[Falco21]

I currently have my Betta in a 2 gallon aquarium and he's loving it. Long story short, my cousin had a 10 gallon tank with the rocks, plants, filter, etc. My aunt decided to clean the tank with bleach, including the rocks and plants.

My question is, is this safe for my Betta? If it is, what are the necessary steps to properly clean off the bleach to have it safe for him?

Thanks for the help!

 

[SnowySurface]

I've cleaned my tanks and gravel with bleach diluted in water before. You get rid of the bleach by rinsing very well with water. If you think you've rinsed well enough then rinse two more times to make sure.

 

[Falco21]

Ok. I am just paranoid that this is gonna kill the little guy. You can definitely smell the bleach in all the rocks and the plants.

 

[Shirleythebetta]

Maybe try soaking everything in hot water or just throw all the stuff out (my vote is get rid of it if it makes your nervous) and rinse the tank with hot water, swish it around with your hand (don't burn yourself) rinse it a lot. My dad uses bleach on his aquarium ornaments and I never understand why. It bleaches the ornaments white and he has some nice ornaments.

 

[bettafish15]

To be honest, bleach is so strong that I would never use it to clean my aquariums/decorations, so my vote is to toss everything out, but if you can't afford that then rinse extremely well, and just hope for the best.

 

[Shirleythebetta]

totally, i think the tank can be saved if it's rinsed really well but the decorations should probly be tossed.

 

[Falco21]

I don't know what to do. I feel like I should throw everything out, but everywhere I am reading says it is perfectly safe. That bleach can be neutralized by using boiling water and then letting everything sit in the sun for a few days. The sun destroys the chlorine in the bleach and all that is left is salt.

This isn't a must do situation. My Betta is in a 2 gallon right now. This was just given to me for free, so I wanted to try and use it.

 

[SnowySurface]

It depends....as I said I diluted the bleach in water before I used it to clean my tanks, substrate, and decore. If the OP's Aunt poured pure bleach into the tank and onto the decorations and substrate you may have to soak for 24 hours to let all the bleach leech out into the water and rinse it well. If you still smell bleach then you can either repeat the 24 hour soak as many times as needed until the smell is gone and then rinse toroughly or toss everything.

Bleach is safe when diluted properly in water. But it isn't safe to use directly. The OP's Aunt may have done the right thing the wrong way.

 

[Shirleythebetta]

i think you should go with your gut. This way you can rinse the tank out and save up the money to get new decor. It doesn't seem worth the trouble to save the decorations. Trust your gut. Plus if they are plastic plants I would think that you would risk the glue coming off.

 

[bettafish15]

Actually, thinking about it more, decorations are more porous, so I would toss all the decorations out, and give just the tank a good hot-water scrubdown. That should be good. Besides, then you can choose your own decorations!

 

[SnowySurface]

I don't know what to do. I feel like I should throw everything out, but everywhere I am reading says it is perfectly safe. That bleach can be neutralized by using boiling water and then letting everything sit in the sun for a few days. The sun destroys the chlorine in the bleach and all that is left is salt.

This isn't a must do situation. My Betta is in a 2 gallon right now. This was just given to me for free, so I wanted to try and use it.

Oh, I completely forgot about sunlight and didn't notice you live in Miami. If you have a backyard, leave everything in the sun. If you don't have a backyard, then you can follow the instructions I posted a few minutes ago. Either one will work.

I live in an apartment in the state of NY and it's winter. Not only do I not have a private backyard but I won't have good sunlight for a few more months. I keep forgetting everything I suggest is based off of living in an urban part of American.

 

[Falco21]

Yes she did used diluted bleach. Way more water then bleach. She claims that she has used this method a zillion times before with her tanks, and it has never killed a fish. I think I am just going to try washing them thoroughly plenty of times. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work. No harm done. I will just stick with my original tank.

Yeah, here in Miami the sun is out 24/7 LOL Leaving them in the sun for days isn't an issue at all. Especially considering I live on 3 acres. =)

 

[Tobythefish]

I'd toss the decorations. As long as you let the sun take care of the chlorine, all you have do is rinse the tank to get rid of the salt.