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Flaring

3K views 67 replies 6 participants last post by  dramaqueen 
#1 ·
Okay another question lol. Do all bettas flare? When i first brought Morado home he was flaring like mad. I tested him today with a mirror and he just ignored it. I even moved the paper thats blocking the huge mirror on my bathroom wall,and nothing. Is that normal? With Fishy, he flares at my finger,at his food,at his multi colored light,at himself lol. So I dunno...????
 
#52 ·
not sure...i think you can just take it out frm the holder and swish it around in the bucket of tank water to clean it up a bit.thats what ya normally do with the sponges in hob filters. i think its the carbon part of it that really needs replaced,but im not sure. i will look that one up.
 
#54 ·
Hmm okay so what i read so far is that...copied from another site american aquarium products concerning both...

Carbon is often not necessary in established aquariums especially tanks with regular water changes and plants. I generally only use carbon to remove chemicals after treatment then remove the carbon. You can also leave old carbon to become a nitrifying bacterial colony. This point about carbon also lends credibility to Sponge Filters which are often considered poor filters due to the fact they provide no chemical filtration, this is based on poor information as to the need for carbon filtration.

[6] Simple to clean, simply remove the sponge and squeeze or rinse in old aquarium water or de-chlorinated tap water. The advantage here is the aquarist is less likely to ignore cleaning the filter (unlike many complex filters), which can lead to organic build up, increasing nitrates and lowering KH and ph.

[8] Probably the best choice of filtration for breeding tanks, Betta tanks or bowls, hospital tanks, and even discus aquariums, due to the fact that they do not “suck” in baby or weak fish or attract noxious bacteria.

[9] Easily the best filter for a small tank or bowl, especially for bettas with there long fins that can get caught on intakes of HOB or other filters. They excel over UGF in bowls or small tanks in that they are easier maintenance, and more efficient biologically and mechanically.

so what i gather is that...its fine to leave the same one in,as long as you clean the sponge every now and again. Now this filter i have cant exactly take apart,but i could swish the whole thing in water...and you can leave the carbon in as well,as it can hold nitrifying bacteria as well...

also read with a small bioload ( as in bettas) it doesnt have to replaced nearly as often. Says 4-8 weeks,so two months at the most. The sponge will start looking real funky,the water might not clear up as much as it did before,might start smelling a bit,then thats when you change it. But it should last a good while with just one betta fish. :) HTH and didnt confuse you anymore lol!
 
#55 ·
haha...so i browsed over to the equipment part of our forum (still so many areas i havent checked out on here lol!)...many people asked about changing/cleaning filters...they said depending on your bioload (which would be way small with just mr. or mrs. betta) you could go like 3-4 months without changing your filter cartridge,as long as you swish it in old tank water like once a month or so. Then when it starts looking all beat up and stuff,time to replace! If the companies have their way,we would be replacing them like every week haha...so yeah....once you get it,its good for a good long time! confuse you enuff yet? :)

good question though,as i didnt know the answer either! Now we both know...yay!
 
#57 ·
I dunno I never took mine apart. I am sure you can somehow,but its not bad to leave the carbon in,as that states it keeps nitrifying bacteria in it. So its all good. Plus the sponge should be fine for like...well many many months...which is great! You can just swish the whole cartridge around in the tank water. No need to take it apart other than from the holder,which is easy enough.
 
#58 ·
ok, thanks. I know nothing about filterslol, about as much as I do about heaters.lol Another question... does the water temperature go up if the room temperature goes up in a heated tank? Mine is set at 78-79 and its been warm here today . My water temp is at 81-82. And, of course you know that I don't have a filter to circulate the water. lol
 
#59 ·
yah i know haha. Its okay,we are here to learn! yeah,if your room temp goes up,tank temps will too. I noticed that the other day when it got quite warm here,in the 70s. Now its back to cold again,so their tank temps are back to where they were before lol. So once summer hits and if you dont have ac,then id be turning down the heaters a bit so fishy doesnt get cooked.
 
#60 ·
Hmm, I may not even have to use the heater in summer if it gets hot enough. Yeah, I have ac but sometimes it gets pretty hot up here in my room.I thought I read that if you cycle and it comes time to change the filter (only when its falling apart) that you need to put part of the old one with the new one to keep your cycle going.
 
#61 ·
yup thats right. with the hob filters,you want to only change one part at a time else risk messing up your cycle. for the internal ones like morado has,well what i do is put an extra filter catridge in fishys tank. that way,there is always an extra cycled.

if you dont have another cycled tank,keep the extra filter or a sponge for a filter in that tank you have,so its ready to go pretty much. just would suck if you have a small tank,cause that would take up extra room.

wow i feel kinda smart,even though i havent had fish for very long haha...
 
#63 ·
ty! never a dumb question lol. well i turn it so the carbon side is down that way itll stay on the bottom. otherwise it tends to float lol. you can hide it behind a plant or something too if ya dont wanna see an ugly filter sitting in ya tank. doesnt bother me though haha.
 
#65 ·
haha...yeah...:)
 
#67 ·
If hes not doing it ALL the time,then its fine. Two of my male bettas flare at their own reflections,the thermometer,the heater lol. So occasional is fine. If all the time,cover it somehow. Hope that helps!
 
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