Can I sit tap water for a day or so, and then it'll be fine for my beta?

Question

My betta (which I got yesterday, first fish ever) is currently in a 1/2 gallon bowl.

I have a 5 gallon tank in my basement.

If I fill that up with tap water and let it sit for a day, will the water then be fine for my fishy?

If I have to get dechlorinter, I'll have to wait until sunday to get it and frankly I really don't want my fish in this bowl for much longer.

(The water is kind of hard here, but I can get the water from my fridge which is filtered. Or will it matter since it will sit for a day?)

Answer 1

i put the dechlorinator in then let it sit for a day,

if i dont put it in then i let it sit for at least a week or 3- 4 days

Answer 2

The chlorine should dissipate if you set it out opened for at least 24 hours. I used to have 37 bettas each in their own gallon tank. I didn't use heaters in them because I kept my house warm enough in the winter for them. I only heated the tank when I was breeding.

I think your betta is lucky to have his own 5 gallon tank! You're a good fish parent! :o)

P.S. I think it was Amquel that I used IN ADDITION to letting the water sit out for 24 hours. There are some very active betta forums out there that might be very helpful to you like http://www.bettabuddies.com/ . WARNING! BETTAS CAN BE ADDICTIVE! I love them, but don't have time to devote to them right now but someday...

Answer 3

no u cant u need a filter as well as a heater read up in books bout the animals before u buy them dont just nuy them on impulse

Answer 4

I say for now let it sit, and after 24 hours put him in. But on sunda you should get the dechlorinator, so water changes will go faster.=)

Answer 5

NO!! it is correct that if you let water sit out in  open containers for 24hrs, the chlorine will dissipate- well, MOST of it anyways. the fact is chloramine and heavey metals still all stay there. your fishy will be fine in the 1/ gallon for a few more days=]

Answer 6

If you want to use tap water, go buy a tap water conditioner from a pet store - let that settle for a day or so, then add your fish. Otherwise, just go get a jub of distilled water (less that $1 at wal-mart), let it set till it reaches room temperature, then add fish!

Answer 7

No. That will not work. I actually tried it once and then put my Pleco in there and it lost some of its color. What you have to do is either buy a dechlorinter (i use 'TetraAqua AquaSafe', which is only like $4 or $5) or u can use water that is drinkible, like the fridge water that you said that was filtered, but i wouldn't recommend it, it's not worth taking the risk. But I strongly recommend using the 'TetraAqua Aquasafe' dechlorinter, becuase it "neutralizes Chlorine, Chloramines, and heavy metals harmful for fish" and it also helps the fish.

Answer 8

Letting the water sit out for a day will allow the chlorine to dissipate, but there is chloramine in most tap water as well.  Chloramine is far more stable and will remain in the water even if it is allowed to outgas.  You NEED a dechlorinator that will remove both chlorine and chloramine (Amquel Plus, Prime, others).

Hard water isn't a problem for Bettas, but if it's REALLY hard, you may want to use half softened water (from the fridge) and half unsoftened water (probably from a bathroom faucet).  Technically, the water will be "safe", but within the week, you will start to see ammonia levels rise, as it hasn't cycled (the process by which bacteria that oxidize ammonia to less toxic compounds colonize the tank) yet.  Get an ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate test kit and monitor your levels (start with ammonia, and when you see ammonia levels stabilize, begin testing nitrite, when nitrite stabilizes, start testing nitrate) very closely for the first month.  Ammonia is a byproduct of decomposing matter (p**p, extra food, etc.) and respiration, and will need to be kept around .5 ppm for the first couple weeks (after that, levels should stabilize at 0 ppm).  Bacteria (that you WANT) will convert it to nitrite, which is also very harmful to fish.  Until you see the ammonia levels start to drop, there will not be nitrite.  A second colony of bacteria will grow in the filter and elsewhere in the tank that will convert nitrite to almost nontoxic nitrate.  Once both ammonia and nitrite are at 0 ppm, the tank will have officially cycled and can be deemed fish safe.

Basically, all you need to do is maintain ammonia and nitrite levels of .5 ppm or less until they both drop to 0 ppm.  You can do this by changing the water as needed (this may mean every few days).