[Kiro]

Hi there,

I'm very new to betta keeping, and I have some questions about my routine for my 5 gallon betta tank. If my water changes are sufficient and if my feeding schedule is good.

Right now I feed my male betta, Kiro, 3 Betta Bio Gold pellets in the morning and 3 more at night. I swap pellets out for one feeding frozen or hydrated freeze dried food like bloodworms, brine shrimp, or daphnia on Saturdays just because that's my favourite day of the week and he should enjoy it too. This is followed by a bit of pea on Sundays and fasting on Mondays. Is that too much, not enough or just right?

Currently for water changes I do a spot cleaning on Wednesday with rinsed hands, not that I usually need to as my hands usually don't touch the water too much but safety first, with a simple turkey baster. You know, get the stray root floating around and just clean off any visible debris. I do light gravel siphoning on Sundays. I say light because I don't go very deep into the gravel. My biggest question is, is this okay to do? I have two inhabitants being my betta and a gold mystery snail. My tank has 6 amazon swords, 3 stalks of bamboo that stick out along with my heater out a slot in the back of my cover, and a mossball and I was thinking of adding Java Fern. I don't know if that's exactly heavily planted enough to just skim the surface and maybe going deeper in the sections of the gravel where there's no plants? This my first go at a planted tank, or any tank really, so I'm hoping it goes well. I'll add a photo of my tank and Kiro just for visualization.

 

[philingroovie]

IMO with a heavily planted tank only change 25% once a week. You prob dont have to vacuum gravel so much. Just debris on top. Root system will take care of rest. Nice looking set up:-D

 

[philingroovie]

this is everything you need to know in one place.
http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=99450

 

[Kiro]

Thanks so much he for the info! I'm glad I can cut down a little lol I'll be sure to look it all over.

 

[hellobird]

Feeding schedule is fine, but stop with the piece of pea. Since bettas are carnivorous, peas can end up doing a lot more harm than good. It's still very common for people to recommend pea as a fix for constipation, however frozen daphnia is a much better option that won't strain your betta's digestive system.
Amazon swords are heavy root feeders, so I don't see anything wrong with leaving a bit of extra nutrient for them. 25% a week should be fine, however mystery snails are poop machines and in a 5g tank the waste can build up very quickly, so if you are able to test your water parameters (at least for ammonia), it will be very helpful to know if you are doing enough changes.
Do you also add food for your snail? Mysteries cannot generally survive on algae alone, they will eat some but much prefer fresh veggies like zucchini, cucumber, kale/spinach, and carrot.

Oh also Amazon Swords can get huge! So keep an eye on them as they will outgrow your tank unless you keep trimming the mature leaves.

Your betta is very pretty! His iridescence is lovely!

 

[Aqua Aurora]

+1 don't feed peas. Bettas can't digest them-they are carnivores not omnivores. If you want something to help food pass if constipated daphnia is a better option (you can get live cultures or frozen).

 

[Kiro]

Thank you two very much, I actually have frozen daphnia so Ill start feeding him that on Sunday's

I was afraid of that, when I first had the five gallon (bare bottom came before gravel) he pooped a LOT. I was thinking of moving him intoa different tank. I think I'll just move him then, he'll be better off in a bare bottom I can keep clean for him.

Kiro's come to peace with companions, so maybe Ill try a shrimp or two since their bio load should be lighter.

 

[Kiro]

Oh and I do give my snail alternative foods, mostly spinach but I do mix it up a bit for him ^-^

 

[Hallyx]

That's a pretty well-planted tank. Just keep a close eye on your ammonia readings until you're sure that the cycling bacteria is developed enough to back-up all those ammonia-eating plants.

You may want to upgrade his pellets to Northfin, the best you can get in Canada.

Welcome to the forum.

 

[Kiro]

I'll see if any pet stores and here carry that food, if not maybe I can order something online. I just moved my snail to his own tank, so hopefully that'll be okay.

Thank you!

 

[cakes488]

I'll see if any pet stores and here carry that food, if not maybe I can order something online. I just moved my snail to his own tank, so hopefully that'll be okay.

Thank you!

Amazon carries them