Soap???

[popcornprincess]

Hi. my last betta died of fungus. i havent bought my new guy yet, but he has everything he needs. how should i clean out this tank for him? i heard that soap can hurt bettas but i dont know if just warm water will kill all of the bacteria and remaining fungus. it is a two gal. can i use soap and rinse it really, really, well? if so, is dishsoap ok?

also, this will be my first time using aquarium salt. how do you use it? need detailed instructions.

is it ok to have no rocks? i can put stuff to play with for the betta, but i just dont like rocks.

HOW THE HECK DO YOU POST A PICTURE FROM AN IPHONE IF YOU HAVE A DELL COMPUTER ON THIS WEBSITE?

[a123andpoof]

Do NOT use soap. It leave left over residue. I would just use really hot water and rinse. If you are really worried then you can use bleach. only like less than 1/4 a teaspoon. Then rinse in really hot water, than really cold water. Do this a few times until you can't smell the bleach anymore.

Only use aqarium salt if your fish is sick. Then follow the instructions for dosage on back.

No rocks will be fine

I have to upload to photobucket then post on here. (I have dell)

[Olympia]

A small amount of bleach or even vinegar should be okay, just rinse really well. Smell the glass after, it shouldn't smell like the stuff you cleaned with.

[Silverfang]

I highly recommend a vinegar solution, 1 part vinegar to 9 parts hot water. Let soak. Then rinse thoroughly.

[Myates]

Agreed with the bleach/vinegar cleaning.. soap will kill your fish, and that goes for all fish.. too much of a risk.

I would HIGHLY suggest not using AQ salt.. no reason to.. AQ salt should only be used for specific external ailments, a specific amount (not what is on the bag necessarily) that is depending upon ailment/severity, and for a specific amount of time, and not used all the time for a betta. Some fish can tolerate and like a bit of salt in the water- they are brackish water fish. Bettas are fresh water fish.. the salt will end up harming your betta when over exposed. Salt will lead to kidney/liver damage and result in failure.. death of a fish. It will also cause the bad bacteria to become resistant to the benefits of the salt, so when/if the fish become sick with fungus again, or ich, rot.. you would have to rely on heavy medications that aren't necessarily good for the fish because the bacteria is immune to the salt.
AQ salt is good to have in case of emergencies... but I highly suggest you go to the emergency section of the forums if you are worried your fish is ill and someone with proper experience can help you step by step on the care needed to help him.

Proper water changes per week, with conditioner is a must to keep them healthy.. depending upon your size of a tank, filter, live plants, cycle, etc will determine how much of a change you will need to make.
You can forgo substrate as long as there are soft plants and a cave for them to interact with and hide in.

Good luck to you!

[SnowySurface]

You've gotten a lot of good responses already. :)

Not only is soap bad for fish because of the residue, but dish soaps are anti-bacterial soaps and don't kill fungus spores. However, bleach can kill mold or fungus off of hard, non-porous surfaces. Vinegar should also work, but I suggest bleach because I have personally experience cleaning acrylic tanks with diluted bleach. Whether you use bleach or vinegar is up to you. :)

It is possible to have a bare bottom tank if there are hiding places for the fish. I use sand because it is prettier than gravel, imo, but I wouldn't suggest sand for a beginner. If you don't want to use rocks for the sake of asthetics, other options are marbles, glass stones, and fine gravel.

As for uploading photos, if you don't want to start up a photobucket account, the long way to do it is
1) Take Picture
2)email picture to yourself
3) Open up file and save to computer
4)upload onto site (I use the insert image option)
My job computer doesn't let me view photos properly on this site, so I can't post an example until I'm home. :(

Now I use Picasa and upload the pictures to my google+ account and link it in my posts. I have an HP computer, but Picasa should work on a dell as well if you happen to have a google+ account. The long way works with any computer as long as you have a smart phone that can email pictures.

[FishyFishy89]

I wouldn't even use bleach. I'd rather either rinse in super hot water or use vinegar.

[popcornprincess]

Originally Posted by FishyFishy89

I wouldn't even use bleach. I'd rather either rinse in super hot water or use vinegar.

why would you not use bleach?

[FishyFishy89]

Originally Posted by popcornprincess

why would you not use bleach?

too many people have had too many problems with bleach and their fish. ever after they rinsed the items SEVERAL times. Vinegar (i believe) does not harm fish if a little bit has been left behind.
But just a little bit of bleach can kill a fish.

[popcornprincess]

oh. how much vinigar? 1 more question? are betta fish sensitive to music? an for a filtered, heated, two gal, how often and how much do i change the water? i want to do a better job taking care of my other bettas. Still healthy, but i just want them to be happy.