ready for the next stage?

[tinymitymo]

Hi all
we got a 2 gallon Eclipse to house my 9 year old son's two mosquito fish from his ecosystem he made at school. Those two little fish (and three snails) lived in a 2 liter soda bottle with some gravel and gooseweed for two months in my kitchen window. Since the fish weren't dying and he was still really into them we decided to set them up properly. When I set up the new tank I let it run for 24 hours and when I transfered the fish, snails and plants I also put their gravel in. They are still going strong and love their new big space.
When we went to the lfs to get the tank 2.5 weeks ago we also picked up a pair of bettas for my other son. Those were being housed in a tiny paired tank. Upon the advice of people here I moved one betta in with the mosquito fish. At first he chased them all around the tank for 10-15 minutes but now they have all settled down. Last night I went and bought a 1.5 gallon topfin aquarium for the other betta. It's sitting now with the aged tap water and (noisy) pump going. I swished the filter from the Eclipse tank into the water of the new tank to help seed the bacteria. In a day or two I will move the other betta over. He has been surviving in a non filtered tank up to now so I think he should be ok. I'll leave him in there by himself for a few weeks.
We had originally intended to buy some other fish (neon tetras?) to add to the mosquito fish. I tested the water today and it looks fine (0 nitrites, 0 nitrates and <0.25 ammonia but slightly more than 0 - I'll do another pwc later today).

Because there is a betta in the tank can I add a half a dozen neon tetras or are they not compatible?

Also, the two skinny front fins on the betta in that tank seem like they are bloody. There is a little stone castle in there and I wonder if he tried to go in it and ripped them. Is there anything to do about that?

If all goes well here, the next plan is a big aquarium for Christmas. I was looking at a 28 g bowfront last night that would be nice.

thanks, Maureen

 

[OrionGirl]

A 1.5 is too small for more than just the betta--sorry. You could add a small mystery snail, but I wouldn't add anymore fish. You should move it now--the bacteria introduced from the other filter won't survive to establish without a food source, and the larger volume of water will be better for the betta either way,

As for injuries--yes, the fins of bettas can be damaged by contact with rough edges. Short of removing the offending item, there isn't a way to prevent this. Smooth ornaments or silk (not plastic) plants are better. Monitor the fins, and if you start seeing more damage or swelling, you may need to treat the fish--but don't start anything until it gets worse. Most small injuries heal fine under good conditions.

 

[Tommy Gun]

I agree and also wanted to add a bit more about how you are setting up these tanks. It sounds like you are quickly getting more and more tanks, even though they are small, and I feel that soon you are about to get yourself in trouble.

1st: A tank that has a fish in it and water parameters that include any ammonia or nitrites, but no nitrates is not a cycled tank. There will almost always be some nitrates in a tank that has fish in it.

2nd: The bacteria you are looking for are not typically free-swimming in the water and are attached to substrate, decor, and/or filter media and so simply swishing the filter media in another tank's water is not going to do anything for your new tank at all. It is also not truly cloning a tank by adding water from an established tank to another new tank. This just brings the wastes and ammonia/nitrate/nitrates to the new tank, which will help to start a cycle, but not really bring bacteria in any amount to speak of.

3rd: You are really not going to want to overstock such little tanks. Logic implies that in such a small body of water, things can go bad much faster than in large bodies of water. The problem in a 1.5 gallon tank or even up to 10 gallon tanks is that water quality can change so quickly that everything is fine when you go to work and everything is dead or dying when you get home from work. The only good news is that things are equally quicker to become better in a short time, but you really need to keep an eye on things almost on a daily basis until you are sure that your tanks are cycled.

Not trying to beat you up here, but I know with my own kids, it was hard to lose fish and try to explain why it all happened when I didnt really understand it myself. I think that if can slow down a bit and focus on getting your new tanks cycled, you can avoid a similar situation; especially since these fish have quite a bit of importance to your son (mine did the exact same thing, by the way.). The best way to clone a tank would be to find someone with a very established tank and use some substrate or filter media in your new tanks. If you dont like the type of substrate, you can simply put it in a nylon and remove it in about two weeks or so.

Hope this helps a bit. Again, just trying to help and I appologize if I sound like I am talking down on you.

 

[Star_Rider]

Hi all
we got a 2 gallon Eclipse to house my 9 year old son's two mosquito fish from his ecosystem he made at school. Those two little fish (and three snails) lived in a 2 liter soda bottle with some gravel and gooseweed for two months in my kitchen window. Since the fish weren't dying and he was still really into them we decided to set them up properly. When I set up the new tank I let it run for 24 hours and when I transfered the fish, snails and plants I also put their gravel in. They are still going strong and love their new big space.
When we went to the lfs to get the tank 2.5 weeks ago we also picked up a pair of bettas for my other son. Those were being housed in a tiny paired tank. Upon the advice of people here I moved one betta in with the mosquito fish. At first he chased them all around the tank for 10-15 minutes but now they have all settled down. Last night I went and bought a 1.5 gallon topfin aquarium for the other betta. It's sitting now with the aged tap water and (noisy) pump going. I swished the filter from the Eclipse tank into the water of the new tank to help seed the bacteria. In a day or two I will move the other betta over. He has been surviving in a non filtered tank up to now so I think he should be ok. I'll leave him in there by himself for a few weeks.
We had originally intended to buy some other fish (neon tetras?) to add to the mosquito fish. I tested the water today and it looks fine (0 nitrites, 0 nitrates and <0.25 ammonia but slightly more than 0 - I'll do another pwc later today).

Because there is a betta in the tank can I add a half a dozen neon tetras or are they not compatible?

Also, the two skinny front fins on the betta in that tank seem like they are bloody. There is a little stone castle in there and I wonder if he tried to go in it and ripped them. Is there anything to do about that?

If all goes well here, the next plan is a big aquarium for Christmas. I was looking at a 28 g bowfront last night that would be nice.

thanks, Maureen

you got the eclipse tank 2.5 weeks ago??

by moving the media ,plants etc from the soda bottle . you should have moved any bacteria from there..and that would help.


is this the tank that shows .25 ammonia, 0 nitrite and 0 nitrate?

if it is keep an eye on the water parameters..there actually should be 0 ammonia and nitrates should be there in a tank with fish and it is cycled.
however, you could be experiencing a mini cycle(spike)

keep an eye on it..you may see a small ammonmia spike and a small nitrite spike.
definatley try to keep the ammonia below .25. if it tries to climb much higher than that you may have a small problem.

when you added new water. where did it come from and does this source have chlorine or chloramine?? if it does ..did you add any water conditioner?
swishing the filter from an existing mature tank in a new tank 'Will' add bacteria and can seed a new tank. I use AC filters with sponges and frequently start new tanks with filter 'squeezins' from the sponge. it dies help cycle a tank in 3-5 days and is better than bio spira (sometimes it does not contain live bacteria)
my concern is whether there was enough bacteria to seed the tank and this bacteria will starve in about a day with no food source.

 

[tinymitymo]

The Eclipse tank is the one I tested the water on. When we took water to the lfs twice at one and two weeks the nitrates were too high (too orange) so I know there has been some in there. I have done a pwc since that test and I just did another one because of the ammonia today. I am using aged tap water with dechlorinator added when I first put the water to sit.

To the new 1.5 gallon I just added some bacteria suppliment and a pinch of fish food. Since the betta has been in an unfiltered container does he need to wait for it to cycle?

I do plan on going very slowly with the big tank and doing a full fishless cycle before populating it. I just needed to get the two little soda bottle guys out of my kitchen window before they got too cold and now I need to move the betta out of his tiny bowl.
Maureen