Betta is in imminent danger... help!

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Newtnewb

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Nov 17, 2016
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So I had a very stable set up in my 5 gal Fluval Spec tank for about 4 - 5 months with my Betta. I then added 5 baby neons to the tank. I plan(ned) on upgrading to a 20g.... Everything went well for several weeks, then a fungus bloomed and killed the neons. In a panic, I contacted my LFS, but now I'm afraid they may have given me bad info.. Iwithout a second thought, i did as he said which was to remove the betta in some water with a little defungal by Seachem and meanwhile deep clean the tank, except for the filter. I filled the tank with new water, dechlorinated and added Tetra Safe Start and a little of the LFS's water squeezed from a filter for extra help... supposedly. I'm freaking out, I can't keep my betta in a cup of old water waiting for a tank to re-cycle!?!? I do have API Master Kit and the current levels scare me. Ph is 7.2, ammonia is .50ppm, nitrate is 10ppm, nitrite is .50ppm. Temp is stable at 77°F.

I'm scared to lose my betta....

Do I need to speed the process by adding fish to cycle? I'm freaking out!
 
If you didn't clean the filter, it should be fine and fully colonized with bacteria. Get some Prime and use it to treat the ammonia, do a water change daily for about a week, and it will be fine. The betta is way better in the tank than in the cup of water. Bigger volumes of water dilute wastes.

And...learn the lesson now. Do not buy fish planning to upgrade. Upgrade and then buy the new stock.
 
OrionGirl said:
If you didn't clean the filter, it should be fine and fully colonized with bacteria. Get some Prime and use it to treat the ammonia, do a water change daily for about a week, and it will be fine. The betta is way better in the tank than in the cup of water. Bigger volumes of water dilute wastes.

And...learn the lesson now. Do not buy fish planning to upgrade. Upgrade and then buy the new stock.
Click to expand...

I was told by someone else to let the tss+ work and not do any water changes since I'm "essentially" cycling my tank again? I am crazy confused. :(
 
I'm not a fan of trusting any of the 'bottled additives', particularly ones that aren't stored in the fridge. Bacteria and archea that support the biological processes are not shelf stable, so the efficacy of MOST of those products is suspect.

Water changes will work every time. Water changes will not slow the process significantly but it WILL keep your betta from being exposed to toxic levels of ammonia and nitrites.

The tank is not completely recycling. The ammonia levels aren't high enough for that. This is a mini-cycle, meaning it's out of balance but not equivalent to a new setup.

There will always be multiple ways of doing something. What you need to do is get comfortable picking what makes sense to YOU. If you don't understand what you are doing, and why, mistakes will be more common.
 
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I agree with the advice you've been given by OrionGirl. I think she's hit the nail on the head and I have nothing additional to add.
 
OrionGirl said:
I'm not a fan of trusting any of the 'bottled additives', particularly ones that aren't stored in the fridge. Bacteria and archea that support the biological processes are not shelf stable, so the efficacy of MOST of those products is suspect.

Water changes will work every time. Water changes will not slow the process significantly but it WILL keep your betta from being exposed to toxic levels of ammonia and nitrites.

The tank is not completely recycling. The ammonia levels aren't high enough for that. This is a mini-cycle, meaning it's out of balance but not equivalent to a new setup.

There will always be multiple ways of doing something. What you need to do is get comfortable picking what makes sense to YOU. If you don't understand what you are doing, and why, mistakes will be more common.
Click to expand...
So should I do 25 or 50% water change?
 
I'd do 50% water changes. The reduces the ammonia/nitrite by half--but testing and increasing that to manage the wastes is definitely a good idea. If ammonia shoots up, you'd want to do more.
 
OrionGirl said:
I'd do 50% water changes. The reduces the ammonia/nitrite by half--but testing and increasing that to manage the wastes is definitely a good idea. If ammonia shoots up, you'd want to do more.
Click to expand...
Okay, and should rhat be daily for a week or so?
 
I would do them daily until you're not seeing ammonia above 0. After that, go to a regular water change schedule that keeps nitrates in check, or every 2 weeks which ever is more frequent.

So long as your source water is a close match for tank water, frequent and large water changes are good practice for show tanks.
 
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