Bubbles on the water (Mom's Bettas)

[Skidood]

Hey all,

My Mom asked me to check with you guys about this...
(I'm a 40 yr old with a terrific 55G and 20 fish, so I think I know the answer, but since her setup is different than mine here goes...)
She has two betta bowls, each with about 1.5-2 gallons of water in each, plus one betta occupying each bowl.
Her complaint is that despite changing the water 100% on a weekly basis, the water gets cloudy and gets a lot of bubbles on top around Day 4.
There is no filter, but she adds about a teaspoon each of carbon and also the ammonia absorbent granules weekly, which just sit at the bottom.How can she get rid of the bubbles and cloudiness?
I think she feeds them twice a day, as much as they will eat.
Thanks !

 

[rosita]

Sounds like a filtration problem to me. Funky water doesn't need more stuff thrown into it. Also, is she over feeding? Bettas will beg, but they really don't need much at all--just quality. just my 2 taters worth.

 

[Roan Art]

I'm not an advocate of keeping betta fish in bowls. They need proper tanks with a filter and a heater. Regardless, those bowls need to be changed daily, not weekly.

The cloudy is most likey a combination of excess food -- she is feeding them too much. Once a day is more than fine. -- and bacteria which are trying to colonize (cycle) the bowl.

Adding carbon and ammonia granules isn't going to help. The water has to run *through* the media in order for them to work and she doesn't have the bowls filtered. Again, the water needs to be changed daily.

Betta fish build bubble nests, so the bubbles are most likely being produced by the fish.

Please ask her to buy proper tanks for the betta fish -- filters and heaters -- at least 2.5g in size. Better is 5g each and best would be 10g each.

Roan

 

[Ms.Bubbles]

You don't need to add "stuff" to a betta's water--a good dechlorinator and weekly 100% water changes will keep the water clean if you're not overfeeding your betta.

If the betta must be kept in a tiny bowl, you (or she) might want to think about scooping him out and rinsing the gravel with tank water to get rid of any build up of solid waste that could cause cloudiness.

PS. Some betta's will eat until they burst. A light feeding (few flakes or pellets) twice a day is enough.