How To Clean A Tank?

[BettaMan]

Hey everyone, so I was just away from Frosty for a week (My parents were feeding him.) and I haven't cleaned the tank for 2 weeks. (Was too busy to clean it the week before.) I normally clean it once every week. Anyway, now that two weeks have passed since I cleaned his tank, he started building his bubble nest which I've never seen him do before, and he's got these beautiful colors on his body that I've never seen before. I must be doing something wrong when I clean my tank because it really stresses him out.

So my question is, how do you guys clean your tank?

Thanks

Also, I was using aquarium salt every time I cleaned my tank as a "General tonic and stress reducer". Is that okay?

[BettaMan]

Help?

[kelly528]

Okay first, he probably didn't 'start' making bubble nests when his tank got dirty; old tank-water develops a protein film on the top that preserves bubbles and makes them 'stick'. Second, the enrichment of his colors could be due to the slight greenish, yellowish or brownish tinge that old water develops. Water I siphon out of my goldie tank looks like watered-down green Kool-Aid in my white buckets, even tough it looks crystal-clear in the tank.

As for the salt, I would avoid using it all the time... it's good for treating illness but bettas do not typically live in 'salty' water and their kidneys, etc. are not built to handle too much of it. Plus, you'll have to increase the dose anyways if he does get sick.

[FishyFriend1]

agree with Kelly completely. How big is your tank?

[BettaMan]

Thanks but I actually watched him build his bubble nest and his tail was completely white before but now it has spots of the beautiful blue he has on his body. His body used to be this pale turquoise but now it's this dark blue and I know it's not from the discoloration of the water.

FishyFriend, it's a 2.5 gal filtered, heated, and lighted tank.

Anyway, I would like to know the best way to clean my tank.

Thanks

[Neelie]

depends on the size of the tank really as to how to clean.
i made a tutorial thread on how to clean a 3g or less.
link is in my sig. hope it helps.

aq salt, i love using it, but not all the time. it heals fins quickly and cures the odd disease without tougher meds but it shouldnt be int he water all the time. ideally...

[BettaMan]

Thanks Neelie. Is it really necessary to to do all of that? Like take all your gravel out and wash your tank? All I was doing 50% water changes and vacuuming the gravel.

[Neelie]

Originally Posted by BettaMan

Thanks Neelie. Is it really necessary to to do all of that? Like take all your gravel out and wash your tank? All I was doing 50% water changes and vacuuming the gravel.

well like i said it depends what size your tank is..?... vaccuming gravel makes a huge difference but now and again you will need to wash it out properly and 50% water changes are better than nothing but in a 2g for example its not enough.

[BettaMan]

I have a 2.5 gal tank that is filtered. So should I just do what I'm doing and then once a month follow your guide?

[Neelie]

^^^ imo 2.5g need that kind of attention every week to keep the fish 100% happy and healthy. your fish may poo in his decor and the vaccum wont remove it from there, meaning there will be a good chunk ammonia left in the tank with just the 50% changed.
what you could do tho is do it your way, buy a test kit and see if the water parameters are actually ok. then you'll see what way is the least effort BUT going by my fish, once a week 100% is the MINIMUM for a 2.5g

i dont use any filter in my 2.5g because its a waste of space.