film on top of betta tank water

[wolfrad]

I set up 2 new 5 gallon betta tanks over the weekend and put a female in each one. The tanks are not cycled which I will as soon as I can get a job, however yesterday I noticed a slight film on each of the tanks and I was concerned about this. I've heard that a small air stone may help disperse the water, so any help would be appreciated. Also how often should I do a 100% change, would it hurt to do a partial change and then 100% every other time. I have no test kit for the water, unfortunately the money is a little scarce so it'll have to wait for a while.

[jamesrm]

I would avoid the airstone, as bettas are known not to like fast moving water, and in a 5 gal I think that would be a bit much.

I have a betta in my 30g tropical tank that has HEAVY current in the back, but he can always find a spot to relax when he wants to. He is very content.

Also, waiting on a job to cycle your tank is like telling a child your going to wait on a job before you feed them. I am not sure about bettas and how they react to ammonia/nitrite and untreated water, but I suspect it is bad and will probably result in death by ammonia if you do not get on top of that. If you can not afford it, I would return the fish and wait until you can.

I am not trying to be rude to you, just to make ya think a bit

Good luck!

[joannde]

cycling a tank doesn't take much money - throw a shrimp (from the grocery store) in it and let it decay. when the shrimp is nearly gone test for ammonia and nitrites, if both are zero you're cycled. For a 5G tank the shrimp would be either one small one or a medium one cut in half. The test kits are a bit more, but they are absolutely necessary (save your money and don't buy the strips - spend the extra up front and get the liquid kit - they last a long long time)

EDIT !!! The above is for a fishless cycle and done before you add fish. Since you already have the bettas I would prepare to do 50% water changes every day or two for the next 6 wks

[7Enigma]

Things you can do to speed up your cycle:

-Get filter media, substrate (gravel/sand), decorations, live AQUATIC plants, from established tanks. If you have a friend who has a tank get some, ask for some from your LFS, if the betta's came from those small bowls and you still have them, AND they have been kept wet you can rinse them out with tank water and put them in the tank (they have bacteria on the insides).

-Feed VERY sparingly, once a day max, better yet, every other day. Anything they don't eat in a couple minutes get it out of the tank. Any visible fish waste or food on the ground should be removed. Very light gravel vac if you have one or manual removal with any method you have is fine (turkey baster?)

-Do frequent PWC's. I'd do 50% per day until you get a test kit (liquid test kit). After that you can use the test kit to decide when a PWC is needed. I can guarantee after a week of 50% PWC in each tank you will somehow be able to find the money for one.

Things you should NOT do:

-Don't overfeed (#1 way you can harm your betta)

-Don't neglect the PWC's

-Don't add any ammonia absorbing chemicals, this is a quick fix that can harm the bacteria and slow/stop your cycle, just keep up with the PWC's every day

-Don't add any other chemicals. ZIP, ZILCH, NADDA. Anything the LFS might have made you buy return it. This means pH adjusters, water treatments (other than a dechlorinator), medications, and fizz tabs. LFS' LOVE to get a lot of money out of people new to the hobby, and the majority of these are NEVER needed. If you have some of these and can return them, you just got a liquid reagent test kit for free....

-Don't add in straight tap water. Make sure the water you are adding after a PWC is the SAME temperature and has been dechlorinated with a product such as Prime BEFORE adding to the tank.

Good Luck.