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My beta

Hi,
I have a question whether or not to use saop when cleaning out my 2 gallon goldfish bowl that I keep my beta in. I currently use a algae scrubber for fear of contamination, then that leading to poisoning with the soap. The soap is the liquid hand cleaner that kills 99.9% of bacteria, blah blah blah......is it O.K. to use? Thanks,
Kevin
 
Are you doing a 100% water change or a partial. There are necessary bacteria forms in the water and on the bowl. Without these bacteria the fish can become ill and die. I would suggest not using the soap and just scrub off the algae.
 
agreed. Just use an algae scrubber on it. Soap, if it gets back in the water, will stress out your fish at the least, artificial scents and such. At worst, it could form a coating over your fish's gills (not entirely sure about this) but it is NEVER advised to introduce foreign chemicals into your tank unless they are proscibed in the trade (medicines, de-chlorinators)

If your having a build up of hard water or something that is effecting the beauty of the tank, you can use vinegar (obviously not while the fish is in it&#33
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Beneficial bacteria are great, but you probably don't have enough in that bowl to make a difference. BUt here is a tip, algae needs nutrients to grow, and nutrients usually come from your fish! in a 2 gallon bowl you should be changing a large amount of water every week, or maybe a cup of water every day. THis should reduce the nutrient load in your tank and help you control the algae.

Do you have gravel in the tank? if you do, and you want to slow the return of your algae, you can nuke it in the microwave (as long as no metal is present.) this will sterilize it, you'll need to wait for it to cool before re-adding it of course. and wash it again. This will kill beneficial bacteria as well though.

FInally.. an important question... what color is the algae? sometimes, just giving it less light will work, unless it is a bacterial growth some equate to algae but is not... brown and other colors should be aggressively fought, while green, is ugly, it gives your fish a garden salad to nibble on every now and again.
 
wow, thanks alot guys, i will not use soap, and just my little algae scrubber, oh, i do have fish gravel stuff too, thanks again,
                              Kevin
 
Hi,

Ditto on the no soap. It leaves a film and is unnecessary. If algae is a problem you might try growing aquatic bladderwort with your Betta or some other easy to grow floating plant -- najas, duckweed, java moss, java fern (tie it to a small piece of sinking driftwood) to use up the nutrients in the water. If you have bright light then water sprite is a good floating plant and very pretty. Bettas love to build their nests in clumps of floating plants. Is your water soft and acid or hard and alkaline? The water sprite likes soft acid water, like the java moss and java fern do. The najas and duckweed like almost any water -- just like the Betta.
Do you ever feed your Betta insects? They love mosquitos, mosquito larvae, tiny cricketts, wingless fruitflies and, though not an insect, daphnia (water "fleas") -- which the bladderwort would like too, especially the tiny baby daphnia. Daphnia is easy to grow. Use D. magna as it is real easy. Daphnia moina is smaller and easy to grow too.

Bobby
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oops, also the soap can remove the beneficial "slimey" coating from the fish's body. This coating protects the fish. If the little fishy has a good coating a "slime" it is a sign of the fish being healthy. Now you all now about why the fish is so ickky feeling when you take it off the hook
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Oh, did I say that....I would not be so cruel as to catch a fish on a hook...
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my Oscar lives in fear of getting to an edible size
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also, it shouldnt be called goldfish bowls, since goldfish get about the size of a medium koi, and breath o2 from the water!!! Not the air like bettas!!!

You could always just use a paper towel to clean the bowl.
 
Maybe I can help out here.

I have 5 bettas, all in separate one gallon tanks.

It is NOT a good idea to use soap! It contains phosphates that are lethal to fish.

What is recommended is a 100% water change, and to rinse the bowl and all its contents (minus fish, you put him woth some of the old water in a little cup to hold him in) in HOT water. this should kill off some of the bacteria.

I also have a website that can help you out...


www.healthybeta.com

I go there a lot, learning about my bettas too.
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I agree! NEVER use soap! Good luck!
 
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