cleaning help

[mazurek]

this is what my tank looks like


the bottom thing is attached to the tank.

I cant get my fish out of there so i just did a 75% water change and probably stressed the hell out of my fish

any advice.

[hvincent]

You should never do a 100% water change anyway...but you should also figure out a way to get your fish out. Sometimes you just have to be patient and kind of tricky with a little plastic cup and try to get him to swim into it so you can take him out.

Was the new water you put in the same temperature as the old water? Was it properly conditioned? You might have just spooked him with taking water out and dumping it back in. You should do that as gently as possible so as to not bother your fish. My betta doesn't get stressed when I change his water; he just gets really angry and flares at me for disturbing his water. Bettas don't really like change that much.

[mdellasalla]

Yeah if you just dump water in there, it will scare him because all of a sudden his sanctuary has turbulence. I find it much easier to just take my fish out. I use a clear plastic cup (the one he came in) to gently scoop him up so i don't jostle him while cleaning. If you use something he can see, you will end up chasing him all over the tank and stressing him that way.

[wiccansinger]

isnt that one of those half gal tanks (2L) on sale on ebay??? (i was prowling it for tanks just before) if it is then replace the tank you have now for a 2gal tank (7.57L) it is a lot easier to get the betta out of a proper sized tank.

the way i find i catch my betta is with a plastic cup (clear) i make sure it is before feeding time, and i put a pellet in the cup, the betta swims in and i scoop him out. i then get a clean container put about 50% of the water in (without disturbing it too much to keep from getting the water poluted) then i rinse the gravel, plants, ornaments and tank in hot water. allow the tank to cool, place conditioned water into the tank to the 50% mark, then allow it to sit for a few hours (if you dont do it the night before) then place the other water into the tank (the 50% you kept) then equalise your fish for an hour or 2, then release. with the water going in i use tap water that has water conditioner put into it and left to stand the night before i clean the tank. that way it has time to remove or nutralise the chloriene and other nasties in the water like metal etc...

[mdellasalla]

aww you trick them! You bait them with food!

[mdellasalla]

Also that tank really doesn't look like a half gallon... He must have a tiny fish.

[wiccansinger]

I duno i might be getting it wrong and its 1 gal, but i could have sworn it was a half gal kit... might be wrong though... wouldnt be the first time.

[hvincent]

The visual ratio of fish to tank looks about the same as my 2.5 gallon tank...

[mazurek]

its a little bigger than a gallon

[mdellasalla]

I was just at he pet store today and there is a tank that looks exactly like yours that is a .5 gal