Newbie: Several Questions

A

AngieW

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Oct 2, 2006
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I've spent the past three days browsing the forum and doing searches to get answers to my questions, so I don't ask the same thing that's already been asked, but I'm afraid I'm going to because I'm still confused about a couple of things, so I hope someone can give me some good advice.

I'm totally new to aquariums. We have a 29 gallon we want to set up, but everywhere in our house seems inappropriate because it's either by an AC vent, a baseboard heater or a window. So in the meantime, we got two 3 gallon tanks for $6 at a yard sale.

I did a lot of research and used recommendations on this board. In one tank, I put 3 Harlequin Rasboras, 3 itty bitty ghost shrimp, and a mystery snail. That seemed to be okay based on suggestions in other threads.

Question 1: In the other tank, I was going to put a male betta, but the pet shop person suggested 2 female bettas. There's my first mistake. I just knew I shouldn't have listened to her because as soon as I got home, I realized you can't have just two. So my question is, can I keep three females in a 3 gallon tank or should I take the two back? Or just one back and put in another, different fish with her?

Question 2: I'm very confused about "cycling" of the tank. Can someone tell me exactly what equipment I need to do this and how. I know, it's a question that's been asked and answered, and I swear, I'm a smart chick, but reading all the threads really made my head spin and I want to do this right, so I can eventually set up the 29 gallon in the correct way.

I see now that smaller tanks aren't recommended for beginners, because they're more fragile and considered specialty tanks, but it's too late for that and my daughter is in love with the small fish tanks, so I just want to make sure I keep learning the right way.

Sorry for the multiple questions/long post, but I'm really interested in learning how to do this and all the posts here have seemed quite knowledgeable. Later I'll be researching fish and proper placement/equipment for the 29 gallon. Thanks!
 
AngieW said:
Question 1: In the other tank, I was going to put a male betta, but the pet shop person suggested 2 female bettas. There's my first mistake. I just knew I shouldn't have listened to her because as soon as I got home, I realized you can't have just two. So my question is, can I keep three females in a 3 gallon tank or should I take the two back? Or just one back and put in another, different fish with her?

Question 2: I'm very confused about "cycling" of the tank. Can someone tell me exactly what equipment I need to do this and how. I know, it's a question that's been asked and answered, and I swear, I'm a smart chick, but reading all the threads really made my head spin and I want to do this right, so I can eventually set up the 29 gallon in the correct way.

I see now that smaller tanks aren't recommended for beginners, because they're more fragile and considered specialty tanks, but it's too late for that and my daughter is in love with the small fish tanks, so I just want to make sure I keep learning the right way.

Sorry for the multiple questions/long post, but I'm really interested in learning how to do this and all the posts here have seemed quite knowledgeable. Later I'll be researching fish and proper placement/equipment for the 29 gallon. Thanks!
Click to expand...

1. one male betta would be fine. females will fight with eachother and having just two gives the weaker female a harder time because she is the only one being chased around. imo, three would definately be to many for a 3 gallon but one male would work perfectly. im interested in knowing the reasoning behind your LFS (local fish store) telling you that info about the male.

2. knowing the actual cycling process isnt really necessary. ill keep it as simple as possible. just think of it as your tank balancing and converting essential bacterias making it livable for your fish. when fish excrete waste it creates ammonia which, if there were no bacteria to convert it, would be toxic to the fish. when a new tank is set up bacteria needs time to establish and grow. if theres not enough bacteria to convert the ammonia the water quickly becomes toxic to teh fish. cycling just refers to the process of your tank growing an acceptable amount of bacteria to convert the fish waste to a non toxic form and balancing itself out in the mean time. the bacteria is mainly in your substrate and filter media. "Stress Zyme" is arguable as to if it actually helps the cycling process but thats what i use and it works great for me. "bio-spira" is highly recommended but depending on where u live kind of hard to get ahold of. you can cycle your tank in about a week with "stress zyme" and in a day with "bio-spira"


and finally id like to say welcome to the hobby, to the site, and i commend you for actually taking the time to learn things and not just stick a couple pacus in a 10 gallon and call it a day. ask as many questions as you have. we all started somewhere.
 
okay, to ur first question about ur female bettas. I would not put any more fish into those small tanks, non-compatable fish= anything with big fins...guppies, sailfin mollies, long-fin danios.

second: it depends on what type of cycle you are planning on doing, whether it's a fish cycle or a food/ ammonia cycle...
 
Question 1: Three Bettas are ok. Two are not. The reason is the female bettas need to setup a pecking order. If there's only two the dominant one will pick on the submissive one. If there are three they'll set up a rank and it'll be ok.

Question 2: The preferred method for cycling is to do it without fish. Since you already have the fish you'll be cycling with fishies.

http://www.ratemyfishtank.com/article2.php

Short summary:

1. "Seed" the tank with bacteria from another tank. Borrow some gravel from an established tank or use some of the cycling product.

2. Test the water every day for ammonia. If ammonia is unsafe, use Amquel+ (doesn't interfere with the cycle) or do a partial water change (10-25%).

3. Start testing for nitrite (NO2-) after about a week. Keep up the water changes.

4. Once both nitrite + ammonia are at zero, your tank is cycled. Now you can test once a week for nitrate. Once nitrate reaches around 5-25 ppm, (lower the better), do a partial 25% water change.

