1 Gallon Tank New betta impulse purchase - help me not to kill Sunny!

So, I did a thing the other night. I was at Pet Supplies Plus buying cat food when I happened to walk by the display of betta fish in their sad little containers. This gorgeous girl caught my eye and just begged me to take her home. Meet Sunny, the Glofish betta! Yup, I bought a fish on impulse. Right now she’s in a 1 gallon Aqueon aquarium with some gravel and a couple of fake plants. She already seems happier than she was at the store. Now I’m just trying not to kill her.

Years ago I had goldfish in a 10 gallon tank and did just about everything wrong that you could do, and somehow still managed to keep them alive just fine. I had never even heard of the nitrogen cycle. More recently, I’ve been reading up on proper fishkeeping and had planned on setting up a properly cycled 5 gallon and THEN adding a betta, but impulse got the better of me.

I bought some test strips and the nitrites are really high, but it’s only been 3 days. I’ve been doing partial water changes while the tank cycles. I’m sure the 1 gallon isn’t ideal but it’s what they had in the store. Any other tips while the tank stabilizes? TYIA!

 

Forget about cycling this tank or waiting for it to be stable. That’s not going to happen anytime soon. Just keeping the fish alive should be the goal. Continue daily water changes .
You will need that bigger tank as soon as possible.


I would say Boston is cold enough to need a heater , just from a quick look at Siri weather. It’s definitely not tropical in winter LOL.

We are all human and I for one am not going to shame anyone for an impulse buy.

Is that gravel 1/4 inch ? Approximately.

 

Try to get the 5 gallon Asap, you dont need to fishless cycle it, A 5 gallon is still better then a 1 gallon. He can have the heater and filter and decorations that he deserves in the 5 gallon. Please take plastic plants out of his current tank ASAP!, use only live or silk plants. You dont want him getting torn fins.

 

Try to get the 5 gallon Asap, you dont need to fishless cycle it, A 5 gallon is still better then a 1 gallon. He can have the heater and filter and decorations that he deserves in the 5 gallon. Please take plastic plants out of his current tank ASAP!, use only live or silk plants. You dont want him getting torn fins.

ik this is gonna be awkward but i can't help myself, its a female betta not male... please dont take offence

 

Paleness and inflamed gills, this betta is not having a good time going through the cycling process...

Keep feeding low and try to change out 50% of the water daily. There are bottled bacteria that you can buy, no guarantees though

Good luck!

 

Every day 50% water change in the morning and test the water, every night test the water and do a 50% water change
What you want to do is keep ammonia .25 or below, and nitrites .50 or below.

If the 50% isn't enough do a 75% each time.

You have test strips. Do you have a dechlorinator or water conditioner?
A dechlorinator or "water conditioner" is kind of critical, without it the chlorine will hurt the fish, and the cycle never really can get going.

Assuming you have that, it's just staying on top of testing and water changes so that it doesn't become dangerous for the fish. It will get easier in a week or two, easier at 3 and week 4, when it gets towards finished cycling but it's a lot of water changing in the beginning to keep it safe for the fish.

And yeah you will need a heater. A 25W is good for up to 10gallons, buy that, it will run less often on a smaller tank and when you get the 5g you won't have to buy another heater, don't buy one of those tiny heaters made for a 1g, you'll end up buying another when you size up the tank. Follow the directions for the heater, start low and turn it up little by little until it's the right temp, any other way the temp can run up high and too high for the fish.

I wish you luck. Water change, water change and when in doubt water change again that's the biggest thing you can do now to keep the fish alive besides feeding it right.

I'll let someone that is well versed with bettas cover feeding to avoid bloat constipation and all that.

 

Buy a bottle of Prime by Seachem, add a dose every other day while cycling.

OR
I had a 1 gallon tank when I started out 4 years ago. I used Tetra Beta tablet for water changes because it removed the guess work on dosing during a water change -

BettaSafe™ Kit​

​

​

'New Vitamin and Mineral Blend:
BettaSafe Starter Kit features a unique blend of beneficial minerals that are normally lacking in typical tap water. These included vitamins and minerals work to increase the vitality, breeding behavior and activity of your fish.'

​

( 1 tablet =2 gallons, so I cut it in half) that I purchased at Walmart.

I had no issues. Just understand that over time, there will be build of of waste in tank. You can use a turkey baster ( save it only for tank use) to help clear out debris.

IMO - cleaning the tank becomes an issue at around 4-6 weeks.

have aquarium salt handy in case you need to clean your tank or any decor.

I eventually upgraded to a 3 gallon after a few months and eventually a 5 gallon with heater & filter after I started coming to this web page I use my old 1 gallon tank for cleaning supplies & nets or to rinse rocks in, or emergency housing while I redo a tank.


Also don't over feed while in the 1 gallon, more food, more waste. I always fed bettas 1x a day and just a small portion. It's easy to get a betta fat. For food, I really like FluVal Bug bites. My bettas love them.

Good luck and she's a beauty!

 

I would say Boston is cold enough to need a heater , just from a quick look at Siri weather. It’s definitely not tropical in winter LOL.

Is that gravel 1/4 inch ? Approximately

Its summer right now, and we’ve been in a heat wave so I’m not worried about it being too cold.

I don’t know what size the gravel is.

ik this is gonna be awkward but i can't help myself, its a female betta not male... please dont take offence

Lol, I thought the same thing! Sunny is a GIRL!! And very pretty at that.
It’s been nearly a week and Sunny is doing great. She swims around and is very smart. She sees me and comes up to the top because this means BETTA FLAKES! Then she chases them around for 5 minutes, it’s like a game for her hunting the flakes.

