feel like giving up fish tank! :'(

[loubeardy]

I have been tested to my limit with my tank I researched months before I even bought a tank. I spent ages picking and planting plants and picking out the right substrate. I've spent soooooo much money too. I have been oit a got another filter as the one that came with my tank is rubbish
I spent months researching what fish I should have.
but I have snails, daphnia, worms (my fish store guy says parasitic by my description :'( ) and fresh water sea anemone. I don't know what to do! nothing good has come from my tank so far, other than my Betta.
my mum was saying I shouldn't get a tank... and I hate to say she might be right

 

[nirbhao]

Deep breath!

Snails, in my opinion, are great for planted tanks. I think bettas eat daphnia. The worms, going by your other posts, are planaria, which are harmless. Hydra aren't going to hurt your betta or shrimp.

So you've got extra critters, but none that will hurt your betta.

Filters are worth doing right.

You're okay.

 

[loubeardy]

i feel like its one thing after another. I Google plameria when I first saw it but it didn't seem to fully match up. glad that the rest are ok critters for my tank. i dont know what I did wrong to get so many! but I want my betta to be in a happy tank. he's so cute! he already greets me, and eats from my finger and even swims though my fingers when I make a circle
thank you for calming my nerves some what.
- my new filter is so loud

 

[nirbhao]

Which filter did you get? Do you have a picture of the worms?

 

[loubeardy]

Which filter did you get? Do you have a picture of the worms?

I just comment on your other post on mine (thank you for replying to both!!) I got the hydra 20. it works with using electrodes (I don't get the science of it but my dad was impressed and he has worked with filters for 30 years... not aquarium ones however)
no picture of the worms... they are very small, lava like, white and in my substrate. I have a video of the daphnia whizzing around!

 

[nirbhao]

I wonder if the live daphnia are too fast for your betta.

Do you vacuum your gravel when you do water changes?

 

[loubeardy]

they probabaly are. I got a vacuum today and it was disasterous! I just made a complete mess of my tank lol

 

[loubeardy]

I've been doing water changes rather frequently as it's still a new tank and nitrites spiked when I added betta to it

 

[nirbhao]

they probabaly are. I got a vacuum today and it was disasterous! I just made a complete mess of my tank lol

What's your substrate? Over sand, I drag the lip backwards just above the sand. With the gravel, I stick it straight up and down and leave it in place until no more detritus comes up then lift it straight up so the gravel falls right back down. You can never do the whole bottom of the tank at one time, but that's okay!

I've been doing water changes rather frequently as it's still a new tank and nitrites spiked when I added betta to it

Ugh nitrites are such a pain. It takes them forever to get under control. I managed to uncycle both of my established tanks thanks to high levels of chloramine in my tap water, and I feel like they will never be zero again.

 

[loubeardy]

I have growpro I think it's called... it's substrate made for plants... iys like brown tint balls!
they really are. though the new filter, despite being loud, has already dropped my nitrites and nitrates... rather impressed actaully! although I think the flow is too strong for Betta so may invest in the smaller one. (I wonder if they'd exchange a used filter with receipt...)

 

[daisybug]

Hi there. I have been working with freshwater aquariums for a long time, and have experienced exactly what you have been going through. You probably have what are called detritus worms. They live in the substrate, and are due to overfeeding. Planaria are from the same overfeeding, and it is possible you have both. The detritus worms look like white threads and usually hang out in the substrate unless you stir them up, or they get hungry. Then they swim through the water column in a wiggle fashion. They don't hurt anything but are unsightly and an indication of a bigger water quality issue.

Hydra are another issue. They can hurt fish because they sting. They can get out of hand very quickly and move about. You can get rid of them rather easily with a dog dewormer called Fenben (you can get at petsmart). I have used that with great success. It also kills the detritus worms and planaria.

Don't get discouraged. What you are experiencing now, every aquarist has dealt with at some point or another. It is usually from getting snails, plants or fish from a LFS which had them in their tank (hitchhikers).

Good luck, and let me know if you have any questions.

 

[loubeardy]

it can't be from over feeding as I hand feed my betta.... I watch him eat each bit I give him at a time. none the less they are still there!
fen Ben? I've not heard of that... is it available in the UK? also, I just got a new filter. the hysra5 series that works via electrodes. I know that parasite treatment that contains copper sreacts badly in the filter and ends up killing the fish :/ do you know of the dewormer will have the same effect? is there any other way to get rid of them. thwy are out of hand... up till today I though they were just bits of plants I had no idea they were living or dangerous to my fish
thank you for the advice I asked my local fosh store how to get rid of them (after he told me what they were) and he said you don't!

 

[daisybug]

fenbendazole - it is a dog dewormer that comes in powdered form. There are dosing instructions available on this forum to treat an aquarium. It will kill nerite snails, but is safe for fish and shrimp. They can even eat it, and it won't hurt them. However, you will see a dramatic reduction in your invertebrate pests (hydra and worms). The detritus worms won't hurt your fish. Neither will the planaria. It is the hydra I would be concerned with. You can step up with the water changes and vacuum the substrate in the meantime to help with the worms (they will reduce over time). You may never see them after you get the numbers under control. They live off of the brown gunk in the substrate (mulm).

Sorry, I don't know what is available in the UK. I am in the US.

 

[loubeardy]

I done a quick Google and if I get some mollies they would eat the hydra? I'm beginning to think love plants was a just mistake... I'm pretty sure it's the dead leaves which is feeding my critters very tempted to redo the whole tank and out in some silk plants. maybe keep my grass as Betta seems to like that. and maybe my broad leafed plant. but I can't do that cause I'll still be using containment water :/ it's never ending!

 

[nirbhao]

Don't add fish to treat the symptoms of a problem. I clearly don't know enough about hydra to guide you.

Live plants are great for tanks. Try to get dead leaves out every day or two.

 

[TMaier]

Suck it up! If you can't suck it up then your not hooked on aquariums to the point where it will ever be worth your effort. They aren't easy and they are time consuming money pits. You have to LOVE it so much that you want to try harder when you hit a hurdle, not quit.

 

[loubeardy]

Suck it up! If you can't suck it up then your not hooked on aquariums to the point where it will ever be worth your effort. They aren't easy and they are time consuming money pits. You have to LOVE it so much that you want to try harder when you hit a hurdle, not quit.

maybe you're right... I'll see this Betta threw and then I'll stop.

 

[nirbhao]

maybe you're right... I'll see this Betta threw and then I'll stop.

You don't have to decide right now. Give the betta the best life you can.

 

[loubeardy]

You don't have to decide right now. Give the betta the best life you can.

I won't give up on my betta. he is too awesome I spent the best part of 5 hours on my tank today.... have removed the entire substrate and emptied the tank complety so should be critter free now. I have also ( ) taken out some of my plants.... although I loved the set up the tank was so heavily planted that I didn't know how to keep it clean. Betta and shrimp are back in the tank and swimming around as theu did before (I saved some of his original water and he has his original decorations and filter so fingers crossed they'll be OK!) (tank is still cloudy from me changing it up!)
thank you so much for your support... it is much appreciated

 

[nirbhao]

It's a very pretty tank.