my betta fish tank gets dirty really quick, it goes green but i put fresh water and clean it all the time?
by Aquaboy on Thursday, June 24th, 2010 | 11 Comments
its just a small tank, its heated. its one of those split tanks because i have two males and 1 female (she is in a separate tank, whick doesnt get as dirty) a filter would be too big, unless there is a special type of filter that is made for split tanks.
could you reccomend what i could use to keep it clean? Is there any snails or algea eaters that will go allrite with the two boys?, without the boys attacking them. also the tank is in the sun… because i have a really bright room
and i dont have any plants
Also, how many fry does a female betta usually have?
thank you 
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Just like cleaning a bird bath.
Tie some lavender, and sea weed together and put in in the tank. It will clear off the algae and other waste full things.
a- watch how much you feed it
b- its a male- they dirty the tank much quicker
c- try an algae eater.. it cant hurt
it probably has an opening at the top letting in all the debris floating around in the air… make sure the top of the tank is covered so it doesn’t get as dirty quickly. but u do need to regularly clean out the tank about every week
Its the sun in your room. I suggest moving it away so you get less algae growth. You also might check a a pet store because there might be a dye that you could put in the water to block the sun a little. There is one for ponds that i know of but I don’t know if there is one for aquariums.
ok i would suggest drilling very small holes in the divider (to allow water flow) and put a small low power filter on one half
also adding live plants will help
adding more animals will only make it worse because they only make the tank cleaner in apparency. they will produce more ammonia making the water quality worse
if its too small for a filter its too small for fish
they need 2.5+ gallons of water each. thats plenty big enough for a filter
Male bettas will fight if placed in the same tank. Just as much as they would if you put a mirror in front of them. It is unhealthy and I recommend that you separate the males as they will fight till they die. When they spread their fins apart over too long a period of time, it is unhealthy. You should only give them about 15 minutes a day to fight as an exercise.
Bettas, in the wild, live in dirty waters such as drains and streams. They thrive in dirtier water and you might only need to keep the water you get from the tap overnight to allow the chlorine inside water to escape. Change only half the water at a time to remove the water of excess ammonia resulting from the waste material and food pellets of the fish.
Bettas prefer darkness more than sun, but it is alright to leave them out in the sun, but not for long. If there is sun, you don’t need a heater.
Plants give out oxygen, however, bettas breath through the water surface and doesn’t really need oxygen inside the water.
A female betta is one that doesn’t have the extra long fin. Don’t ever put 2 males and a female betta together. Either one, two or all three will die in no time at all.
You may want to google about better maintenance for this fish. Good luck with that =)
Well if you mean it’s turning green dirty, it’s because of the sun (sunlight causes algae). You can get something called Algae Control by Tetra (the company that makes AquaSafe). It works pretty well. If you mean it get brown dirty, from food and stuff, then there are small 1-3 gallon filters by tetra, available at petco, most petsmarts and walmarts, and you’ll probably want to get 2 of those- 1 for each side. But do consider the size of the tank before you get one. It’s definitely too big just for 1 gallon (or a side of 1 gallon). But if it’s a green problem I’d just suggest keep it out of direct sunlight, experiment different areas that work best for you if you need to.
how big is it exactly? or is there anyway you could take a pic of it or find it online?
and how often is often? twice a week? once a week? once a month?
” also the tank is in the sun… because i have a really bright room”
Thats your main problem, too much light is causing extra algae growth.
Get some sort of shade beside/over/around the tank to cut down on the amount of light it’s getting.
The good news is the algae wont harm your fish, but it’s ugly, and eventually you cant see the fish at all, so it’s best to control it as much as you can.
Less Light.
Unless the tank is big (20gal+) dont get any of the algae eating species.
Ian
Green water or algae growth on the tank sides is caused by too much light and too many free nutrients.
Try to decrease the amount of light the tanks get, watch the amount you feed the fish. They really only need a few pellets or flakes once a day. Any more just soils the water. If you have them in a 2.5 gallon or so, Red Sea makes a nano filter that fits and will help clean the water. If it is one of those quart things, you will probably need daily 20% water changes to keep the water quality up without the filter and with two fish in it.
You also might try some small live plants to help sop up the nutrients before the algae can get to them, and to make use of all that sunlight.
Algae eaters don’t work well in small tanks, and while algae control chemicals are great, they aren’t going to be the total solution, just one part of the whole.
Is the divider the kind that allows water to pass through it but not fish? If not, they exist- and you can put a micro filter on the tank. That will help the fish live in a healthier environment.
About the only thing I know that works as a ‘scavanger’ with some betta are ghost shrimp, and only if there is some kind of plant or ornament with a “cave” for the shrimp. They aren’t great with algae, but will help clean up the excess food that is feeding the algae problem. Mystery snails are another possibility for both scavenger and algae eater. In a tank that small and unfiltered- I can’t recommend adding a cory or an oto. The bioload in the water would kill them.
Algae needs 2 things to really take over the tank:
food (nitrates, decaying fish food, fish wastes…), and lots of light for photosynthesis.
If that tank is less then 3 gallons, it is over-crowded with two fish in it and no filter. Yes- in the wild Betta live in small spaces. But not that small. And nature does a better job filtering the water then a plastic box does. Even with regular cleanings. Wild water may look dirty- but it is alive in way aquarium tank water rarely can be.
Getting/making a shade for the tank to cut down the amount of sunlight that is charging up your algae full throttle wilabyrinthhelp. You also might try totally blocking all light to the tank for a few days and fasting the fish to get ahead of the problem.
If your aquarium has a light- don’t use it in the evenings/nighttime, you’re only adding to the light problem.
Do your fish have ornamental cover? ‘toys’? Anything to do besides flare at eachother? If not- you have stressed fish. And stressed fish make more waste. Which your algae LOVE.
If you use any of the chemicals to kill off the algae- you may want to add a small air-pump, flow divider and simple ‘air-stones’ to the tank during the algae die off. It will deprive the tank of oxygen. While Betta are labrynth fish, I’m guessing low oxygen in the tank is still not good for them.
To sum up:
1) Get a third betta box, separate the fish, and take out the divider all together. There are nice 2.5 gallon kits out there for about $26 that come with filters. Your fish will be happier.
2) Don’t over feed the fish. If you think excess food is an issue- you can try ghost shrimp or mystery snails. Worst that will happen is the betta will find the shrimp or snail prime snackage.
3) Betta get bored. They need something to swim around, nudge around… cover to duck into if they get startled. Less stress = less poo = less algae.
4) Male Betta that can’t get away from each other are unhappy and stressed out fish.
5) Shade the tank. Don’t use your tank light. Stopping/slowing down photosynthesis will stop the algae spread.
Hope any of this helps