Planning On Getting A Betta Fish

I may be getting a betta fish for the first time soon. I already have a tank in mind ( ). It is a 5 gallon tank with a hood, LED light, fishnet, water testing kit, thermometer and a filter. I don't know how to use the water testing vial. Tips? I will also be getting this ( ) for the water. The substrate of my choice is this sand . I will also be buying a piece of decor which can allow the betta to hide in and a few live plants. I don't know which plants I will be buying though. Any suggestions? And of course a heater ( ). Please leave suggestions on which food I should buy. I also don't know how to control pH. I think that's all, not sure. Please leave your opinions and suggestions! Thanks!

Also please ignore the links that are attached to the words. The things I will be getting are the long links. I don't know who to change the links attached to the words like "sand"

 

For food fluval bug bites is good as a staple. You should also try to vary his diet. I would recommend feeding frozen foods 2-4 times a week instead of the usual pellets. Frozen bloodworms, brine shrimp, black worms, daphnia, white worms and tubifex are all good.

Don't worry about ph. Trying to change it does more harm than good. As long as it is between 5.5 and 8.5 he will be fine.

I'm not sure what the test vial is but you will need a test kit for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and ph. The apI freshwater master test kit is much more accurate than test strips and lasts a lot longer.

You will also need an ammonia source for cycling the tank.

 

For food fluval bug bites is good as a staple. You should also try to vary his diet. I would recommend feeding frozen foods 2-4 times a week instead of the usual pellets. Frozen bloodworms, brine shrimp, black worms, daphnia, white worms and tubifex are all good.

Don't worry about ph. Trying to change it does more harm than good. As long as it is between 5.5 and 8.5 he will be fine.

I'm not sure what the test vial is but you will need a test kit for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and ph. The apI freshwater master test kit is much more accurate than test strips and lasts a lot longer.

You will also need an ammonia source for cycling the tank.

I have the tank you are mentioning and the light is horrible, I recently discarded it and got a lamp because I am going to grow some plants as well

Sorry quoted wrong person, I meant to quote your thing about the 5 gallon tank

 

Betta pellets are also good but a varied diet is always good.

A concern about the water additives -
I've never heard of nutra fin when it comes to creating bacteria so I'm not sure how well it will work to properly cycle your tank. One reason why I have concern is - before I used tetra safestart, I used topfin bacteria starter and marineland live bacteria. Both failed and research turned up that marineland uses a terrestrial bacteria not an aquatic bacteria so it only works if you dose it every month. Tetra safestart is the only line bacteria product I know of that uses aquatic bacteria so once you get your colony set up, you're good. Dont have to use it again.

For the water conditioner, most people on here just use prime to condition their water which is cheaper than this and I just use top fin dechlorinator. Though, for cycling, I used tetra safestart to cycle my big tank and then I used one of the 2 fluval biomax packs from my 20 gallon to cycle my 5 gallon.

Even with just a betta, it will take awhile to cycle your tank so I would suggest you get an apI test kit especially while you cycle the tank. One betta would take a while to produce enough ammonia to endanger itself but you want to watch the water just in case.

I would also suggest a new bucket for use for just fish water so you don't accidentally contaminate your tank with dish soap or something else.

A small gravel vacuum will help make cleaning and water changes easier.

Good luck with your new betta. I hope your tank cycles fast and easy so you can just focus on enjoying your fish.

don't know how to use the water testing vial. Tips

Almost forgot - I have three of these and I don't use them for anything anymore because my apI matter kit came with little glass vials to use for testing water.

However, they are very good for when you need to take a water sample somewhere and have it tested.

 

Almost forgot - I have three of these and I don't use them for anything anymore because my apI matter kit came with little glass vials to use for testing water.

However, they are very good for when you need to take a water sample somewhere and have it tested.

Why don't you just use them with the test kit rather than take water elsewhere...?

 

Why don't you just use them with the test kit rather than take water elsewhere...?

I took the water to my fish store to test before I got the kit.

The bottles don't work with the kit because they're a cloudy plastic and you need to be able to see the color in the vials really really well to get accurate results which is why the kit has glass vials with a 5 ml mark on the side so it's easy to measure out the right amount of water from the tank and easy to see the colors when testing.

I like having the kit because it's easier to just test at home than drive to the fish store, especially on days I work or when I feel the need to test my water at 10 or 11 at night.

 

For food fluval bug bites is good as a staple. You should also try to vary his diet. I would recommend feeding frozen foods 2-4 times a week instead of the usual pellets. Frozen bloodworms, brine shrimp, black worms, daphnia, white worms and tubifex are all good.

Don't worry about ph. Trying to change it does more harm than good. As long as it is between 5.5 and 8.5 he will be fine.

I'm not sure what the test vial is but you will need a test kit for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and ph. The apI freshwater master test kit is much more accurate than test strips and lasts a lot longer.

You will also need an ammonia source for cycling the tank.

