When setting up any new fish tank, you will need to “cycle” it before you can add one, or any fish. Cycling refers to the nitrogen cycle, which is the process of breaking down food and wastes into relatively nitrates and nitrites. The problem is that in the early stages of this cycling process, there are spikes of ammonia — times when the ammonia level in the water will be five to ten times the “safe” amount of ammonia for fish.
It is very, very common for new tank owners to setup a beautiful tank, buy a bunch of fish, and then have a mother of an ammonia spike that kills all their fish. Even if some of the fish survive, their lifespans will be substantially reduced. The way to avoid those ammonia spikes is cycling the tank, which allows the tank to go through a few smaller ammonia spikes and drops while the good bacteria build up. After the good, ammonia eating bacteria are established, the ammonia spikes go away and fish can safely be introduced.
Here is the bad news. If you do nothing, and just let your tank run (adding some organic matter, like fish food to break down and create the spikes) it can take over a month to cycle a tank. Do not despair. There are additives for new tanks (one is called “Cycle”) that will cut that time in half or less. But you will still want your new tank to run without fish for about ten days, even with the cycle added, all the while “feeding” your empty tank with fish food every day or so to introduce the organic matter that fuels the process. It is a bit of a hassle, but you are creating a little independent environment inside those glass walls, and mother nature has some rules that can not be circumvented without paying the consequences.
If, like me, you are too impatient to wait ten days, you can set up you tank, add some of the cycle, and put in 1-2 small (less than an inch) fish. Then, about 3-5 days later when the ammonia is spiking, you can do a 30-50% water change. Then, about a week later, when the ammonia is spiking again, you can do another 30-50% water change. After that, you can add one or two more fish. This is very hard on the “test” fish, and most aquarium owners view it as cruelty to the fish.
If you can get some gravel or some “dirty” filter media from an already established tank, put it in your cycling tank to reduce the cycle time. The gravel or filter media has lots of the “good” bacteria you are trying to grow (the kind that eats bacteria), so adding some from another older tank will speed up the process a bit.
You can get ammo-rocks to soak up ammonia, but they are not going to make much of a difference in the kind of ammonia spikes you will get when you first set up a tank. Also, do not be surprised if the water gets a bit cloudy while the tank is cycling; this is normal. You do not need to buy another chemical treatment to clear up the water. Leave it alone for a day or two, then do another water change if its still a problem.
Please — go slowly with new tanks. Add fish very slowly. Test, and re-test, and re-test again. Do lots of water changes. In fact, setup a good system so doing water changes is no big deal, because then you will do them more often, and then you will have a much nicer tank. Then this will be a fun hobby for you, not just another chore you resent doing.
Pamella Neely writes about betta fish care [http://www.savemybetta.com] and betta fish tanks. She has put together a list of 100 betta fish names [http://www.savemybetta.com/bettafishnames.html].
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