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Oldfishlady water change recommendations

121K views 361 replies 117 participants last post by  cfaye3char 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Lots of different ways to successfully keep this species-

Based on the experiments I have conducted over the years-I have found that water quality can be maintained by these water change schedules. This is based on feeding quality foods and not overfeeding-since most water quality problems are due to poor quality foods and overfeeding more than byproducts produced by the Betta.

You don't want to base water change needs on water test ALONE-The test result can be helpful too, however, we don't test for the DOC's (dissolved organic compounds) that also build up that can be problematic.

All tanks need at least weekly-to-twice weekly water changes and water changes based on water prams of-Ammonia, nitrite 0.25ppm or greater and Nitrate of 40ppm or greater-It is best to keep nitrate under 20ppm.

If using plants fert-make water change-then add the ferts so you will remove any unused ferts so the algae can't to help prevent algae problems. With that said, some species of algae can be good and a sign of a healthy system, however, the aquarium is still a closed system and manual removal will still be needed on occasion.

Remember-some products/additives used in the tank can cause skewed test results. Have a base line with your source water with and without these products so you don't make unneeded water changes based on skewed results.

Tanks:
1-4gal without a filter or live plants
Twice weekly-1-50% water only and 1-100%

1-4gal with a filter
Twice weekly-1-50% water only and 1-50% with substrate cleaning by vacuum or stir and dip method.
Filter media needs a swish/rinse in old tank water a couple of times a month.

1-4gal with/without filter and with live plants-
This can vary based on number, specie and growth state of the plants. Generally with live plants even without a filter you don't want to make 100% water changes.

5-9gal without a filter
Once weekly 50% with vacuum-with 90-100% monthly

5-9gal with a filter
Weekly 50% with vacuum
Filter media needs a swish/rinse in old tank water a couple of times a month.

5-9gal with/without filter and with live plants
This can vary based on number, specie and growth state of the plants. Generally with live plants even without a filter you don't want to make 100% water changes.

10+gal without a filter
Once weekly 50% with vacuum and 90-100% as needed based on stocking

10+gal with a filter
Weekly 50% with vacuum
Filter media needs a swish/rinse in old tank water a couple of times a month.


10+gal with/without filter and with live plants
This can vary based on number, specie and growth state of the plants. Generally with live plants even without a filter you don't want to make 100% water changes.

You want to vacuum in all areas you can reach without moving anything or disruption of plant roots. It is best not to move decorations around-but if you need to or you want to change things around-Be sure and vacuum well under items-you may or may not need to make 2 back to back water changes in order to get the excess mulm/debris buildup under items.
If you do-don't clean the filter media or clean the non-viewing walls-especially in cycled tanks to prevent min-cycle/spikes.

When you vacuum-Unplug both the filter and heater-Then plunge the vacuum deep into the substrate and as the mulm/debris clear in a second or two-move and repeat.
You will not get all the mulm/debris and this is okay-Once you refill with like temp dechlorinated water and turn the filter back on the water should clear within the hour-even without a filter the water should clear. If not, you either missed a water change, over feeding or overstocked.

It is best to leave the Betta in the tank with partial water changes.
When making 100% water changes and you cup the Betta-be sure and properly acclimate back to the new chemistry like you do with a new Betta-By adding small amounts of the new tank water to the holding container over 10-15min or to tolerance-Net and add to the tank without adding the holding containers water.
Be sure and have some extra dechlorinated water on hand to use for top offs if needed.

Too clean can sometimes be as bad as too dirty-We all know what too dirty can do-but too clean and too many water changes especially 100% water changes can be stressful, disrupt the balance of the good and bad bacteria/pathogens and antibody development. Its hard for life to be maintained in too clean and sterile conditions.

I am not saying to not make water changes-what I am saying is that this species doesn't produce the amount of byproduct that you think and removal of all the organics in the tank too often can disrupt the balance and by removing all the bad you are removing the good that helps to keep the bad controlled.....Balance.....

Remember-to always wash hand well before and after working on your tank/Betta. And to unplug both the heater and filter...Safety for both you and your wet-pet.....​
 
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#264 ·
For your tank you can do either 2-50% and one full water change a wk OR you can do what i do . I do one full water change every 5 days.
Make sure you acclimate him when you do a full water change(the new water temperature has to approximately match his water temperature). Let us know if you need any instructions on that.
Do you think he still has fin rot?"smudged" , darkened , ragged or frayed edges, fins falling apart in chunks-this indicates fin rot.
If they are the same color as his body, or have white/clear tips, this indicates normal growth
If he still has fin rot i would do more water changes and if you have stress coat , it would help with healing. Did you treat him with medications or salt?

