Betta In Uncycled Tank?

[Niigaanii L]

I recently set up a 10 gallon tank for a betta, I of course at the time, didn't think about cycling the tank (this is my first time on my own with this).
I know that pretty much makes me the fish keeping devil, seeing as I now have a fish that I'm not sure if it's safe to put in the tank. I've treated the water with prime and given it some benifical bacteria tablets (start zyme by tetra)
I've been testing the water these past couple days and the perameters seem pretty okay, considering it's a new tank, though not exactly ideal. Nitrite is anywhere grom 0 to 20 ppm. nitrate is around .5 to .10 ppm. hardness is soft, alkalinity is sitting from 40 to 80 (which isn't exactly ideal I know) and the pH seems to be sitting around 6.8 to 7.2 if not slightly more acidic.

I don't wanna keep my betta in it's litte cup becuase I know it's not the greatest thing for him. I've been trying to change out his water in there frequently but I don't wanna risk keeping him in such a small container too much longer

(Also my tank is really cloudy. It's been getting more and more cloudy over time, I read it could be bacteria. Don't know if that means anything more or if it can help )

 

[RainBetta]

How long has it been cycling? If it has been cycling for more that a week, then I would ask an expert at your LFS. So something might be wrong if that is the case. But again, how long has it been cycling?

 

[75g Discus Tank]

The cloudiness is a bacterial bloom, so your tank is starting to cycle.

Just do 25-50% WCs every couple of days and you should be cycled in 4-8 weeks.

Also, the strips aren't super accurate. Get yourself an API Freshwater Master Test Kit. If you live in the US, it's on Amazin RN for like $20.

If not, prices may vary.

 

[chadcf]

What's your ammonia at? The little cup is going to be worse for him than the tank, though I'm not clear which he is in now.

You've got two options I think:

1. Frequent water changes - once or twice daily. You'll have to do this until the bacteria start growing and eating up the ammonia and nitrites.
2. Add a bacterial booster - Tetra SafeStart, Seachem Stability, or ask on craigslist or a local shop for some filter material from an established tank. If you go this route you will need to stop doing water changes for a bit, probably 1-2 weeks, to let the liquid bacteria have time to attach to the filter and start growing. Also if you use tetra safestart you cannot use prime to keep the ammonia in check, though you can with stability. I've had good luck with both stability and safestart myself.

I would probably do a massive water change, 90% or so, and then add in a bottle of tetra safestart plus. Then monitor and see if it can start doing the job without your parameters getting too bad. if it does get too bad then do more water changes and prime and wait it out.

 

[Niigaanii L]

How long has it been cycling? If it has been cycling for more that a week, then I would ask an expert at your LFS. So something might be wrong if that is the case. But again, how long has it been cycling?

It's been cycling for less than a week for sure, added bacteria but didnt put in any fish food or anything for a few days, until I remembered they feed off of ammonia. Which is when I put the tablets in just last night, but it was becoming increasingly foggy prior to that. I figured it was non beneficial bacteria from having to touch stuff in the tank growing.

What's your ammonia at? The little cup is going to be worse for him than the tank, though I'm not clear which he is in now.

You've got two options I think:

1. Frequent water changes - once or twice daily. You'll have to do this until the bacteria start growing and eating up the ammonia and nitrites.
2. Add a bacterial booster - Tetra SafeStart, Seachem Stability, or ask on craigslist or a local shop for some filter material from an established tank. If you go this route you will need to stop doing water changes for a bit, probably 1-2 weeks, to let the liquid bacteria have time to attach to the filter and start growing. Also if you use tetra safestart you cannot use prime to keep the ammonia in check, though you can with stability. I've had good luck with both stability and safestart myself.

I would probably do a massive water change, 90% or so, and then add in a bottle of tetra safestart plus. Then monitor and see if it can start doing the job without your parameters getting too bad. if it does get too bad then do more water changes and prime and wait it out.

