Questions regarding betta care

[aaroncm]

Hey guys, just joined. I have a few questions regarding my setup. =)

I have a little over 20L tank for my single male Betta, hiding places and fake plants (Want some real ones soon...), and wanted to know how often I should be replacing the water, and how much? This seems to vary person to person, I've been doing ~20% every 3 days. And when I do this, I usually leave the Betta in the tank and do it carefully, trying to match the temperature as best as possible, it usually doesn't fluctuate at all. Between this (Say after 3/6 water scoops) I put 3 drops of water neutralizer in to help it mix. I was also curious about the water I'm using and how much neutralizer I'm using. I'm in an area where we rely on rain water, and also using a new rain tank, so the water is chemical free and pretty pristine, but I've heard tap water is better for some reason?

Anyway, other than that, I not long ago had a Betta die randomly, he was active, eating, looking fine and stress free but died. Wondering why? Temperature was fine and stable, tank clean. I didn't have Ammonia strips at the time but I was doing water replacements, could it have had some sort of Ammonia spike?

So far the new guy is healthy and happy, but just wanted to ask the above questions to ensure he'll be cool.

Oh, he also hangs around the heater a lot when resting, is that normal? The temp is about 24*C.


Thanks =)

[thekoimaiden]

Welcome to the forum! For your current setup, you should do two 50% water changes a week until the tank cycles. You can read some more about that here (if you don't already understand it): Nitrogen cycle-Betta specific

You are right in that tap water is better for your betta than pure rain water. This is because rain water is almost pure H2O. Regular water has at least some degree of dissolved minerals in it. Fish and plants absorb these minerals from the water. When there is a lower concentration of minerals in the water, osmosis pulls the minerals from the betta's body and they have to actively transport this back in. This puts extra strain on the betta's body. I don't know just how many tanks you have, but buying bottled spring water is a better option than using pure rain water. Plants also do poorly in this type of water, so bottled spring water might be a necessity if you want plants.

[aaroncm]

Oh ok. Well we do have a big bottle of spring water for drinking. Should I use this for the next water swap? That way it will be a gradual change =)

Thanks

[thekoimaiden]

That sounds like a great idea. Just steal a few gallons of water from that a week for your betta. I can guarantee it will make live plants much easier.

[aaroncm]

Ok, thanks for the help =)

The last thing I was curious about in my first post was why my previous Betta died. Any ideas? Maybe had some sickness from the beginning?

Thanks =)

[thekoimaiden]

It's really hard to say since you don't have any water test results. It's entirely probable that he came with a disease. All of mine that I got from the pet store did. Did you notice anything like white stringy poop or odd spots on his body?

[aaroncm]

Ah ok. Nope I didn't actually, I was on the look out for it but he seemed healthy :s
Thanks =p