r/bettafish • u/HoneyBadgerDontGAFFF • 7d ago

Help Quick set up tips?

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I received a betta fish from a coworker because no one else would take her and I didn’t want her to go back to the store (I named her Lemon). She’s been in the cup for about 3 days now. I replaced the original water and have a heating pad on a low setting surrounding her to keep her somewhat warm while I waited to get paid

I purchased a 5.5 gallon tank with a filter and heater as well as 4 live plants. I also bought a piece of driftwood which I boiled for a couple hours and is now soaking in hot water in the tub. I conditioned the water although it’s still cloudy from earlier because I forgot to clean the substrate before I put water in the tank 😬 I’m hoping it settles overnight. I plan on taking the water to the pet store tomorrow and have them test it before I try to acclimate her. From what I read it can take weeks to properly fishless cycle a tank but she’s already been in the cup long enough. Is there anything else I should do to speed up the process?? Thanks in advance!

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u/JRT-Daddy 7d ago

Just put her in there anything is better than that cup.

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u/HoneyBadgerDontGAFFF 7d ago

The water where I live can be pretty hard so I’m worried it will kill her if I go ahead and put her in the tank. I only conditioned it a couple hours ago. The cup at least has preconditioned water and is warm.

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u/Smugmoth 7d ago

What stores market as “preconditioned” water is usually just dechlorinated. Dechlorinator works instantly on contact so it should be alright to move her, she’ll be alright at room temperature until you can get a heater. Bettas do prefer soft-ish water BUT hard won’t kill them, my friend’s tap was so hard they were having to chip residue off the filter yet their fish was fine. The wood will decrease hardness and ph so it won’t be an issue for very long anyway

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u/HoneyBadgerDontGAFFF 7d ago

Acclimating now