Saturday, March 12, 2011

Maintenance of a 2.5 gallon to 5 gallon betta tank.

In this post I am going to tell you all everything I have learned about maintaining a betta fish tank:

So to keep your betta fish tank clean you need to do a few things:
Have a filter
Do weekly water changes
Clean the gravel regularly
Clean the filter regularly

Here is why you need to do each of these things:
You need to have a filter because it makes life better for the fish. The filter filters out bad bacteria and other particles contaminating the tank. It also provides a place for good bacteria that will reduce the amount of ammonia in the tank. And, it creates less work for you. And unfiltered tank needs to have the water changed every two to three days.

You must do weekly water changes. If you don't the amount of ammonia and nitrates and nitrites will build up to dangerous levels and kill your fish.

The gravel should be cleaned out regularly to get rid of algae and bacteria.

The filter needs to be cleaned and changed regularly to get rid of bad bacteria and any other nasty sort of thing that it filters out of the water.

Here is an example schedule of what you should do to maintain a betta tank:
Daily:
Remove uneaten food as it will dirty the water. Check the filter to make sure it is working properly.
Weekly:
Remove 10 to 25 percent of the water in the tank, do this with a gravel siphon/vacuum. While you do this suck some of the debris out of the gravel. If the tank sides are dirty wipe down with an algae scrubber. Wash any artificial plants. Replace water in the tank with fresh conditioned water.
and.. one a week on a different day than the water change, rinse out the filter if it is dirty.
Monthly: super clean the gravel and replace the filter cartridge.

Note: NEVER EVER use soap to clean anything that comes into contact with your fish. Soap can kill them.
You do not need to remove the fish from the tank when you change the water. Gravel siphons/vacuums have a special filter in it to prevent the fish from getting sucked up. Removing the fish from the tank can also be stressful.

4 comments:

  1. So the key is to not clean too much or too little.

    Do you know what it is about some soaps that is dangerous to fish? Just curious.
    Love and hugs,
    Mom

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  2. This is a far cry from the goldfish in a bowl that I had as a kid!

    With all of your pet care do you keep track off it on a calendar or something? It seems like you have a lot of specific things to do with a pretty definite timetable, not to mention the everyday feedings, dog walks, etc.

    - Old Pet Lover

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  3. I personally don't use soaps to clean my tank because it is dangerous to fish.

    ReplyDelete
  4. So to keep your betta fish tank clean you need to do a few things:
    Have a filter
    Do weekly water changes
    Clean the gravel regularly
    Clean the filter regularly

    Thanks for the all info it will also help me for my car blog 5 gallon aquariums

    ReplyDelete