Another prob but with my betta this time.

[okiemavis]

It's not that plants can't grow under incandescent, it's that it's very inefficient. Florescent puts out many more lumens per watt, so you are getting more light for less energy.

Also, incandescent produces a lot of heat. It can be very dangerous to your fish by causing temperature fluctuations and/or overheating the tank. People who use lights that produce a lot of heat (there are many different reasons) must use extensive cooling systems to protect their fish.

[girls_interrupted]

oh gawd I know what you mean with the pet store employess. They told me to put him in a small bowl to while i change his water. I hated doing it. Thats why before I would get a fresh new bowl that is the same size and same temperture and just net him out carefully and placed him in the new one. BUT now I am changing the water keeping him in the bowl and using the same bowl. I still suck out the droppings though. He seems to be doing much better now that he hasnt left his bowl. He is more alert and active when i put a mirror next to his bowl he flares up more eager to defend his territory. The bacteria levels are low and if they get high I just take out some water but not all of it and replace it with new conditioned water. That seems to level the bacteria out quite well. The water changes wont be frequent like everyday anymore.

Now I can concentrate back on that 1.5 tank (that he isnt in yet) with the cycling. The bacteria levels in there seem to be lower than before.
Which is good for a change!
THe only question I have is this. I know the ammonia is supposed to build up for 2 weeks.

The ammonia is in there still but very low but the nitrite and nitrate is also there. The nitrite is pretty low enough for the fish to be placced in the 1.5 tank. The nitrate is at 25 ppm i think. Now its only been a week. Even though I managed to bring down the bacteria the cycling seems to be going 3 times faster than it should.

How do I fix this where it can cycle properly again?

I'm going to borrow some gravel from a friends already cycled freshwater fish tank. To help the process.

But how can I eliminate the nitrite and nitrate long enough where the ammonia can build up properly. Then let the nitrite build up THEN the nitrate.

FYI: the bamboo has no fertilizer. It grows very slow doesnt need that much light. There are only 2 narrow stems now in the 1.5 fiash tank.

I put a few food pellets in there. But now I dont think that was wise because the nitrite and nitrate are still in there. even though the nitrate eating the nitrite, the nitrite is still eating the ammonia.
Even though bacteria levels are low, I really just the ammonia to be there for now.

But I need the low level of ammonia right now not the other bacterias.

I'm still going to see changing some of the water and see if that will help solve it but any ohter suggestions would be appreciated.

Thank you all for helping me out so far. I've been a nervous wreck before came here. I am quite new at fish and taking care of them. I plan to get a much bigger fish tank later on. I knew I should of listen to my instiincts instead of an idiot employee at a pet store. They dont even take care of the bettas that well anyway. Both petsmart and petco. Alot of them die or get sick eventually. You can totally tell they dont care.


FYI: The fish bowl that mr. myagi is in is fine and he is happy and healthy again. ITs the 1.5 gallon tank that I am cycling with a filter (that mr. myagi is not in). I dont want to put him in the 1.5 tank yet until I see the cycling is properly going as it should. Mr. myagi has been through alot of stress already and i'd hate for him to get sick or even worse get new tank syndrome which is fatal.

[girls_interrupted]

ok everything seems to be going well now. I agree that I should just put my fish in the 1.5 tank. The cycling is making the water better for the fish than the bowl. I can see why its necessary to put him in that tank now. My heater broke so I have to buy a new one. I will be putting the new one hopefully today. I'm going to wait a day after i put the heater in to see if the ammonia rises and if it does i will just lower it and put the fish in the tank after that. Thank ya'll so much for helping me. I was really stressed out and confused. Thanks again and hopefully my fish will make it through this cycling processes.

Later on this summer i will be getting a bigger tank. A 3 gallon one. Hopefully that will be big enough for him. Now that I am starting to know what to do thanks to you all. I wont have this problem again!