Advice for new beta tank please (filter too stong?)

MorningI am very new to the fish-keeping world and am setting up my first aquarium. I want to keep a Beta splendens/siamese fighter for the first month or so while the tank cycles then slowly add a few other compatible fish from then. I have a Juwell Korral 60 aquarium (54 liters) with a bioflow super filter 3.0 as well as a 100W heater set to 25-26 degrees. I am measuring the water parameters this afternoon. I checked With the man in the pet shop that the filter would OT be too strong for the Beta and he assured me it was fine. That said, when I checked on my fish this morning after his first night in the tank, he seemed to be struggling with the current flow and was hiding behind the filter box. Once I turned the filter off he seemed much happier and was swimming around much more and just looked happier. What should I do? Is my filter too strong? I want to get me Beta a cave or something to hide in but stock in the pet shop was limited when I looked so will try to get it at the weekend. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

 

Also, I read somewhere that you can it extra sponges or something in the filter to make it less forceful, should I try this?

 

did your filter come with a spray bar? if so, aim the bar so that it's close to, and parallel with one of the long sides of the aquarium, and with the spray aimed at the glass.
that should buffer the flow enough for your betta.

they dont do well in even moderate current. they're bred for looking pretty, not swimming well

 

Not that I know of. You get filters with valves to adjust the flow rate. Do you have a picture of the filter? It sounds like a Powerhead filter. You could add a spray bar as @Anine has mentioned or get a bend and aim the current upward towards the surface. Bettas don't like strong current.

For the cycling get some bacteria to add in the filter. Try something in the line of Seachem Stability or Nutrafin cycle. This will help with your cycle process. And try not to overfeed the fish. Too much food will result in rotting and more fish waste which will in turn produce ammonia. Seeing that your tank is not cycled yet this will be detrimental to the Betta's health because there is no bacteria to help fight the nasties. (Nitrates etc.) Try to do frequent water changes. And don't forget to treat the water prior to adding to the tank. Use something like Aquasafe or Seachem prime to remove chlorine.

Good luck with the tank.

 

Ok I tend to disagree slightly with the fact that they don't like strong flow. As long as the flow is not over the top they are all fine. My boys (I keep 3 in 3 different tanks) all love their filters. They play in the flow stream. Constantly swimming into it and go streaming across the tank. Some of them just need time to adjust to the new environments, it takes some of my boys 2 or 3 days before they explore the whole tank. You can baffle the filter if you want to like the guys described. As for a cave, I just used a terracotta pot that I glued the hole at the bottom shut. Otherwise just add some driftwood to the tank to create some breaks in the flow for him.

 

Thanks. I used a dechlorinator and added something to help with the bacteria and nitrogen cycle (I can't remember what it is called at the moment) that the pet shop recommended. I'll play around with the filter and see how he does. I have got some plants in a corner which he seems to enjoy. Thanks for the help!