Good nutritional food will help with recovery . What kind of food you feeding him?
Also frozen blood worms are really good source of the protein and good for an immune system.
Bloodworms - Cubes - 3.5 oz. - Frozen | thatpetplace.com
 
#265 ·
Thank you, what does 2-50% mean? 20-50? Also the very first post in this thread says you shouldnt do 100% changes with live plants, did you mean 100% when you said 'full' water changes?. I am thinking of getting a vaccuum to help reduce stuff on the bottom. Also here is a picture of fishy from this morning, I was told by someone on another forum that he looks to be on the mend. You can see the recent treatment via this thread here Fungus? Help. He eats pellets. He doesnt like any other type of food not even bloodworms. We have trued and he doesnt eat them. Only eats pellets (loves them).
Aquarium Freshwater aquarium Glass Fish Feeder fish


Aquarium Tail Reptile
 
#266 ·
Thank you, what does 2-50% mean? 20-50? Also the very first post in this thread says you shouldnt do 100% changes with live plants, did you mean 100% when you said 'full' water changes?. I am thinking of getting a vaccuum to help reduce stuff on the bottom. Also here is a picture of fishy from this morning, I was told by someone on another forum that he looks to be on the mend. You can see the recent treatment via this thread here Fungus? Help. He eats pellets. He doesnt like any other type of food not even bloodworms. We have trued and he doesnt eat them. Only eats pellets (loves them).
View attachment 300210

View attachment 300218 [/quote

2-50% is 2 half tank water changes a week, meaning you empty just half the water in the tank twice a week and add that half back with fresh water. And a full water change does mean 100% of the water emptied out and changed.

Can't help with your question about a full water change with live plants, but ANHEL is one of the forum experts on here and will give you advice with everything else.

Your fish looks great by the way!!
 
#267 ·
Sorry it took me ling time to write since i am at woks and busy, just saw your post futbol1:) Sorry if i will repeat what futbol said
I think it also a good idea to wait for Taeanna reply since she was helping you already in your other thread. 2-50% I meant to do 2- 50% water changes and one- 100%( full water change) PER week. And looks like he is improving if he went from not eating since 1/29 to eating .I would continue what you was doing with frequent water changes , stress coat and not sure if you still using almond tea leaf.
Are you still adding Quick start though? You really don't need it.
About full water changes with life plants - people don't recommend to do full water changes if you have heavy planted tank which is not what you have. So you can continue with full water changes.
He looks better ,and i think there are fins regrowth on the first picture. How long ago the second picture from?
 
#269 · (Edited)
I have a question about the 1-4 gallon water changes with live plants and a filter. I re scaped my tank and drain about 85% of the water. There is no guide in the first post about water changes with live plants.

What is recommended? It seems like the aquarium with healthy live plants doesn't care if you change the water or not, the filter is just there for cleaning debris, and the plants take care of the ammonia and chemical filtration.

Normally I do 1 50% every week, but like I said there is no guide to follow based on whats healthiest for the fish, plants, and tank in general.
 
#270 ·
With a planted tank the primary reason for water changes is to remove dissolved waste that the plants don't use, and to replace minerals that the livestock and plants use up. A weekly 50% wc fulfills these requirements.

In larger tank sizes you can go longer, but for a 1g to 4g I'd stick with weekly.
 
#271 ·
Twice weekly-1-50% water only and 1-100%
What does the 1 mean? :question:

Twice weekly 50% I understand, but what's that 1 got to do with it?

And what's "water only"??

I'm doing 100% WCs for my betta's 1-gallon unfiltered... is that right or is it overkill?
 
#272 ·
A 100% wc means removing the fish and cleaning the tank, decor and gravel. It's too much to do every other day. Once a week is more than enough. That's what the 1 means. I'm sure every other week is plenty if you do a water only change every other day. That means not cleaning everything, just changing the water. You should also remove any leftover food and waste with a turkey baster as often as needed.

For a 1g tank, you ought to change more than half the water every other day dosing with Prime.

If you have a test kit, you can determine your own wc schedule.
 
#273 ·
Ok, I am terribly confused because I keep hearing different things. For a 1g no plants, no filtered, how often do you clean? Because, if I'm reading it right, OFL says 1-50% and 1-100% weekly. Is that correct or should it be more than that?
 
#274 ·
I have 3 Bettas all in 1gallon tanks. Here's what I do as far as cleaning: every 3-4 days, I do 100% water changes. I remove the fish, empty the water, rinse marbles and silk plants in hot water, then I wipe out the tank with toweling. Replace marbles and plant, refill with tap water, adding 2-3 drops of conditioner. Replace fish, done. I never do the 50% changes because I feel my water change schedule is more than enough.

This takes me about 20 minutes for all 3 fish, so its not a big job for me at all. My fish have never been sick, and are very healthy and active:)

Also, in between water changes I remove all the poop with a turkey baster, so I never have anything just sitting and polluting the water.
 
#275 · (Edited)
OK, Crash, here's the true but complicated answer.

