Bobthenurse

I have a 5 gal with a betta and an otocinclus. I am very careful not to overfeed (I had to learn the hard way of course). After 2 weeks ammonia 0 nitrites 0 nitrates closer to 0 than 20. Should I do a water change with these numbers or would there be less stress without it and where is the balance between the two? So much to learn.

URFisher35

changing the water too often will increase the stress on your fish. as long as the ammonia stays at 0, nitrite stays at 0, and the nitrate stays below 25 PPM, there really isn't a reason to do a water change, IMO.