I’ve been keeping up with the water changes, and using Seachem prime, and I also just bought some Seachem stability for the heck of it.

I’m currently researching 5 gallon tanks, but she seems very happy in her current set up. I don’t want to stress her out by moving her around too much.

 

Quote
“I’m currently researching 5 gallon tanks, but she seems very happy in her current set up. I don’t want to stress her out by moving her around too much.”

I don’t think you understand how toxic ammonia is Swishy ? The ammonia is potentially doing kidney damage that may not show up for months?
Doing lots of wafter changes as you are will keep the fish alive. You write of not wanting to stress a fish by moving it into more space and more stable fresh water. Nothing could be further from how I see the fish in a one gallon uncycled tank. However it’s your fish and you are free to do as you wish . To learn as you go, just as we all do.

 

You need to get her into a stable heated and filtered 5-gallon or larger aquarium. In an unfiltered/uncycled aquarium, urine, decaying feces, and decaying food are being sucked into her lungs all day and all night. Imagine if you had to live in a room with no windows with a chain smoker. The health problems build up over time.
Also, Your girl will be less stressed when you do not need to change the water so often.

A heater provides stable temperature 24-7, Tropical fish should have a stable temperature day and night.

 

I don’t think you understand how toxic ammonia is Swishy ? The ammonia is potentially doing kidney damage that may not show up for months?
Doing lots of wafter changes as you are will keep the fish alive. You write of not wanting to stress a fish by moving it into more space and more stable fresh water. Nothing could be further from how I see the fish in a one gallon uncycled tank. However it’s your fish and you are free to do as you wish . To learn as you go, just as we all do.

The point is that even if I could stick her in a brand new 5 gallon tank TODAY, the water parameters aren’t going to magically change immediately. So, whether she’s in the 1 gallon setup that’s been percolating for a week or in the showroom new 5 gallon, the ammonia is going to be high. I got the Seachem prime because it’s supposed to neutralize the harmful contaminants while the tank stabilizes. Or so I read online on the manufacturer’s website.

We don’t all have multiple cycled tanks we can stash our fish in while the perfect parameters work themselves out. I’m doing exactly what you said - “learning as I go”. And there’s so much conflicting info online, even in this forum.

Right now she seems fine and healthy. I’m not saying that like “Lalalaaaa…. Nothing wrong here!” I just mean she’s not in dire peril, acting sickly and looking like she’s on death’s door. I can’t wave a wand and have a perfect aquarium. So what options do I have? Because right now it seems they’re all bad.

 

So what options do I have? Because right now it seems they’re all bad

Look i dont want to argue and go around in circles but plan and simple if your going tp keep the betta in 1 gal for a week or so ...fine, but you should do small water changes everyday to reduce ammonia levels, as you said 1 gal or 5gal uncycled so no difference, perhaps rather than waiting for the 1gal to cycle, just buy a cheap 2nd hand 5 gal or they are super cheap in shops and cycle it instead of the 1 gal.

The reason why it isnt good is because the fish is almost the size of the 'tank' 1 gal just isnt enough to sucsessful keep a betta long term.

hope u understand..

Best of luck
Peter

 

You need to do partial water changes every day. you can add a single eye dropper drop of prime to the new water. One drop treats a half gallon of water.
But if you are able to get A 5-gallon tank, do it ASAP. There is a huge difference between an uncycled 1 gallon and an uncycled 5 gallon.

Less change in temperature and water chemistry, especially when you do water changes.
More room for the fish to avoid the filter flow.
You can get a better heater and filter and add decoration where the fish can feel comfortable and still have room to swim.
It will take much longer for the water to become toxic.
When/if you have to add meds or chemicals, you are not splitting atoms to get the proper amounts in.
If contamination happens, it will have less catastrophic results.

I have been there and done that, I am only trying to help you avoid making the mistakes that I made.
I wish you luck,happiness and health, take care!

 

The fish is an inch and a half long. She’s not “the size of the tank”. Minus the gravel and decorations there’s at least 30 square inches of swimming space. Not ideal, but it’s not like the ASPCA or PETA is going to come calling for animal cruelty. A week ago she was on the shelf at the pet store in a plastic container the size of a yogurt cup.

She’s getting a bigger tank this weekend.
I’ve been doing the water changes with Prime, and limiting food. Years ago I had like 8 goldfish in a 10 gallon tank and had never even heard the term “nitrogen cycle”. They lived for years even though I did everything wrong. I’m trying not to make the same mistakes but there’s a definite learning curve with fish keeping.

 

Hey thanks for the update.
Sorry if I came across as demanding or some kind of smart donkey, there ready is no easy way to explain what I have seen first hand. I was kinda trying to save you the seeing the worst of the hobby.

Anyway it’s great news a bigger tank is on its way.

Keep smashing out those water changes .

 

Your going g to want to upgrade the tank in my experience 2.5 to 3 gallon would be manageable for you to cycle 1 gallon takes a lot of experience and frankly isn't worth the effort unless your breeding and have too many for a proper setup. Also with betta want to make sure decorations aren't too sharp can cut fins and lead to bacterial infections.

 

A link on how you definitely can raise juvenile betta in one gallon containers. Note the daily water changing hose that fills 8 or so containers at once. Also note the family of low cost labour used to raise our betta fish.

 

A link on how you definitely can raise juvenile betta in one gallon containers. Note the daily water changing hose that fills 8 or so containers at once. Also note the family of low cost labour used to raise our betta fish.

Interesting, except I don’t speak German! Lol