Fish Lovers 3.0 [new poll]

[Stumpy.]

Orchid has taken to flaring more at his reflection and making a bubble nest, so I made him some toys to keep him from focusing too much on the reflection. Mainly, a new hammock and something to push around besides his moss balls. C:

[paleosuchus]

Bullet is adjusting well to his tank and his water has actually not had high levels of nitrite/nitrate and his PH is suitable for now. Because of how fine his water seemed, I let him stay in it for 2 days but tomorrow I am getting -liquid test kits (heard they are more accurate than the strips) -bloodworm treats -a bucket and I will be giving him his first partial water change!
A friend has offered to give me his old 20 gallon fish tank for free! He said its got mold in it that I'd have to clean myself but thats the only problem. Can I clean it with normal cleaning chemicals, wash it out, and cycle it for a few weeks or will the chemicals stick around? Is 20 gallons too big for 1 betta?

Random note- Bullet has been such a cutie pie the last couple days lol. I'm not sure if hes "pushing" his moss ball but he looks kind of like hes rubbing himself on it. I also woke up early for work and checked his tank before I left and he was asleep floating over his heater! This little guy has totally stolen my heart.

[Lonin]

Bullet is adjusting well to his tank and his water has actually not had high levels of nitrite/nitrate and his PH is suitable for now. Because of how fine his water seemed, I let him stay in it for 2 days but tomorrow I am getting -liquid test kits (heard they are more accurate than the strips) -bloodworm treats -a bucket and I will be giving him his first partial water change!
A friend has offered to give me his old 20 gallon fish tank for free! He said its got mold in it that I'd have to clean myself but thats the only problem. Can I clean it with normal cleaning chemicals, wash it out, and cycle it for a few weeks or will the chemicals stick around? Is 20 gallons too big for 1 betta?

Random note- Bullet has been such a cutie pie the last couple days lol. I'm not sure if hes "pushing" his moss ball but he looks kind of like hes rubbing himself on it. I also woke up early for work and checked his tank before I left and he was asleep floating over his heater! This little guy has totally stolen my heart.

Any amount of ammonia or nitrite is too high, they both should be at 0. It would be normal to have low nitrates at this point as that's the last part of the cycle and isn't a sign of good water quality.
That was nice of your friend c: You might want to search for more detailed instructions but you can clean aquariums with bleach if you rinse it off properly and let it air dry. Make sure you add a dechlorinator when you do water changes.
Don't leave it to cycle, your fish is already in an uncycled tank and will be better off in an uncycled 20 gallon than a 2.5 gallon one. Move him as soon as the tank is clean and warm.
Good news is that you can have other fish with him in a 20 gallon c: Make sure you get plenty of places for him to hide as bettas don't like empty, open space.

[paleosuchus]

Any amount of ammonia or nitrite is too high, they both should be at 0. It would be normal to have low nitrates at this point as that's the last part of the cycle and isn't a sign of good water quality.
That was nice of your friend c: You might want to search for more detailed instructions but you can clean aquariums with bleach if you rinse it off properly and let it air dry. Make sure you add a dechlorinator when you do water changes.
Don't leave it to cycle, your fish is already in an uncycled tank and will be better off in an uncycled 20 gallon than a 2.5 gallon one. Move him as soon as the tank is clean and warm.
Good news is that you can have other fish with him in a 20 gallon c: Make sure you get plenty of places for him to hide as bettas don't like empty, open space.

Thank you for the advice! You've been so helpful!

[Stumpy.]

I decided to start teaching Orchid some tricks to keep him entertained. He already knows how to jump. Any reccomendations?

[paleosuchus]

I decided to start teaching Orchid some tricks to keep him entertained. He already knows how to jump. Any reccomendations?

Teaching him to swim through a hoop would be a cool party trick.

[PemCorgis]

I decided to start teaching Orchid some tricks to keep him entertained. He already knows how to jump. Any reccomendations?

Swimming through a hoop as mentioned! My eldest Betta (before I got a dog) could flare if I tapped and held my finger on the glass, flare at a flashlight (for showing), do the limbo, jump out and bite my finger, follow my finger in any direction, play with ping pong balls, and I was teaching him to spin before he finally passed away at almost 4.5. He was a Thailand Betta so j was so happy he made it with such a difference in water from there to here in America. Baldr was super food motivated. It helps a lot, haha!