Expect this to take anywhere from two weeks to over a month. Some people don't like to do the water changes while cycling because it slows down the process a little, but it'll minimize stress on the fish.

Equipment you will need:

For bettas, I think the care shouldn't be too bad. A lot of people keep bettas in death cups and bowls just fine. So for the sake of money I'll give you the barebones.

Water tests. Ammonia (NH4+), Nitrite (NO2-), Nitrate (NO3-) (In order of toxicity)
Some type of filter. (A small powerhead or even a undergravel filter will be enough for a 3 gallon tank).
water Conditioner: Pretty much anything that removes chlorine/chloroamines will be fine. I recommend Aquasafe or Prime

In a small tank, you can probably clean the gravel and do the water changes with a styrofoam cup. Bettas also can do without the bubble wand thingy because they can go up to the surface for air.

Good luck!
 
AngieW said:
I'm totally new to aquariums. We have a 29 gallon we want to set up, but everywhere in our house seems inappropriate because it's either by an AC vent, a baseboard heater or a window. So in the meantime, we got two 3 gallon tanks for $6 at a yard sale.
Click to expand...

Three bucks each? Not a bad deal - I wish I had found it! LOL

If you set the 29g up near an AC vent, you can deflect the air so it isn't blowing directly on the tank and you shouldn't have any problems.

AngieW said:
Question 1: In the other tank, I was going to put a male betta, but the pet shop person suggested 2 female bettas. There's my first mistake. I just knew I shouldn't have listened to her because as soon as I got home, I realized you can't have just two. So my question is, can I keep three females in a 3 gallon tank or should I take the two back? Or just one back and put in another, different fish with her?
Click to expand...

Personally, I'd take back the two females and get the male that you wanted in the first place. Add a plant and a snail and you've got a very nice little tank.

AngieW said:
Question 2: I'm very confused about "cycling" of the tank. Can someone tell me exactly what equipment I need to do this and how. I know, it's a question that's been asked and answered, and I swear, I'm a smart chick, but reading all the threads really made my head spin and I want to do this right, so I can eventually set up the 29 gallon in the correct way.
Click to expand...

You don't need any special equipment to cycle your tank. All you need is the filter running, and a test kit. And a source of ammonia. That can be either a couple of hardy fish, or you can do a fishless cycle by adding ammonia manually.

Cycling simply refers to building up the colonies of beneficial bacteria in the filter that convert fish waste (etc) which is ammonia into nitrite, then finally into nitrate.

You can jump start the process when you start your 29g by using a bit of gravel from one of the 3g tanks to "seed" the bacteria colonies.

When your tank cycles, the first thing you will notice when you test the water is an increase in ammonia. Eventually, the bacteria will multiply to a point where they can keep up with demand and convert that ammonia into nitrite. The next spike you will see, obviously, is nitrite. Over time, the bacteria that use nitrite will grow, and they will consume the nitrite, giving off nitrate. That's the final phase of the ammonia/nitrogen cycle. Nitrate is removed by water changes, and is also used by live plants.

When you have your fish producing ammonia (or you are adding it manually) and the level stays at zero on the ammonia test, and you are seeing zero nitrites, and are getting an increase in nitrates, your tank is said to be cycled.

OK, so this isn't the most technical description, but it is just meant as a basis for making the better descriptions make sense.

Hope this helps...
 
Phrag said:
Question 1: Three Bettas are ok. Two are not. The reason is the female bettas need to setup a pecking order. If there's only two the dominant one will pick on the submissive one. If there are three they'll set up a rank and it'll be ok.

Question 2: The preferred method for cycling is to do it without fish. Since you already have the fish you'll be cycling with fishies.

http://www.ratemyfishtank.com/article2.php

Short summary:

1. "Seed" the tank with bacteria from another tank. Borrow some gravel from an established tank or use some of the cycling product.
Click to expand...

As a side note here, most folks here have found that NONE of the non-refridgerated cycling products do anything because any colonies of bacteria they might have had are long dead due to lack of oxygen/food by the time you dump them in the tank.

2. Test the water every day for ammonia. If ammonia is unsafe, use Amquel+ (doesn't interfere with the cycle) or do a partial water change (10-25%).
Click to expand...

Amquel should be strictly an emergency measure only. ANY chemicals added to the tank add to osmotic stress and you will just have to keep adding more Amquel to the tank while you wait for the cycle to start. PWC's are the way to go. (Daily 50-75% changes may be necessary to keep it below the max .25ppm generally considered here to be the max for most fish to prevent harm.) In any case, there are very few Ammonia tests on the market that will know what to do with AmQuel'd ammonia. Most will likely read it as "regular ammonia" meaning you have no idea how much to dose the tank. One thing of note here is that a single 50% change accomplishes as much as almost three 25% changes.

SirWired
 
Thank you everyone for the replies.

I took the two females back to the store, and got a male betta instead. So now he and the snail share a tank.

As for what kind of snail it is, when I bought it they just said "blue mystery snail" and though I looked at that site, I couldn't tell exactly.

The two tanks each came with air pump/air stones. But only one small heater and one filter. I can certainly purchase a heater/filter for the other if it's recommended?

I guess I need to purchase a kit for testing nitrates/ammonia. I don't know anyone who keeps fish, so I'll have to do it without bacteria from another tank.

Thanks again, for all the replies, and any further advice is always appreciated.
 
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