Does this work for my water changes?

[xobettaox]

I have a 10 gal with a filter. After about a week it gets completely filled with waste and it's disgusting. I have a betta and 4 mixed fruit tetras. I just added the tetras about a week ago and tonight I did a 100% water change and cleaned everything. I house them in a 5 gal tank while switching the water with the water from the 10 gal, use water conditioner, bacteria supplement, easy balance plus, and aquarium salt.. I also wait about an hour til the temp is stable at the temp it was when I took them out. Would it be alright to do this once a week with no other water changes? I'm kind of anal about cleanliness and I like it to be sparkling clean ha :) Thanks in advance for any advice :)

[ChoclateBetta]

http://www.theaquariumwiki.com/Gymnocorymbus_ternetzi If its this one your tanks overstocked. With just the Betta do 50 perecent weekly.

[xobettaox]

They are the ones that are silver with the strip of color on top. The ones injected with dye.. didn't know about that til after I bought them.

[xobettaox]

Do you think that I would be hurting them with the weekly 100% changes or will it be ok since there's quite a bit of waste?

[ChoclateBetta]

I would do a 75 percent. I am worried by the fact they are fin nippers.

[pittipuppylove]

Okie dokie, we may need to get to the root of the problem here to be able to fix this. How long has the tank been set up? What type of filter are you using? Have you been testing the water? Is there any reason that you're adding salt?

The Mixed Fruit Tetras you have are indeed dyed White Skirt Tetras - a color morph of the Black Widow Tetra, Gymnocorymbus ternetzi. They're actually a rather peaceful species, but are best kept in groups of at least six or they will fin nip. Because of this, it's highly suggested that they need a larger tank to allow for a larger group. This article on the Black Skirt Tetra is from Betta Fish's sister/parent site, Tropical Fish Keeping, and is written by extremely experienced aquarists - http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/profiles/black-widow-tetra/

[ChoclateBetta]

Remember they will have a shorter lifespan because of dying. Are they dyed or GMs?

[shellieca]

Not sure what you mean by "completely filled with waste". It's normal to have waste in a tank, that's what fish do, produce waste. Personally I don't have any other fish with my Bettas in their 10g tanks because I think its too small, they have a single mystery snail. I do weekly 50% water changes with a good vacuuming & there's always gunk with just those two inhabitants. By doing such an aggressive cleaning you are most likely killing off BB which you don't want to do. Salt is not needed unless you are specifically treating for something & if your tank is well established/cycled the bacteria supplement isn't required. Tanks are not supposed to be pristine so don't stress too much over it.

[ChoclateBetta]

Your not supposed to have waste everywere. Most healthy tanks are not filled with waste.

[Neight]

No, but most healthy tanks will have a good amount of waste and thus bacteria. As Shellieca said, you do not need the starter bacteria unless you're setting up a new tank, and prolonged exposure to salt can do harm to your betta's internal organs. I also wouldn't do a 100% change only. You might be messing with your cycle. I personally do a fifty percent with a gravel vacumming in my ten gal every week, but I think you could get away with a 20-30% everyweek. I wouldn't suggest just doing the one 100% every month- they need to be spread out to prevent ammonia build up and keep bacteria present.