# Betta scoop ?



## 914joe (Jul 21, 2012)

I have had my betta Sportster less than a week, and although i was able to remove him from the bowl with cup he came in,i tried to remove him from his new 2 1/2 gallon tank to clean it , he is to fast and i am afraid i might hurt him or damage his fins.I did a search online and read about something called a betta scoop and i also saw a video of one on youtube.I did a search to buy one and came across this one in the link from deep blue,it says its a betta scoop ,does anyone here now if this a true betta scoop or just a regular net.http://www.amazon.com/Deep-Blue-Bet...F8&qid=1343628122&sr=8-1&keywords=betta+scoop


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## FishyFishy89 (Jul 3, 2011)

It's just a small fish net.
Any LPS would have an extra small fish net.


also, you could use the cup he came in. Put it inside his tank on it's side, 1/4 of it empty. Place a piece of food in the back of the cup. When he goes in and eats the food upright the cup and take him out.


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## vilmarisv (Apr 17, 2010)

Looks like a regular net. 
I use a 1/4 SS measuring cup because I have a lot of fish and I can clean easily. 
The brine shrimp nets are very smooth and will not damage his fins.
These are used by Thai breeders: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Original-Th...307?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5d29822beb 
Always wondered how good they are.


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## 914joe (Jul 21, 2012)

Thanks FishyFishy89 for those tips ,one way or another he is coming out sometime tomorrow ,i only have an ammonia test kit ,and it was high that's why i was trying to remove him.I decided to leave him in there and just change half his water ,it brought the ammonia down to 0.50, at least that's what it looks like to me on that card that came with the drops .


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## 914joe (Jul 21, 2012)

Yes Vilmarisiv I also read somewhere about using brine shrimp nets,i will see if i can find one in a local pet store thanks .The betta scoops seem to only be available from Thailand,here is a youtube clip of one being used if any one is interested .


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## FishyFishy89 (Jul 3, 2011)

What are your tank specs?
What percentage of water changes and how often are you doing them?


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## 914joe (Jul 21, 2012)

It's a 2.5 gallon 12"L X 6"W X 8"H aqueon tank,He was transferd here from a bowl,he has been in the 2.5 tank for about 3 or 4 days i checked the water and it had high ammonia today, so i removed half a little while ago and it brought down to 0.50.I added a stone ornament a couple of days ago and i did rinse it before adding it to the tank ,i think that stone made the water cloudy,is this bad for him ,its not so cloudy that you can't see just a little .


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

how high was your ammonia when you checked? I do recommend changing as much as possible for now whilst leavin him enough room to swim in. you need atleat a 100% water change every week. you will find that the 0.5ppm will escalate pretty fast. this can be remedied only by a larger water change  

for now try to take out as much water as you can whilst leaving him an inch or so to swim in. then pour in new water. then repeat  you can try to scoop him out in the cup he came in, or another cup to shoo him into the other


edit: I actually have the exact same tank  and you can just see tiny Shiro in this one. I net her out with the brine shrimp net.


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## 914joe (Jul 21, 2012)

Thanks for the advice aokashi,i will definitely take care of it tomorrow. If i still find it difficult to remove him i will do as you said and leave just enough for him to swim in .The Ammonia was 2.0 and it seems to have went down to 0.50 after i changed about 50 percent .


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## 914joe (Jul 21, 2012)

Yes that is the same tank ,really nice the way you set it up with live plants.How do you clean the bottom of tank with sand ,i have seen videos with a vacuum and grave but not sand.Sorry if that is a stupid question i am new at this ,the reason i am asking i just purchased a 6.6 gallon bookshelf tank for him and it will take awhile for me to figure out all about cycling and what look i want, i plan to keep him in this 2.5 tank for a while until i can get the other tank cycled .I like the look of sand but i don't know witch is easier for a beginner sand or gravel.


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

Thanks! I actually changed the layout before I abandoned this tank for 1.5months. I shall return tomorrow to witness the aftermath.....

