Changing tanks...

[seljic]

Hi!

I'm new =) I have a red VT betta named Cash, who I got about 5 or 6 months ago. Currently, he is well-established in a little 5-gallon tank (with a heater, a filter, and all that good stuff).

I want to move him to my new 10-gallon tank, which I have divided to allow two bettas to each have a 5-gallon space. I have all the ameneties (live plants, caves, gravel, a heater, a filter, thermometers, left-over fin-rot medication, and so on). But aside from that, I'm sort of at a loss. My first tank ever didn't cycle well (fish died), and I really have no idea what to do. I have Cycle, and I don't want to add raw NH3 if I can help it.

I'm going to follow the directions on the cycle, and add a dechlorinator (?). What else can I do? I don't want my fish to die. But I am super excited about bringing home a new little dude.

Thanks!
Seljic

[Oldfishlady]

Welcome to the forum....

You can safely cycle the tank with the Betta provided that you are willing and able to make the needed water changes and since you have a testing kit on hand that will make it even easier.....

In a 10gal filtered tank with 2 Bettas....I would make 1-50% weekly with vacuum in all areas that can be reached without moving anything or disruption of plant root and 1-50% water only change with readings of ammonia or nitrite of 0.25ppm or greater until you have nitrate 5-10ppm and 0ppm on the ammonia and nitrite for several days...usually can take 4-8 weeks, however, with the added live plants this can sometimes cause the tank to not show nitrate reading due to the plants using the ammonia for plant food...but this also depends on how many and species of live plants as well as growth state.....

Personally....the products used to cycle tanks are a waste of time and money especially with the added live plants that can help to make the water safer.....

The only chemical additive needed is a good dechlorinator with any water added to the tank......

Filter media-its best to not touch it until the nitrogen cycle has established unless the water flow has slowed.....then just a rinse/swish in old tank water with a water change to get the big pieces of gunk off to maintain good water flow...once the nitrogen cycle has established the filter media needs a rinse/swish in old tank water a couple of times a month.......

Be sure and acclimate the fish to both water temp and chemical levels in the tank by adding water from the new tank to their holding containers over at least 20-30 min....

Look forward to some pic......

[Lion Mom]

Since your 5 gal. tank is already cycled, if you move that filter over to the 10 gal. tank, you will be well on your way.

OR you can just put the filter media from the 5 gal. filter into the filter you will be using on the 10 gal.

And - WELCOME!!!! :)

[seljic]

I added my new little guy today (in a quarantine tank)...and I think he might have Ich! I didn't know what that was until about ten minutes ago and I have no idea how to treat it =( My heater has a preset temperature, so I can't raise it above 78 (which is what it's at now).

[SilverMagic]

If your fish has ich, here is some information directly from the book "Animal Planet Aquarium Care of Bettas." Author is David E. Boruchowitz.

"The ich protozoan produces white spots on a fish; these are formed by parasites embedded in the fish's skin. They also attack the gills, where they are much more difficult to detect and much more dangerous. This is a common disease that is easily taken care of but if it goes untreated, it is usually fatal. A betta with ich can be successfully treated by raising the water temperature to 90 degrees F and adding a bit of salt to the water. Change the water completely at least once, preferably twice, a day; this removes the free-swimming stage of the parasite, as well as the cysts which fall off the fish. If not removed from the water, those cysts will ripen and release hundreds of new parasites that will reinfest the fish. You can buy medications that will eliminate the infection, but you must be extremely careful as to correct dosage amounts when dealing with very small volumes of water. Most breeders prefer the heat and salt treatment."

[Oldfishlady]

For Betta I like to use the two cup method for Ich......get two small cups and move the fish each day from one cup to the other cleaning and adding fresh dechlorinated water between......the small cups with lid that most Bettas are bought in work great for this.....

In severe case I would also use salt in dosage of 1tsp/gal for the wounds left by the parasite as they detach from the fish and to help kill some of the ich, however, this method is more the manual removal method

Floating the cups in a heated tank can also be helpful to maintain water temp in the 84-86F to speed the parasite life cycle....

Continue this treatment for 3 days past the last day you could see the parasites on the fish.....sometimes they are hiding in the gills......depending on how bad it is....it can take a total of 5-14 days.......

Be sure and do a deep vacuum on the main tank to manually remove any parasite from the tank....

[Lion Mom]

"My heater has a preset temperature, so I can't raise it above 78 (which is what it's at now)."

Another reason to spend a little extra & get an adjustable heater.