Why is my betta glass surfing?

[BettaFynn]

Hi! I just joined this forum and I'm excited to learn from you all.

We have a veiltail betta we got my 7 year old for his birthday about a month ago. We originally had him in a 1 gallon tank, but quickly discovered he needed to be in something larger, so he is now in a 5 gallon, heated tank and has been for about 3 1/2 weeks.

Until recently, he's been a pretty mellow little guy, and seemed pretty well adjusted and happy. He ate well, and loved hanging out on the silk plants, betta hammock, and even on top of the suction cup that holds the heater (favorite place actually).

We've been checking the water levels, and about 4 or 5 days ago his ammonia levels had bumped up and were at 1.0 ppm -- nitrites at 0 and nitrates about 5. I did a 30% water change, and since then his ammonia levels have never gone back down to 0. They seem to hover at about .25ppm.

I've been doing water changes every other day or so, but I'm concerned because now he seems to surf the glass a lot. That wasn't his normal behavior, so I'm afraid he's stressed. He is eating well, and he still looks really good. Should we be concerned about the ammonia levels hovering around the .25 ppm mark and his surfing?

This is our first fish, so I didn't read anything about cycling until after we got him. Thanks!

 

[Barliman]

If by "glass surfing" you mean swimming up and down along the glass, I've always thought of that as normal behavior for a betta. He may be exploring, or just working off energy. I wouldn't worry.

Regarding the ammonia, you did the right thing with the water change, but you'll need to keep doing it regularly until enough beneficial bacteria builds up so the filter can cycle the waste from ammonia to nitrate in 24 hours. I'd recommend giving him a two to three-gallon water change every other day, until your testing shows the cycle is established.

 

[BettaFynn]

Thanks Barliman! We'll just keep doing what we're doing then. How long does it normally take a 5 gallon tank to cycle?

 

[TMaier]

Can't you hear him yelling "Hey you! Ya you! Come over here and FEED ME!!

 

[BettaFynn]

Haha!!! Yes he's yelling that right now actually. He belongs to my son, but has already figured out that I generally feed him.

 

[TMaier]

He's training you.

 

[Barliman]

Thanks Barliman! We'll just keep doing what we're doing then. How long does it normally take a 5 gallon tank to cycle?

I'd say a few weeks: the bacteria that converts nitrites to nitrates is slower growing than the bacteria that converts ammonia to nitrites, for example. You can use a product like Seachem Stability to speed things along, though: it won't instantly cycle your tank, but it will certainly shorten the time needed.

 

[Barliman]

He's training you.

My fish have me so well-trained...

 

[BettaFynn]

He's training you.

The fish? ...or the kid?? [emoji1]

 

[BettaFynn]

I'd say a few weeks: the bacteria that converts nitrites to nitrates is slower growing than the bacteria that converts ammonia to nitrites, for example. You can use a product like Seachem Stability to speed things along, though: it won't instantly cycle your tank, but it will certainly shorten the time needed.

Thanks again Barliman!! Appreciate your help!

 

[V227]

Sometimes fish, especially male fish, will see their own reflection in the aquarium glass and try to fight themselves, or "Glass surf". If you can shift the lighting angle as to lessen the reflection the behavior usually stops. It's really annoying when my big cichlids glass surf. They tend to knock over things.

 

[BettaFynn]

Sometimes fish, especially male fish, will see their own reflection in the aquarium glass and try to fight themselves, or "Glass surf". If you can shift the lighting angle as to lessen the reflection the behavior usually stops. It's really annoying when my big cichlids glass surf. They tend to knock over things.

Thanks! We had that problem when he was catching his reflection against the black of the filter. Major flaring all the time, so we had to make some changes there. Appreciate the thought and will try to keep an eye on that.

 

[Barliman]

How's he doing, now?

 

[BettaFynn]

He's doing ok. He's stopped the constant pacing across the glass. I'm still having to do 2 gal water changes every other day because the ammonia hasn't leveled out. He's been in this tank for 5 weeks (today). I'm a little surprised that I'm still having to do so many water changes, but we'll keep at it. He's already part of the family, so I want to make sure he stays healthy. Thanks for checking back with me!

 

[Barliman]

Keep it up! Eventually the cycle will kick in.