Baby Betta water change disaster

[bsrn2016]

My daughter had a pond snail in a one gallon minibow with filter, no heater, and live plants for about a week. We realized they breed like nuts and had to find him/her a home. Went for another type of snail and were told only a beta can live in that tank. We bought a red beta about 3/4 inches long labelled baby male at Petco. We just put him in the tank and feed him small pellets and dried bloodworms and use beta h2o brand water conditioner. Roughly two weeks into the life of the tank and one week into having the fish I did a 25% water change with room temp water using that conditioner. I should note all water tests have been perfect and never any ammonia. Last night after the water change he got pale with deep stress Lines, was diving to the bottom of the tank, and not doing well. I added a tiny bit of stress zyme and dipped the plastic end of a water test strip into Prime and swished it around the tank In case the test strip was missing ammonia. I can't figure out how to dose Prime for this small tank or if I can use two conditioners so I barely used any. If he remains unhealthy appearing what should I do? I'd say water is in the 70s but has been since day one. If I move him to a bigger tank - how do I get it cycled and ready quickly? I felt so awful he was stressed by the water change meant to keep him healthy. He's a quick fish and I had to keep him in the tank while changing. Any advice would be appreciated?

UPDATE: I woke up and went into see the fish and he is fine! He is swimming around like mad man as usual. Color is much better. Last night he was diving into the gravel- he's not at all now! Any advice on keeping his tank good? I want to upgrade but only when he gets bigger.
Meg

 

[Nils]

Welcome to AA! I'm guessing that you got the "Only a betta can live in 1 gallon" from an uninformed teenage Petco employee. Betta's are fish that do get 3-4" in size and IMO need at least 2.5 gallons. I'm not saying this is your fault, it's just how so many people get told that they can put bettas in bowls and jars and expect them to live long, healthy lives. Anyway, I suggest getting a standard 5 gallon tank as they are much easier to maintain water quality in and this ill prevent the betta from having stunted growth by the time it is an adult. prime dosing is 2 drops a gallon, so 2 drops for your one gallon. As for testing water, go ahead and invest some money in an API Master Test Kit. These are always accurate and will let you know your water conditions. Test strips are almost always inaccurate and tell you the wrong things. I'm pretty sure that his stress was coming from the water. Also, what 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and 0 nitrate tell me is that either the test strips are acting up or your tank is still in the cycling process. Did you empty out the water after you got rid of the snail? As for cycling a bigger tank, just fill it up with sand, gravel or whatever you will use as substrate and then fill up with conditioned tap water. For a 5 gallon I would say something small like an Aqueon Powerflow 10. Not the best out there but with good media it makes decent filter. Anyway, for cycling I just let my tanks sit and add some food every now and then, and after 4 weeks or so after testing that the water parameters are good I add fish. There are better, more planned ways of cycling a tank that can be found up at the top of the forum in those stickies. There is another way of cycling that I don't recommend an that is fish in cycling. This is putting the fish in new water and letting the ammonia that the fish produces cycle the tank. The ammonia, nitrites and nitrates will be toxic to the fish and will cause unnecessary stress. The toxins in the water can also permanently injure your fish, specifically in its gills. Also, betta babies may stay "small" for their whole life. When the fish are fry and are all held in one tank together, the bettas release a hormone that prevents the other fish in there spawn from growing up to normal size. This enables the fish, in nature, to eat a lot more than their siblings and so only a few fish out of one spawn grow to a normal size, resulting in less competition as adults. Even though your betta may stay small, it should have at least 2.5 gallons. Anyway, get him that 5 gallon ASAP and cycle it how ever you want. I'm not saying any of this is really your fault, it's just that you were informed wrong and that stuff like this happens all the time. So supplies list:


Necessary: API Freshwater Liquid Master Test Kit
What you should probably get soon: A 5 gallon tank
A HOB filter


Some good media, Fluval Biomax media works great
Some kind of sand or gravel


P.S: Live plants are always better than fakes and gives the fish some places to hide and also help to filter the water. Some easy plants that don't need lots of light or nutrients are Java fern, java moss and anubias. Some other ones that grow very quickly are hornwort, water sprite and anacharis. Plastic plants can rip fins and aren't beneficial at all. I really hope this helped and encourages you to get a bigger tank!

 

[bsrn2016]

Okay, no I didn't empty the water after the snail. I was told that helped the tank be cycled. I have a miss ball and a live plant. I will get the master test kit. I also plan on the bigger tank- probably be able to afford the switch in a month. So two months before he can go in due to cycling.

You said those tests all being zero might mean it's not cycled. What values will show when cycled?

Thank you!!!

 

[Nils]

When you clean the tank, do you change out the carbon cartridge completely? Most of the aquarium's beneficial bacteria (BB) lives in that filter, and even though the manual says to change out the carbon every month, you should never change it until it is literally falling apart, and even then you should leave the old cartridge in for a day or two while the new one grows some BB. By using Biomax media, you only need to lightly wash it out every water change in tank water and you can use it until it too is falling apart. Carbon really is only used to filter out medicine in the water and to clear up cloudy water. Some members on here, like Fresh2O, have tons of plants and their tanks and good filtration so their parameters often show 0 values of everything. But because your tank doesn't have lots of plants (no offense ) and not the best filtration there is something "fishy" with those parameters, there should be at least some nitrates (around 10 in a tank that size) but no ammonia or nitrite (if it is cycled) The bigger the tank, the easier it is to maintain water quality an overall maintenance is easier as well. I bet that the values are very different but it's just those strips are showing you the wrong things. Once you get the master test kit and test your water then you can post you parameters here and we will help you rule them out. Your tank is probably cycled but the parameters that the strips are showing suggests otherwise. A little confusing but you'll get the hang of it Any other questions?

 

[bsrn2016]

I went to the store and got some better test strips. Tetra brand. All tests the same except this one shows my water is very hard and alkaline- ph is 8.4. I've heard not to mess with Ph as long as it doesn't fluctuate. Also got in tank thermometer. Holding steady at 85 with no heater. Got a leaf hammock but had to remove as he got frantic and the only place to put it was in the filter current. I also got filter foam- can I cut a piece and place this in the intake cage of the filter to reduce current or no? Just trying to do my best here and really appreciate the advice!
Meg

 

[bsrn2016]

Also I know not to change filter- it's one of those pads you put in all in one. Says to change weekly or so but I won't!!!!!! The filter is the aqueon one that came with the tank and you can't change it or you can't close the lid.

 

[Nils]

You can put the foam in the intake part of the filter I you want too. It won't hurt and will help with filtration. Seems like you're doing everything right for the fish Good to know that you really care about him. Good job not changing the carbon, this is horrible advice given by Aqueon just so they can make money. Any other questions?

 

[bsrn2016]

Nils,

Thank you so much! I do care about any living thing, it's the same with my houseplants and garden plants. I care for each one and make sure I research and do my best according to what they are said to need. I had tried a few other forums and got no help!

As for any other questions. . . seems I have acquired a rescue. I posted another thread.

 

[Nils]

Good to hear that you really care! So many people out there are so ignorant and don't care about their fish and animals and don't understand that these are living animals with specific needs. I saw your other thread and that's awesome. I'm going to leave that one to the betta experts on