Half-gallon "Betta Bowls"

[Cattitude]

Background: I ordered 2 betta boys from a breeder last week - before I did all of my homework on tank cycling. (D'uh.)

In the meantime I set up a 2-gal aquarium I had, and purchased a 5-gal to house them. Now I have learned that it could take a lot longer than I originally thought to cycle the aquaria, and I want to do it the fishless way so I don't injure or kill my new bettas, who are due to arrive in 3 or 4 days.

I have two old Betta Bowls that I want to put the bettas in when they arrive, as a temporary arrangement until the tanks are ready. What schedule and percentages should I use for water changes in the bowls?

I'm also open to cycling the tanks with fish in, only if there's a safe way to do it.

[bettafishfinnatic]

my advise is to leave the water to sit at room tempurture for until they get to their new great home i have 3 bettas of my own (which are all in bowls) and all you really have to do is clean the bowls 1/2 of the water once a week oh and dont get a SNAIL or else it will climb out of the bowl (trust me learned that the hard way) good luck

[ILLBETHEJUDGE]

I don't think you need to cycle anything smaller than 5 gallons.

[laoshun]

well at the least 1-2 water changes a week (50% some people do a 50% and a 100%). As long as the water is clean you are good to go and depending how messy your bettas eat (spitting out and chewing it back is an example of messy eating)

[Mo]

Originally Posted by bettafishfinnatic

my advise is to leave the water to sit at room tempurture for until they get to their new great home i have 3 bettas of my own (which are all in bowls) and all you really have to do is clean the bowls 1/2 of the water once a week oh and dont get a SNAIL or else it will climb out of the bowl (trust me learned that the hard way) good luck

Only changes the water at this rate will result in excessive ammonia contents. I would do 2 50% and one 100% water chane weekly to keep ammonia minimal

[bettafishfinnatic]

to mo. you are right i just cleaned my bowls today i didnt know that thank you

[Mo]

Your welcome! I'm glad to help

[Gizmothefreaky]

In a half gallon bowl i would change the water every day... 100%... but that is just me, i am crazy about water quality and the health of my fish.

[Oldfishlady]

Its not that you can't establish the nitrogen cycle in smaller filtered tanks-it more that the nitrogen cycle will not be stable due to the limited surface area for the beneficial bacteria to colonize and why more water changes are still needed....

You can establish the nitrogen cycle in any size container as long as you meet the needs of the beneficial bacteria responsible for the nitrogen cycle-that being-oxygen, food source and surface area-any of these limited can result in limited colony that limits stability...

Understanding that the BB are self limiting themselves-meaning that your colony will be based on food, oxygen and surface area-if you only have one fish you will only have enough BB to support one fish-then when you add more livestock it takes the BB a few days to catch up and you can expect ammonia spike until then....

When you cycle using the fishless method you are often establishing enough BB to fully stock the tank-this is why this method is used when your plan is for a community tank that you want to fully stock and when you only add a single fish-all the extra BB die.

You can safely establish the nitrogen cycle in a filtered tank with the Betta-provided that you make the needed water changes.

With or without testing supplies at hand-but with the fishless method you really need a good test kit on hand for daily testing, while I do recommend water test products-often many can't afford them, can have a high user error and IMO you can still successfully keep Bettas and cycle a tank without testing supplies, however, with them it will help take the guess work out of the game-but you can always take water to the pet shop for a free test when fish-in cycling and keeping.

In a half gallon unfiltered container without live plants-water changes of 2-50% and 1-100% weekly should maintain water quality-provided that you don't overfeed and uneaten food is removed within a reasonable time.

[lilyth88]

Originally Posted by bettafishfinnatic

my advise is to leave the water to sit at room tempurture for until they get to their new great home i have 3 bettas of my own (which are all in bowls) and all you really have to do is clean the bowls 1/2 of the water once a week oh and dont get a SNAIL or else it will climb out of the bowl (trust me learned that the hard way) good luck

This is not correct. Leaving the water to sit at room temperature does nothing. Tap water is fine to use, just treat it first with a conditioner. Room temperature water is not okay for bettas. They need temps of 78+. A bowl 1 gallon or less with no filter needs at least 2 100% changes per week. The bowls will also need heaters.