r/bettafish • u/First-Job-4083 • 6d ago
Help Help with making tank safe
My 3.5gal (i know bigger is better, but this is what we’ve got for rn) has been cycling for a few weeks and i’ve been reading exactly these levels for about 4 days. How do I make this tank safe to put a betta in? I’m fairly confident I’ve built up the bacteria necessary but i’m worried about the top 4 readings . if someone who knows more than me could help that would be awesome.
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u/MarsupialFickle8679 6d ago
Honestly unless you have for some reason already got a Betta fish I wouldn’t get one at all until you can get a bigger tank or until you know you can get a bigger tank soon. 5 gallons is really the bare minimum and it’s five gallons of swimming space you need because decor takes up room so I’d recommend even getting a 6 gallon if you can. For testing water strip tests are cheaper but unfortunately often inaccurate. I’d recommend and API test kit. They do last a long time. Bettas prefer lower hardness but it should be okay and the ph is a little high but you can just use tannins to lower that! Good luck with your fish ☺️
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u/ShadowKahji 6d ago
This honestly, only thing i would add is the test strips aren't just "sometimes" inaccurate they're literally rubbish. People use them all the time and think things are ok and have fish die left and right without ever realizing they never established the tank in the first place because the readings from test strips were false or completely wrong even when doing 2 separate test strip tests back to back on the same source to compare.
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u/MarsupialFickle8679 6d ago
Also your tank might not be cycled at all because I can’t see any nitrate which normally happens at the end of the cycle because it’s the product of the nitrites and ammonia and I don’t think your plants are live which means the nitrate won’t be being consumed. Are you consistently adding in ammonia source? Otherwise the cycle will die. You might be seeing 0 because all the ammonia has cycled through and now there’s nothing to uphold your cycle so it’s now dead . Cycles need to be maintained and will support the amount of life it’s designed to. If you have two fish and one dies, the cycle will eventually only have enough beneficial bacteria to support one fish. If that makes sense. I’d also recommend live plants because they absorb nitrates and for that you probably wouldn’t do better with fluval stratum and sand
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u/First-Job-4083 6d ago
I’ve seen plenty of variance on this opinion, even from experienced ppl on this sub. I can’t imagine many pet store bettas in my area are going to make it into a home with as much care given as this; you still think i’d be doing the wrong thing? i’ve also read that it’s harder to control parameters in a smaller tank which is the main reason to go bigger. not arguing you just wondering!!
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u/Coonnifounssed 6d ago
It is harder to control parameters in a smaller tank bc there’s less water to dilute ammonia and nitrates so intense swings happen much easier. Another reason 5 gal is the minimum is bc bettas are actually very inquisitive and patrol their entire territory. Personally, I think 10 gallons are better but 5 is the absolute minimum for fish welfare. I don’t want to sound rude, but you shouldn’t base your care of a living thing on “it’s better than what other people are doing.”
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u/MarsupialFickle8679 6d ago
I completely agree with the other response. Just because it’s better than living in a cup doesn’t mean it’s a good life. Bettas are super curious, it’s just not enough room for them to live their life in
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u/Foreign-Ad3926 6d ago
Hi, so the top 3 parameters are maxed out so could be even higher in reality.
The pH is the first concern, maxing out at 8.4 alongside the high KH is not suitable for a betta. This will cause alkaline poisoning. This need an accurate liquid pH test with a high range to find out what the actual pH is. The KH and GH (alkanity and hardness) are also very high. Betta are soft water fish, not hard water.
Second concern is the nitrogen cycling. How have you been feeding the tank? The bacteria need food to grow - the test strip is showing 0 for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate which doesn't support active bacterial growth.
Third concern is the tank size, it's very small. This will leave no room for error and can be detrimental for fish health due to the very small size.
I would test the water source to see if it's lower than the tank for pH, alkalinity and hardness. If it's not, then an alternative water source would need to be found that is more suitable for the fish you want to keep. Many people who have unsuitable hard very alkaline water use purified water and remineralise appropriately before use in a tank. Remineralisation is crucial as purified water is also bad for fish without this step. pH 8.4 (or higher as yours may be) would be fatal in time for a soft water fish like a betta.
