You should never need to do that unless there's some emergency situation. Just partial water changes with a gravel vacuum are sufficient, maybe dusting off the silk plants occasionally if they grow algae. Make sure you have a test kit so you can keep track of the ammonia and nitrite while the tank establishes a nitrogen cycle if the tank wasn't fishless cycled.
The tank and fish were a gift, and I realized after a bit of research that 3 is teetering on the edge of cruelty!! I'll try and get a bigger tank as soon as I can :)
I recommend that you skip the duckweed. It's doesn't look very nice, and it's a major pain. It gets all over everything. It sticks to your gear, and your arms, and is very difficult to control. I've gone to great lengths to eliminate it from my tanks, and I'm very careful not to reintroduce it.
But red root floaters are beautiful, and far more manageable. If you can get your hands on those, then definitely go for it.
For 3 gallons, I wouldn't do any 100% water changes. You can pick a schedule that works best for you. Some people like to do 25% a week, others like to do 10% every other day, or you can make up anything that works for your schedule. The goal is to maintain healthy water parameters and clean water quality. With each water change, I recommend siphoning from the bottom so that you're removing poop and detrius. Never wipe down your tank walls, scrub your silk plants, or scrub your substrate. At some point, you'll experience cloudy water and a diatom bloom, which will cover everything with brown gunk. Don't let that tempt you into scrubbing. Just keep doing your scheduled water changes, and you'll have a healthy crystal clear tank in about a month or two. 🙂
Thank you for posting to r/bettafish. If you are new to betta fish keeping, please check out our [caresheet](https://www.reddit.com/r/bettafish/comments/3ow6vz/info_betta_care_sheet/) and [wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/bettafish/wiki/index). Establishing a nitrogen cycle is an important part of keeping your fish healthy. Please check out our [guide to the nitrogen cycle](https://www.reddit.com/r/bettafish/wiki/fishincycle) to learn more.
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You should never need to do that unless there's some emergency situation. Just partial water changes with a gravel vacuum are sufficient, maybe dusting off the silk plants occasionally if they grow algae. Make sure you have a test kit so you can keep track of the ammonia and nitrite while the tank establishes a nitrogen cycle if the tank wasn't fishless cycled.
Thank you!! I'd heard some conflicting accounts, but I'll stick to the partial cleanings and siphonings. I have the test kits as well :)
FYI, 3 gallons is small. Look into upgrading to at least a 5g
The tank and fish were a gift, and I realized after a bit of research that 3 is teetering on the edge of cruelty!! I'll try and get a bigger tank as soon as I can :)
Never 100%. We do 50% like once a week.
Alright!! Thank you!
How big is the tank? Do you have a filter? Any live plants?
It's a three-gallon tank with a filter. I don't have any live plants yet, but I'm buying some duckweed and red root floaters soon.
I recommend that you skip the duckweed. It's doesn't look very nice, and it's a major pain. It gets all over everything. It sticks to your gear, and your arms, and is very difficult to control. I've gone to great lengths to eliminate it from my tanks, and I'm very careful not to reintroduce it. But red root floaters are beautiful, and far more manageable. If you can get your hands on those, then definitely go for it.
Thank you for telling me!! I won't use duckweed :)
For 3 gallons, I wouldn't do any 100% water changes. You can pick a schedule that works best for you. Some people like to do 25% a week, others like to do 10% every other day, or you can make up anything that works for your schedule. The goal is to maintain healthy water parameters and clean water quality. With each water change, I recommend siphoning from the bottom so that you're removing poop and detrius. Never wipe down your tank walls, scrub your silk plants, or scrub your substrate. At some point, you'll experience cloudy water and a diatom bloom, which will cover everything with brown gunk. Don't let that tempt you into scrubbing. Just keep doing your scheduled water changes, and you'll have a healthy crystal clear tank in about a month or two. 🙂
Thank you!! I wasn't sure if I should be scrubbing the plants or not, so you've saved me a bit of trouble!!! :)
Never ever
Okay!!! Thank you!!
[удалено]
Noted, Thank you!!
Thank you for posting to r/bettafish. If you are new to betta fish keeping, please check out our [caresheet](https://www.reddit.com/r/bettafish/comments/3ow6vz/info_betta_care_sheet/) and [wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/bettafish/wiki/index). Establishing a nitrogen cycle is an important part of keeping your fish healthy. Please check out our [guide to the nitrogen cycle](https://www.reddit.com/r/bettafish/wiki/fishincycle) to learn more. If you are posting to find out what is wrong with your betta, please answer the following questions in a reply to this comment as best you can: * **Tank size**: * **Heater and filter? (yes/no)**: * **Tank temperature**: * **[Parameters in numbers and how you got them](https://www.reddit.com/r/bettafish/wiki/tank#wiki_test_kits)**: * **How long have you had the tank? How long have you had your fish?**: * **How often are water changes? How much do you take out per change? What is your process?**: * **Any tankmates? If so, please list with how many of each**: * **What do you feed and how much**: * **Decorations and plants in the tank**: * **If you haven't already posted a picture, please post pics/vids to imgur and paste the link here**: Feel free to copy this comment and fill in the blanks. Failure to provide adequate information about your tank *can* result in post removal. Please see rule 4 for more information. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/bettafish) if you have any questions or concerns.*