I had 2 betta fish die.

[pettygil]

I had 2 betta fish die. I did water checks almost every day. Which had high ammonia. What should I do now? Should I get another Betta, or wait? I have two 6.5 gallon tanks. I have no more bettas. They were in sep tanks, I had one male and 1 female. Every time I use fritz complete my fish die. I am not going to use it anymore. I know the high ammonia did not help. I did water 50 percent changes every week.

 

[Colin_T]

What is fritz complete?

How long have the tanks been set up for?

I would leave them until they have 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite, then drain and refill with dechlorinated water, wait a few days and try different fish or shrimp.

 

[Andy Sager]

I had 2 betta fish die. I did water checks almost every day. Which had high ammonia. What should I do now? Should I get another Betta, or wait? I have two 6.5 gallon tanks. I have no more bettas. They were in sep tanks, I had one male and 1 female. Every time I use fritz complete my fish die. I am not going to use it anymore. I know the high ammonia did not help. I did water 50 percent changes every week.

In thinking over your history, you need to find a better water source if you plan on keeping more Bettas or using those 6.5 gal tanks. In the bigger tank, there is more biological filter bed present so that when you have that much ammonia present after the water change, it can catch up to it more quickly. In the smaller tanks, not as large of a biological filter bed so the effects of larger water changes are felt more by the fish. I would suggest using bottled SPRING water for the Bettas vs your tap. Unless you are over feeding, there is no need to change more than 1 gallon of water weekly of the bottled water. That should be more than enough to keep the water fresh, the nitrates down and the fish healthy in the 6.5 gal tanks. To help even further, you can add some low light live plants that will help absorb the nitrates being produced. If you use bottled spring water, there will be no need to use any dechlorinators or conditioners other than products like Seachem's PRIME or Kordon's Novaqua which will add slime to the water to help the fish.
At this point, you can let the tanks continue to run and test for ammonia and nitrite and when they both reach zero, you can do a large water change using the bottled water to reduce the nitrate present then you can add new fish to them. This will have no effect on the existing biological filter bed so no need to add more Fritzyme when you add the new fish. Once your readings are zero again, your biological bed will be fully functioning for the ammonia present.
I believe I mentioned this before, your tap water has too much chloramine that when you detoxify it, it leaves too much ammonia in that small a volume of water.

 

[ADsnail]

There's also this. It's the only thing I add to the changing water each week for my betta tanks. I use filtered water as my tap water is not good.

 

[Andy Sager]

There's also this. It's the only thing I add to the changing water each week for my betta tanks. I use filtered water as my tap water is not good.

Is your filter a house filter or are you buying filtered water?
In Pettygil's case, the chloramine remover she's been using has left the water with ammonium so when the Ph changes, it becomes ammonia. By using spring water, nothing like chlorine or chloramine is added to it which would solve her problem.
When you buy filtered water, it's usually treated with chemicals then the chemicals are removed ( hopefully). When you buy spring water, the water is usually only treated with Ozone so no chemicals are involved which makes that water safer for the fish. No additional chemicals are necessary other than some added slime protection.

 

[pettygil]

When I leave my tap water alone, the ammonia goes down

Is your filter a house filter or are you buying filtered water?
In Pettygil's case, the chloramine remover she's been using has left the water with ammonium so when the Ph changes, it becomes ammonia. By using spring water, nothing like chlorine or chloramine is added to it which would solve her problem.
When you buy filtered water, it's usually treated with chemicals then the chemicals are removed ( hopefully). When you buy spring water, the water is usually only treated with Ozone so no chemicals are involved which makes that water safer for the fish. No additional chemicals are necessary other than some added slime protection.

When I leave my tap water alone, the ammonia goes down. I can buy some drinking water like spring water. I did check my tank today and the ammonia is 0. before it was like light green, instead of yellow which means 0 ammonia. I'm going to buy spring water to be used for my betta. Thanks for your help. I did buy another betta, so i got to be careful of my water. Also my nitrates are fine, a little high but nothin to be worried about. Well of to the store to buy spring water.

