100% water change?

[kandaila]

Whenever I do a 100% water change my fish get so stressed by being cupped and I have to chase them so much to net them I'm afraid they'll tear their fins. Can I do two back to back 75% or 50% water changes instead if I do them the same day?

[Perseusmom]

What size is your tank and do you have a filter ?

[kandaila]

2.5 divided no filter

[LittleBlueFishlets]

You don't need to net him. You can use a cup to scoop him up instead....

Are you using a clear cup? Some fish get stressed out in a clear cup. Try using a plastic drinking cup instead. Any color is OK, as long as you can't see through it.

Hold the cup over the tank, wait for him to come near the surface. Push the cup into the water, and as it fills with water, he'll get pulled inside.

The water change recommendation for a 2.5 gallon tank with no filter is one 100% and one 50% water change each week. I recommend NOT cutting back on these water changes, as it can make him more susceptible to diseases, like fin rot.

[Kytkattin]

Honestly, you should probably be doing two 100% changes a week with two fish in a divided 2.5. At at the very least, two 50% and one 100%. That is really too small to keep them both in. While I am not against keeping these fish in 1 gallon, there simply is not enough space for them to hide from viewing each other in 2.5. Not to mention the water quality will go sour much quicker with two and if one gets sick they will likely not heal as quickly for the stress of being kept so closely with another fish.

[kandaila]

I didn't want to cut back on the water change I was wondering if taking out 50%, adding water back up, and removing another 50% (all in one go) would be equivilent to doing one 100% change. I know the tank is kinda small I bought it before reading up here I plan on upgrading to a split 5.5 but can't afford atm . They don't mind each other being side by side. After the first three hours of flaring when I added the new one they ignore each other. I actually spent almost two hours trying to get individual flare pictures. Lol they wouldn't flare at each other, their reflection, or a betta picture. They swim around, eat well, and like to check each other out but no flaring. I'm actually a little worried that they don't . I'll try dragging them into the cup they're content when they get into the cup its just all.the chasing with a net that seems to freak them out.

[LittleBlueFishlets]

@Kytkattin - Good catch. For some reason, it didn't sink into my brain that there were TWO fish in the 2.5 gal.

[kandaila]

I don't mind adding an extra 50% water change. Doing two 50% and one 100%. I'm just trying to avoid all the stress of chasing with the net. I'm definitely going to try Little Blue's suggestion of dragging them into the cup. Since its not filtered I'll make up an opaque divider or replant to reduce their line of sight.

[LittleBlueFishlets]

Originally Posted by kandaila

I didn't want to cut back on the water change I was wondering if taking out 50%, adding water back up, and removing another 50% (all in one go) would be equivilent to doing one 100% change....

Unfortunately, it's not....

The first 50% removes 50% of the original water.

But the second 50% only removes 25% of the original water. (The other 25% of what gets removed is 'new' water.)

So the repetition would give you a 75% water change overall.....

If you wanted to do something like this, two 75%'s would probably work better. The first would change 75% (all old water), the second would change 37% (half old water, half new water).

Actually, something like this (75/75) could be a good solution, if your guys continue to get stressed out about being in cups. Good thinking.

[LittleBlueFishlets]

Originally Posted by kandaila

... They don't mind each other being side by side. After the first three hours of flaring when I added the new one they ignore each other. I actually spent almost two hours trying to get individual flare pictures. Lol they wouldn't flare at each other, their reflection, or a betta picture. They swim around, eat well, and like to check each other out but no flaring....

Sounds like it's not a problem then. I have three tanks that are side by side: male / female / male. One guys flirts with the female half the time, and ignores her the other half. And the other male just completely ignores her. The female loves attention, regardless of whether its from the males or me. LOL