Depending on what and how much he's being fed , and how much daily waste removal you do, a healthy, active Betta can produce from 0.10ppm to 0.25ppm ammonia into a 1g volume in a day. This would suggest a daily 50% wc to be conservative. Prime detoxifies ammonia for 24 to 48 hours. Since the buildup takes place in 24 hours, you can extend the wc period to every other or third day, if you use Prime on non-water change days.

Considering the above, I must respectfully disagree with OFL's 1-gallon-tank recommendations as being to small and too few.

The limitations and dangers of a 1g tank frighten me. If Betta weren't such tough adaptable fish, we could never keep them that way.
 
#276 · (Edited)
So is Prime actually different than conditioner?And should this be used instead of conditioner with each water change? If so, for me that would mean if I started using Prime, then I assume it would be adequate enough to keep the ammonia levels down in my 3 tanks in between my 3-4 day water change schedule, which would make it even healthier for the Betta. Do you agree with this?

Also, should I switch to Prime and ditch my current Aqueon water Conditioner?

I know your not a proponent of Gallon tanks. But honestly, they aren't as terrible as they sound if maintained properly, and many of us on here do take the time to do this. In order to maintain them properly, lots of practice and research needs to be done on the correct way to do this, which is something many new Betta owners neglect to do, resulting in sick or dead fish. Another problem with these smaller tanks is people refuse to take the time to keep up to the water changes. And when this happens, it makes it look bad for ALL small tank owners. In simple terms, If you don't have the time, don't buy the fish.

I feel if new fish owners knew the real amount of time and maintenance that was involved in smaller tanks, they would think twice about using them in the first place.

I know for a fact there are many other members on here that use Gallon tanks, but for whatever reason some of you stay mainly quiet about it or don't discuss it on here much. So if any of you read this, please chime in and let me know what your WC routine is and what works for you.
 
#281 ·
Ok, so, if I were to do a 100% wc every Monday and Thursday using stress coat, in a 1g heated, non filtered tank, would that be good? My betta lives in my office so I'm not around on weekends to clean him.
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#282 ·
Yes, that should be fine. Since the Stresscoat neutralizes ammonia for 24-48 hours (as Hallyx said,) that will keep the water in good shape between your 100% changes. Just try to baste out the poop and any excess food on Fridays, right before you leave work (maybe keep a turkey baster somewhere there) and you should be good to go until Monday:)
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#285 ·
Please help. Need help with a cloudy tank

Not sure what is wrong or what to do to fix. My 2.5 gallon filtered split tank all of a sudden turned really cloudy and has green alge growing in it. I took the water to PetCo for testing and they said it is perfect. What is up with this?????
PLEASE HELP
 
#287 ·
Sorry no one responded back to you.

I'm not familiar with planted tanks (I have silk plants in mine) so I can't offer any advice to you. Maybe the algae is being caused by your live plants??

As long as your water tested out fine, and your Betta seems healthy, I wouldn't worry too much. Just maybe clean your tank out more often.

You could always start a thread about this in the diseases and emergency section- You will definitley get more responses there.

Your fish is very pretty-good luck!
 
#288 · (Edited)
Live plants usually help with the containment of algae by out competing for the available nutrients. How long are the lights on in the tank? Algae can be controlled by reducing the light and/or the nutrients available to them.

I've discovered that food that the fish doesn't eat will be come food for the plants and/or algae. If you treat the algae like you would a live plant it usually can be contained.
 
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#290 ·
I have a 1.4 gal with a filter and a small java fern and I'm doing half water changes every two or three days. I use filtered tap water that's been left to stand for two or three days (I refill my pitcher after a water change), but no water conditioner. Is that about right? It seems to be keeping the tank clean and non-smelly so far, but I haven't had it long.
 
#300 ·
I have a 1.4 gal with a filter and a small java fern and I'm doing half water changes every two or three days. I use filtered tap water that's been left tttto stand for two or three days (I refill my pitcher after a water change), but no water conditioner. Is that about right? It seems to be keeping the tank clean and non-smelly so far, but I haven't had it long.
That sounds fine!

I do 100% changes on my gallon tanks every 4-5 days, and mine are all unfiltered. So between your filter and every 2-3 day half changes, you should be good to go. I always go by smell too-once the water gets any kind of odor to it, I change it right away. But that never happens because I keep my tanks very clean.
 
#291 ·
If you're on a municipal water supply (as opposed to a well), it's likely that your water is protected with chloramine. This is hazardous to your livestock and it will not disperse by aging like chlorine does.

You really should be using a water conditioner that detoxifies ammonia. Prime by Seachem is the best and the best value because it's concentrated.
 
#294 ·
Okay I have a Top Fin 10 power filter, and when she says swish the filter media what does she mean by that? In the filter it has a black sponge thing and a carbon thing.
Also how often do I change the carbon thing, it says every 6-8 weeks but somewhere else it said only if it is falling apart? I've had it running for about 2 months and I haven't changed it yet.
Sorry about all the "thing", idk what they are called lol.
 
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