Tank water change and betta stress

[cnbufford]

How do you keep betta stress to a minimum when changing the water?

[registereduser]

what size tank? In my 2.5 I cup him slowly and he has never seemed stressed.

In my larger tanks I vacuum the gravel and suction out water without removing the fish. They seem to enjoy water changes!

[cnbufford]

Mine's in a 2.5 gallon, too.

[shellieca]

I cup my Bettas when doing a 100% water change, the rest of the time they stay in their tanks. Each Betta is different, some stress during a water change & others don't. I try to be as effecient & quick as possible so their little world gets back to normal.

[cnbufford]

Can you use Seachem Prime instead of a water conditioner/dechlorinator all together?

[jeaninel]

Prime is a water conditioner/dechlorinator.
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[gosquidgo]

I actually connected an airline hose to a long straw. That way I can vacuum the substrate without having to put my hands in much, and I can get to small corners. It's a slow process, but not too bad considering his home's just a 1.5g. And since I don't want to cause too much of a temp fluctuation, I also use an airline to siphon new water in, and I make sure to put the siphon tip near the heater so it can warm as it goes in the tank. Definitely a slow process. But my betta doesn't seem to mind because he hovers around the straw, "sniffing" around all the time. He's gotten used to it.

[waterdog]

I have a sponge filter in my 2.5 so the tank is cycled and I do a 50% water change a week with a gravel vac. My guy actually "plays" with the tube while I am doing it by swimming in circles around it.