godzilla1922
Aquarium Advice Newbie
1~What type of fish is afflicted? In addition, please describe what is wrong with the fish to the best of your ability (i.e. cotton like growth, bloated, etc.).
I have a copper halfmoon male betta who is displaying signs of fin rot (I think). I bought him from Pet Warehouse (he was way more than the other betta and he is absolutely gorgeous!! His name is Donnie. I had him in a small .5 gallon bowl before doing more research and realizing how miserable he was in there. Moved him up to a 2.5, still seemed small so now he is in a Fluval Chi 5 gallon. When he was in the 2.5, I had a cheap heater (that i have now replaced with a much nicer, more expensive heater). The cheap heater I suspected burnt the top of his fins. That was the only place I noticed his fins getting scraggly and it literally happened overnight.
Beforehand, I bought a master pH kit and have been doing daily checks on the 2.5, the ammonia got up too 1.0ppm one day but I quickly did a water change. Water changes were every other day in .5, in the 2.5, when ammonia started to show up but 1-2 times a week.
I did a quick cycle on the 5 gallon tank with nutrafin cycle and put him in there (after acclimating him with the drip method...took a while). He was in there with silk plants. The heater was set to 81 degrees but the thermo on the otherside of the tank says 76 degrees. I was doing water changes every couple of days depending on what the pH kit said.
I put a background on the back of the aquarium and that was a huge mistake. I noticed him flaring at his reflection but didn't really comprehend what he was doing until the next day when he was still in the same spot, still flaring!! Did some research and figured out it was the poster. Removed it and he stopped. The only thing is that now the scraggly fins on top now were split pretty far up his fins. He is dark and I really can't tell if the tips of his fins are black as they change color from every angle. I also removed the silk plants and now have live plants...which have only been in there for 48 hours.
So I did what any newbie who is unexperienced does and searched the internet for answers. Freaked out with what I read (my roommate has a betta who went through hell and back with fin rot as did my roommate but she has a first aid kit of sorts with all these different medications (about 7 different meds in there). Didnt realize that aquarium salt was probably the best way to go...instead I have treated the tank with tetracycline and I am wondering if that was a mistake. We have pretty hard water, calcium deposit are pretty prevalent. My filter is off as well as the lights. I will change the water tomorrow (25%) and i have one more does to give him. I was wondering what the implications of my ignorance will be....am I hurting him, will I kill the plants? He is swimming around and even started making a bubble nest in the back of the tank (but has stopped since I added the other half of the meds...had to cut them in half as it was for a 10 gallon tank). He just kind of hangs at the top of the tank now. I would like some info on what I need to do now and what I can do in the future to prevent it and proper precautions to take. I really care for Donnie, love at first site kind of thing but he was a total impulse buy and I didn't do my research before bringing him home
I just don't want my inexperience hurting him. I sometimes feel I worry too much and I just need to leave him alone but I can't help it. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
2~What are your tank parameters (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, temp, pH)? Please give exact values.
Tank is not fully cycled, when ammonia rises, water change.....nitrites and nitrates are zero.
3~ How large is the tank? How long has the tank been set up? 5 gallons...maybe a week.
4~What type of filtration are you using? Please give the name and number (i.e. Fluval 304) and amount of gph if known. Its a Fluval Chi 5 gallon, unsure
5~How many fish are in the tank? What kinds of fish are they and what are their current sizes? ONE!!!
6~When is the last time you did a water change and vacuum the gravel? How often do you do this? How much water do you remove at a time? 50% when ammonia is indicated. Do daily tests with master pH kit..ammonia, nitrites and nitrates
7~How long have you had the fish? If the fish is new, how did you acclimate it/them? 3 weeks maybe
8~Have you added anything new to the tank--decor, new dechlorinator, new substrate, etc.? Live plants...every water change, dechlorinator is added and water is warmed (with cheapy heater) before adding to main tank.
