Hello everyone. It's my first post here, and I'm happy to have found this family of betta enthusiasts.

I've had my my new betta for about a month and a half so far, and I'm struggling to understand how to clean my 1 gallon goldfish bowl. Since it's a very basic bowl, it does not have an underwater gravel filter.

I perform a 50% water change every 3-4 days by siphoning water out with a Top Fin mini gravel vacuum and I'm unhappy that I do not have enough time to throughly vacuum the rocks before I lose 50% of my water. Whenever I pour the new 50% water in the bowl, I see a lot of debris float up from the gravel.

So my next experiment was just to perform a 100% water change. I'd remove the betta with a laddle (great advice from fishrpets) and then pour all the old water out. Next, I'd pour in clean aged/primed water and I'd still see debris float up. I was going to run the gravel under the sink to clear out all the gunk, but my friend told me that would kill all the beneficial bacteria that helps clean out the nitrites in my bowl.

How do I clean my gravel and bowl without fear of killing the beneficial bacteria? I plan to invest in a mini-aquarium in the future with a gravel filter in the future.

Thanks in advance for any help! Here's a pic of my betta a week ago.

You have a very pretty setup, and a very pretty betta! Here is what I do for my one gallon Betta tank:

Remove betta from tank and place in container for holding until tank is clean.
Empty old water from tank and pour gravel into an old, fine mesh colander (think of a bowl with little bitty holes all in it)
Rinse gravel well with tap water.
Clean interior of tank and decor well with tap water.
Place gravel and decor back into tank.
Fill with aged, dechlorinated water.
Replace Mr. Betta.
Enjoy!

The reason you don't have to worry about killing off your BB with a betta tank is because they won't be enough on the gravel to make any difference. I change my water about once a week in my betta Horatio's tank and he seems happy with that. He dances, eats, and flares like crazy at me. As long as you keep the water quality good for them, don't worry about how you rinse your gravel. The majority of all BB live in the filter box and since you do not have one on your setup it's nothing to worry about.

Sorry if this comes up as a double post, I hit the button and then it said cannot find server.
You have a very pretty setup, and a very pretty betta! Is that a fishbowl, or a vase that he is in?

Here is what I do to clean my one gallon Betta tank:
~Remove betta from tank and place in container for holding until tank is clean.
~Empty old water from tank and pour gravel into an old, fine mesh colander (think of a bowl with little bitty holes all in it). A large sized aquarium net will work as well.
~Rinse gravel really well with tap water.
~Clean interior of tank and decor well with tap water.
~Place gravel and decor back into tank.
~Fill with aged, dechlorinated water.
~Replace Mr. Betta.
~Enjoy!

The reason you don't have to worry about killing off your BB with a betta tank is because they won't be enough on the gravel to make any difference. I change my water about once a week in my betta Horatio's tank and he seems happy with that. He dances, eats well, and flares like crazy at me. As long as you keep the water quality good for them, don't worry about how you rinse your gravel. The majority of all BB live in the filter box and since you do not have one on your setup it's nothing to worry about.

Ahhhhhh, that makes perfect sense now. Thank you very much Lady Dodecagon -- you're my first friend on here! Congratulations on winning the eBay auction

I already had a collander to initially clean my gravel and I'm glad I can use it again.

Lady, do you have any bookmarked links about your betta, Horatio? Forum links of pics or stories perhaps?

I keep the betta in a 1 gallon fish bowl. Originally, I was looking for a vase because that's
what both my coworkers use to house their betta. After feeding their fish for a few weeks it was only time until I got my own. I was supposed to bring it to work, but I have decided to keep him at home instead.

Welcome to Koko's Toofur

Lady's got you pretty much covered, I just have a couple more suggestions.

Try limiting the amount of gravel in the bowl. More gravel means more cleaning and more debris to get stuck. It will also give your betta a little more room to swim and more water to dilhoute the ammonia, and thats important with a home as small as a 1 gallon bowl.

