5 gallon Betta tank

[Donna]

Hello, My husband has a 5 gallon betta tank, with one betta. For over a month, my husband cannot get water clear. Water is green all the time even after water changes. Before he came home from work yesterday, I tested parameters API.  pH was 6.6 - 6.8, no ammonia, no nitrite, and looked to me like nitrates were between 40-80. He did a 50% water change. He told me that he had previously been doing about 75% water changes. I told him no no no?? He never checks parameters, for whatever reason. Would adding a little African Cichlid Mix help raise her pH to 7 or is it necessary  He has several large tanks that never have an issues, and this betta fish is thriving as far as I can tell. However, I feel bad for her because her water is always green. I have considered all possible potential causes - the HOB filtration, the plant (Aponogeton Ulvaceus Bulb), the heat from the bulb light in the lid, the decorations and the gravel substrate. Her tank stays around 79-80 temperature. Hoping to help, I put an air stone in her tank last week, does she need that? The air stone seems to cause a lot of surface agitation. I wonder if we should begin a new tank for her, with an old sponge filter that is in a different tank already? Although the betta is well, how long can she live in that horrible water like this?

Thanks for ideas,

Donna 

in North Carolina

[HH Morant]

You should consider whether the tank is getting too much light, including ambient light from the room and sunlight, if any, from windows.

The green water is probably not bothering the fish much.

[Bobbie]

Yeah, green water is caused by too much light. How long is the tank light on for? Try lowering it to 6 hours a day and see if that helps. Also, maybe cut down on feeding to every 2 days instead of daily. 
 

So long as the parameters are all good, green water (algae) isn’t actually bad for fish & usually means that the tank is healthy enough to keep things alive. 
 

If she’s thriving then I’d leave the tank as is. In the wild fish live in very murky water & have survived perfectly well that way for millennia. The airstone will simply keep the water oxygenated, don’t worry about it making the flow too strong so long as you’ve got a sponge filter. 

[Donna]

Thank you soooo much @Bobbie_

Edited July 9, 2021 by Donna
trying to tag

[Guppysnail]

Quick fix…chewy sells a clip on uv for HOBs about30$. Not a permanent solution you have to keep the water below the clip but it will quick fix and then adjust lighting etc

[Donna]

Thank you so much for the tip!