Ok so YEAY I finnally got my male betta home from my parents house. I have a ten gallon that has been set up for around three weeks, and I have some questions about what levels bettas can handle AND a question about food. First the water level questions.
So this is a brand new 10 gallon that I set up to start cycling not quite knowing what I wanted to put in it, but now I have decided to let my betta and his little pleco friend have some more room and put them in there. It has been running and filtering for those three weeks, and of course the ammonia is still high. I am doing frequent water changes and using AmQuel+...if I continue this process steadily throughout the duration of the cycling process will the betta be ok? I know they're hardy and all but I don't want to endanger him. He wasn't even in a tank with a filter at my parents place and he is thriving. So will this be fine if I continue as is?

Ok food time. I have accumulated 4 different kinds of betta food lately, I want to name them off and if somebody could tell me what the best one to use is, if any of them, I would greatly appreciate it. I will of course not hesitate to go out and buy a totally different kind and throw these out if thats the best option!

1. (and the kind he likes the best) HBH Betta bites; color-enhancing fish food
2. "Aqua Cultue" Betta micro-pellet food; color-enhancing diet
3. "Wardley" Betta premium food
4. "Penn-Plax" Pro-Balance Betta food
5. Then I also have an unopened bottle of "TetraMin" tropical granules...and it says "good for bettas."

So what do you guys think? I am still learning which food brands are the best...

Hi Bob&Syd, it must be great having your Betta home with you! I use 10 gallon tanks for my Bettas and they love the space, also they are usually easier to cycle the filter and heat safely.

I'm not familiar with this AmQuel +, but I just looked it up and it says something about removing Ammonia, NitrIte AND NitrAte. I'm not sure if that will enable you to mature a filter effectively if you're using it at the same time as you're trying to cycle the tank, but like I said I've not really heard of it before, hopefully somebody else can comment on how it works.

So, the tank was set up for 3 weeks before you added your Betta? Were you doing a fishless cycle and adding a source of ammonia in order to feed the filter? If so, after 3 weeks and after adding your fish you should not reallly be getting just Ammonia readings still. Are you getting any NitrIte or NitrAte readings to indicate the beneficial filter bacteria are growing?

Generally speaking Bettas are sensitive to environmental changes and water quality and it is preferable to cycle a filter without them, but people do successfully do it.

If your filter is still cycling you need to continue to do regular partial water changes to keep any Ammonia and NitrIte levels to a minimum so as to not stress your Betta for the duration of the cycle.

I'm not sure if you need to use this AmQuel + product - it might just be slowing up your cycle as it's locking away the Ammonia and NitrIte before it gets a chance to stimulate the growth of any beneficial bacteria. These products are useful if waste levels are very high and uncontrollable through just water changes alone, but in a newly set up tank it might just be hindering your cycle a bit.

Personally, I would try and do without it and just test daily and do regular water changes to keep the waste levels down, like people do when they have a Betta in an unfiltered bowl or tank. Over time benifical bacteria should then start to grow in your filter and you should not be getting any Ammonia or NitrIte readings anymore.

I just think it's a bit suspicious that you're still getting Ammonia readings after 3 weeks. Hopefully, somebody else can shed some light on it. I hope this helps a bit

I'm not familiar with all the food brands you mentioned as I'm in the UK and our choice is often limited. I've been using Hikari Betta-Bio Gold for a while and I've been very pleased with the results

Just a thought, but you still need to dechlorinate your water before changing. Does this product declor as well?

Oh of course, I treat all water before adding it after a water change...I have actually only used the amquel+ product twice since the tank has been set up...But what you said about it locking away the ammonia so it cant make nitrate makes a whole lot of sense...I'm going to do what you suggested and only do water changes, that really makes sense to me lol, how obvious!
I thought 3 weeks was too long to only be seeing ammonia too...I'll keep up with the water changes every couple of days and see how it looks in about a week.

If anybody knows anything about that food selection please comment!

I'm glad it helped a bit.

I was just reading a bit more about that Amquel Plus and it says it does not effect the beneficial bacteria, but I think that must mean already established bacteria.

Your filter needs a constant source of waste to process in order to mature and cycle and I just thought removing it with this stuff, even at low levels present, may be hindering your cycle.

After 3 weeks it should be onto NitrIte and very low/trace, if any, amounts of Ammonia and maybe even some small NitrAte readings too. A single Betta will only produce a small bio load, so removing it with this stuff is probably not necessary at this stage. I think you should carry on your daily testing and regular partial water changes and you'll get there soon. Best of luck with it!

thanks a lot! I put the betta in there last night with his two tank mates- an apple snail and a really small pleco. They are all doing perfectly so far and having fun with the new space, so I think things will be fine.