I have prime, and a box of tablets with
Start zyme, start right, and correct pH- all by tetra. Also have a bag of bacteria just in case id have to completely chang out the water, which it seems it's almost exactly what I'll have to do lol. After a big water change would a fish in cycle be possible? The reason I chose a betta is becuase they're generally Hardy fish, Im just afraid of keeping him in the cup for too long. (I got some water from an already established tank from my local let store to do water changes in the cup, but still)

 

[oldsalt777]

I recently set up a 10 gallon tank for a betta, I of course at the time, didn't think about cycling the tank (this is my first time on my own with this).
I know that pretty much makes me the fish keeping devil, seeing as I now have a fish that I'm not sure if it's safe to put in the tank. I've treated the water with prime and given it some benifical bacteria tablets (start zyme by tetra)
I've been testing the water these past couple days and the perameters seem pretty okay, considering it's a new tank, though not exactly ideal. Nitrite is anywhere grom 0 to 20 ppm. nitrate is around .5 to .10 ppm. hardness is soft, alkalinity is sitting from 40 to 80 (which isn't exactly ideal I know) and the pH seems to be sitting around 6.8 to 7.2 if not slightly more acidic.

I don't wanna keep my betta in it's litte cup becuase I know it's not the greatest thing for him. I've been trying to change out his water in there frequently but I don't wanna risk keeping him in such a small container too much longer

(Also my tank is really cloudy. It's been getting more and more cloudy over time, I read it could be bacteria. Don't know if that means anything more or if it can help )

Hello NL...

Most problems can be fixed if you just keep the tank water clean. You've started a "fish-in" cycle which isn't a bad thing, provided you keep hardy fish. Bettas aren't on the list, though. All you can do is to keep the water as clean as possible. See if the local fish store will give you some gravel from one of their tanks. Add the gravel to yours. This will add bacteria to the water and the fish waste from the Betta will begin the cycle. Feed the fish a little every day or two. Test the water if you have a kit or some strips and test for traces of ammonia and nitrite. If you have a positive test, change a quarter of the water and replace it with tap water treated with a product that removes chlorine and chloramine and detoxes nitrogen, like ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. Just test frequently and change the water when needed. When you have several tests with no traces of ammonia or nitrite, the tank is cycle. This can take up to a month. After the tank is established, change half the water every few days.

Old

 

[chadcf]

If he's still in the cup please put him in the tank! Do a big water change, add prime, then add the fish. While he can survive in the cup it's really not a good place for him, he'll be MUCH better off in the tank. Water change, add fish, add bacteria booster, then monitor and do water changes and prime doses if the parameters get too bad. I would go get tetra safestart or seachem stability. I don't know about those staters you got but tetra safestart is generally regarded as the best one on the market, I've had decent luck with stability too.

 

[puffer boi]

How long has it been cycling? If it has been cycling for more that a week, then I would ask an expert at your LFS. So something might be wrong if that is the case. But again, how long has it been cycling?

most "experts" give bad information. my LFS told me that goldfish were great to cycle the 20 gallon and i could keep them in there once it was done cycling. these goldfish were comets.

 

[Niigaanii L]

If he's still in the cup please put him in the tank! Do a big water change, add prime, then add the fish. While he can survive in the cup it's really not a good place for him, he'll be MUCH better off in the tank. Water change, add fish, add bacteria booster, then monitor and do water changes and prime doses if the parameters get too bad. I would go get tetra safestart or seachem stability. I don't know about those staters you got but tetra safestart is generally regarded as the best one on the market, I've had decent luck with stability too.

I bought the "water care kit" (with all the tablets) sort of last minute when I realized I probably killed all the bacteria I initially put in by neglecting to feed them. I also bought that bag of bacteria just in case. I'll definitely pick up some safestart soon! I wanna get my betta out of his cup as soon as possible. He seems to be doing pretty good health wise, but I know it's not good for him. I heard seachem's prime and tetra's safestart aren't compatible though, correct me if I'm wrong. I am the newbie here after all

 

[DDawg]

The cup wont be cycled either and it's a much smaller container so the ammonia will build up much faster than in the 10 gallon. I agree with others that you should place the betta in the tank immediately.
Also, while not ideal, you probably wont run into many problems with a single betta in a 10 gallon even if the tank isn't cycled. Just don't overfeed and water change every couple of days and he will do great. Good luck!

