getting back into betta keeping...

[ninjafish]

Hey everyone, it has been a while :) a few months ago I lost all of my bettas and most of my community fish due to a power failure during a snow storm. I was really upset and kind of lost all motivation to keep fish..I had a giant danio and 4 diamond tetras left in my community tank and I took care of them, but couldn't bring myself to buy more fish. I then got laid off in march, which stunk really badly. I was in petco today however and my mom convinced me to get some more fish for my community, so I got 6 bloodfin tetras. Of course got to thinking about bettas... :) so I checked out the betta section and ended up coming home with a deep red and white veiltail male. They had a gorgeous dragon hm plakat, but $16 is kind of a lot for one fish right now!

Anyway, the point to all my blabbing is that I was bad and made an impulse buy...my 10 gallon still has to be cleaned. Will he be okay in his cup for a few days while the tank cycles? And how often should I change the cup water? Right now I have him in a quiet corner of my room with the lights off. Thanks! (Also I apologize for any typos or random words, I'm on my phone because my internet is dead.)

[Scienceluvr8]

I think that should be fine as long as you maintain water changes in the cup. Do you possibly have some larger container that you can transfer him to, such as a tupper ware container, or a jar? Something like that can ensure he isnt exposed to a greater amount of ammonia build up :)

I'm sorry for your losses, but glad you're getting back into the wonderful world of betta keeping! Good luck with your new guy! :)

[ninjafish]

Oh, thank you soo much for reminding me lol, I have some used 2 gallon petco tanks in the garage from my old fish. I'd completely forgotten I stored them in there..I don't have a small heater for it anymore but its going to be in the high 90s the rest of the week, so he should be ok. I'll go set one up now!

Thanks again, its good to be back :)

[thekoimaiden]

Just keep him in a section of the house that stays relatively the same temp and he should be more than fine in a little 2 gallon until you can get the 10 gal clean. And welcome back to the world of bettas!

[ninjafish]

Thanks, will do. It's sooo good to be back haha :p

[Hallyx]

Originally Posted by ninjafish

Will he be okay in his cup for a few days while the tank cycles?

At least you have the advantage of having live biomedia to seed your 10gal. Many newer keepers find the lack of nitrifying bacteria to be the biggest hurdle to quickly cycling their tanks.

My best time cycling a 5g was eleven days. How would you go about cycling a tank in 'a few days'?

Welcome back. Betta are irresistible, aren't they?

[ninjafish]

If you read above, he is not in a cup now, but in one of the old Petco tanks I had forgotten were in storage in the garage. :) not perfect, but certainly more comfortable than a cup.

And thank you, they most definitely are!