Water conditions

[ShawnB]

Hey everyone!

I have a betta that I rescued from a bum that wasn't taking proper care of him, and need some information about the right water conditions. I have been filtering tap water through a brita, raising the pH to about ~6.8, then adding a small amount of aquarium salt to it. However, I don't think this is enough.

I went to a pet store and picked up a slime coat & conditioner today, but I don't know what will happen if it is put into the filtered water. It has chemicals to take care of heavy metals and other toxins, but what happens if there are no metals in the water for the chemical to bind to?

Thanks for any help!

[1fish2fish]

You need to get some water dechlorinator like Prime. Don't worry about the pH.. in fact you'll do more harm to your betta by messing with the pH than just letting him get accustomed to the pH.

You don't need to use filtered water.. regular tap water is ok as long as you put the dechlorinator in it.

The aquarium salt is good for a week while he gets acclimated but don't continuously use it because after a while it will become less effective against treating bacteria and other ailments.

[ShawnB]

Thanks for the tip.

I got some API Stress Coat+ today, and was just wondering what would happen if there was no chlorine in the water used.

I did a pH test on some water after it was run through the brita I have, and I shocked to see that it was pretty acidic, in the 5 range, so I'm guessing that might be a side effect of chlorine being removed, but I have no way of being sure.

[1fish2fish]

I'm not sure why it would be that acidic but bettas can adapt pretty well to the pH so its better not to worry about it. Sudden changes in pH (like using additives to bring the pH up or down) is what is harmful to your fish.

The conditioner won't affect your fish even if there is no chlorine in the water. Most of us don't bother with using filtered water because its so time consuming when you can just use tap and put the dechlor in there ;)