bettamom
Aquarium Advice Newbie
Hi, I'm brand new here and not sure if I should start a new thread or not.
My daughter got a male betta and a Fluval Edge 6g tank for Christmas. We are new to aquarium keeping and did not know about cycling until after we got the tank.
We are religiously testing water and doing PWCs. Ammonia has been at .25 (but no higher) a couple of times and we still aren't seeing any nitrites or nitrates. pH is 7.2. We have a few live plants, a few natural rocks and the Fluval Edge kind of Asian looking planter thing that the betta likes to go behind. Substrate is CaribSea Naturals sand. We have a heater and keep the tank at 78 degrees. We use Prime with each PWC, changing 30%-50% a couple of times a week.
Until today the betta (his name is Alpha, btw) was looking great. Very social and active. He jumps to take food off my daughter's finger. (We are very careful about rinsing our hands thoroughly to make sure we do not get soap residue in tank.) Starting yesterday I noticed he was hiding more often than not and today I caught a glimpse of his tail (he is a half-moon betta) and noticed it looks a little torn or ragged. (Trying to attach a pic from a few days ago before fin looked bad. I can't get a good pic of him right now.)
HELP! We LOVE this fish. Please let us know what to do about his tail, how to tell the difference between rot and an injury, and if there is something different we should be doing with the cycling of the tank. Also, FYI, he is alone in the tank.
Any help or advice would be appreciated. Thanks.
My daughter got a male betta and a Fluval Edge 6g tank for Christmas. We are new to aquarium keeping and did not know about cycling until after we got the tank.
We are religiously testing water and doing PWCs. Ammonia has been at .25 (but no higher) a couple of times and we still aren't seeing any nitrites or nitrates. pH is 7.2. We have a few live plants, a few natural rocks and the Fluval Edge kind of Asian looking planter thing that the betta likes to go behind. Substrate is CaribSea Naturals sand. We have a heater and keep the tank at 78 degrees. We use Prime with each PWC, changing 30%-50% a couple of times a week.
Until today the betta (his name is Alpha, btw) was looking great. Very social and active. He jumps to take food off my daughter's finger. (We are very careful about rinsing our hands thoroughly to make sure we do not get soap residue in tank.) Starting yesterday I noticed he was hiding more often than not and today I caught a glimpse of his tail (he is a half-moon betta) and noticed it looks a little torn or ragged. (Trying to attach a pic from a few days ago before fin looked bad. I can't get a good pic of him right now.)
HELP! We LOVE this fish. Please let us know what to do about his tail, how to tell the difference between rot and an injury, and if there is something different we should be doing with the cycling of the tank. Also, FYI, he is alone in the tank.
Any help or advice would be appreciated. Thanks.
