Laurel
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Hi all! I just noticed this strand of who-knows-what in my betta tank. The tank is the Vita (from Kickstarter; made by Ecoxotic; https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1652660578/vita-bring-life-into-your-home). A heater came with it, but I'm not using it at the moment. It's very warm here and stays warm in the house. The tank temp is on the low end though, so maybe I should add it. 
No filtration. I had it set up before, but the betta died about a month after I got it. 
I cleaned the rocks and followed the directions that came with it. I did use tap water but used a conditioner/dechlorinator. Plus I let it sit for a couple of days before adding the fish.
After he died, I cleaned everything (rocks and tank) with white vinegar and rinsed it all well. I set it back up (a snail moved from the 1st tank to the 2nd). We tried again thinking that maybe it was a freak thing. We aren't sure what was wrong with him. No white spots. He just wouldn't eat anything. I tried all kinds of foods and "treats" (bloodworms, etc.). I also did an Epsom salt dip for him a couple of times.
We got a new fish July 3rd. He was floated and tank water was slowly added to the bag to acclimate him. Now this weird stream thing is in the tank. I clean it weekly with about a 50% water change using a turkey baster to get down into the rocks to suck up all the waste from the fish and snail. Tap water is put into a gallon jug and treated with AquaLife Complete (water conditioner). He is not over fed. His appetite went from great - sucking down all food in his path - to now taking the food in his mouth and spitting it out a few times before eating it. This is what the first fish did as well. His coloring has changed, but I'm not sure if that is because he was still immature when we got him. His face was mostly black, and now it looks like there is a film on his whole body. It's not white. It looks like he has been is dirty water or something. He isn't as vibrant.
pH seems to be dropping slowly. Was 7 a couple of weeks ago. Now it's 6.6. Ammonia is 0.5. Temp is 75.3F.
I have attached a picture of now (with the weird "thing" in it) and two of when we first got him.
Any suggestions? Should I switch to RO/DI water? I don't want to lose another fish. I'm going to the store for a fungus treatment today. I also read that once it's gone to treat after with BettaFix or BettaZing. Any thoughts on these would be great - though I will have to get whatever option my LFS has to offer.
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No filtration. I had it set up before, but the betta died about a month after I got it. I cleaned the rocks and followed the directions that came with it. I did use tap water but used a conditioner/dechlorinator. Plus I let it sit for a couple of days before adding the fish. After he died, I cleaned everything (rocks and tank) with white vinegar and rinsed it all well. I set it back up (a snail moved from the 1st tank to the 2nd). We tried again thinking that maybe it was a freak thing. We aren't sure what was wrong with him. No white spots. He just wouldn't eat anything. I tried all kinds of foods and "treats" (bloodworms, etc.). I also did an Epsom salt dip for him a couple of times.
We got a new fish July 3rd. He was floated and tank water was slowly added to the bag to acclimate him. Now this weird stream thing is in the tank. I clean it weekly with about a 50% water change using a turkey baster to get down into the rocks to suck up all the waste from the fish and snail. Tap water is put into a gallon jug and treated with AquaLife Complete (water conditioner). He is not over fed. His appetite went from great - sucking down all food in his path - to now taking the food in his mouth and spitting it out a few times before eating it. This is what the first fish did as well. His coloring has changed, but I'm not sure if that is because he was still immature when we got him. His face was mostly black, and now it looks like there is a film on his whole body. It's not white. It looks like he has been is dirty water or something. He isn't as vibrant.
pH seems to be dropping slowly. Was 7 a couple of weeks ago. Now it's 6.6. Ammonia is 0.5. Temp is 75.3F.
I have attached a picture of now (with the weird "thing" in it) and two of when we first got him.
Any suggestions? Should I switch to RO/DI water? I don't want to lose another fish. I'm going to the store for a fungus treatment today. I also read that once it's gone to treat after with BettaFix or BettaZing. Any thoughts on these would be great - though I will have to get whatever option my LFS has to offer.
Sent from my iPad using Aquarium Advice
