New 5 Gallon Tank

[Spesh1969]

A week ago I set up a new 5 gallon tank for a Betta. The tank was one of those "everything is included" setups. The LED lighting is built into the cover. Will that stock lighting be sufficient if I wanted to put some live plants in the tank?

Also, for a tank this size, can I put anything else in with the Betta? Maybe some guys that hang around on the bottom?

This is a brand new tank and not cycled. I've had it set up for a week and have been adding a little bit of food. I did a test today and Ammonia was up but everything else was at zero. I'm uncertain when it's safe to add fish.

Appreciate the advice. Thank you!

 

[FreshyFresh]

Welcome and good for you for having done your homework by understanding nitrogen cycle and having a means to measure for it!

With this size tank, I'd be more inclined to just keep a male betta. You could try some snails or shrimp, but my experience with bettas and these two tank mates is the bettas will eat shrimp and pick at larger snail's eyes, tentacles, etc. Not all bettas will do this. Depends on the individual fish.

It's possible the lighting supplied with the tank will support java fern or anubia. You'd have to try it. Even keeping a desk lamp with an appropriate LED or CFL shining onto plants part of the day can suffice.

 

[fishorama]

FF gave good advice. I'd wait until ammonia & nitrite are both 0, they can harm your betta. A big water change can lower nitrate, so you don't need to focus on that yet. It can take 4-8 weeks to cycle a tank, be patient!

 

[tanker]

I too agree with both of the above advice. Patience. You are doing this correctly.

 

[Spesh1969]

Thank you! Do I need to do anything with the ammonia levels right now? Maybe a small water change? I've been adding a little bit of food every few days.

 

[tanker]

I would not worry about the ammonia levels till you have Nitrites, WC (IMO), is not necessary till then.

 

[FreshyFresh]

Agreed. The fish food method is a bit slower and can be stinky.

You have to wait for the food to rot, then produce ammonia, then wait weeks for the nitrite spike..

As you probably know at this point, if you can get ahold of some used filter sponge to put in your filter, or a small used sponge bubbler to run in your tank, you'll be instantly cycled and can add your fish.

The two times I did fishless cycling, I used ammonia from the dollar store. It was Austin's brand at the time. The only ingredients were ammonia and water. No dyes, perfumes or surfactants.