And sand isnt hard  place sand in a bucket and fill with the hose on high, so you have a tornado of sorts inside the bucket. this will stir up the lighter dustier particles. when you have enough water, immediately tilt the bucket gently and let the water out. the larger particles will instantly settle. these are the grains you want for your tank . 

sand packs tighter than gravel, and so debris will tend to rest ontop, rather than mixing with the sand. when cleaning, simply hoverr the siphon a distance from the surface of the sand and the gunk will be lifted from the sand surface . I actually find it easier to clean sand :O

6.6g is a great tank! I wish I had the room for one D: I'm guessing that you dot have a filter running in the 2.5? other wise you can probably use the same filter to start the cycle in your 6.6


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## 914joe (Jul 21, 2012)

Thanks for the info on the sand ,i do not have a filter on the 2.5 .I have a whisper 10 air pump that i bought to make one of those biological filters called a moving bed that i have seen on youtube,i have only run it for 2 days so far ,i want to transfer this to my new tank in a couple of weeks to help get the cycle started .I wonder how long it will take for this filter to start to work and if its bad to use in such a small tank.


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

oO never heard of those, so I did some googling. anddddd they are hugggggeeeee.
Why don't you try the good old sponge filters? 

Although I have to say my favorites are HOBs or those internal ones with an adjustable flow. You really don't need a giant thing to cycle a 6.6g tank with one betta =D your 6.6g already provides plenty of room of beneficial bacteria growth and just a small filter can nuke ammonia. I feel like using the moving bed is like using an atomic bomb to kill an ant XD

butbutbut, that said. i think you can make a moving bed filter realllly pretty if you change the container to one with a good shape (rather than a plastic bottle) and put colorful (transparent) media inside. it can be a really awesome aquarium centerpiece. 

oohhhhh and even better if you have colored LED lights shining on it! 

BETTA DISCO! lolol


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## FishyFishy89 (Jul 3, 2011)

Do you want to cycle your tank?
I heard smaller tanks are harder to cycle. I've currently just established my 5.5 gallon. And I started it's cycle back in February.

Aokashi, that is an interesting idea. However, I think it would pull the attention away from the fish.


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## 914joe (Jul 21, 2012)

Yes i want to cycle my tank ,not the 2.5 the 6.6 ,wow i didn't know it took that long to cycle a tank , here is a pic of my new tank the one i want to cycle ,it is not setup,i just put it together to make sure the light works and to check for leaks, i have not checked the filter yet.I still have to get gravel and other things to get this started i am going to take my time as i am new to all this .One question when a tank is cycled does that eliminate the need to do a full water change.Also how do most you guys feel about Aquarium backing paper, for it or against it .


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## FishyFishy89 (Jul 3, 2011)

914joe said:


> Yes i want to cycle my tank ,not the 2.5 the 6.6 ,wow i didn't know it took that long to cycle a tank , here is a pic of my new tank the one i want to cycle ,it is not setup,i just put it together to make sure the light works and to check for leaks, i have not checked the filter yet.I still have to get gravel and other things to get this started i am going to take my time as i am new to all this .One question when a tank is cycled does that eliminate the need to do a full water change.Also how do most you guys feel about Aquarium backing paper, for it or against it .


I perfer to not use aquarium back papers

you still have to do water changes when cycled. cycling depends on how many fish you have in your tank. Alot of users have best luck cycling with fish and live plants.


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## 914joe (Jul 21, 2012)

Does that mean full changes as well.


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## FishyFishy89 (Jul 3, 2011)

914joe said:


> Does that mean full changes as well.


I haven't done a full change in my 5.5
Then again I have TONS of plants in there. And plan to add even more plants. And my weekly water changes range up to 50%. BUT I also have a pleco in there and I'm trying my hardest to make sure ammonia doesn't get a chance to rise 1 digit.


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## Hallyx (Jun 11, 2011)

Even a cycled tank needs a weekly change (30/50%) to remove DOCs (dissolved organic compounds) and replenish minerals. Only a full-on NPT (natural planted tank) requires no changes.


