Do you cycle betta tanks!?

[karma_llama]

Do you have to cycle betta tanks?
With mine i just filled the tank 50/50 treated tap water and water from my established 10g. Left it with the filter on for a week, then added my betta, and he's been doing just fine for the past 6 weeks.
Was this a dodgy way of doing it or did i infact not need to leave it for a week at all?!

Just curious

 

[Leopardess]

Well, I would say its best to cycle their tank before adding them, just for comforts sake. However, they are very hardy when it comes to that stuff and it would be okay to cycle the tank with the fish. As evidenced by your method See, you didn't end up cycling his tank before you put him in. The water that you put in the tank (from the 10g) wouldn't cycle the tank. The bacteria are not free-floating but are on filter surfaces and gravel. Plus, if you left the the new tank empty for the week, any bacteria would have died off since it didn't have a food source. So, I suppose it was a good thought, but all that really happened was that you waited an extra week lol. You, in effect, cycled the tank with the betta.

 

[Iggy]

No, don't bother, and I really mean don't bother. Trying to cycle a small tank is like trying to heat it.... sometimes it causes more trouble than it fixes.

Bettas are not very vulnerable to things like nitrite suffocation, but are more susceptable to infection (bad bacteria transferred from other tank media).

A single betta does not produce sufficient waste in a weeks time to do much harm... and weekly water changes will ensure a healthy fish in smaller tanks.

 

[Gouramiman]

i never cycle my bettas tank and he does just fine

 

[karma_llama]

that's good.
To leopardess - i never even entertained the idea that adding water from the 10g would cycle the betta tank, and i know about the bacteria issue (i added a drop of an external source of this, stresszyme).
Waiting a week could however not be avoided, even if it did kill the bacteria, as i was only able to get out to purchase my betta the next weekend, so it was actually unavaiodable.
But it all worked out fine in the end.

 

[Leopardess]

Stresszyme cycles tanks?


I'm not saying what you did was bad....just that you didn't cycle the tank...which is fine since it's a betta. I'm also not saying that you shouldn't have waited a week - just that nothing was accomplished by it. I was simply saying you didn't need to do it (which is what you asked) and that it wasn't a "dodgy" way of doing it because, well, you didn't do anything lol.

 

[karma_llama]

no stresszyme doesnt cycle tanks, just adds some bacteria (not quite sure why)!!!

That's okay then, misundersatnding perhaps on my part, thanks for the advice anyway!

 

[shewlett]

I always cycle all my tanks, including the 5 gallon ones. I don't think it is practical to try and cycle a bowl. The only tank I don't cycle is the 2.5 gallon (closer to 2.0 gallons) quarantine tank but I do a 50%-60% water change in that tank every 2-3 days. Ammonia and nitrites are stressful to bettas just like any other fish ... labyrinth fish also have and need gills.

If you want to speed up the cycling of a tank use BioSpira. I have used it in three tanks and the tanks were fully cycyled in 48 hours.

 

[Iggy]

BioSpira for small betta tanks - sure if you want to throw your money away??? Use that stuff on tanks with REAL loads, not on 1 fish in a small tank/bowl!

I agree, 5gal + tanks should be cycled (fishless if possible), but nothing smaller then that. People will start thinking they can get away with fewer water changes in smaller tanks if they believe it is 'cycled', which will lead to more bad water issues than if they just do regular water changes and cleaning.

Yes, bettas have gills and are just as suceptable to ammonia burns, but not as affected by higher nitrite levels compaired to non-labyrinth fish. This is not just me talking, but also the local betta breeders opinions. I did not mean to imply that bettas are not affected by nitrites, just not as likely to die from the occaisional rise in nitrites than say... a neon tetra.

The 50% water change every 3 days is also a really good idea for anything under 2 gallons. I did 33% weekly (7 day) water changes on my 2 and 3 gallon divided tanks with no issues of water quality.

Bettas can live in smaller tanks for a long, long time. The oldest betta I know lives in a 1 gallon bowl and he is 5 years old. He gets weekly full water changes and bowl rising/cleaning and thats it.