I don't think petsmart has the fluval bug bites, but it does have this . I've heard that your supposed to feed the betta 4-5 pellets a day, is that true? Where would I get an ammonia source?

I have the tank you are mentioning and the light is horrible, I recently discarded it and got a lamp because I am going to grow some plants as well

Sorry quoted wrong person, I meant to quote your thing about the 5 gallon tank

What do you mean by you discarded the lamp? Isn't it attached to the hood? Also which lamp and plants did you get?

 

Betta pellets are also good but a varied diet is always good.

A concern about the water additives -
I've never heard of nutra fin when it comes to creating bacteria so I'm not sure how well it will work to properly cycle your tank. One reason why I have concern is - before I used tetra safestart, I used topfin bacteria starter and marineland live bacteria. Both failed and research turned up that marineland uses a terrestrial bacteria not an aquatic bacteria so it only works if you dose it every month. Tetra safestart is the only line bacteria product I know of that uses aquatic bacteria so once you get your colony set up, you're good. Dont have to use it again.

For the water conditioner, most people on here just use prime to condition their water which is cheaper than this and I just use top fin dechlorinator. Though, for cycling, I used tetra safestart to cycle my big tank and then I used one of the 2 fluval biomax packs from my 20 gallon to cycle my 5 gallon.

Even with just a betta, it will take awhile to cycle your tank so I would suggest you get an apI test kit especially while you cycle the tank. One betta would take a while to produce enough ammonia to endanger itself but you want to watch the water just in case.

I would also suggest a new bucket for use for just fish water so you don't accidentally contaminate your tank with dish soap or something else.

A small gravel vacuum will help make cleaning and water changes easier.

Good luck with your new betta. I hope your tank cycles fast and easy so you can just focus on enjoying your fish.



Almost forgot - I have three of these and I don't use them for anything anymore because my apI matter kit came with little glass vials to use for testing water.

However, they are very good for when you need to take a water sample somewhere and have it tested.

So when I finish setting up my tank, should I let it cycle first or can I put my betta in it without having it cycle (but how will it cycle with no ammonia)? I also couldn't find Tetra Safe Start on any Canadian pet stores :/

 

To do a fishless cycle, you have to add ammonia by either buying pure ammonia and dosing your tank to 2ppm ammonia or dropping in some fish food to decay. Then you test regularly and do water changes if the ammonia or nitrates are too high until you get 0 ammonia 0 nitrites and avoid amount of nitrates.

If you want to do a fish in cycle, you put in the fish as the source of ammonia. Then you want to test the water every day and do a water change if the ammonia, nitrites or nitrates start to edge into threatening levels. Eventually, you'll get the 0 ammonia 0 nitrites and some nitrate readings and you just do weekly water changes after that.

Either one will take time and each has it's own challenges.

Unfortunately, I don't know of another brand of bottled bacteria to recommend other than tss. Topfin nitrifying bacteria starter didnt work for me and marineland bacteria isn't actually aquatic so it does off after a few weeks so you have to keep redoing. Tss is the only brand I know that uses actual aquatic bacteria. But, your tank will still grow it's own beneficial bacteria without it

And bettas are clean fish so the ammonia shouldn't spike if you do a fish in cycle but you will still want to test every day until its cycled.

The apI test kit is a great value because its accurate and you get enough to last for months or maybe even a year depending on how often you test. I test pretty often over the last 3 months or so all my bottles are still half full.

 

To do a fishless cycle, you have to add ammonia by either buying pure ammonia and dosing your tank to 2ppm ammonia or dropping in some fish food to decay. Then you test regularly and do water changes if the ammonia or nitrates are too high until you get 0 ammonia 0 nitrites and avoid amount of nitrates.

If you want to do a fish in cycle, you put in the fish as the source of ammonia. Then you want to test the water every day and do a water change if the ammonia, nitrites or nitrates start to edge into threatening levels. Eventually, you'll get the 0 ammonia 0 nitrites and some nitrate readings and you just do weekly water changes after that.

Either one will take time and each has it's own challenges.

Unfortunately, I don't know of another brand of bottled bacteria to recommend other than tss. Topfin nitrifying bacteria starter didnt work for me and marineland bacteria isn't actually aquatic so it does off after a few weeks so you have to keep redoing. Tss is the only brand I know that uses actual aquatic bacteria. But, your tank will still grow it's own beneficial bacteria without it

And bettas are clean fish so the ammonia shouldn't spike if you do a fish in cycle but you will still want to test every day until its cycled.

The apI test kit is a great value because its accurate and you get enough to last for months or maybe even a year depending on how often you test. I test pretty often over the last 3 months or so all my bottles are still half full.

How often do you test your water?

 

When I was cycling my tank, I tested every day.

Once my tank was cycled, I tested once a week.

At this point, I only test when something looks strange in the tank or when something unusual happens like when the powered went out for several hours do my filter was down.