small betta cube cycling question?

[ZombiesAteMyDog]

I was at walmart today and I saw a 1.5 gallon tetra kit ready to go for 20 bucks, then I saw the poor sad little bettas in their dirty little cups, looking like death warmed over.

if I was to want to rescue one of these betas, would I need to get the tank and cycle it first? or could I get the tank, fill it, set it all up, use the bottled betta water and add the fish right away and cycle it fish in?

now I understand obviously the tank needs to be cycled , but adding the fish to a newly set up uncycled 1.5 gallon tank where I am doing diligent water changes has to be better than leaving them to rot in that sad little tub where they just kind of float around in a cup of their own filth all the time?

 

[maxwellag]

Usually bettas do better in larger tanks- 5 gallon is a good size. Although a 1.5 is bigger than the little cup they're in now, it is still very small. Yes, you would need to cycle the tank first. Since most of the small (1-3 gallon) tanks only come with under gravel filters and not power filters, you will probably want to get a power filter. There are few filters (other than under gravel filters) available for tank that size, and most of them are not very reliable. There is no need to use bottled betta water, unless you don't have treated tap water at home. If you do have treated tap water, just use that and dose Seachem Prime to remove the harmful stuff in it. You could cycle it with the betta in it using regular tap water too, although if you have an already established (cycled) tank, you could just move some used filter media over to the new tank and it would be "instant cycled", meaning there is no need to cycle it because you introduce enough beneficial bacteria to handle the bioload. This would be easiest and fastest. I still recommend getting a bigger tank with a power filter so that the betta can have more space and a more effective filter.