Bettababe's 10 Gallon Betta Build

[alia258]

Yes that's how I do it, but you need to pick 2-3 hardy fish (I used guppies my first time, and when I replaced my filter I used 3 guppies, 3 neon tetras, and 1 Cory catfish. They all did great!) so I'm sure that one of your fish are hardy enough, but buy no more than 3 to cycle your tank!

 

[Bettababe1011]

So, would the harlequin rasboras be okay with 3 to cycle the tank, adding seed material on Tuesday, and adding the rest after the fish in cycle is complete?

 

[alia258]

Yes. Remember, 50%, 25%, 50%, 25%, etc, etc, etc, and then every other day 25%s once the tank is cycled for 4-5 days then you can switch for weekly/bi-weekly pwcs, and as soon as you're done with the 25%s every other day you can add the other inhabitants.

 

[Jess1ca]

Use an API master test kit. It will tell u when and how much of a wc u need to do.

 

[Bettababe1011]

Okay. Thanks! I'll pick up some rasboras when I can.

 

[Bettababe1011]

Use an API master test kit. It will tell u when and how much of a wc u need to do.

Yup, I have one.

 

[Bettababe1011]

So, my lfs has four harlequin rasboras in. I'm gonna pick them up tomorrow.

 

[alia258]

Great! Make sure they're healthy

 

[Bettababe1011]

Yup, I'm sure they will be. This lfs is pretty good.

 

[alia258]

You're lucky, all my fish come home with ich and I have to medicate my tanks cuz I don't have a QT.

Remember that you need to check the water parameters morning and night every day and do pwcs accordingly, and even if the water looks fine you should do a 10% pwc, just in case because the day/night in between buildup of the bad things will occour and fresh water will help a little with that

 

[Bettababe1011]

Okay. I'll probably be OCD with my parameter checks and water changes. Right now I'm doing water changes to get rid of the 4 ppm of ammonia I had put in. Soon it will be ready!

 

[alia258]

Great! Your fish are going to be so lucky to live in your tank!

 

[Bettababe1011]

I'm so glad that I won't have to get rid of 4 ppm of ammonia everyday! This is taking so long, and my back is sore now. I've done quite a few water changes now...

 

[alia258]

Why don't you just dump all the water and re-fill the tank? As long as you keep the stuff in your filter wet, it won't kill any BB (unless you're really that worried about the slight amounts of BB on your decor)

 

[Bettababe1011]

Well, I think I got it low enough, I need to do another test later. It would be harder to just dump everything.

 

[severum mama]

So, would the harlequin rasboras be okay with 3 to cycle the tank, adding seed material on Tuesday, and adding the rest after the fish in cycle is complete?

No. If you're going to start with a small bioload and start with a media transfer, the idea is to stock slowly, adding a small bioload each time you are confident that the biofilter has caught up. Adding the rest of your stock list all at once is not a good idea in this instance.

Yes. Remember, 50%, 25%, 50%, 25%, etc, etc, etc, and then every other day 25%s once the tank is cycled for 4-5 days then you can switch for weekly/bi-weekly pwcs, and as soon as you're done with the 25%s every other day you can add the other inhabitants.

There isn't a formula. Just test water and act accordingly. If you see any ammonia or nitrite, change water. It's really that simple. For the reason I mentioned above, adding the rest of the stock list all at once after the tank cycles with a media transfer is NOT a good idea. This method requires you to stock SLOWLY to build a colony of beneficial bacteria gradually. Adding all the fish at once will overwhelm what has grown, as the colony will only grow to the extent to which it can convert the amount of ammonia produced by the bioload that is in the tank.

 

[Bettababe1011]

I wouldn't add them all at once. When I said add the rest of the stock, I meant gradually. I do have an idea of what I'm doing from research, and I've been keeping fish for a year now. I know what I'm doing now.

 

[severum mama]

Apologies, I see what you mean now but it didn't read that way at first.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[Bettababe1011]

Thank you!

 

[Bettababe1011]

So, I got four harlequin rasboras, they're acclimating right now.