One gallon is pretty small...if you can not up grade to a bigger tank, I recomend cleaning the tank at least twice a week. I've got a three gallon and I feed moderately but he still produces enough ammonia to demand a water change at least once a week. In my opinion, once a week with a 1 gallon is really pushing it.

Edit: One more thing. Its a good idea to cover any container a betta is in since they are very good jumpers. It is especially important to cover whatever container you keep him in while you clean his tank because when they are scared, they are more prone to jump...I'm talking from first hand experience.

is it possible for you to get an undergravel filter for the bowl?

i've got one, it's about 4inches wide and really helps with getting a cycle going in ur bowl. look them up on ebay maybe?

and yeah isn't the rule for gravel less than an inch??

toofur,

QUOTE

Thank you very much Lady Dodecagon -- you're my first friend on here! Congratulations on winning the eBay auction

How sweet! I am honored!
And thanks for the congrats! I already have two of her pieces, a pair of goldfish named Pepper and Percy. I can't wait to add the little dragon to my collection! I love the stuff so much I got some of the clay to play with, maybe I can make something. I know it won't be as good, but at least it will be my own little creation I can be proud of.

Now, back to topic for me.

QUOTE

Lady, do you have any bookmarked links about your betta, Horatio? Forum links of pics or stories perhaps?

No, I am sorry I don't yet. I have a pic or two that I can scan in, but they are not of the best quality. I am working on moving him into a bigger tank tho, it will be 5 1/2 gallons. I plan on submitting some pics for a few contestes and then I will be sharing away. We are a bunch of picture crazies around here!

I have only had Horatio for a few months now, and I just love him to pieces! I have had bettas for years, but there is just something different about him and I can't quite put my finger on it. He's a standard pet shop veiltail, but in my eyes he is more beautiful than a crown or halfmoon.

I agree with Kissy, make sure that the container is covered well. I had a betta jump out of the feeding hole in a one gallon aquarium kit before. It was rather odd to look into the tank, there he is. Peep back, he has disappeared!

As far as the UGF suggestion from E-n, it's a great idea but I think it's a personal preference. I have one in my 1 gallon, but only because I tear the tank apart so often and clean it very well. I would not have one in a larger tank because so much muck can get under there and polute the water. IMO they are great in a tiny tank but once you pass 5 gallons it isn't really worth all the extra work.

I use just enough gravel to cover the bottom of the tank, mainly for aesthetic reasons. The color is so pretty. I have my plants removed from the plastic bases and shoved into the UGF (another good reason to have one in a small bowl) so I don't have to worry about anchoring them in.

Wow, that is the longest post I have ever made I think. Yay for me! LOL!

I have a large fish net that I use to rinse my betta's gravel with. I only do it about once a month since they HATE it when I take them out, but one good rinsing a month is enough for them as they don't produce as much waste as goldies do.

I agree with Kissy, you definately need to put a cover or a screen of some sort on top of the bowl. My bettas just started jumping at feeding time and sometimes I see my male jumping around in the tank trying to get the female's attention on the other side of the room!

Also, as he grows, he will need more room to swim around, so consider getting a 2 gallon minibow tank or something along those lines.

He is very pretty! Good luck!

Thanks for the advice everyone! For now I plan to do a 100% water change every 5 days (using a post-it note that I move every 5 days) until I find a larger tank.


Kissy -- I've followed your instructions and tossed out half of my gravel.

Littleone78 -- Right now I'm using an AOL CD as a fishbowl cover.

E-n -- I'm probably going to hold off on a ugf right now and maybe aim for java moss. My coworker has some in his bowl and he's been trying to sell me on it for a few weeks.

Lady_Dodecagon -- I just saw Horatio in your other thread. Blue eyes is indeed a beauty.

My goodness, that is just too funny. Glad someone can make good use of those things!

toofur, I am glad to hear that you have everything all figured out, and I love the tank cover idea! Too cute!!

Thanks for the comment about H. It makes us both proud.

I will have to get a better digital camera to get more pics of him, with a faster shutter so that I don't just get a blur.