mostanganyikatank

It has happened, my wife is getting interested in fish !!! She wants a 35 litre tank with a betta !!! adding to my MTS. Couple of questions ? If I use cycled water out of my amazon tank to fill the new tank and some filtre media how soon could I introduce the betta She will want to add the fish in as soon as possible.

Rbacchiega

I'd still give it a few days to a week just to be safe. The only sure way is to test the water and make sure it's gone through the cycle. Just tell her that the fish will be much happier, brighter, and live longer if you do it right and take your time....tug on those heart strings of hers!

mostanganyikatank

cool sounds like a plan !! thanks.
She is so excited so I am bringing her down after work to get it for her !
Cant wait.
Might even suggest a 60 litre and she could add a few more fish.
yea for fish tanks !!!

LuvaBetta

YAY! Another betta lover!
35 liter is a great size, too.

As for adding a few other fish, bettas are solitary and s/he will prefer your wife's company to that of other fish. Their nature is aggressive, and they don't get along with many other fish. Two exceptions are corydora catfish or otocinclus catfish for algae eating. You can read some of the posts in the betta-specific section of the forum; not everyone is in agreement as to this, but many who have tried have ended up with maimed or dead fish.

I'd do as Rbacchiega says, give the tank a week. But be sure to feed the bacteria though! I don't think a week without ammonia would increase their number.

COBettaCouple

I'd recommend starting the new tank with clean treated water. The good bacteria likes to colonize surfaces so you'll find only extremely tiny amounts in the water. Moving some substrate from your tank and/or filter media from it would be the best help.

What I'd recommend is putting an extra filter sponge or 2 in the filter of your tank
for a week then move them to the filter in the new tank along with putting a sockful of substrate from your tank in a pantyhose sock to go in the new tank. That should help speed up the cycle a good bit.

mostanganyikatank

I have a multilayered filter media in my tank so I could swap one layer of mine for one layer of hers, I would do this as a matter of course onced every 6 months so I know it wont affect my tank.
Never herd of the substrate in the pantyhose before sounds like a brilliant idea. How much substrate would I put in, can I return it to my tank, how long do I leave it in for ect ect
ps thanks all so much for all the info your all so helpful !!!

COBettaCouple

Honestly, you could put as much as you want into pantyhose socks (tie the end in a knot and you can really just let the socks sit on the bottom) although I'd stop at 1/3rd of the substrate in your tank.

King_Snuggles

fill the pantyhose the more the better. you put it in the pantyhose so you can return it to you original tank otherwise just add the substrate to the bottom if you are leaving it in there. i would leave it in for a week.

susitna-flower

Panties in a twist!

susitna-flower

The only reason to really place it in something, is if you want a different color or type of substrate... If it is going to be the same as your original tank, just move some of the gravel over, and put new in with it to bring it up to depth you want, and add some new to your old tank...

But I can see your wife might not like your colors, and want to get something that will make the tank "all hers"...

I think your idea of moving filter media over would be highly effective.

mostanganyikatank

But I can see your wife might not like your colors, and want to get something that will make the tank "all hers"...

you can be sure of that. she has been trying to redesign my tanks for years !!!!

this time it is her turn !!!