Betta tank question

[pigs_fly]

Ok Kids, heres the deal. I do my weekly water changes for Flounder religiously, I have the algae pretty much under control, I don't overfeed him, and my water parameters are as they have always been - near perfect. Yet, my tank looks gross. bleh. there is, for lack of a better term, gunk build-up on the plants and gravel, there are those little water bugs swimming around (the little ones that take care of excess waste...), and i just dont know what I'm doing wrong...

I use natural spring water, betta bowl buddies, and i change the little carbon filter every two weeks....I feed Flounder between 10-15 Hikari Tropical Micro-Pellets once a day, and I generally fast him on Sundays.

So, any suggestions...? I mean, Flounder is still happy and making his bubble nests every few days, swimmin around like normal, but I don't like him swimming around in nasty looking water

 

[Toam]

is he eating all those pellets? I think the normal feeding is 2-3 pellets, once or twice a day?
I could be wrong on that btw, what does it say on the bottle?( I just know most betta pellets are 2-3 twice daily)

 

[UP UP AND GUPPY]

Yes it is. On betta pelets you only 2 or 3. More then that can cause your tank to look disgusting

 

[homebunnyj]

I have no experience with the micro-pellets. My bettas have hikari betta bio-gold. They get two pellets daily.
Do you vacuum your gravel? You have to in order to keep the crud out of it. Otherwise-- yuck!!
What are the 'bugs' in your water? I've never had anything like that in my tanks that I have noticed. Does your betta eat them? Could they be daphnia or something? The bacteria that keep your water in good shape are microscopic.

 

[Lotus]

I found that when I had a betta in a 1 gallon tank, it was a real pain to clean it. How much of a water change are you doing every week? What kind of filtration does it have?

I found that a turkey baster was a good way to clean the substrate better, as most siphons are too big to effectively use in a tank that size, and using airline tubing just wasn't working for me.

 

[cakelady204]

I have a betta in the same size tank. Is your water change 100 %? Do you rinse the gravel out too? I do a 100% each week and rinse the plants and gravel. Also, I am not familiar with that brand of pellets but with the ones I use I only feed my betta 3-4 pellets daily. Do they sink to the bottom or do they float? I am just wondering if he actually eats all the pellets or if they are sinking to the bottom and not getting eaten.

 

[pigs_fly]

On the food: the micro-pellets are not a betta formulated pellet, they are much, much smaller than betta food and the packaging, of course, only recommends how much your fish will eat in a few minutes. So, I feed him the 10-15 pellets and he eats them all in about 30seconds. I always watch to make sure that he eats them all so that I know that I am not over-feeding him and to make sure that I am not accumulating excess waste.

On the cleaning: I do about a 50% water change so that the tank doesnt have to re-cycle over and over again...Should I be doing a full tank change? I do rinse off my plants every week, but not the gravel - because that is where the majority of the bacteria is (according to my research on cycling).

On the water bugs: Yes, homebunnyj, I believe they are daphnia, so they are causing no harm to my little fishy, but i just don't like to see them because i know that they are there because I am, apparently, not doing a good enough job....

On the filtration: It is a make-shift filter made from an elbow and a carbon filter cartrige. I change out the cartridge every 2-weeks, as directed on the packaging.

Thanks for all of your suggestions, let me know on the full water change, and gravel rinse, if that is ok with the cyclign issue.

 

[cakelady204]

I am by no means an expert but I can tell you what I do with the same size tank. I do a 100% water change every week including rinsing the gravel and the plants. I actually have two tanks that size with one betta in each one. I am not sure that we have to worry about tank cycling with tanks so small it is just better to 100% change the water each week but I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong. My bettas seem happy and healthy so it is working for me and I guess for them.