I personally think that smaller tanks are just more work than bigger divided tanks, that is why I have 5 bettas in my 17 gal (will hold up to 6 bettas). Water changes, filtration, lighting and heating are all shared, so less cords, consitant heat, fully cycled and slowly filtered - perfect for a bunch of bettas

Don't bother trying to create and maintain a bio-filter system in such a small space. Just keep it clean, sanitize it if it gets grubby, and your betta(s) will be just fine!

 

[shewlett]

I do not think that using BioSpira on a 5 gallon tank is wasting money. It cuts the cycle time way down and does not expose the betta to stressful ammonia and nitrite levels. Nitrite is a by-product of the nitrifying bacteria which absorb and process ammonia. BioSpira has both the ammonia and the nitrite processing type. I personally want the fishes in my care to be as healthy as possible and don't mind spending a little extra money to play it safe.

If you read my post you would have noticed that I don't advocate trying to cycle bowls. No doubt I should have clarified that by stating that I don't advocate trying to cycle anything smaller than 5 gallons (which falls into the bowl category in my opinion). I have no aquariums smaller than 5 gallons except for the quarantine tank which I do a 50%-60% water change on every 2-3 days when it is occupied.

In any event, BioSpira is not prohibitively expensive and it is my money that I spend on it when I think it will be beneficial.

 

[Iggy]

Sorry Shewlett, me and my big .. uh .. mouth (er fingers I guess)

I was talking about bio-spira for under 5 gallons, just like you. I guess the interpretation of 'small tanks' is different for some of us, I think small tanks are less than 5 gallons, although in perspective 5 gallon tanks are easy to consider small as well.

I did read you post, did not mean to piss you off. As a fellow enthusiast, we are kindred spirits and surely both concerned about our little finned friends.

Ps. Love your avatar betta. I really like deep red bettas (pure) and from what I can see he is a beaut!

 

[shewlett]

Hi Ziggy,

No harm done. My wife and I keep fish and think of them as members of the family.

I know that "small" tanks is a matter of perspective. We have never had well-populated tanks. We prefer specimen tanks because we think they look nice and they are easier to take care of.

My personal opinion is that a tank under 5 gallons is virtually impossible to cycle unless it only has a few live plants and some small snails, or a really small fish. Perhaps it is possible with lots of water changes but there can be no breaks in the regimen. Small tanks (such as all of mine) still need water changes but having them cycled reduces the frequency. All my tanks are cycled but the amount of mulm (crud) that we take out with each water change through siphoning (every 2-4 weeks depending on tank size) is astounding. The water parameters (ph, Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrates, hardness) are fine but stuff does build up and we worry about a ticking time bomb. We do not overfeed and daily siphon out with a turkey baster any uneaten food, poop, etc. that we can find.

In my experience BioSpira really works, unlike other cycling aids.

Thanks for the compliment on the avatar betta. We bought him at a LFS and love him. His fins are a really beautiful deep red and his body is brown with a lot of red iridescence. He got ich about 10 days ago from a plant that I introduced to his tank without quarantining and the betta paid the price. He has been doing well in his quarantine tank and we are all looking forward to getting him back in his new home which is a 10 gallon tank. He was in a 5 gallon tank and that will remain occupantless except for resident snails and live plants for a month to make sure the problem is solved.

 

[Cillana]

There is no point in letting your filter sit in an empty tank for a week. There is no source of ammonia for the bacteria to feed on, so they won't multiply.

I seeded my betta tank by putting the filter on another tank for a week or more and adding plants from other tanks (you can also use gravel from other tanks or media from the filters of other tanks). This is the easiest way to set up a small tank when you already have larger ones. Personally I never keep bettas in anything smaller than 1-2 gallons and much preffer to keep them in 3-5 gallons (or more if they are tollerant of other fish). Small tanks fluctuate too much. I try to avoid them if I can.

I have an aquaclear mini that's rated up to 100gph (it's adjustable) and a tiny heater (7watts I think) on my betta's 4 gallon tank. Everybody always comments that they've never seen such an energetic betta.

 

[Iggy]

Heated betta tanks are the greatest think since sliced bread! You bet they are more energetic. One of my betta male is in a heated 10gallon tank (dual UGF system) and happy as a clam, moves around all the time, all my himself, no one to piss him off.