[boxofmochi]

Hi!

I just got my first betta fish yesterday.
I was told I should wait about 2 days before letting it into the new tank I set up (used Prime drops, and about 1.5 gal of filtered tapwater). I put my little bagged betta fish in the water with the bag still intact (so the bag separates the fish from the new tank water, but keeps the same temperature).

But after only 1 day the water has become pretty cloudy in the bag. Is this ok?
I don't wanna let it out too soon if the water's no good, but I don't want it to die because I left it in a tiny bag so long!
What should I do?

 

[ZergyMonster]

1-2 days of having water in a tank is not going to be any better than a tank with fresh conditioned water. A tank cycle takes several weeks to accomplish. If you don't mind me asking how big is your tank anyway?

You are best letting in your little guy/girl into the water for the space to swim and get out of his little ball of water. Be sure you do partial water changes to keep the ammonia levels low while you set up the cycle in your tank or if you have a 4 gallon or less tank you are best doing 50% and a 75%-100% water change a week.

 

[Olympia]

First that bag should have air holes in it because betta breathe air, unlike most fish. Second, there is no real reason to wait any time as long as you use water conditioner and have a heater. He just needed to be acclimated for 15-20mins before letting him in. Try to get as little of the bag water in as possible.

 

[mattoboy]

A better way is cut a 2-litre pop bottle or whatever in half, take the half with no neck (AKA take the bottom part) then poke holes everywhere in the 2 litre, big enough for water to get in and out but the betta can not escape, then with a twist tie or tape or whatever, connect the 2-litre to the side of the tank. Then obviously put your fish in there

 

[boxofmochi]

The tank holds about 1.5 gallons, and it's a brand new tank (I think that's why the pet store guy told me 2 days).

 

[Myates]

Ahh.. go ahead and remove as much of the water from the bag as you can, dump it in the sink.. then place some water from the tank into the bag so he acclimates to the new chemistry. Repeat the process one to two more times, during the span of about 15-20 minutes. That way the different chemistry in the tank won't cause him to go into shock.
Use a net (and tends to be easier with someone to help you hold the net) gently pour him out into the net from the bag and gently place him into the tank, so none of the old bag water gets into the tank.

 

[kfish]

You don't need to wait. Acclimate your fishy (temperature is the same, since it's been floating), so you just need to remove some bag water, and add some aquarium water. Wait 5 minutes, and do that again 2 more times. Then you can net your fish and put it in the tank.

For 1.5 gallons, make sure you do 1 50% change with substrate vacuum, 1 100% change per week. Always add Prime, of course. Prime removes the baddies from the water within seconds. I like to fill a gallon drinking water jug with tap water, put in a drop or two of Prime, shake it up for 10 seconds or so, then use the water. Make sure it's the same temperature as the water in your tank.

EDIT: Myates beat me!

 

[Myates]

Haha!

One thing I want to add though to what you said- the 50% only has to be water..

If the tank is unfiltered then you would want to do 1 50% water only and 1 100% per week with conditioner..
If the tank has a filter (make sure to baffle it, as filters in small tanks normally aren't ideal for bettas as they can be too strong) then you would look at 1 50% water only and 1 50% substrate cleaning per week.. a siphon would be too much for a tank that size, so would recommend stirring the substrate to get the debris out and then dipping a cup into it to remove as much debris as possible.

Even still.. you can do a 100% in a filtered tank that small, as long as you keep the sponges in the filter wet it shouldn't be a problem.

 

[Bombalurina]

I would always use water conditioner for partial changes.

Box, do you have a heater? That's a very important thing to have for bettas, as they are tropical.