fairly new to bettas

[dancersmama79]

I bought a tetra whisper filter for my one gallon tank and im guessing when the carbon is completely black in the cartridge its time to change it?? can anyone tell me the difference between the regular cartridges and the biobag cartridges??? also wondering if anyone can reccomend a quality gravel cleaner for a 10 gal tank??

 

[Sisserydoo]

I'm a little confused! Carbon is black to begin with, I don't think you can tell when to change it by looking at it. I think carbon loses its effectiveness after a few weeks, but most people don't change their filters that often. Most people only change them when they start to restrict water flow, or if they fall apart. You can rinse the filter out in used tank water, after you change the tank, and use the same filter for quite some time, like months and months.

I'm sure other people will chime in on how long they use their filters.

 

[dancersmama79]

when i got the filter u couldnt really see the carbon inside the white part covering the filter... now its completely darkened and ive rinsed it several times in used tank water when ive done water changes the last few days and the water flow coming through it isnt near what it was... its still filtering and there are still bubbles coming up in the filter but it just looks like the filter is completely dark when i first got it, it looked completely white and u could see the stuff on the inside. this seems to have discolored the paper part of the filter...

 

[tarpon]

I'm a little confused! Carbon is black to begin with, I don't think you can tell when to change it by looking at it. I think carbon loses its effectiveness after a few weeks, but most people don't change their filters that often. Most people only change them when they start to restrict water flow, or if they fall apart. You can rinse the filter out in used tank water, after you change the tank, and use the same filter for quite some time, like months and months.

I'm sure other people will chime in on how long they use their filters.

I agree. Ive had the same pads for 6+ months

 

[Sisserydoo]

I don't think I'm familiar with the type of filter you have. I wonder if there's a website for it. I would take the manufacturer's recommendation and double or triple it.

 

[FreshwaterFishJunkie]

There is a bit of misinformation in this thread. Bettas are like every other fish. They need clean water. Weekly water changes are a necessity to remove total dissolved solids and nitrate. The new water dilutes the nitrate and TDS and introduces vital minerals/buffers needed for stable water conditions, fish and plant health. The OPs tank is cycling she NEEDS to do daily water changes to dilute the ammonia and nitrite being built up in the small tank. Without this the Betta will be getting ammonia/nutrite burns to his gills.

I am glad we have people like Mumm.of.two to help weed out the misinformation

 

[Sisserydoo]

I am glad we have people like Mumm.of.two to help weed out the misinformation

Well said...she's great!

 

[dancersmama79]

I am glad we have people like Mumm.of.two to help weed out the misinformation

shes helped me alot and she has alot of knowledge for beginners

BTW my computer has crashed so im not on much anymore but my lil dancer is doin just fine his fins are growin back and his spots have gone away i think they were just discolored scales The filter situation it just needed to be changed and i did a complete water change and now im doing A water change evry other day and hes doin just fine...

 

[Bettababe1011]

That's great to hear! Good job on taking care of the little guy!

 

[dancersmama79]

Ive been changing dancers tank evry other day and a complete water change once a week. Today i did his complete water change and he seems to be agitated... hes been swimming very fast up and down from top to bottom of his tank and whipping from one side of the tank to the other and zig zagging almost like when u cant sit still if that makes sense...hes still showing off his fins and at times hes so still it looks like hes just floating there but u can see him still breathing... he was doing that yesterday too... i changed his water today cause i had noticed waste at the bottom and the black filmy stuff in the filter yesterday he was just sitting on the bottom at times then zigzagging really fast
His water temp is 76-78 constant can anyone help???

 

[FreshwaterFishJunkie]

I do not belive in carbon since I have a floating plants and my tank is very healthy.

 

[dancersmama79]

Ive been changing dancers tank evry other day and a complete water change once a week. Today i did his complete water change and he seems to be agitated... hes been swimming very fast up and down from top to bottom of his tank and whipping from one side of the tank to the other and zig zagging almost like when u cant sit still if that makes sense...hes still showing off his fins and at times hes so still it looks like hes just floating there but u can see him still breathing... he was doing that yesterday too... i changed his water today cause i had noticed waste at the bottom and the black filmy stuff in the filter yesterday he was just sitting on the bottom at times then zigzagging really fast
His water temp is 76-78 constant can anyone help???

can anyone shed some light as to why he is acting this way? could it be fluctuation in temp? or signs of a disease??

 

[tarpon]

Did you remember to use dechlorinator?

 

[Mumma.of.two]

He could be scared, agitated, etc. The 1g isn't getting him enough room to hide or swim. IMO he's reacting to his cramped conditions. If you can't afford a tank could you possibly buy a large (2-3g or more) food grade plastic bin to keep him in until you get one?

 

[dancersmama79]

i did use my water conditioner and aquarium salt...i have a plastic Rubbermaid container that is a bit shallow i wasnt sure if it was deep enough for him but ill add attachments of pictures of it... it says it holds 40 cups... about 2.5 gal and its 5 inches deep.... also the filter has this black slimy stuff in the bottom of the tube where the water goes up through and its inside it as well... should i wipe that out or is it good bacteria??

 

[Mumma.of.two]

i did use my water conditioner and aquarium salt...i have a plastic Rubbermaid container that is a bit shallow i wasnt sure if it was deep enough for him but ill add attachments of pictures of it... it says it holds 40 cups... about 2.5 gal and its 5 inches deep.... also the filter has this black slimy stuff in the bottom of the tube where the water goes up through and its inside it as well... should i wipe that out or is it good bacteria??

If it doesn't have any soap residue and you filter and heater fit well it should be ok. Id put some mesh or something over the top to stop him jumping out. The black slimy stuff is probably algae. I wouldn't worry about it unless its blocking the tube.

 

[dancersmama79]

ive never used the container because ive had no use for it its never been washed or anything... Thank you for all your help.. your definitely a Godsend to people like me lol

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Your welcome. We all have to start somewhere!

 

[dancersmama79]

so far he seems to be calmer most of the time... except when he finds his reflection and tries to attack it... hes been scopin things out i put 2 gal of water in the container and left a bit of room at the top to keep him from jumping out... hes not been one to try to jump out.... yet lol even in his other one... his head is changing colors i noticed when i put him in his cup to change him over to this container... he has the iridescent blue on his body and the color goes on into his cheeks like stripes but where his head used to be completely red now the top is red and his cheeks and under his mouth is a silver blue iridescent color....

 

[dancersmama79]

when i get the 5 gal should i go ahead and set it up with water conditioner and aquarium salt like i have the one gal with him in it and cycle it that way since i have no other container for him? with a 5 gal would u do a part water change twice a week and still do a complete water change once a week?