 

[pettygil]

When I leave my tap water alone, the ammonia goes down

Is your filter a house filter or are you buying filtered water?
In Pettygil's case, the chloramine remover she's been using has left the water with ammonium so when the Ph changes, it becomes ammonia. By using spring water, nothing like chlorine or chloramine is added to it which would solve her problem.
When you buy filtered water, it's usually treated with chemicals then the chemicals are removed ( hopefully). When you buy spring water, the water is usually only treated with Ozone so no chemicals are involved which makes that water safer for the fish. No additional chemicals are necessary other than some added slime protection.

When I leave my tap water alone, the ammonia goes down. I can buy some drinking water like spring water. I did check my tank today and the ammonia is 0. before it was like light green, instead of yellow which means 0 ammonia. I'm going to buy spring water to be used for my betta. Thanks for your help. I did buy another betta, so i got to be careful of my water. Also my nitrates are fine, a little high but nothin to be worried about. Well of to the store to buy spring water.

 

[Andy Sager]

When I leave my tap water alone, the ammonia goes down. I can buy some drinking water like spring water. I did check my tank today and the ammonia is 0. before it was like light green, instead of yellow which means 0 ammonia. I'm going to buy spring water to be used for my betta. Thanks for your help. I did buy another betta, so i got to be careful of my water. Also my nitrates are fine, a little high but nothin to be worried about. Well of to the store to buy spring water.

As long as you are getting good water with no nitrates, ammonia or nitrites, I'd do a partial ( or major, depending on whether the nitrate level is above 20PPM) water change just to reduce the level to as close to 0 as possible for starters.
What I believe was happening is that since the tank was small and the "bioload" was small ( 1 small fish), the biological bed is very small so any additional ammonia/ ammonium from your source water just causes the bed to grow until it outgrows the amount of ammonia/ammonium. HOWEVER, it will always die back when the ammonia/ammonium level reduces which is why it's not always easy to keep small Betta only tanks stable. So to reduce the fluctuating ammonia/ammonium levels in the tank, you need to use water that doesn't have any of it. As I said, Spring water is the best choice for this.
Also keep in mind that since the amount of waste being produced by such a small fish is low, the water quality will take time to decay in a 6.5 gal tank so there really isn't a need for massive water changes unless you are over feeding. This is a very different situation than your 29 gal with many fish in it. This is why you need to treat the tanks differently. Some low light level plants can also help keep the nitrate level low as well. If you like Pothos, a lot of people keep them near their tanks so that the roots are in the aquarium and absorbing the nitrates. Just another way to help reduce your need to change large volumes of water. Water changes are still necessary but the volume of the change can be lower at each change.

 

[pettygil]

As long as you are getting good water with no nitrates, ammonia or nitrites, I'd do a partial ( or major, depending on whether the nitrate level is above 20PPM) water change just to reduce the level to as close to 0 as possible for starters.
What I believe was happening is that since the tank was small and the "bioload" was small ( 1 small fish), the biological bed is very small so any additional ammonia/ ammonium from your source water just causes the bed to grow until it outgrows the amount of ammonia/ammonium. HOWEVER, it will always die back when the ammonia/ammonium level reduces which is why it's not always easy to keep small Betta only tanks stable. So to reduce the fluctuating ammonia/ammonium levels in the tank, you need to use water that doesn't have any of it. As I said, Spring water is the best choice for this.
Also keep in mind that since the amount of waste being produced by such a small fish is low, the water quality will take time to decay in a 6.5 gal tank so there really isn't a need for massive water changes unless you are over feeding. This is a very different situation than your 29 gal with many fish in it. This is why you need to treat the tanks differently. Some low light level plants can also help keep the nitrate level low as well. If you like Pothos, a lot of people keep them near their tanks so that the roots are in the aquarium and absorbing the nitrates. Just another way to help reduce your need to change large volumes of water. Water changes are still necessary but the volume of the change can be lower at each change.

