacuum the substrate during one of those changes, the other two water only) is enough. If there's no filter, 1 50%, 1 100% per week, as suggested before.

It's definitely possible to over clean if you're trying to cycle or use bacteria to help the water quality stay up (the purpose of doing 2-3 50% changes in your tank if you have a filter... a 2.5g filter is probably too small to fully cycle the tank, but maintaining bacteria in there would help keep quality up between changes and remove necessity for 100% changes).

[Toaster11]

I am confused now... I have a1.5 gallon tank for my one betta. The tank has a 1-3 gallon whisper filter in it. When should I change the water?

[Aus]

Originally Posted by kfish

If the tank is filtered, 2-3 50% changes a week (vacuum the substrate during one of those changes, the other two water only) is enough.

^ that

I have a 3.5 filtered, CYCLED tank. It IS possible to cycle a small tank, but there's a far greater risk of mini-cycles and things going wrong in a tank that size, so frequent testing/water changes are a great idea. In my (very heavily planted) 3.5 g I do two 30% changes per week, and the tank has been utterly stable for months. If it was unplanted, I'd increase the % by a lot or not bother with the cycle and do 100%'s once a week.

[ANHEL123]

I love to do 100% water changes. I don't know but somehow my bettas don't get sick ever with 100% water changes.
For 2.5 gall you can do 1-50% and 1-100% water changes a week.

Toaste11 for 1.5 gall i would do 100% water changes just like Aus wrote once a week or even every 5 days.

Also when you do 100% water changes make sure new water +-2* the same as his. And take time to acclimate betta to new water chemistry/temperature by adding new water little buy little in his changing cup.

I am using aged water. I add water conditioner in the water which i have 1 gall jugs for. Then i let it stay for approx 12 -24 hrs before i change them. This way water is the same temperature ....

[cpark95]

Thanks for all the really great info. I will definitely use it now. I actually ended up moving my betta to a bigger aquarium. I'm not really sure how big it is but I know it is at least 4 gallons.

[Toaster11]

Thanks guys. Much appreciated!

[aokashi]

the 50% and 100% weekly changes is a tested water change formula by Oldfishlady who is renowned here for her betta keeping expertise. This will also expose the fish to a more consistant pattern, which is less likely to stress the f fish to the point of disease.

you are more likely able to cycle a 4 gallon than a 2.5, especially since betta fish have a smaller bioload, less beneficial bacteria are needed to do the nitrogen conversion. In turn less surface space is needed for bacteria to colonize. :)