okay a few mis-steps to start

[Sucker_dad]

I started trying to get a tank going without doing a little research first and I made a few mistakes to start. Now I think I am on the right track. I have a 10 gal tank that now is home to 1 male and 1 female beta and 2 very small, for now, goldfish. i have a mixed blue gravel on the bottom and have added 3 of the moss balls and a plant whose name escapes me at the moment. Very pretty small red leaves. grows to 12-20 inches. I have a good filter and an air pump with an air stone going. The fish seem to be doing well now after having several Goldfish die on me. turns out, I was the problem. I washed the tank with Dawn and did not get it rinsed out well. i did do a 50% water change last night and the fish seem to be a lot more active today. I do plan on getting a good test kit but for now I will take it to the store and have them test my water.

First off, do I need to run my filter and air pump 24 hrs a day? If so is it possible to put them on a power strip and turn them off while feeding? The reason I am asking I have both flake food and pellets and the filter just blows the food everywhere. I feel like the fish are not getting enough before it is down into the gravel where it just becomes wasted and turns into a problem in itself. 1 last question is where can I get one of the foam pieces to cover the inlet tube on my filter? the pellet food is getting drawn to it and sticking to the inlet tube. It just looks nasty. Thanks for all your input.

 

[ddodad]

It's a good start you're learning and asking for guidance. Firstly with bettas you really should not have any other type of fish they don't in general play well with other fish. (The again exceptions to every rule) The 10g is good for the bettas but it's way too small for the bioload of gold fish. To turn off the filter/air pump is not a huge issue for a short time but with that bio load in the tank I would try and keep it running as much as possible


Sent from my iPad using Aquarium Advice

 

[Autumnsky]

There are a few things still need a little changing/fixing.

The male and female Bettas shouldn't be in the same tank together unless there is a good divider in between. And even with a decent divider, those crafty little fish can jump over (yes, it is true) and shimmy under or beside a divider (personal experience).

The immature/juvenile fish can get along for awhile but what usually happens is you will see them happily swimming next to each other one day and the next time, there will be a dead or near death female fish on the bottom of the tank. As the male matures, he does what his instincts are and that is to get any fish (sometimes snails even) away from his territory. Some times you have a pretty laid back fish and he gets along with a Cories or catfish and other fish alright. This can be fine for months until a day it isn't alright and he kills tankmates. Numerous times I have heard this happen (also personal experience as well). Not that there aren't mellow fish which can get along with community fish because there are a few.

In nature the fish have large areas to swim away and in essence protect its self by staying away from the other fish. In our tanks - way too small of a space.

Temps for thriving GF and Bettas do not intersect in a long term situation.

This will be a great place for info about the GF
Freshwater & Brackish - Coldwater, Native Fish & Ponds - Aquarium Advice - Aquarium Forum Community

If you haven't already seen this it made my jaw drop
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...uire-big-tanks-visual-perspective-265871.html