Conflicting info on water change, why do some sources tell me 50% biweekly?

[TokyoBetta]

Is the equipment to do that expensive?
What is the setup like?　
If it's around $50-$100 to do a simple set up and it's not too complex (i.e. change an external filter every couple of weeks or something) I'd be interested!

So it keeps the water perfect and cleans up poop/old food?

[1fish2fish]

Cycling your tank builds up bacteria that transform the toxic ammonia from fish waste into nitrites and then a different bacteria turns the Nitrites into nitrates which are safe for your fish at levels of 5-20ppm (parts per gallon or litre)

To cycle your tank all you need is a filter of your choosing and a liquid master test kit. You will also want to buy a gravel vacuum for after your cycle is finished. Your filter does NOT pick up old food and poo.. it only filters out small particles in the water and generates oxygen, to get the poo/food out you will vacuum your tank weekly during your water change. You also won't need to change your filter cartridge until it starts to fall apart.

After you cycled you will have good bacteria growing in your tank.. since this bacteria makes fish waste safe for your fish you have to do less water changes. On a cycled 5 gallon tank you would do 1 partial water change a week (about 35% of the water)... you should also vacuum your gravel once a week during this water change.

There are two ways to cycle.. one that involves you keeping your fish in a different tank while the one your cycling goes through the process.. called a fish out cycle or a fishless cycle. The other involves you putting your fish in the tank and doing daily water changes while you test your levels of ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate... this is called a Fish In Safe Cycle.

You can research how to do each one and decide which way you want to go (fishless or fish in). I HIGHLY recommend cycling your 5 gal.. it will be so much easier on you. And yes you won't have to do another 100% water change ever again (unless you lose your cycle).

I hope this helps and isn't too confusing.. let me know if you have questions :)

[Romad]

Originally Posted by dramaqueen

If you cycle your tank, you wouldn't have to do 100% changes and you can leave the fish in there.

Agreed. I never take my fish out of the 5 gallon during water changes. He just gets out of the way or has fun flaring at the siphon until i'm done.

And they do get used to it :)

[vaygirl]

You have to think of it this way, the once a week you have to put him in a cup is much better then the constant stress he'd be under living in dirty water. Once a week stress vs. constant stress. He'll get used to it.

[TokyoBetta]

Thanks for the input guys.
I haven't got the proper amount of time and resources to cycle my tank it seems. I was under the assumption it was as easy as sticking a special filter in there and in time it'd all work itself out. I'm not confident in my ability to dedicate the time to testing the water and doing the daily water changes during a fish-in cycle, and a fish-out cycle is not possible as I only have the one tank.

I will just change his water weekly, I doubt it'll be that big a deal once I get the hang of it.

By the way do their fins being so large and elaborate sometimes get a teeny bit frayed? I've read about the melting fins and deterioration problems some fish have but that's not the case, he's just got a teeny piece about 1mm that's kinda loose at the very tip/edge but the rest of him looks fine.

[1fish2fish]

their fins are very delicate and they can get frays from snagging the ends on plastic plants or decorations.. even gravel sometimes. If stressed some bettas will also bite their fins. Just keep an eye on it to see if it gets bigger. If you start to see lots of tearing you may want to treat him with aquarium salt for 10 days. But I wouldn't worry about it unless you start to see LOTS of tearing.

[TokyoBetta]

Thanks 1fish2fish it's tough to know what's normal and what's not. It looks like just some rag-tag from gravel or natural wear and tear. He's probably swimming and flaring at his reflection more in the last week than in all of however long he was sitting in that cup before I got him.

[TianTian]

I ended up cycling Cinder's 2.5 gallon tank (which has no gravel).

I simply suck out the waste from the bottom with a turkey baster, then dip out enough water until there's about two inches for him to swim in ('cause I left him in there). Then I refill the tank with fresh, treated water. Roughly bi-weekly.

Seems to work for us and Cinder's just as spastic and happy as can be. :)