I just checked my nitrates again and was 0, also my ammonia is 0. I did add a little bit of drinking water, so maybe that helped, some. I need to buy some more, spring water. thanks for your help. My fishes thank you to. I am not over feeding, so that is not the issue. I bought a full moon beta, really pretty, just one male betta. My Nitrites are also 0. I did not add that much clean drinking water. And I seen my colors came down, which is a good down, I will just add drinking water for the smaller tank. In my 40 gallon I do not have this problem. I put close to 1 gallon water in my 6.5 gallon tank. The drinking water and it did help a lot. what is: How much is 101.4 Oz is that a gallon?

 

[Andy Sager]

I just checked my nitrates again and was 0, also my ammonia is 0. I did add a little bit of drinking water, so maybe that helped, some. I need to buy some more, spring water. thanks for your help. My fishes thank you to. I am not over feeding, so that is not the issue. I bought a full moon beta, really pretty, just one male betta. My Nitrites are also 0. I did not add that much clean drinking water. And I seen my colors came down, which is a good down, I will just add drinking water for the smaller tank. In my 40 gallon I do not have this problem. I put close to 1 gallon water in my 6.5 gallon tank. The drinking water and it did help a lot. what is: How much is 101.4 Oz is that a gallon?

I think you'll find using the new water will solve some of your problems with the smaller tanks.
There are 128 fluid ounces in a US gallon so 101.4 is just over 3/4 of a gallon.

 

[pettygil]

So how many of 101.4 do I need to fill in my 6.5 gallon?

I think you'll find using the new water will solve some of your problems with the smaller tanks.
There are 128 fluid ounces in a US gallon so 101.4 is just over 3/4 of a gallon.

So how much of 101.4 do I need to fill in my 6.5 gallon? Do I change 50 percent wc on my 6.5 gallon tank? Every week?

 

[Andy Sager]

So how much of 101.4 do I need to fill in my 6.5 gallon? Do I change 50 percent wc on my 6.5 gallon tank? Every week?

Where are you shopping that there isn't full gallons of water? Here in FL we have 1 gallon jugs, 2.5 gallon inside the fridge jugs and 5 gallon jugs for water dispensers. Find a brand that has those.

Since a 6.5 gallon tank doesn't hold 6.5 gallons, I would presume that you only have a little less than 6 gallons of water but when you take into consideration the displacement of your decor and substrate, you probably only have 5 actual gallons of water which would mean you need 6 (possibly 7) of the 101.4 ounce jugs.
As for how much to change weekly, there is no need to change a large volume of water with only the one fish and nothing else in there. Changing 1 gallon per week ( or to simplify, the one 101.4 ounce bottle) should suffice but that is based on your nitrate level being below 20 ppm. The higher it is than the 20 ppm, the more water you should change. If the nitrate level is far under 20 ppm after a week, you can extend the change time to every other week providing the nitrate level does not exceed the 20 ppm before the 2 weeks are up.

 

[pauldadams1984]

Guessing when you say Fritz complete you mean Fritz Zyme 7/9 (7 fresh/9 marine)

Supposed to reduce a cycle and keep fish safe during that cycle via adding beneficial bacteria.

It's hard to say whether or not it's legit because during transportation, it's gonna end up getting frozen somewhere along the line, effectively killing the bacteria. Making it useless most of the time.

This still doesn't harm anything directly. So you'd perceive it as safe.

Indirectly though, it's just something setting people up to fail.

One day maybe companies will get into trouble for selling substandard products.

If it killed a dog they soon would!

If you have more. It's worth using it, although only as an addition to running a proper cycle.

 

[pettygil]

Where are you shopping that there isn't full gallons of water? Here in FL we have 1 gallon jugs, 2.5 gallon inside the fridge jugs and 5 gallon jugs for water dispensers. Find a brand that has those.

