How to Care for your Betta and Aquaponics

Aquaponics is the process of growing plants and fish in a symbiotic relationship

-The fish releases ammonium as waist in the water. If the level of ammonium gets too high the fish will die

-This is why fish tanks need a filter or the water to be changed

-Plants need to be fed Nitrates to grow

-In our hydroponic tanks we add nitrates to the water

-In an aquaponic system bacteria brakes down the ammonium expelled by the fish and turns it into nitrates

-The plant absorbs the nitrates and water to grow

-In this way the fish is creating the nutrients for the plant and the plant is filtering the water for the fish

Since the plant is absorbing the waist of the fish the water will not get dirty as fast as a normal fish bowl

-However to keep the water clean and the fish happy it is still best to do some routine cleaning

-Half of the water should be changed once a week

-If the plant is doing a good job of keeping the water clear then half of the water can be changed every 2 weeks

Keeping the water clean and your fish safe at the same time

Fish can be very sensitive animals and they can be harmed very easily

-A betta fish will go into shock if the water temperature changes too fast

-A betta will also go into shock if there is chlorine in the water

-Many times tap water will not hurt your betta but it is not worth the risk

-There is chlorine in tap water

-The amount of chlorine found in tap water fluctuates

In order to change your betta's water remember to use distilled or bottled water

The water has to be the same temperature as the water in your betta's bowl

-A good way to make sure the water is the same temperature is to leave the clean water in the same room as the betta's bowl this way they will both be room temperature

It is a good idea to only change half of the water at a time that way the Betta is not introduced to completely new water.

Feeding

The more you feed your Betta the faster the water will get dirty

-A good schedule is to feed your Betta every other day

-If your Betta lives in an office or classroom it is okay to feed it Monday, Wednesday, Friday

-The Betta will be fine without food over the weekend

-Just a pinch of food will do

-If the Betta does not eat all of the food in 5 minutes then it was too much food