| Topic Review (Newest First) |
| 04-27-2019 06:50 AM | |
| bluesamphire |
Sorry to hear about Flash. Amazing how fond we grow of them. How long is it since you moved Flash out of the 10g? And have you just had the snail in there since then? The reason I ask is because a cycled tank has colonies of beneficial bacteria (as you know). But those colonies need to be fed, or they start to die off. So if you had a tank cycled with 1 betta and 1 snail, as soon as the betta was removed, then the beneficial bacteria started to die back until they were the right size to process the waste from your snail. Does that make sense? There is a saying that ‘your cycle is only as good as the number of fish’. So a tank that is cycled for 5 fish isn’t cycled for 10 fish. And a tank that is cycled for 1 snail isn’t cycled for a snail and a betta. However, there is a very simple way around the problem :) All you need to do is add your new betta, and keep an eye on ammonia and nitrate levels, stepping in with water changes and dosing with Prime, daily, if a mini cycle starts off from the additional bio-load. If you lucky, the existing beneficial bacteria will adapt very qickly, and you won’t have a problem. Adding a single betta to a 10g tank isn’t like adding a shoal of rasboras, so the rise in bio-load won’t be much. But it is still worth keeping a close eye on ammonia levels, just in case. Hope that helps. |
| 04-27-2019 04:21 AM | |
| OrchidxBetta |
Hi. Welcome to the forum! 10g with Finn. |
| 04-26-2019 08:48 PM | |
| Rainbo |
If Flash was in the 5 gal and was sick, I'd wait another 3 weeks to put another betta in it. Most illnesses that are contagious will die off, without a host, by 6 weeks. Your new buddy should be fine in the 10 gal, just please stop messing with the PH. It's more important to have a stable PH, then it is to achieve a perfect one. |
| 04-26-2019 04:35 PM | |
| Old Dog 59 | You can defiantly put the new betta into a 10 gallon tank. Depending on the betta. Some will love the tank size and some will be stressed by it. With the 10 gallon being planted make sure there are plenty of hides in the plants. Also have some floating plants as overhead cover. Betta feel threatened with out the overhead cover in that size tank. If the 5 gal. is still cycling you can add your betta to it right away. and keep checking the water parameters daily, and water changes of 25% every other day. Get a test kit or even the test strips. Get a SeaChem Ammonia alert and add one to each tank. it will save you wondering if the ammonia is too high with out a test kit. It will also save stressing your betta out or having him die of ammonia burns. |
| 04-26-2019 11:50 AM | |
| oc1954 |
getting new betta I'm new to this forum, but have been searching for one that only discusses Betta fish. No other fish interest me at this time. I've only had one betta that I got at Petsmart about 6 months ago, but lost him after only 4 months. It was love at first sight w/Flash & I was devastated to have lost him. I'm going to try one more time and currently have 2 tanks. One Aqueon 10g planted w/heater/filter/thermometer and an API water test kit. This is the original tank I'd bought for Flash so it's been cycled. All water parameters are wnl with the exception of pH which consistently runs 6.6-6.8 even after multiple treatments to get it to 7.0. The other tank was Flash's "hospital tank" it's a Fluval Spec 5g planted with heater/pump/filter and gravel (medium sized) substrate. All water parameters are testing wnl as of this morning even pH:   One of our Aquatic Stores here in Roswell, Ga. has locally reputable bred bettas that are about 6 months old. This store has been very helpful even taking Flash when he was at his worst and attempting to save him. My 10g tank has only one inhabitant a Mystery snail that I love dearly - Finn. My questions are #1: should I put the new betta in w/Finn in the 10g tank or use the Fluval 5g w/the perfect pH of 7? The Fluval has only been cycling about 3 weeks. I should mention that I've done a complete water change x 1 on the Fluval and do water changes 30-50% on the 10g about every week to 3 weeks.Thanks for your help in advance. |
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