How i clean my betta tank. is this ok?

[Sherleelee]

So i have 2 bettas in a spilt 15 liter glass tank.
And cause the glass divider is glued in i cant remove it to do the vaccume cleaning, so what i have been doing is every saturday i do a 50%water change and i use my fish net to scoop out all my gravel, and boil it then put that back in. and then fill the tank back up, and on the 1st weekend of everymonth i do a full tank change. So ya just wondering what you think of how im going about my water changes.

[bettafish15]

...you split a three gallon? I dont know about the rest, I'll let the experts talk about that, but you dont need to boil your gravel, just rinse it, even then you can use a gravel vac.

[Sherleelee]

Originally Posted by bettafish15

...you split a three gallon? I dont know about the rest, I'll let the experts talk about that, but you dont need to boil your gravel, just rinse it, even then you can use a gravel vac.

the pic of the tank is in my profile, thats just how the tank was made, i didnt personally make the tank that way.
and my fish seem pretty happy in it ^.^

[Aluyasha]

On weekly cleanings I just siphon the gravel, I do not remove it, my fish seem fine with it. :)

[Kiku]

Boiling the gravel will remove too much beneficial bacteria, so I'd just rinse or siphon it if I were you. Also, with a tank that's only 15 liters, I'd do slightly more frequent water changes (like a 50% water change every four days or so). But that's just me, and I'm not a pro.

[Sherleelee]

Originally Posted by Kiku

Boiling the gravel will remove too much beneficial bacteria, so I'd just rinse or siphon it if I were you. Also, with a tank that's only 15 liters, I'd do slightly more frequent water changes (like a 50% water change every four days or so). But that's just me, and I'm not a pro.

I do 20% water changes every 2 days so that should be ok yea?
epically cause on of my bettas is still healing from having his top find completly ripped off.

[Sherleelee]

Originally Posted by Aluyasha

On weekly cleanings I just siphon the gravel, I do not remove it, my fish seem fine with it. :)

I did have a siphon but the tank was just to odd shaped i couldnt fit it in right to get the water flo right, so i ended up giving it to my cousin in law ( she is a budding fish keeper ^.^) and today my husband and i Just went out and bought HEAPS of new stuff for my 2 new bettas i bought off aquabid, and one of the things was a siphon with a pump on it so i can clean witout having to get that water flo b4 hand so ill start doing that more. thanks ^.^

[Aluyasha]

You mentioned one of your Bettas has ripped fins. Remember to add some aquarium salt. :)

[Sherleelee]

Originally Posted by Aluyasha

You mentioned one of your Bettas has ripped fins. Remember to add some aquarium salt. :)

Always do :) thanks tho ^.^

[baylee767]

Hmm you shouldn't add aquarium salt all the time, only when you're healing your Betta.

Everyone's talking about the bacteria and such, but since it's a 3 gallon I'm guessing it's not cycled? If you want to try and cycle it then you'll need only partial water changes and no washing off your gravel, but that's difficult in a small tank and requires a filter.

So, you really should get 2 seperate tanks. Bettas thrive in 2.5+ gallons each. You need to quarentine the male with his ripped dorsal and give him salt treatments and give the other Betta regular dechlorinated water.