I have a betta fish who lives in a 2 1/2 liter bowl. I was wondering how to change the water.?

Question

Do I replace all the water from the bowl with fresh water once a week or change a little bit of it at a time?

Answer 1

A few things to remember, "cycling" will not occur in such a small container in any meaningful way no matter what you do. Bettas are hardy fish, but ammonia will very quickly damage their fins causing curling and splitting. That bowl is slightly larger than bowls typically used by serious show competitors to house their show fish, so ammonia doesn't have to be a problem for you. To do this the very best and easiest way, you need a few items. One, you will need a very soft net. Ones sold as Brine shrimp nets are good. Secondly, you will need a second bowl just like the first.

The evening before you want to change water, fill the second bowl with tap water and dechlorinate it. Place this bowl of water next to your fish's bowl. The next day, nest your betta and place it in the new bowl. Rinse the original bowl with hot water and use a clean cloth to wipe it out and dry it, no soap of course. Repeat this every 2-3 days and you will have no ammonia problems at all, it will be quick and easy for you and practically stress free on your fish. This system is used by the majority of International Betta Congress breeders for their show fish.

MM

Answer 2

You should change all of it once every two days. 2.5 liters is only about half a gallon. Bettas should really be in at least 2 gallons of water, but if you want to keep him in that amount of water you should be changing water every other day. Half a gallon of water just isn't enough to contain the amount of waste a betta produces without raising ammonia levels significantly. This can led to the poisoning of your fish or the rotting of its fins.

Don't worry about what others may say about retaining "good bacteria" in your bowl. You only need "good bacteria" in your bowl if you are cycling it - however, you shouldn't be cycling anything less than 10 gallons, because it's easy for imbalances to occur in smaller amounts of water which can throw everything off and be pretty chaotic. So you do want to do a thorough water change each time.

Granted, it is stressful for your fish to have to adjust to new water as often as every other day. However, it is far more stressful for your fish to be swimming in dirty water; so in this case, it's just the lesser of two evils. This can, however, be solved if you put him in a filtered and heated 2 gallon tank, which I guarantee you he will be much happier and healthier in.

Answer 3

In a bowl that size, you shouldn't have to replace all the water if you are doing it every week. I think about 1/2 should be fine. Most people go wrong by overfeeding their bettas and the water gets fouled up because of it.

Answer 4

replacing a little bit of water is done as part of what is called "cycling" for aquariums. i don't think this is practical for bettas in bowls. i keep them in 2 1/2 gallons -- not litres -- and siphon out as much water as possible (about 80%) but seldom move them around to avoid the moving stress. i don't think this is even very practical in a 2 1/2 litre.

Answer 5

well this may not be the write way but this is how i do it i completly change the water about once a week and ive had my betta for almost 3 moths soo yaaa