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

NPTs require the same changes actually. Fish are releasing things other than ammonia that plant don't consume. I know some people don't do water changes but really it's for the best, so many things you can't measure..
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## 914joe (Jul 21, 2012)

Thanks FishyFishy89 ,50 % water changes sounds good to me ,i hope to get there with my tank .


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## OrangeAugust (Jul 23, 2012)

FishyFishy89 said:


> I've currently just established my 5.5 gallon. And I started it's cycle back in February.


:shock: :shock:
5 months to establish your tank?! I'm going to start cycling my 5 gallon next week... I might not be able to put my fish and snail in it until January?
Can I cycle a tank with a snail in it? Will that speed it up? Is a fishless cycle slower? Snails are pretty hardy, right? Will it kill a snail if the water chemistry is unstable, or will the snail help the process along?


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## FishyFishy89 (Jul 3, 2011)

OrangeAugust said:


> :shock: :shock:
> 5 months to establish your tank?! I'm going to start cycling my 5 gallon next week... I might not be able to put my fish and snail in it until January?
> Can I cycle a tank with a snail in it? Will that speed it up? Is a fishless cycle slower? Snails are pretty hardy, right? Will it kill a snail if the water chemistry is unstable, or will the snail help the process along?


I had just Spike in my 5.5 gallon for a while. So the cycling process took alot longer than I would of liked.

I'm not sure why you would use a snail over any other fish :/
They all work the same to help cycle a tank not to mention a snail has the right to be just as loved as your betta.


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## OrangeAugust (Jul 23, 2012)

FishyFishy89 said:


> not to mention a snail has the right to be just as loved as your betta.


You're totally right. I just didn't know if snails would be less affected by higher ammonia. I have a concept, which I guess is wrong, that snails are more hardy than betta fish. 
So then a fishless (and snailless) cycle would probably not take as long as would keeping my fish and snail in while I cycled?


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## FishyFishy89 (Jul 3, 2011)

OrangeAugust said:


> You're totally right. I just didn't know if snails would be less affected by higher ammonia. I have a concept, which I guess is wrong, that snails are more hardy than betta fish.
> So then a fishless (and snailless) cycle would probably not take as long as would keeping my fish and snail in while I cycled?


I don't know. I've never tried it. I'm too impatient to go fishless.


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

ramshorns mts and pond snails are pretty resilient to ammonia. but IMO thats just as boring as going fishless. OFL usually says its ok to have a fish in cycle sincle the bioload of a single betta isn't very much at all.


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## Hallyx (Jun 11, 2011)

OrangeAugust said:


> :shock: :shock:
> 5 months to establish your tank?! I'm going to start cycling my 5 gallon next week... I might not be able to put my fish and snail in it until January?


The speed of a cycle is mostly determined by how soon the nitrifying bacteria fall out of the air into your tank. Sounds silly, but it's true.*

Once you have some bacteria, a fishless cycle is faster because you can power-feed the bacteria with >4.0ppm ammonia. 

The justification for a fish-in cycle is that you can have your stock in rhe show tank while it's cycling. The downside is your fish lives longer in a weak ammonia solution. And it takes a lot longer.

You can get the advantages of each by populating your show tank (with lots of water changes) and cycling your filter separately in a spare tank or bucket. Once your filter is cycled, any tank you put it in is effectively cycled.

Including a snail will speed up the cycle a little, once you have bacteria in the tank. They are hardier than most fish and can (in my experience) handle horrific amounts of ammonia.

*For a fast cycle, the most important thing is getting some nitrifying bacteria to kickstart your cycle. Gravel or filter media from an established/cycled tank (just an 1/8 cup of gravel or half a filter sponge) will do it. With this, cycle time can be under two weeks.

Some members are trying Tetra Safestart or Dr Tim's One-and-Only. These are two that I can remember offhand, that have the actual bacteria you need. If you go this route, please get back to me with your results.


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