I just got a new fish tank?
3 April 2010
4 Comments
Yesterday around 6PM i set up my new 5 gallon fish tank..
I added in all gravel and accessories already and i added in water conditioner
My betta fish is in a probably .5 gallon bowl right now so i bought him a much bigger betta tank.
When should i add my betta into the fish tank?
I don't have a heater yet and i don't have a thermometer but i will be getting a heater and thermometer in about a week.
So my question is, when should i add my fish in to its tank?
Please only answer if you truly know the answer and are not guessing. Thanks!
Just add him to it now. A 5 gallon tank will not cycle out really so there’s no need to wait. Just put him in and follow the same maintenance routine as the other bowl. Change 90 % of the water every week depending on how much you feed him. Betta’s don’t need heaters as long as your house stays around 70 degree’s all the time and doesn’t change too much. I would buy a small filter before I wasted my money on a heater. I keep all my betta’s in unheated tanks and they live just as long as betta’s in heated tanks. The trick is to not let the tank Temp. change too much. If your house is always changing in temp then buy a heater to keep it stable. Good Luck
hi there… although bettas are considered to be relatively hardy i personally believe that they should not go into a tank until after a nitrogen cycle has been completed because of the elavated ammonia and nitrite levels.
the nitrogen cycle is a mandatory part of fish keeping… a lot of newbies have never heard of it before and inadvertantly hurt their fish if they add them immediately.
the following is a link that is a bit of a dry read but has handy diagrams and explains fully what the cycle entails, how to jump start your tank and how to monitor it.http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm
your betta will be better off spending another couple weeks in his 1/2 gallon bowl than rushing to put him in the new tank before it’s ready.
you’d be best to purchase some test strips or a test kit from your lfs so you can monitor these readings of PH, ammonia, nitrites and nitrates yourself.
good luck! i started two years ago with a small betta bowl and now i have 130 gallon tank!
Well really I would let the filter run the tank at least 49 hours for chlorine to evaporate, water parameters to stable and tempature to stable
wow…
bettas DO need heaters, they like temps around 78F to 82F… so please don’t listen to the other answerer and get a heater like you were planning.
add him now, he’ll be fine during the cycle. 5gallons certainly *will* cycle (I have one with a betta in it) but not if you’re removing 90% of the water each week. 20% once a week will be fine, but during the cycling process (about the first month) you’ll probably need to do 10% water changes 2-3 times a week. get a test kit and do a water change when you see some ammonia or nitrite.
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