Transitioning betta from bowl to 5G tank

[rbeland]

My daughter has had a betta in a 1 gal bowl for nearly a year. Im moving it to a 5 gal tank w filter, heater, etc... I got a Tetra Whisper 10i filter and a 7.5 watt heater.

Some questions...

Do I really need to cycle the tank considering the fish has been in a bowl for a year (regular water changes)?

Could I add in a couple bottom feeders or shrimp to help clean the tank?

What is the ideal temp for the water?

Should I have a cover w light? The bowl she is in has neither.

Thank you in advance for your help.

 

[Mattyfelts]

I literally did the same thing last summer. So basically yes he will do alot better with a light/hood. If you dont wanna spend the money on the "aquarium" lighting, you can usually find some cheap flourescent lighting at hardware stores you could rig up for it (look on youtube at DIY aquarium lighting for ideas), however keep in mind bettas supposedly can jump! I would reccomend cycling the tank for at least a few days just to build of a small amount of beneficial bacteria. I'm sorry to say but there isnt really any knowing what your betta will do to fish, considering each of them have their own individual tempermant. I'd say that a mystery snail would be fine but dont put to many in, you don't want to over stock. A great site I use for deciding stocking and everything is AqAdvisor - Intelligent Freshwater Tropical Fish Aquarium Stocking Calculator and Aquarium Tank/Filter Advisor, all you have to do is put in all your specs (aq. size, filtration, fish) and you see all your stats below it. Also the water should be at about 78* F because it is a tropical fish!

I currently have platy fry with my betta and for the most part he leaves them alone (in a 10gal) and they are pretty good all around, I do however think he ate one of them. There are a tonne of people on here talking about their bettas in community tanks, just watch and be careful and dont over stock. If you have any questions dont be afraid to ask or message me! Goodluck!!!

 

[Deepblue02]

Firstly, yes, you must cycle the new tank, this is so that the filter and all the other things are sorted in the tank, it is to get a healthy mini eco-system going, if you just filled it with water for the first time and put the fish in, i dont think it would be good for the fish, maybe very bad if you know what i mean

A few shrimp or something should be alright, just before you buy them ask the worker at the local fish store is the two are compatible (i.e. They wont kill each other)

The best temperature for most tropical fish is around 22 to 26 degrees Celsius. A heater is good, but get a thermometer so you can check the heater works properly and also if the heater breaks you dont want it to boil the water in the tank (okay, maybe not boil, but when some heaters break they overheat tanks and kill the fish) and also it helps if the heater stops working and the water temperature cools

You can have a cover but the light is only for your benefit, and will promote algae growth. If you get a light and have no live plants in the tank, then have the light on for an hour a day max or you may see some lovely green stuff everywhere.

Hope this helps

 

[Autumnsky]

Check out the articles about fish in cycling here in Articles. You just have to monitor/pwc the water.

Also if you have any aquarium friends near you who would like to give you a chunk of filter pad, that is a good way to get a cycle going. One fish is not a huge bioload in a 5G.

You can do either. A yard sale or thrift store desk lamp with a spiral CFL daylight 6500K or 6700K bulb is great for a small tank. Or clamp/screw on architect light.

I have used a tall table lamp as well with excellent results.

Or there is a bulb by ZooMed for planted aquariums, it is about $12. I saw one at Walmart one day too, maybe 10.

You can do a timer on the wall so you don't have to worry about it set the times for around 4-6 hours 2x per day when you all will be admiring the fish in his little home, being the longest part of the time. Just make sure to keep a couple hour period of darkness in the middle of the time, which according to my aquarium plant book disrupts the growth period of algae. Called a Siesta aka rest period/nap.

 

[rbeland]

Thank you for all the feedback. I have a 20g freshwater tank so I do understand the process of cycling. My point was that if the betta lived for almost a year in a bowl I figure put it in the tank w filter and over time it will cycle. I could very well leave it in the bowl. Will it live another year? I guess thats the question. Maybe I should just cycle the tank. Regarding the light, if only for me I prefer to skip it. The tank gets plenty of daylight and at night its in the dark.
Last question is regarding water conditionator/dechlorinator...please bear with me on this one...

I have Betta H2O conditioner I have been using for the bowl...10 drops per gallon or 1 tablespoon per 10 gallons according to bottle.

I have Topfin Tap Water Dechlorinator for the freshwater tank. 1 ml per 10 gallons.

One tablespoon is a lot more than one ml. Why the huge difference?

Are these two products really that different?

Thanks again for the help. This site is a great resource.

 

[molliwopp]

I have Betta H2O conditioner I have been using for the bowl...10 drops per gallon or 1 tablespoon per 10 gallons according to bottle.

I have Topfin Tap Water Dechlorinator for the freshwater tank. 1 ml per 10 gallons.

One tablespoon is a lot more than one ml. Why the huge difference?

Are these two products really that different?

Thanks again for the help. This site is a great resource.

Obviously different dechlorinating products will have different concentrations. Follow the instructions on the bottle.

If you add the dechlorinator to the tank and then add water you need to dose for the whole volume of the tank, if you dechlorinate the water before adding it to the tank, only dose to the amount of water you are adding.

 

[Mebbid]

I honestly wouldn't bother cycling the tank. If there's a single betta in the tank and you are used to doing regular water changes on his 1g then it should be pretty easy to switch over to the 5g without any issues. If you really want you can cut a piece of the filter pad off your established tank and stick it in the 5g which would possibly cycle the tank right away.

As for the dechlorinator, yes there are different concentrations for them. For example, I found a pond dechlorinator that will dechlorinate 20g / ml

Most people use prime for a dechlorinator but even that is a little heavily concentrated for a 5g tank.