Since a 6.5 gallon tank doesn't hold 6.5 gallons, I would presume that you only have a little less than 6 gallons of water but when you take into consideration the displacement of your decor and substrate, you probably only have 5 actual gallons of water which would mean you need 6 (possibly 7) of the 101.4 ounce jugs.
As for how much to change weekly, there is no need to change a large volume of water with only the one fish and nothing else in there. Changing 1 gallon per week ( or to simplify, the one 101.4 ounce bottle) should suffice but that is based on your nitrate level being below 20 ppm. The higher it is than the 20 ppm, the more water you should change. If the nitrate level is far under 20 ppm after a week, you can extend the change time to every other week providing the nitrate level does not exceed the 20 ppm before the 2 weeks are up.

When they say chemicals I am not sure if I could buy for fish. These 5 gallon bottles are filled with 5 gallons of water. Here is what I found about these 5 gallon jugs. It says: Our 5-gallon BPA free bottles are returned, sanitized, washed, and refilled approximately 25-30 times before being recycled. Once its life is complete, we recycle them, letting the bottles have a new life as another product. Their out of water, oops guess that will not work.

 

[pettygil]

I am not going to chance it

Guessing when you say Fritz complete you mean Fritz Zyme 7/9 (7 fresh/9 marine)

Supposed to reduce a cycle and keep fish safe during that cycle via adding beneficial bacteria.

It's hard to say whether or not it's legit because during transportation, it's gonna end up getting frozen somewhere along the line, effectively killing the bacteria. Making it useless most of the time.

This still doesn't harm anything directly. So you'd perceive it as safe.

Indirectly though, it's just something setting people up to fail.

One day maybe companies will get into trouble for selling substandard products.

If it killed a dog they soon would!

If you have more. It's worth using it, although only as an addition to running a proper cycle.

Since I am going to be using spring water I will not need Fritz. But every time i use Fritz my fish dies. This has happened many times. I do not want to chance it anymore.

 

[Andy Sager]

When they say chemicals I am not sure if I could buy for fish. These 5 gallon bottles are filled with 5 gallons of water. Here is what I found about these 5 gallon jugs. It says: Our 5-gallon BPA free bottles are returned, sanitized, washed, and refilled approximately 25-30 times before being recycled. Once its life is complete, we recycle them, letting the bottles have a new life as another product. Their out of water, oops guess that will not work.

You can always contact the company and ask what they use to sanitize the bottles before they refill them. It's unlikely that they use anything hazardous to the fish but better safe than sorry.
The whole purpose of using spring water vs "purified" water is that with spring water, they don't use chemicals to sterilize the water where they do with "purified" water as that just comes from a tap that's no different than the one on your kitchen or bathroom sink.

 

[Andy Sager]

Since I am going to be using spring water I will not need Fritz. But every time i use Fritz my fish dies. This has happened many times. I do not want to chance it anymore.

I truly believe that is coincidental and not causative. Your tank cycled out when you started using it so it was fresh/active, therefore that was not the problem.

 

[pettygil]

I just ordered this 1 gallon tank from Amazon.

You can always contact the company and ask what they use to sanitize the bottles before they refill them. It's unlikely that they use anything hazardous to the fish but better safe than sorry.
The whole purpose of using spring water vs "purified" water is that with spring water, they don't use chemicals to sterilize the water where they do with "purified" water as that just comes from a tap that's no different than the one on your kitchen or bathroom sink.

I just ordered these 1 gallon 6 jugs for a 1 gallon, for 9 dollars. it is spring water, not purified water.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004JKNZZY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

 

[Andy Sager]

I just ordered these 1 gallon 6 jugs for a 1 gallon, for 9 dollars. it is spring water, not purified water.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004JKNZZY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

I know you like Amazon because they deliver but did you look at your local grocery store? You go there anyway don't you?

 

[Aiken Drum]

RO water and remineralising it might be cheaper than spring water. RO sells for about £0.10 ($0.13) per litre from an aquarium store, so £0.40 ($0.52) per gallon + the cost of remineralising salts.