New to fish! Lots of Questions! 10 points to the most helpful! ?

[Kitty]

About a month ago I bought my first fish, a betta. He lives in a 3 gal bowl with a filter and a heater and is quite content. Seeing how easy it is to take care of him in relation to my other pets (ranging from guinea pigs and parrots to horses) I have decided I would quite like a larger 10 gal tank. I know that only 10%-25% changes are needed weekly. Other than that I am very confused as to what needs to happen.
I would like to put my betta in the 10 gal with silver, black, and dalmation mollies (2 of each or so on the mollies) and maybe one of the mini algae eaters, but I don't know if they will be compatible and I don't want to stress or kill my betta (I've grown attached to the little guy).

I have picked out a starter tank that already has a good heater and heater. I have my decorations, gravel, salt, conditioner, now I need to know how do I start this? What is cycling and is it needed? Do I really need to only add a couple fish at a time or can I add them at once? Can I put my betta in after the water is conditioned or do I have to wait for something? Will the salt for the mollies hurt my betta? How soon will I know if I need to put my betta back in the 3 gal tank?

Links are ok but I would prefer answers that are tailored to fit my situation. Any info you have about starting a tank is greatly welcomed. Most helpful will get the best answer as soon as I can pick it! Also please don't confuse me with someone who knows what all the abbreviations you use mean. The simplest you can put it the better.

Thanks

 

[mickey p]

Well aside from the fish you want not being compatible (you can look up that kinda stuff) I can tell ya how to cycle your tank.

First you you take all the gravel,decor and place it into the tank. Then you put the water in and the filter on the back and turn the filter on. Then go to your fish store and buy whats called bacteria starter. Put the recommended dose into you fish tank and then wait 3 days. The water should begin to turn cloudy as the bacteria start to bloom and grow in the filter media and gravel. The only problem now is they need a source of ammonia to grow on. For this you can either add a few hardy fish (I recommend Zebra Danios) or add a few dabs of fish food or a store bought shrimp (the ones we people eat) and put it in a nylon and then just let it hang in your tank. The whole process takes about three weeks to complete. What happens is called the nitrogen cycle, ammonia is produced by fish waste (or by artificial means so as not to harm fish) then bacteria grow to turn the harmfull ammonia (ammonia burns the fishes fins and gills like fire does to us) into nitrite which is still harmfull to fish but then another bacteria grows that turns nitrite into nitrate which is less harmfull to fish and is taken out of the water in our weekly water changes. The second bacteria dont start to grow untill the first set grows and turns the ammonia into nitrite. Thats why it takes so long. YES, this is a must if you want to keep fish. If you just throw a few fish in a new tank with no bacteria built up they will die from the ammonia and nitrite that builds up un-checked due to the lack of bacteria. The whole deal behinde adding a few fish at a time is to allow the bacteria to catch up vs have to adjust to a huge grow of fish and huge ammonia levels that the bacteria cant handel. It needs to build up to meet the new waste being produced by the new fish.

 

[Lippy]

first of all both Batta and mollies are easy to look after, But a batta fish can be an aggressive fish mainly towards their own kind or sex. They are territorial so if you find him/her chasing your mollies keep him separated.
Set up your tank make sure you have live plants and condition your water, wait at least 3 days a week is best before you add your mollies. get them settled a couple of days before adding you batta.

 

[Randy G]

Ok ill keep this short but simple!

Moving the betta to a bigger tank is awesome! The mollies would go great but i find from personal experience that they are prone to velvet but this can be easily prevented by adding aquarium or pickling salt to the tank ( pickling salt is cheaper!)( 1 teaspoon for 5 gallons, just added to the water while still in a bucket when doing water changes). A mini algae eater such as an oto cat or small catfish would be great, i would reccomend and oto cat.

Cycling is letting the water in the tank to settle and reducing the ammonia, and nitrate levels in your tank, this usally takes at LEAST 2 days. This is when you have your filter and heater running for around 2 days with no fish. This is needed to reduce the harmful chemicals and to build up healthy bacteria.

I would recomend adding the beta first and then slowly adding fish just in case their is something wrong with the water and your fish die. Bettas are hardy fish so i dont think you need to worry about him.

No dont put your betta in right after the water is conditioned you need to wait a few days. And also when you are moving your betta in the new tank use the water from your old tank to reduce stress.

The salt wont hurt your betta, and you will know within a week if you need to put your betta back in the 3 gallon.

I would also recomend getting a thermometer for tropical fish to know wehn your water is up to the right temperature. other than that i think your set!
Good luck!

Email me for any questions!

 

[fish man]

this is cycling

http://www.algone.com/fishless_cycling.php

and it needs to be done

you can add the betta straight after the conditioner

dont keep mollys with bettas as mollys are brackish fish that nip

are the mini algae eaters otocincluse

i would have 1 betta 3 otocincluse and 3 corydora catfish

Edit: you only need an air pump if you have other fish with your betta. even then it is not necessary if you have a good filter

 

[Ron O]

sounds like it should work out fine for you. a starter kit you can buy with everything to get you going, even directions on setting it up. For bigger tanks that dont have the kit all in one, a good shop will give you the same kind of deal on everything individually if u buy all together. simply tell them you want a starter kit, but a bigger tank.

Cycling is basically introducing a specific 'friendly' useful bacteria in the tank. its also called 'new tank syndrome' ... thats why its never good to exchange all of thier water in a water change, because it removes this essential bacteria needed. http://www.firsttankguide.net/cycle.php more info on new tanks and cycling

you can add fish to a new tank usually about 3 or 4 days after setting it up, as long as you have plenty of hiding spots then it should be ok to release them all at once. Male Beta fish will fight to the death other male beta's, and you should ask your pet store about any new types of fish you want to introduce from there. They will ask whats in your community tank and a good shop will tell you if they will be compatible or not. Theres many type of fish, with many temperaments. A light handful of sea salt is good every couple weeks... it helps as a light anticeptic for the fish against and scale damage or abrasions.

watch the fish carefully, it may take awhile to establish thier pecking orders or territories in the tank, but it your beta is constantly being tormented then pull him out.... lots off hiding spots, like plastic plants are great.... puts them at ease more when they think they can hide. Obviously try to get other fish not too much bigger than him. good luck!