how often do i change my betta fish's tank water?

Question

i have a relatively small tank, rocks in bottom, with a middle divider to keep 2 male bettas. there's a removeable blue divider that leaves a clear divider for the bettas to see each other and promote flaring. So beautiful!!! there's no filter.. how do they keep breathing like that?!? dont they need really fresh water to get the oxygen?.... basically how often do i change unfiltered water in a betta tank big enough for 2 bettas?? thank u so much for your help... i'd hate to break my little girls heart by not changing it often enough, yet praying it's not daily!!!

Answer 1

Make sure your "tank" is AT least 2.5 gallons if you have two fish in there (divided, of course). What you are describing sound an awful lot like those disgusting little tiny hex "tanks" (more like "traps!"). ANyhow...that being said....if you go with the minimum 2.5 gallons for the two bettas and it's unfiltered, I'd suck out about 10% of the water every day, with getting out any uneaten food after 5 min. of feeding, and then do a 100% water change once a week. Obviously less mainentance would be needed for a larger tank.

Answer 2

I have a betta fish it is in a bowl of regular water. Sounds simple but, I change the water when it's dirty. Whats really important is that if your using tap water you must fill a container and let it sit 24 hours before putting it in the tank,this removes any chlorine that might be in the water.

Or their is a product called Bowl Buddies which makes tap water safe immediately. This is a great product it does alot of things you'll have to read the box. Regarding your question this product naturally eliminates waste,keeping the water cleaner, clearer and healthy. I bought mine at Pet-CO I'm sure any place that sells fish will have it. As far as your concern about the fish breathing just make sure the water is at good level it will evaporate alittle each day or week not sure(I don't sit there and watch this lol) the fish need space to live and breath. Feel free to add clean water to existing water as needed. Also I don't know what the pet store told you about feeding bettas each store has a different opinion. Finnley my betta eats 6 or 7 pellets every night around the same time. He will let us know if we forget or are late.Every betta is different. My mom only feeds hers about once a week, she has a water Lilly in the bowl the fish supposedly eats the roots. Good Luck to you and your little girl. I don't know how old she is but, God forbid something happens to the fish run don't walk to your nearest pet store pick out the right color(s)and oh, well you know the rest lol. P>S> NEVER use any chemicals to clean your tank ex; windex. Ask your pet store.I just use water.

Answer 3

well fist to anwser your how it can breath (?)
bettas are a type of labrinyth fish which have a extra organ that lets it breath like people do so even if your water isnt maintained well it will not die of lack of oxygen
but that dosent mean that you dont have to change the water
well you realy should that told how much water that tank, bowl or container can hold
and nnever change the water all at once
change 10% or 20% every two to three days
i would recommend not buying bottled water for your bettas
but buy dechlorinator to use for your tap water
and would recommend buy a small 2 1/2 or 5 gallon and a small internal filter or a small undergravel filter
trust me it will be better off for your bettas and will highly improve that your bettas stay alive for a long time and will makwe water changes every week then every three to two day
thus keeping your daughter happy with her bettas

Answer 4

It sounds like you have one of those tiny nasty so called tanks for them
Since you have obviously 2 girls, get yourself a 10 gallon tank with filter, heater and live plants, and another female betta, so you have 3 of them that they can choose their so called peckingorder and you can even put some tropicals in there

In that tank, you only need to do partial waterchanges of 25% with a gravelsiphon and you will be fine

As for the ones you have, you have to change out the water every day

Hope that helps
Good luck


EB

Answer 5

As soon as the water gets cloudy which can be up to twice a week. About 20% of the water. Its that simple. Make sure you treat the water with water conditioner to remove chlorine. Don't listen to everyone else's so called "scientific answers" I've had bettas before. Just make sure you clean the pebbles and decoration also. Oh yeah, and the first answerer said every two or three months....your fish would've died before then. He's trying to make you kill your fish

Answer 6

Bettas do not breathe through their gills - they get their air (oxygen) from the surface - they have a special organ called a Labyrinth for this purpose -so they dont need an air pump and actually dont like these.

You can change 1/3 of the water every week - every 3 weeks...

make VERY sure you either distill the water first or use water conditioner - also leave the water out so it reaches room temp before changing the water..(distill it by leaving it out for over 24 hours)...

main thing is not to over feed or under feed - about 2-4 beads of food is fine per day...
also I am sure they would prefer slightly bigger containers -which you can place side by side... rather than them sharing one container.

Answer 7

Change 1/4 of the total volume once a week. This works for goldfish kept in unfiltered bowls. If you don't change it regularly the ammonia levels from the fish waste will build up and result in disease or death. Just topping up the bowl from evaporation does not work as the ammonia continues to build up. Never change 100% of the water for them it it like being torn from one enviroment and put in a completely sterile one. There is a biological process that involves a balance of naturally generating bacteria both good and bad by changing 100% of the water the bad bacteria flourish.

Answer 8

hmmm....pretty much depends on how dirty the tank is...but usually around once every 2-3 months