Newbie here, help!

[Saly]

Hi, newbie here! I have a question about quarantining a new fish. So I have one fish, a beta, and it's the only one that will go into a 10 gallon planted tank. He seems healthy but I was going to administer the trio meds as a precaution. My tank hasn't cycled yet. Should I wait until the tank has cycled and keep it in it's small tank right now? I got him recently and his current tank (half gallon tank - I know, I didn't know better until after I bought him hence the 10 gallon tank upgrade) hasnt cycled yet either. So how sound I go about administering the trio? Should I put him in a quarantine tank, and Wait until the quarantine tank cycles and then dose? Or should I wait until his display tank cycles then dose in there? And 1 week after the dosing, does he still need to be quarantined or can I move him to his permanent home?  And do I use the same products and dosing if I have shrimp too? Sorry, lots of questions. I feel like I'm over thinking this. 

[AllFishNoBrakes]

Hey Saly! Welcome to the hobby and the forum!

If I was in your shoes, I would try to source some TurboStart, and keep your betta in the 10 gallon. The 10 gallons of water vs. the 1/2 gallon gives you a way bigger margin for error, and the TurboStart will help you get through the cycle. It’s marketed as a product that promotes a safe fish-in cycle, and I used the product early on in my hobby before I had tons of cycled media for new tanks. I think it’s a good product and could be very useful to you. 
 

I recommend testing often, and changing water as needed. That’s what I’d do if I were in your spot. 
 

As far as meditating, that’s gonna be your call. I could see you using the trio out of the gate, but I could also see not treating and keeping the meds on hand should you need them. Now, if you ever add new fish to the tank, I would definitely recommend quarantining and medicating those new fish. 

Hope this helps!

Edited September 29, 2022 by AllFishNoBrakes

[Scapexghost]

If neither tank is cycled, he'd be better off in the larger tank. Feed sparingly, like once every 3 days, and do daily water changes until tank is cycled. 

Because of the way bettas are raised and sold, proactive treatment isnt necessary. 

On 9/29/2022 at 1:47 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

The 10 gallons of water vs. the 1/2 gallon gives you a way bigger margin for error,

This. Since neither tank is cycled, the ammonia will build up 20 times faster in the .5

[Patrick_G]

A single Betta in a 10 gallon will be pretty easy. By the time his waste builds up to dangerous levels the tank should be cycled. Test regularly, and if you do notice Ammonia or Nitrite building up do a water change. 
If you do decide to keep him in the 1/2 gallon be sure to do a 100% water change every other day. 
It’s a personal choice on the prophylactic meds. I might just monitor him and treat any symptoms that show up. 

Edited September 29, 2022 by Patrick_G

[Ragnarok12]

We're happy to have you on the forum Saly! I would echo the recommendations to hold off on the meds for now. The biggest benefit of the med trio is treating sick fish that you are adding to a tank or a fish room that already has a lot of healthy fish. One sick fish can infect all of your other fish and cause you a WAY bigger problem that you started with. But if you only have the single betta, I would probably do as Patrick_G recommended and just keep an eye on the fish to see if he starts exhibiting any strange behavior. I've never had an issue with bettas coming in sick and needing immediate treatment, though I'm sure someone has a horror story out there.

I also would definitely go for the 10 gallon tank. That's going to be a mansion for your betta, and as long as you monitor water conditions, you should have no issue as the tank cycles. If you don't have any test strips or aren't comfortable with testing your water yet, then I would do a 25% water change every two days for the next few weeks just to be EXTRA sure. Honestly though, you should be fine. Let us know how it goes!

[flyingcow]

Welcome! 

I'd move him to the 10 gallon tank and test ammonia and nitrite daily. Be ready for water changes, but one Betta in an uncycled 10 gallon should be VERY manageable, especially with plants.

For bacteria, I've had excellent success with Dr Tim's One and Only, but Tetra SafeStart or TurboStart should work well too.

 

EDIT: The Erithromycin in the med trio will slow the cycle down significantly. It might even be worth holding off on adding bottled bacteria until after the med trio. Just keep up on your water testing, and you'll do fine.

Edited September 29, 2022 by flyingcow

[meadeam]

 In addition to all of the above, I'd also add an airstone to the 10g.  You probably want to use a sponge filter with your betta anyway.

 

[Schuyler]

Bettas are known to be pretty hardy. The one benefit of the smaller tank is you could use less meds and let the big tank cycle while you treat him at least for a few days.

If you're outgoing enough, then something else you could do is look online for a local aquarium club, Facebook group, or even people selling aquarium stuff on one of the online market places and ask if they would be willing to give you some of their used filter media or ring out a sponge filter into a ziplock bag to use as a bacteria seed. I know lots of people swear by the bottled bacterias but it feels pretty suspicious to me... How long has that stuff been sitting sealed and unrefrigerated on a store/wearhouse shelf unopened? And it's going to have live bacteria?

I think most people in the hobby would be excited to help someone just getting into at the very least they'll be excited to have someone to talk to about their tank.

