questions about water clarity issues in 2 tanks

[LaniBaby]

Hi everyone,

I was just cleaning my guys this morning and I noticed some differences. Bluey, who tends to blow a lot of bubble nests, generally has this odd oily stuff on the top of his tank. The tank is covered, so I don' t think it's a lot of dust or debris getting there. Anyone else have that? Is it related to bubble nesting? It almost looks like an oil slick and it's definitely nothing I put in the tank.

Crumb, on the other hand, has no oil slick (he doesn't really bubble nest, hence my correlation) but the bottom of his tank tends to have a bunch of junk on it. I vacuum it out once a week but he seems to have more junk accumulating on the bottom, far more than Bluey. Are some bettas messier than others? Does their poop react differently to the water?

I've only had these guys for about 4 weeks so up to now I've been doing 50% water changes regularly with vacuuming once a week (in 3 gallon tanks) with the intention of throwing in 100% changes one a month in order to clean out all the plants, rocks, etc. That would be this week.

Anyone else know why one tank might be getting oil slicks and the other having more junk on the bottom? does 100% once a month (with 50% each week plus vacuum) sound like enough?

Also, i've never just used tap water directly. I always age the water and then use the stress coat (aged at least 2 days). Anyone here just use tap water directly with dechlorinator without aging the water? I've always been a little nervous about that...

thanks!

[dramaqueen]

If you use stress coat then that may be your oil problem. I used to use it and it made my water oily. My betta used to have stuff hanging off of him, too. When I stopped using the stresscoat as my conditioner then the problem stopped. It has aloe vera in it and that makes the water oily looking.

[LaniBaby]

oh interesting. i use aquasafe although i use it on both tanks and no oily issues with crumb. hmm.. i'll look into that. thanks!

[dramaqueen]

I use aquasafe too and have no problem with it.

[onekatietwo]

I get that randomly once in a while. I thought it might be from my hand/arm when I have to stick my hand in the tank. Not that I have a really oily arm or anything... but you can never get everything off, even if you wash up first. Otherwise it is probably just the water conditioner or something. I was concerned about it at first, but sometimes it goes away and it doesn't seem to affect my fish at all. I still don't really know what it is.

[Campbell]

My males tank gets that from time to time, but I've never noticed it with my females.

[LaniBaby]

yeah, i try to avoid sticking my arms in the tank more than necessary but maybe. It doesn't seem to bother him so i'll just keep an eye and try to keep it clean. I'll be doing 100% changes on both of them this week so i'll see if it shows up after that. Thanks!

[MarieBettaMom]

Is there a difference between using water directly from tap and water that has been "aged" (sitting out) overnight?

Is one better than the other? Both would have the water conditioner added of course.

[LaniBaby]

i don't know. that's what i'm curious about. I always age mine so that I have emergency room temperature water ready just in case anything should require a quick water change. I still add the aquasafe though because it adds a stresscoat.

I do notice than when I age the water, there aren't any bubbles that appear in the tank after I add it in.

[Nataku]

Marie, to answer your question, water that is left out to age is allowing some of the chlorine in the water to break down and evaporate. This happens even without the aid of water dechlorinator. The longer the water is left to sit to open air, the more evaporates. This is why it is often considered best to keep a spare gallon or two of water left to age around, as it is more likely to be safe for the fish.
However, I wouldn't be overly concerned about this unless your water has extremely high chlorine levels. A good de-chlorinator will chemically break down the chlorine well enough when added to the water directly before going into a tank that it should not be an issue with your fish.