New Betta Owner: Cycling Question :)

[frogily]

Hello!

I just got a beautiful platinum betta fish, and got him a 3-gallon tank with a filter and heater (along with some live plants) to start out. I know that tanks need to cycle, and I was hoping to get some advice re: how to do that LOL

So far, I've filled about 40% of the tank with already cycled water from my dad's goldfish tank (it's been set up for about 2 years now; 50 gal, one goldfish and 2 cory cats; not sure if this is relevant but just in case), and filled the rest with new water. I also sprinkled in some of the aquarium gravel from the goldfish tank on top of my new aquarium's gravel. I've had the tank set up with the filter for about 12 hours, and did a water test.

I have about 1.0 ppm of ammonia, and no nitrate or nitrate. I know that this means that the tank hasn't cycled yet, but I'm not sure how to help it along. When do I do water changes? How much water do I change when I do? Roughly how long does cycling the tank take? How do I know when it's safe to transfer him into the tank? (and any other info you think could be important would be helpful).

I want to give my new little friend a nicer home than the pet store cup he came in, and I was hoping to give him new space as soon as possible. I'm completely new to fish owning, and I want to make sure I'm keeping him as safe as possible.

Thanks so much!

 

[Aiken Drum]

Cycling a tank typically takes 6 to 8 weeks.

1ppm ammonia is very high for 12 hours in. You might have chloramine rather than chlorine in your tap water which would show as ammonia in a test. I would test your tap water. It might also be coming out of the substrate which should stop after a while.

Your target should be to keep ammonia + nitrite combined no higher than 0.5ppm. So based on your 1ppm ammonia a 50% water change is needed. Presuming your tap water is ammonia free that is. Test every day and do water changes accordingly until cycled at which point your system should keep ammonia and nitrite at 0ppm and your nitrate should then steadily rise. Keep nitrate below 40ppm when cycled.

Feed lightly while cycling, especially as you start out. Half as much as you would normally feed or only every 2 days. As much as is eaten in 1 minute daily or 2 minutes every other day. Make sure to remove uneaten food.

The beneficial bacteria mostly lives on surfaces not in the water, so using tank water from an established tank wont have done anything useful. Using some substrate will have helped a little. The best way to speed up your cycle will be to use some filter media from your dads tank in your filter if possible. If that's not possible then a bottled bacteria product like Dr Tims One + Only or Tetra Safestart might help. Dont expect them to instantly cycle a tank as they claim though. At best they will bring your cycle down from months to weeks. At worst they wont help at all, but worth a try.

I would also add that 3g is a very small tank even for a single betta. Workable, but it it makes it very difficult for you manage water conditions especially as a novice. More water dilutes any issues. That 1ppm ammonia in a 5g tank would be more like 0.5ppm now which is much safer. Is an upgrade to 5g out of the question? It would be much easier for you to manage and would give your fish a little extra space, and in reality doesn't take up any more space.

Let us know about your tap water parameters. If the ammonia you are seeing is out of the tap it might complicate things.

 

[Aiken Drum]

Sorry. I misread your post. You don't have the betta in the tank? Where is the ammonia coming from? Are you doing a fishless cycle and dosing ammonia?

A fishless cycle will again take 6 to 8 weeks before it is safe to add fish and is a different process. Where is the betta at the moment?

You need to decide how you wish to proceed. A fish in cycle as per my first reply or a fishless cycle in which case i need to give further advice. Fishless might mean you returning the fish to the store while you cycle the tank.

While im adding a new post, a link to a page of articles for new fish keepers.

https://www.aquariumadvice.com/foru...ou-get-started-with-your-aquarium-154837.html

 

[frogily]

Sorry. I misread your post. You don't have the betta in the tank? Where is the ammonia coming from? Are you doing a fishless cycle and dosing ammonia?

A fishless cycle will again take 6 to 8 weeks before it is safe to add fish and is a different process. Where is the betta at the moment?

You need to decide how you wish to proceed. A fish in cycle as per my first reply or a fishless cycle in which case i need to give further advice. Fishless might mean you returning the fish to the store while you cycle the tank.

While im adding a new post, a link to a page of articles for new fish keepers.

https://www.aquariumadvice.com/foru...ou-get-started-with-your-aquarium-154837.html

Thanks so much for replying! The ammonia came from the goldfish water and gravel. The betta is still in the little cup he came in from the pet store. I want to change the water in that little cup for him while I'm waiting for the tank to cycle but I'm worried that completely changing it will stress him out.

