# Betta tank smells?



## BrownKandhamal (Feb 10, 2015)

Hello everyone!
I just got a 5 gallon tank for my betta fish yesterday. Of course with filter and heater.
So today, I wanted to check if it smells, so i just opened the lid and kept my face near to the water. There is a little smell. not like bad oder or something but something smells. It used to smell in my bowl too. I have had 2 bettas. Is it normal for the water to smell?

The betta is healthy and happy i guess. Builds a bubble nest, eats well, flares at his reflection and poops well. I am not sure what causes this strange water smell.


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## Bikeridinguckgirl14 (Oct 22, 2013)

It could be your Dechlorinator, it could be fish poop, it could be algea, fish smell slightly fishy.


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## TerriGtoo (Jul 2, 2013)

It may be something your municipality is adding something to the water. We sometimes (but rarely-every few years) have a sulphur, or iron like smell to our water and it turns out the city is doing testing or just added something for whatever reason. Does the water smell the same out of all of your taps?


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## BrownKandhamal (Feb 10, 2015)

Thank you for the reply , I am using bottled water (The one we drink)


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## aselvarial (Feb 21, 2014)

Do you use Seachem Prime? I've noticed it smells. My tanks have a slight odor to them that they didn't have before then.


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## Nyri (Sep 23, 2014)

BrownKandhamal said:


> Thank you for the reply , I am using bottled water (The one we drink)


What type of bottled water? RO or distilled water shouldn't be used alone, but if it's spring water it is probably okay. 

I used to use Ozarka spring water, which I've noticed will smell funny even in the bottle if it's been open for a while (I drink it, too, which is how I noticed)


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## Hallyx (Jun 11, 2011)

Bikeridinguckgirl14 said:


> ...fish smell slightly fishy.


Good one, Biker. Yes, indeed. 

Healthy tanks that I've sniffed have a humid, slightly swampy odor. But it's a clean natural smell. If the smell is strong or offensive (like rotting), I'd look into it. And it _is_ good idea to monitor your tank's smell.

Dechlorinators, especially Prime, may have a slight sulfur smell from sodium thiosulfate. But I'm not sure you'd really be able to smell that once it's diluted in the tank. I can't.


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## Fishgirl9 (Jan 4, 2015)

I'm betting it's your water treatment giving the water it's smell. I have 3 tanks and each one has a different order and each one has a different water treatment. Betta H2O smells different than the Aqueron, which smell heck a lot better than Top fin.

Also, fish water will smell fishy. It's when it smells of ammonia or dead fish I would be worried. The second smell means too much food and it's rotting in the water.


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