I have a single betta fish who was living in a small 2 gallon tank with a light. Something went wrong with the hood so I decided to replace the whole tank and bought a 1.5 gal. cube with a Whisper filter and light. Got it all set up and the fish transferred, and all was well.
Or so I thought.
The filter seems to be an over-achiever; the air pump is causing it to fill the tank with bubbles. The bubbles overflow the small filter and in no time at all, the entire surface of the water is COVERED with a mass of air bubbles. I have skimmed them off several times-the poor fish can’t even eat with them there-but each time they come back. If I pinch the air hose off, the bubbling stops, and the water still flows freely; I thought I had found the soloution, and put a couple clothes pins on the hose, but I guess they aren’t pinching it off enough, because STILL it bubbles.
Is there anything I can do to stop the bubbling madness? I am ready to take the damned filter out…the fish lived fine without one in the other tank. The thing is, I like the sound of the air pump. Any suggestions?
Honestly, there is no reason to have a filter on a tank so small. The minimum I’ve heard that is needed to establish a cycle is 5 gallons. You’re better off just doing full water changes and forgetting about the filter, especially since you say that you have a betta in there. The long finned varieties don’t really care for a lot of water current anyways.
I am not sure what your setup is but be aware that you don’t need bubbles to oxygenate water; it is thought that most oxygenation occurs by circulating it against contact with air, so just keeping it moving is all you need. And for bettas–those things would live in a sewer…
If you just like the noise, put the aerator into a nearby jar and just enjoy the fish.
Bettas like stagnate-ish water. The main thing with them, is making sure their water isn’t chlorinated when you do clean out their bowl, I’ve had a betta die from that. (I felt awful about it. I learned to leave the water for the change out for several days so the chlorine would dissapate, or to buy some of that filtered water with no chlorine in it.) You don’t have to change their water as often as you do other fish, if I am remembering correctly. Just watch for signs of ich and the like.
I have turned the pump off, and the fish is acting much happier; he was hiding in the plants, and with the pump off, he has come out and is exploring his new home. Problem solved!
Did you wash everything before you set up the new tank? Did you add too much chemical to the water? What kind of water are you using? Is the water you’re using coming through a water softener? Normal tap water shouldn’t have enough surface tension to cause bubbles to stay around for very long.
No, bettas don’t really need any extra oxygenation of their water. They gulp air directly from the surface. You do need to change the water at least a couple of times a week for a tank so small. Bettas can survive with remarkably terrible water, but it doesn’t mean that they like it. In a 5 gallon, you could wait a week between water changes.
They sell water conditioners to neutralize the chlorine. You should be able to find bottles of it in the same aisle as the other fish supplies.
Any suggestions?