I got some old pics of him from my fish logs I did waaaay back when. I got him from a lady who didn't want him anymore and couldn't take care of him.

[Stumpy.]

Alrighty! It might be hard to get a hoop in there, as I have a closed tank to prevent kitty meddling. I could definitely try, though. I'll have to get some pipe cleaner, though. ^^

[paleosuchus]

Okay a quick update- Bullet had his first water change. I checked everything after the water change and all nitrate/nitrites are at 0 and his PH at a healthy 7. While I changed his water, I used his old water to clean a new hidey log I got him. I submerged it in the clean water while it was conditioning to make sure it was going to be okay. I put it in and I cannot tell if he likes it or not (Heres a link if you want to see it: https://www.petsmart.com/fish/decor-gra ... gid=300105).
He doesn't really swim inside of it. He kind of swims up and down the sides of the log and occasionally tries to push himself behind it. I'm wondering if tipping it on its side would make him happier.

I got the 20 gallon tank! It has calcium deposits all over it, and I found out the fish last in it died of a fungal infection so its getting a vinegar wash, a bleach wash, and a rinse, then I'll dry it out and start readying it for Bullet

@Stumpy I think you can use a clean earring or shower curtain ring and thread to make a hoop. If theres a feeding hatch on the hood of the tank maybe it will fit through that and you can hold onto the string to keep it in place.

EDIT* - Can someone explain if KH and GH are important to betta tanks? Mine are both very low (like between 0-.5)) and I just read they are meant to be somewhere in the middle (~4-6) to keep my fish healthy. If my pH has stayed at a constant 7 should I worry about them at all? As far as I can tell from articles they are there to maintain a stable pH, but mine has remained stable without them. Will adding supplements to increase KH and GH also increase my pH?

Sorry for long post

[Hime]

Okay a quick update- Bullet had his first water change. I checked everything after the water change and all nitrate/nitrites are at 0 and his PH at a healthy 7. While I changed his water, I used his old water to clean a new hidey log I got him. I submerged it in the clean water while it was conditioning to make sure it was going to be okay. I put it in and I cannot tell if he likes it or not (Heres a link if you want to see it: https://www.petsmart.com/fish/decor-gra ... gid=300105).
He doesn't really swim inside of it. He kind of swims up and down the sides of the log and occasionally tries to push himself behind it. I'm wondering if tipping it on its side would make him happier.

I got the 20 gallon tank! It has calcium deposits all over it, and I found out the fish last in it died of a fungal infection so its getting a vinegar wash, a bleach wash, and a rinse, then I'll dry it out and start readying it for Bullet

@Stumpy I think you can use a clean earring or shower curtain ring and thread to make a hoop. If theres a feeding hatch on the hood of the tank maybe it will fit through that and you can hold onto the string to keep it in place.

EDIT* - Can someone explain if KH and GH are important to betta tanks? Mine are both very low (like between 0-.5)) and I just read they are meant to be somewhere in the middle (~4-6) to keep my fish healthy. If my pH has stayed at a constant 7 should I worry about them at all? As far as I can tell from articles they are there to maintain a stable pH, but mine has remained stable without them. Will adding supplements to increase KH and GH also increase my pH?

Sorry for long post

On what scale are those KH and GH readings and what do you use to test the water (test strips or drops)? 4 to 6 sounds like german scale, but just double checking as there are couple different scales used and they are very different when it comes to numbers. Though 0 is very very low on any scale. Do you have a water softner connected to your water source?
Short answer to are GH and KH important, yes and no. Most fish are not too picky about KH and GH, some species are. Bettas are pretty hardy and tolerate wide range. So while it's benefical for them that there are some minerals in the water, they aren't overly picky on amount. Though 0 does not sound good. As for KH keeping the pH stable, it's true, but not always so simple in practise. Raising KH can raise the pH, but will also depend on are there compounds present that could affect the pH one way or another. Raising GH technically should not alter pH.
________________
My other filter broke. Well technically the electric cord cracked at a part that's under water, so while technically the filter works (though not perfectly as the flow adjuster is broken as well) I don't think it's safe to run anymore. Just thank god I had two in that tank, but one left really doesn't have the capacity to run the tank alone. So now I need another one, yay. I really would like a canister filter but they are kinda expensive.
Also got mad at the blue green algae and took out all the plants and probably did nearly 50% water change to try remove all of it. : P