I have a one gallon fish tank...somebody told me that you have to change only 20% of water in the tank so the good bacteria stays in. How much is 20%? (Is it half of the tank, almost to the top, how much?) And if my newborn fish has enough space in its tank, do you need an air pump even though?
2006-12-01 15:59:33 · 7 answers · asked by ? 1 in Pets ➔ Fish
If you have a one gallon tank, you need to change 80-100% of the water every few days, not 20%.
You really should look into upgrading to a larger tank. With a larger tank, you can have a proper filter, and a proper bacterial culture that will break down the ammonia into less toxic nitrates.
Without these bacterial populations - which you can't have in such a tiny amount of water - you're just building up ammonia in the water and slowly killing your fish. There is no buildup on good bacteria, either, and even in a tank that IS cycled, the bacteria resides in the filter and in the gravel, not in the water. The reason that you shouldn't change more than 40-50% at a time, is so not to shock the fish completely new water :)
Do you have baby fish in that tank? Babies will not grow very much in such a small space. If you want your babies to grow big, colourful and fast, they need a real tank, with a heater.
You do not need an airpump, I would not put one in a 1gallon tank, and the water agitation would be too much. However, in a larger tank, air pumps are very good for oxygenating the water. It's not required, but certainly has its advamtages.
2006-12-01 16:37:14 · answer #1 · answered by Zoe 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
replace one quart of water a week..that is about 25%. make sure the water is the same temperature as that in the tank, has dechlor in it when you change. good luck. Air pumps operate filters to keep the tank free of junk and water clear. The air moves the water over the surface where oxygen is taken up by the water....an air pump is a good idea, and if you have a heater on the tank, you will need an air pump to keep the water moving so you do not have hot spots and cold spots.
2006-12-01 16:26:00 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
20% of 1 gallon is about 3 cups or about 24 ounces. If you have a filter, then you don't need an air pump. If you don't have a filter, most of the time you need an air pump. Unless your fish has a labrynth organ like a betta or a dwarf gourami, your fish will need the air pump or filter to keep a constant flow of oxygen in the aquarium so it can breathe. Bettas and dwarf gourami can breathe from the surface using their labrynth organ, but that means that your lid cannot be fitted too tightly, so that there is fresh air flow on the surface of the water, and you still need to do water changes twice a week if you don't have a filter.
2006-12-01 16:20:44 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
1/2 the tank is 50 %....so 1/4 of the tank is 25%....so a little less than 1/4 of the water ....you might not need an airpump if a lot of the surface of the water is in contact with the air.
2006-12-01 16:12:52 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is one fifth down from the top. For example if the water in your tank is fifteen inches deep then 15/5 = 3 inches down from the top.
I would keep the air pump running just to be sure.
2006-12-01 16:03:25 · answer #5 · answered by Rich Z 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
20% is 1/5 ie one fifth of the tank ... air pump helps to enrich the oxygen content of the water so it is good
2006-12-01 16:11:30 · answer #6 · answered by RAJU 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Get those goldfish out of that deathtrap and into a real tank.
2006-12-01 16:25:16 · answer #7 · answered by birdistasty 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