Betta/Waste/Cycling.. One BIG question

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FreshFishKeeper

Small Fish
#1
Sep 10, 2003
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Indianapolis, IN
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#1
Well not really but anyway.. Does 1 single betta in a 10 gallon tank produce enought waste for bacteria to build up in the filter (cycle)? Or should I add some corys? or ghost shrimp? or african dwarf frogs?

I currently have 2 10 gallon tanks with 1 female betta in one and 1 male betta in the other. If I add some other fish with these should I remove these guys first? or should I just let the others in? The bettas have only been in the tanks for 2 days. And in the tank with the female betta there is some caves so the other fish could hide I suppose, til the get used to each other?

Thanks in advance
 

FroggyFox

FroggyFox

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#3
May 16, 2003
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#3
Are you planning on adding more fish to the 10G's later? If you're not and they're just going to be big happy betta homes, then I would say leave them :)

Your water goes through a cycle constantly...when someone talks about cycling a tank we are talking about that first setup phase where the bacteria doesn't exist and needs to colonize before the cycle will be healthy. So in answer to your question...yes, a betta can cycle a tank. HOWEVER, it will take quite awhile.

If you're planning on adding other fish to the tanks eventually I would suggest maybe getting at least one more tankmate, maybe a couple, to speed the cycle up. Unless you want to just make it a gentle cycle...and wait a couple of months (at least) until you add the other fish.

As for other fish to add to the tanks (if you're going to) I'm not sure what good tankmates are. Bettas all seem to have different personalities, some are friendly, some just want to be alone. At any rate, if you do get more fish to go in there I would definitely suggest lots of plants/decorations for the fish to be able to get away from each other.
 

FroggyFox

FroggyFox

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#5
May 16, 2003
8,589
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Colorado
#5
I'm sure they are more than happy to have that huge tank to themselves :) I would still monitor the levels of nitrite/nitrate to make sure and do a water change ifthey get too high.

Another idea would be that if you're interested in trying live plants they tend to absorb the nasty stuff and you might not even notice high levels of nitrite! I dont know much about them, but I know there are some types that absorb more, and types that have different requirements so you might look into that :)
 

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