For the shrimp, I'd hold off for a bit until things are well established in your big tank. They are much more sensitive than your Betta

[Saly]

Hi everyone! Thanks so much for the help! Sorry for the delayed reply. A lot has happened since I posted. Welp, I put him into my 10 gallon tank because my heater was failing and it heated up my water to 91degrees by the time I noticed! My poor fish. He's seems fine now. Much happier in the 10 gallon. I'm checking my water parameters everyday. The day after I set up my tank, so Monday, my parameters were 3-4 ppm ammonia, 0 nitrites, and 5ppm nitrates. Tested my tap and 0 nitrates. Before putting my betta in, I dosed the tank with 4x prime to detoxify the 4ppm ammonia. I continued with the seachem stability per the bottle instructions. Today I checked the parameters and the ammonia is still still the same (3-4 ppm), 0 nitrites, and 10 nitrates. I contacted an aquarium store and they said the 4ppm ammonia is from the substrate. As of now, my fish looks happy. He likes the plants. 

 

So now I have another issue. Trying to figure out if it's my heater or the placement. I have a sponge filter right in the middle of my tank. When initially setting up my tank, we forgot about the filter so we placed it were it would fit, which was the center of the towards the background. Well, the heater, an Oase 50w adjustable heater, was set to 79.5 deg f. Well, after we hours, it only got my tank up to 77.5.  degrees. Im using a digital thermometer. I put a meat thermometer next to the digital and it reads pretty close to it to. The placement of the heater is behind the sponge filter laying horizontally on the soil. I turned the heater up to 80.5 but it only heated my water to 77.7 deg. It's current set to 82 and I have my thermometer right next to it to measure the temp of the surrounding water (77.9 degf).  Does my heater need to be off the soil or is it ok laying directly on the soil? Is it my water flow? Is it just terribly calibrated? Is it going bad?  I've attached some pictures for reference. 

[DaveO]

If you place the heater diagonally it will have better water flow around it thus improving it's efficiency.

[Janoš Bećar Pecaroš]

I don’t like the glass tube touching anything else in the tank, but that’s me. I have not found any negative feedback on placing the heater directly on the substrate.

[Tanked]

I would raise the heater off of the substrate. Water circulation around the heater is important.  Placing the thermometer next to the heater is not telling you what the temperature in the rest of the aquarium is.  They should be on opposite sides of the tank. You might try bumping up the set temperature as the literature states that the setting is within +- 2 degrees

If neither of these things work, or if the temperature fluctuates widely, I would consider replacing it.  Their website has some contradictory info, but the Oase 50 should be adequate for your 10 gallon tank.  If the heater is relatively new, it is probably under the 3yr. warranty.

[AllFishNoBrakes]

Everyone has their own thoughts and opinion and what they would do. So here’s my thoughts, lol. 
 

I think the biggest thing you need to worry about is getting that ammonia down. Water change it out until it’s below 1ppm, and then keep it at 1ppm or below by utilizing water changes. That’s the biggest danger to your fish at the moment. 
 

As far as temp goes, focus on keeping it stable. Stability and consistency is far more important than chasing an exact number that the internet tells you you have to have. 

[meadeam]

On 10/5/2022 at 11:09 AM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

I think the biggest thing you need to worry about is getting that ammonia down. Water change it out until it’s below 1ppm, and then keep it at 1ppm or below by utilizing water changes. That’s the biggest danger to your fish at the moment. 
 

As far as temp goes, focus on keeping it stable. Stability and consistency is far more important than chasing an exact number that the internet tells you you have to have. 

Definitely this.

[Saly]

Hello everyone! Y'all are so awesome. So Im doing my water changes. My nitrites showed up so keeping an eye on that and water changing. I do notice that my vallisnerias are not doing so well. They look like they're dying. And they have this fuzz on them. Only the vallisnerias though. Any thoughts? Im about ready to take the fish out and just let the tank cycle and stop messing with it. 

[Matilyn]

I would place the heater on the glass. Usually heaters come with a suction cup or something to stick them to the glass. 

[Schuyler]

On 10/7/2022 at 11:55 AM, Saly said:

Hello everyone! Y'all are so awesome. So Im doing my water changes. My nitrites showed up so keeping an eye on that and water changing. I do notice that my vallisnerias are not doing so well. They look like they're dying. And they have this fuzz on them. Only the vallisnerias though. Any thoughts? Im about ready to take the fish out and just let the tank cycle and stop messing with it. 

Lots of plants will "melt" when you first put them in. Basically they grew in one type of environment in the store or farm but now it's adapting to a new one. The leaves will due off and then new ones will grow that are adjusted to the environment in your tank. 

I'm still a bit of a novice but I think melting plants may bump your ammonia so you may consider cutting the melting leaves away.

Also, that Anubias in the middle, is that planted into the substrate or glued to the rock? They don't like they're roots under ground

I wouldn't worry about taking him out to cycle the tank. There's more water in here so the ammonia levels won't rise as quickly as your smaller tank. Plus here he has all the space and plants to offset the stress of water quality.

Keep it up you've got a great setup and it sounds like the cycling process is under way!

Side note, I spent way too long trying to figure out what that honey gourami was doing in the tank before realizing it was an octopus on the decoration...

[Saly]

Hahah, yeah that octopus decoration belongs to my oldest and he loves it. So the anubias is glued onto the rock and not planted. I accidentally opened my java Fern and it wasn't doing so hot but I pulled it out and just let it float. Hopefully it'll heal itself. I think in starting to see new growth from my melting Vals. The leaves there are starting to look more green! 

Thank you all for your help! My tank is cycling and now it's a waiting game. I moved my beta to another tank while this main one is cycling. I'm starting to see what I believe is new growth. There are val blades that are super green so I'm pretty sure that's new growth! Super excited to see something happening!