cycling a 1 gallon tank

[papa_bear_21]

ok, so we have a 1 gallon tank, nothing special. we used to have a betta, but he died, so it got cleaned. It only has a ugf, do we cycle this like a regular tank, can I use cycled water from the big tank to aid this along? Would this be ok to use as a qt tank for the time bein?

TIA

Bear

 

[Zagz]

You could use it as a QT tank but only for small fish. With a tank that small all you would need is some media from another filter to cycle it. If you have a fish to put in it right away then I would get some substrate from another tank, put it in some nylon, clean unused pantyhose will work, and set it on the bottom. If you have nothing to put in it right now, don't worry about cycling it. With a 1 gal tank you would need to do water changes every couple of days anyway.

 

[papa_bear_21]

thanks for the reply, at the biggest, the tank will have another betta...possibly a pleco (he's still tiny...). we're still lookin at a 10g qt tank...

 

[Zagz]

For a 1 gal I would consider putting some ghost or cherry shrimp and getting a betta a 5 gal for himself.

 

[papa_bear_21]

shrimp? never had shrimp...couple questions about this, how hard are they to care for, same water maint. schedule? why do you recommend shrimp over a fish? curious, as I've never done anything with em...

 

[Zagz]

1 gal is small for a betta but shrimp are much smaller, they require similar water conditions to fish. Many shrimp co-exist with fish happily.

 

[papa_bear_21]

we will look into that...might get some in the lil tank...

 

[severum mama]

Please don't put a pleco in there, regardless of how small it is. Shrimp or snails are a much better choice, like Anne said.

 

[papa_bear_21]

it would never be a permanent place for him...he stayed in there for a couple days while we treated the others for worms...and to try to get some food in him since everyone else eats his algae...He stays in the big tank...his permanent home