#water changes

So easy water changes are just taking water from the middle chamber or empty drum, so I don't catch any zoea. That works if I just need to reduce overall toxins in the water, like this morning. It's all connected through the mesh in the drums.

If I need to get waste out of the occupied drum, like sheds or food, I turn the filter off so the zoea sink, then shine a flashlight at the front so they move towards it. That helps get most of them out of the way of the suction.

Still likely to get a number in the waste water, so I settled on my system for that with my second change last night. Waste water gets siphoned into a bucket. I use a coral feeding suction pipe to get the bulk of the zoea out of the bucket, using flashlight to help gather them together. They go into a Tupperware I have. Then I do another round of follow the flashlight to gather them again, and use a pipette to transfer to a small jar. Then they go back in the kreisel!

Liking this system a lot so far. It's not really taking long, it's not a major strain, and I'm getting almost all of the zoea out of the waste water, without putting much waste water back in the tank.

So, here's hoping that after a rest I will have somewhere near enough spoons to go ahead and do that overdue water change on the big tank 😩

They are very pleasant to watch, and the music and narration is usually really calming and soothing.

For the most part they aren't overly distracting, so they make good background noise.

They can really inspire you to want to make your tank look nice and keep your fish and plants happy and healthy.

They are usually short (15-ish minutes or less), so if you need to sit down and take a break, you can go ahead and watch the rest of the video you're on and then when the video ends it is a clear signal that your break is over.

(Or you can do the opposite, where you push yourself to just work until the video is over and then you get a break to sit down and watch the next one. Whatever works for you.)

When you are trying to do a water change and all your fish are like “Oh, a hand is that food? Is it feed time?!?!

Don’t panic! Read on :)

Let’s start with some Betta Basics and then talk a bit about fishkeeping and setting up a tank! Since you already have your fish, you’ll have to do a fish-in cycle. The Nitrogen Cycle (aka “the cycle”) is explained at the end of the “fishkeeping and setting up a tank” article above, so I’ll jump into the fish-in cycling basics: Keep your water parameters .25ppm ammonia/.25ppm nitrites/20ppm nitrates or less :) In order to do this, you’ll have to do a ton of water changes, but your fish will thank you since ammonia and nitrite are toxic to fish! Bettas are pretty hardy, and one of the only fish that you can perform a fish-in cycle with, so just be sure to keep those parameters as low as possible until your readings are 0 ammonia/0 nitrite/ x nitrates (these are the parameter readings for a cycled tank). After that, make sure your nitrates stay 20ppm or below, doing a water change whenever they reach 20ppm or higher. Below, there’s an article that explains water changes, when to do them, why we do them, etc. I highly recommend giving that a read as well! :) Also note that it’s important to continue to test ammonia and nitrite levels even if your tank is cycled, since sometimes parameters spike or a cycle crashes, and you wont know unless you’re checking for that! Here are some tanks that are currently on sale/50$ or under, the bigger the better if this is your first fish, or if you’re new to fishkeeping! :) Some of the kits come with a heater (usually costs 20-30$ separately) so those kits are an especially good deal! :) 5.5/10 gallon Top Fin Kit 10 gallon Top Fin Essentials Kit 5 gallon Top Fin Glass Aquarium 3.5 gallon Top Fin Delight 3.5 gallon Top Fin Enchant Because these come with HOB (hang-on-back) filters, it’s best to pick up an intake sponge so the intake pipes don’t suck up any fish or fins :) (you can usually find the Fluval ones at petsmart/petco/your LFS) If none of these suit your fancy, there’s nothing wrong with finding a tank that you DO like! It IS your tank, afterall :p You also have the option of putting together a tank from scratch :) petsmart/petco/walmart all sell 5.5-10 gallon aquariums, and these ‘standard aquariums’ are a great jumping off point for putting everything together! :) The entire list of supplies you’ll need should be listed at the top of the “Betta Basics” article above :) Also, don’t be afraid to find a good deal on a second-hand aquarium or full setup! :) check your local Craigslist, Letgo, Offerup, Facebook Marketplace, etc. listings for used tanks, decor you might like, filters, nets, and tons of other stuff :)