9~What kind of food have you been feeding your fish, have you changed their diet recently? Betta Bio-gold and he has no problem eating...only feed him 4-5 pellets two times a day.
I have a copper halfmoon male betta who is displaying signs of fin rot (I think). I bought him from Pet Warehouse (he was way more than the other betta and he is absolutely gorgeous!! His name is Donnie. I had him in a small .5 gallon bowl before doing more research and realizing how miserable he was in there. Moved him up to a 2.5, still seemed small so now he is in a Fluval Chi 5 gallon. When he was in the 2.5, I had a cheap heater (that i have now replaced with a much nicer, more expensive heater). The cheap heater I suspected burnt the top of his fins. That was the only place I noticed his fins getting scraggly and it literally happened overnight.
Beforehand, I bought a master pH kit and have been doing daily checks on the 2.5, the ammonia got up too 1.0ppm one day but I quickly did a water change. Water changes were every other day in .5, in the 2.5, when ammonia started to show up but 1-2 times a week.
I did a quick cycle on the 5 gallon tank with nutrafin cycle and put him in there (after acclimating him with the drip method...took a while). He was in there with silk plants. The heater was set to 81 degrees but the thermo on the otherside of the tank says 76 degrees. I was doing water changes every couple of days depending on what the pH kit said.
I put a background on the back of the aquarium and that was a huge mistake. I noticed him flaring at his reflection but didn't really comprehend what he was doing until the next day when he was still in the same spot, still flaring!! Did some research and figured out it was the poster. Removed it and he stopped. The only thing is that now the scraggly fins on top now were split pretty far up his fins. He is dark and I really can't tell if the tips of his fins are black as they change color from every angle. I also removed the silk plants and now have live plants...which have only been in there for 48 hours.
So I did what any newbie who is unexperienced does and searched the internet for answers. Freaked out with what I read (my roommate has a betta who went through hell and back with fin rot as did my roommate but she has a first aid kit of sorts with all these different medications (about 7 different meds in there). Didnt realize that aquarium salt was probably the best way to go...instead I have treated the tank with tetracycline and I am wondering if that was a mistake. We have pretty hard water, calcium deposit are pretty prevalent. My filter is off as well as the lights. I will change the water tomorrow (25%) and i have one more does to give him. I was wondering what the implications of my ignorance will be....am I hurting him, will I kill the plants? He is swimming around and even started making a bubble nest in the back of the tank (but has stopped since I added the other half of the meds...had to cut them in half as it was for a 10 gallon tank). He just kind of hangs at the top of the tank now. I would like some info on what I need to do now and what I can do in the future to prevent it and proper precautions to take. I really care for Donnie, love at first site kind of thing but he was a total impulse buy and I didn't do my research before bringing him home
I just don't want my inexperience hurting him. I sometimes feel I worry too much and I just need to leave him alone but I can't help it. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thank you!2~What are your tank parameters (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, temp, pH)? Please give exact values.
Tank is not fully cycled, when ammonia rises, water change.....nitrites and nitrates are zero.
3~ How large is the tank? How long has the tank been set up? 5 gallons...maybe a week.
4~What type of filtration are you using? Please give the name and number (i.e. Fluval 304) and amount of gph if known. Its a Fluval Chi 5 gallon, unsure
5~How many fish are in the tank? What kinds of fish are they and what are their current sizes? ONE!!!
6~When is the last time you did a water change and vacuum the gravel? How often do you do this? How much water do you remove at a time? 50% when ammonia is indicated. Do daily tests with master pH kit..ammonia, nitrites and nitrates
7~How long have you had the fish? If the fish is new, how did you acclimate it/them? 3 weeks maybe
8~Have you added anything new to the tank--decor, new dechlorinator, new substrate, etc.? Live plants...every water change, dechlorinator is added and water is warmed (with cheapy heater) before adding to main tank.
9~What kind of food have you been feeding your fish, have you changed their diet recently? Betta Bio-gold and he has no problem eating...only feed him 4-5 pellets two times a day.