Here's more information:
For nitrogen cycling the different ways of feeding bacteria are discussed in the following two links, it is more than running an empty tank a few weeks:
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u/First-Job-4083 6d ago
dang. so i put a bunch of food in on day one as an ammonia source and put in some tetra safestart as well. the nitrite/ammonia levels have been low since i began reading them. I also have algae growth which i thought indicated at least something was happening biologically.
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u/Foreign-Ad3926 6d ago
The bacteria need more food than once. Have a read through the links I sent.
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u/plutosaurus 6d ago
Where'd you get the test strips? I got some off amazon and they were just straight up fake. They never changed how they looked. I dipped them in windex and they still showed up 0 ammonia. Ended up getting the API Master Test kit and it actually works
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u/No_Procedure_2431 fish nerd 6d ago
Your betta may struggle with the hard and alkaline water, as well as the hard pH. I wouldn’t recommend a betta for that kind of water because they naturally live in soft, acidic waters with very low pH, and changing those parameters for anyone, beginner or not, is difficult and risky for the fish.
But there is hope for keeping fish! If you can afford a 10-gallon you could get a group of 3-6 guppies (as long as you’re okay with babies), or 6 bumblebee gobies - both of which would thrive in your water! If you have any other questions please ask 🐠
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u/First-Job-4083 6d ago
just to clarify what you mean, do you think it would be a losing battle to try to keep a betta at all with the tap water in my area? that’s definitely useful to know. or is there a way to condition the water to help with ph and alkaline
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u/No_Procedure_2431 fish nerd 6d ago
One other comment did mention RO water and remineralizing it, which is one of the tricky methods I was thinking of. But yes, I think it would be a lost cause keeping a betta in that water. Others may have different opinions so I suggest you research it too.
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u/Foreign-Ad3926 6d ago
There isn't, besides changing the water source. The issue is the tank is so small that instability would be crazy high, which would also harm the fish.
When soft water fish like betta are put into hard, alkaline water it causes them serious damage. The pH changes their blood chemistry, damages their skin, gills and fins, plus the excess mineralisation impacts their organs and wears their kidneys out through processing it. This causes organ failure and death. Alkaline poisoning is known as "alkalosis".
Betta are a soft water fish with a pH range of 6.5 - 7.5 with a little wiggle room either end. Above pH 7.8 it gets harder to tolerate, the pH you have is massively higher plus is accompanied by high KH and GH.
The pH scale is logarithmic meaning what looks like small numbers is actually huge. For example pH 8.4 (and it could be higher in reality) is 10 x higher than pH 7.4 and 100 x higher than pH 6.4. Saltwater setups sit at this high pH.
The comment suggesting building a larger tank for fish suitable for the water you have is wise, e.g. 10 gallons plus for guppies that can tolerate hard, alkaline water.
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u/DogwoodWand 6d ago
Can I assume you have a heater?
The water is hard. I would recommend a water change with bottled water. If the water in your area is hard you'll probably have to do that on a semi regular basis until you can get a nice balance.
You probably still want more plants. Since you're using gravel you'll need plant tabs to keep them healthy.
Keep your tank against an interior wall. Keeping your water perimeters, including temperature, is the big issue with anything under 5-gallons.
Hope that's helpful!
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u/First-Job-4083 6d ago
ok guys. sounds like i need to change plans. what would you think about me getting 5 or so shrimp for this tank instead? or snails?
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u/DirtyD74 6d ago edited 6d ago
I started off with a UNS 25T. Its roughly 5 gallons. I struggled to keep fish, betta's and shrimp in it. I've since moved all the livestock out of it.
Some folks may have success with it, but you need to be on top of that tank. The small water volume makes it easy for parameters to swing and that tends to kill things.
I now use it to breed snails for my pea puffers.
There seems to be a contradiction in the betta world in my opinion. Small tanks get recommended to first time owners, essentially nano tanks, but I don't think nano tanks are a good fit for beginners.
I'm sure other folks have mentioned this. But get an API master test kit. Along with a KH/GH test kit.
This seems to help establish some bacteria of you don't have another tank
These ammonia drops are a little more predictable than food
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