 

[Niigaanii L]

The cup wont be cycled either and it's a much smaller container so the ammonia will build up much faster than in the 10 gallon. I agree with others that you should place the betta in the tank immediately.
Also, while not ideal, you probably wont run into many problems with a single betta in a 10 gallon even if the tank isn't cycled. Just don't overfeed and water change every couple of days and he will do great. Good luck!

Thanks! I do plan on getting some bottom feeders and/or inverts in the future, so I do definitely wanna get the cycle going. But thanks!

 

[chadcf]

There is no conceivable situation where the cup would be better than a tank, there's no reason to keep him in the cup and a lot of reasons not to. With a few ounces of water ammonia and waste will start building up MUCH faster than in 10 gallons. Those little cups are a horrible environment, bettas can survive in them only because they can come to the surface and gulp air, but meanwhile they are swimming around in waste and burning ammonia. Please get him out of there ASAP.

Also I agree with the previous comment, I have a betta in a 10 gallon and it's a very low load for a tank that size. You should be able to cycle a tank with him in it without much difficulty in keeping the parameters low due to the low stocking level. Also if it's been a week so far you've probably already got some bacteria growing in the filter so you've got a head start.

Tetra indeed says you should not use prime with safestart. You can use stability with prime but with safestart it's a no go. There's some good info here about using safestart: Q & A With Tetra about Tetra SafeStart

 

[RainBetta]

most "experts" give bad information. my LFS told me that goldfish were great to cycle the 20 gallon and i could keep them in there once it was done cycling. these goldfish were comets.

Hey, now, Puffer Boi. Calm down. You know what I mean. If you talk to a quote and quote "expert" and they tell you that your water is cloudy because your ammonia is just "bad" then you know that you're getting 'ding, ding, ding' info. Some LFS have very knowledgeable employees ( including mine, which requires a 3 month training program before even being considered to work there) and some have very bad employees. Same goes with Petco and Petsmart. One employee had told me that a male and female betta fish were best kept together in a 0.5 gallon tank, while another explained the process of curing new tank syndrome and the nitrogen cycle to me when I was newer to the hobby. But yeah, I guess it really depends on the person you talk to. What I really meant was that if you *know* an expert, talk to them, not some desperate teen who is working for his Dad's friend from high school. Sorry, I must have come across as very irrated, but I am trying to stretch that some experts can talk to you and other "experts" shouldn't even be bothered with. Also, maybe that person who told you about the comet goldfish was saying that you could use it to speed up your tank cycling, and then you would return it a week or two later. Were they baby comets, because if they were adults then, yes, that was not a smart person. Plenty of people do that with feeder guppies

 

[puffer boi]

Hey, now, Puffer Boi. Calm down. You know what I mean. If you talk to a quote and quote "expert" and they tell you that your water is cloudy because your ammonia is just "bad" then you know that you're getting 'ding, ding, ding' info. Some LFS have very knowledgeable employees ( including mine, which requires a 3 month training program before even being considered to work there) and some have very bad employees. Same goes with Petco and Petsmart. One employee had told me that a male and female betta fish were best kept together in a 0.5 gallon tank, while another explained the process of curing new tank syndrome and the nitrogen cycle to me when I was newer to the hobby. But yeah, I guess it really depends on the person you talk to. What I really meant was that if you *know* an expert, talk to them, not some desperate teen who is working for his Dad's friend from high school. Sorry, I must have come across as very irrated, but I am trying to stretch that some experts can talk to you and other "experts" shouldn't even be bothered with. Also, maybe that person who told you about the comet goldfish was saying that you could use it to speed up your tank cycling, and then you would return it a week or two later. Were they baby comets, because if they were adults then, yes, that was not a smart person. Plenty of people do that with feeder guppies

im just saying that because most of the time people come here and say that the lfs said there water was perfect for fish, then when they get a test kit its not.

not many lfs are like yours