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.).
Gustav is a male Beta fish. I bought him this spring (March or April.) Sometimes, when he swims he looks like he is trying to shake something off his head. Or, like he he has a twitch. It is a really jerky head or whole body movement. Sometimes he rotates such that he is completely on his side (90 degrees) and then swims, still jerky, across the tank. He also does not want to eat. Sometimes it does not look like anything is wrong. Also, he hangs out at the top of the tank, at the bottom, in his little pagoda, behind the heater, and behind the filter; basically everywhere.
2~What are your tank parameters (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, temp, pH)? Please give exact values.
Ammo 0, Nitrites 0, Nitrates somewhere between 20 and 40, temp 80, pH 8.2
I know the pH is high, but I haven't figured out how to get it down.
3~ How large is the tank? How long has the tank been set up?
10g. I cycled the tank for a month and then put Gustav in last Sunday.
4~What type of filtration are you using? Please give the name and number (i.e. Fluval 304) and amount of gph if known.
Marina Slim Filter S15 at the lowest setting. I also baffled it last night with a pop bottle.
5~How many fish are in the tank? What kinds of fish are they and what are their current sizes?
Gustav is by himself. :-(
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?
I did a water change Thursday night. It was about 2.5 to 3 gallons. I only vacuumed a little bit. I have been doing the same type of change every three days or so to bring the Nitrates and pH down.
7~How long have you had the fish? If the fish is new, how did you acclimate it/them?
When I put Gustav in the tank I put him in a ziplock with his old tank water. Then I put in a 1/4 cup of water every 15 minutes or so until the volume doubled. Then I used a net to move him into the tank.
8~Have you added anything new to the tank--decor, new dechlorinator, new substrate, etc.?
I added the pagoda two to three weeks ago or so. We sanded it down before putting it in.
9~What kind of food have you been feeding your fish, have you changed their diet recently?
I used to feed him mini pellets. I did not reconstitute them first. He has not been eating well at all for several weeks now so recently I have been trying blood worms. (He ate blood worms about four months ago but then I stopped.) He'll eat one or two sometimes. At this point, I have not fed him in several days. I put one pellet in tonight and he ignored it.
Other information: He is still making a bubble nest daily! I don't think that it is swim bladder because he seems to go up or down in the tank with ease.
Before the 10g, poor Gustav was in a two gallon pickle jar. Even though I changed the water every week, he was getting more and more unhappy in the pickle jar. Towards the end he was also swimming jerky in there and not eating.
Any help will be appreciated. Gustav thanks you.
Amelia
Gustav is a male Beta fish. I bought him this spring (March or April.) Sometimes, when he swims he looks like he is trying to shake something off his head. Or, like he he has a twitch. It is a really jerky head or whole body movement. Sometimes he rotates such that he is completely on his side (90 degrees) and then swims, still jerky, across the tank. He also does not want to eat. Sometimes it does not look like anything is wrong. Also, he hangs out at the top of the tank, at the bottom, in his little pagoda, behind the heater, and behind the filter; basically everywhere.
2~What are your tank parameters (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, temp, pH)? Please give exact values.
Ammo 0, Nitrites 0, Nitrates somewhere between 20 and 40, temp 80, pH 8.2
I know the pH is high, but I haven't figured out how to get it down.
3~ How large is the tank? How long has the tank been set up?
10g. I cycled the tank for a month and then put Gustav in last Sunday.
4~What type of filtration are you using? Please give the name and number (i.e. Fluval 304) and amount of gph if known.
Marina Slim Filter S15 at the lowest setting. I also baffled it last night with a pop bottle.
5~How many fish are in the tank? What kinds of fish are they and what are their current sizes?
Gustav is by himself. :-(
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?
I did a water change Thursday night. It was about 2.5 to 3 gallons. I only vacuumed a little bit. I have been doing the same type of change every three days or so to bring the Nitrates and pH down.
7~How long have you had the fish? If the fish is new, how did you acclimate it/them?
When I put Gustav in the tank I put him in a ziplock with his old tank water. Then I put in a 1/4 cup of water every 15 minutes or so until the volume doubled. Then I used a net to move him into the tank.
8~Have you added anything new to the tank--decor, new dechlorinator, new substrate, etc.?
I added the pagoda two to three weeks ago or so. We sanded it down before putting it in.
9~What kind of food have you been feeding your fish, have you changed their diet recently?
I used to feed him mini pellets. I did not reconstitute them first. He has not been eating well at all for several weeks now so recently I have been trying blood worms. (He ate blood worms about four months ago but then I stopped.) He'll eat one or two sometimes. At this point, I have not fed him in several days. I put one pellet in tonight and he ignored it.
Other information: He is still making a bubble nest daily! I don't think that it is swim bladder because he seems to go up or down in the tank with ease.
Before the 10g, poor Gustav was in a two gallon pickle jar. Even though I changed the water every week, he was getting more and more unhappy in the pickle jar. Towards the end he was also swimming jerky in there and not eating.
Any help will be appreciated. Gustav thanks you.
Amelia