I decided on a fishless cycle because 1) my local petstore doesn't do fish returns, and 2) I don't feel quite right about putting fish in a potentially unsafe tank. Would I still do the 50% water change with the fishless cycle?

 

[Aiken Drum]

If there is ammonia in the water you got from your dads tank then that tank isnt cycled and needs to be. If he wants some advice on that you should encourage him to join our forum.

If you want to do a fishless cycle you need to find someone to take back that fish. Keeping it in that cup while your tank cycles for 2 months will be infinitely worse for the betta than putting it in your tank and doing a fish in cycle. You are making a choice between putting your fish in a small tank that isnt cycled, and a smaller cup that also isnt cycled.

Have you been able to test your tap water yet?

Have you considered a 5g tank which will be more suitable for a betta? All i would recommend keeping in a 3g tank would be shrimps and snails.

 

[frogily]

If there is ammonia in the water you got from your dads tank then that tank isnt cycled and needs to be. If he wants some advice on that you should encourage him to join our forum.

If you want to do a fishless cycle you need to find someone to take back that fish. Keeping it in that cup while your tank cycles for 2 months will be infinitely worse for the betta than putting it in your tank and doing a fish in cycle. You are making a choice between putting your fish in a small tank that isnt cycled, and a smaller cup that also isnt cycled.

Have you been able to test your tap water yet?

Have you considered a 5g tank which will be more suitable for a betta? All i would recommend keeping in a 3g tank would be shrimps and snails.

Hi! So I tested my tap water and the tank water again. Tap water has no ammonia. The tank water now has about 0.25-0.50ppm of ammonia, no nitrite, and between 0 and 5.0ppm of nitrate. At the pet store, I know they change the cups of water for the bettas twice a week. Would it be possible to do that while I have him waiting to go into the tank? I can't return him, because my pet store doesn't do fish returns. Also, my dad's goldfish tank has been running for about 3 years. He does regular partial water changes, and he only has the one goldfish and 2 cory cats in the 50 gal. I'm a little confused about how that tank would not be cycled Please let me know if you can think of anything to do for that if you don't mind! (Or would one of those ammonia-lowering solutions work?) LOL

Also, would you recommend I do a fish-in cycle with the betta then? I'll eventually (In the next couple months) be moving the betta into a 10 gal, but I currently only have space for the 3gal until I move.

Thanks again! Sorry for having so many questions

 

[Aiken Drum]

No. Dont keep the betta in the cup. That isnt a suitable environment for a betta to live in beyond a few days, i would go as far as saying it isnt suitable beyond a few hours. Changing the water twice a week in such a small starting volume is nowhere near enough. Twice a day probably isnt enough. As i said you have a 3g tank that isnt cycled and a small cup (1 pint?) that isnt cycled, so you will be doing lots of water changes in whichever you keep it in anyway. Given neither is able to sustain you for long without maintenance which would you rather live in? A 3g tank or a 0.13 gallon cup? Toxic conditions will build up 24 x faster in the cup than the tank just because of water volume.

I would certainly recommend a fish in cycle if you cant rehome the betta. Change all the water in your tank, over a period of an hour or so gradually replace all the water in the cup with water from your tank so they are essentially the same, make sure the temperature of the 2 are roughly the same and move the fish.

Test daily and try to keep ammonia + nitrite combined below 0.5ppm. This might be daily, big water changes for a few weeks, but as your cycle kicks in the frequency should reduce and after a couple of months you should stop seeing ammonia and nitrite. You can then stick to doing water changes to control nitrate, typically keep this below 40ppm. Ive done a basic fish in cycle method in my first post.

Im going to add a big caveat. It doesnt look like the store you bought your fish from cares about the health of your fish at all. So who knows what stress and poor conditions it has lived through and what ill health this has caused. Also a 3g tank isnt ideal. A fish in cycle will give your fish its best chance if done properly. Living in a cup for 2 months isnt the right thing to do.

As for your dads tank. Have you tested water straight out of his tank or just the water from your tank that had some of his tank water mixed in? Goldfish are messy, need a lot of room and a lot of filtration. The tank size is good but i don't know about the filter. Perhaps the filter isnt big enough and doesn't hold enough media to cycle it. Perhaps its fine and the ammonia you saw wasnt anything to do with what came out of your dads tank.