Recent content by bettagirl

It's kinda like baking a cake... there are many different recipes, but all use basically the same ingredients. Walstad method is your basic sheet cakes with some icing low maintenance ferts methods are simple layered cakes with filling high maintenance ferts methods are your wedding cakes...

I can imagine! My 7g high tech nano has cost me more, money and time wise, than my 75g Walstad tank ever did. :eek: But I do love my little nano, now that I've worked out the kinks with the co2. :)

Sounds good, I'm glad you found what works for you Rivercats :) I really enjoyed my dirt w/ gravel Walstad tanks (for their ease while I was in grad school and raising two girls, mostly!) and also enjoying my little nano ADA tank for it's tank aesthetics, and lush groundcovers... although it's...

Just curious, what are the size of your other tanks? Her fish are dying, and ammonia is above 0, algae is rampant... and she's been doing 45% or so water changes frequently, so I think trying a different method to get things stabilized is worth a shot. :) Doing larger WC with the EI method...

Sorry, it's like I didn't even read this part of your post. :ermm: When you refill the tank, try pouring the water slowly over your hand, cupped toward the inside glass so it doesn't disrupt the substrate. That may be the source of the debris. To start the siphon, try using your thumb on...

Those are both good siphons to get a good vaccuming up of crud in the gravel. You really don't want to swirl the crud around though as that will just put it into the water column. If ammonia is above 0 then it is toxic to fish and most likely the cause of your excessive algae. btw, an airline...

ps- the guide I linked to recommends very infrequent water changes, but only for fishless tanks. You'll want to do them weekly to monthly, depending on your fish load.

Hi Erin, It's Sherry ;) This is a site I used to frequent years back when maintaining my low-tech tanks. I decided to pop over here to see if I could find out more info on what's going on with your tank and if I could help. Based on what you've posted, here's some ideas on what you might be...

I don't work at a shop, but have been told the blue liquid is a relaxant for the fish during transport. I've seen them use a cart next to a tank, pour the fish and water into a net (gently) that's over a bucket. Water goes in the bucket, they scoop up tank water and put the betta into the cup...

I'm sorry to hear about your betta now having dropsy as well. It sounds like you're doing what you can and I agree that it's probably really important to keep the water parameters as stable as possible, especially with the frequent water changes. You mentioned having a larger tank, so perhaps...

It's hard to believe the little guy has been in the small tank for three weeks now. He's still buoying at the top and I'm not sure what is left to do. He finished two weeks of Spectrogram and then a week of Erythromycin. The only result is he is rail thin, he seriously looks like an angel...

Hi, I hope I can offer a little help. Regarding your question on temp, most bettas prefer 80-82 and neutral pH. They can withstand lower temps better than high temps, and will die quickly if the tank temp reaches ~90. How old is your Betta? I think ick can be ruled out as it looks...

Well, he's still alive! :) I've seen a couple long strands of poo streaming out and he's able to spend up to a minute or so along the bottom. He's still floating the majority of the time, but I'm hoping that these are all good indicators that he'll pull through. Thanks for the tip on the...

Thanks Allivymar, I'll let you know how it goes. He's not looking great tonight, pale and not eating but still upright. He's in a small tank on my desk and has come out a few times to look at me. I'd forgotten about peas! Going to go cook some as soon as I finish this post. The fish store...

Thanks for your replies. The tank in an establish, planted 75g, parameters are good. The other fish are doing well, including the gourmais, a betta, and a few tetras. After talking with the fish store last night, they said the fish was swollen and bloated, possibly with a bacterial infection...