My Betta is not eating.

[pettygil]

I do not over feed. Yesterday I took a water sample and the water was dark green. My friend said it look green, My ammonia was very high. So I did a water change and that took care of the ammonia. I notice when I put in pellet food my betta did not want to eat. I usually give one pellet every few days. I am not over feeding, or anything like that. could my betta be stressed from the high ammonia? I hope he does not die. I am tired of losing fish. I try everything I know how to do to keep my fish alive. I found this info through google it says the following. "Betta fish not eating can occur due to poor diet, inappropriate temperature, overfeeding, competition, diseases, environmental changes, stress and poor water quality. All these are factors can be easily controlled if you're a little more careful about your betta fish's health."

 

[Andy Sager]

I do not over feed. Yesterday I took a water sample and the water was dark green. My friend said it look green, My ammonia was very high. So I did a water change and that took care of the ammonia. I notice when I put in pellet food my betta did not want to eat. I usually give one pellet every few days. I am not over feeding, or anything like that. could my betta be stressed from the high ammonia? I hope he does not die. I am tired of losing fish. I try everything I know how to do to keep my fish alive. I found this info through google it says the following. "Betta fish not eating can occur due to poor diet, inappropriate temperature, overfeeding, competition, diseases, environmental changes, stress and poor water quality. All these are factors can be easily controlled if you're a little more careful about your betta fish's health."

Yes, the fish is stressed from the high ammonia. It makes no sense tho that you are continuing to have an ammonia issue when it's one fish in a decent amount of water, not being over fed and not adding any chemicals to the water since you are using spring water.
How long was it between the last water change and before this discovery of high ammonia?

 

[pettygil]

Yes, the fish is stressed from the high ammonia. It makes no sense tho that you are continuing to have an ammonia issue when it's one fish in a decent amount of water, not being over fed and not adding any chemicals to the water since you are using spring water.
How long was it between the last water change and before this discovery of high ammonia?

I did use spring water, but ran out, so I added some purified water, which I had left over, so i used purified water, then after 2 days I noticed high ammonia. So then I added some tap water and I took the ammonia test up to my friends and she said it looked yellow, which is 0 ammonia. I noticed the high ammonia after a few days of using the purified water. I took an ammonia test today and it still reads 0. The natural light helped me to see it was yellow. i test yesterday, and today, and there is 0 ammonia. I guess I can use tap water, cause that is what I used and now my ammonia is 0
If you still want me to use spring water I will have to buy some more.

 

[Aiken Drum]

Whats purified water?

 

[pettygil]

Whats purified water?

Purified water is water that has been mechanically filtered or processed to remove impurities like bacteria, viruses, chemical pollutants, and minerals like lead and copper (6).

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/spring-water-vs-purified-water

 

[Aiken Drum]

The article you linked goes through different methods of purification. What precisely is your water purification method?

If its reverse osmosis then it would explain a lot, and is something you havent mentioned. RO has had all the minerals removed from the water. This would be very bad for fish and aquariums. You have to remineralise RO water before you use it in your aquarium as fish need certain minerals to promote healthy growth and for their bodies to function correctly. Same for people actually, drinking RO isnt really good for you. If you otherwise have a good healthy diet with plenty of essential minetals, probably not an issue. But if you only drink RO with no other source of essential minerals its not going be healthy.

RO filtration removes carbonates and bi carbonates. The nitrogen cycle needs carbonates and bi carbonates to function. Without these carbonates and bicarbonates ammonia cant be processed out and will build up to toxic levels. Without these carbonates and bi carbonates the water has no buffering capacity and this causes pH crashes which is bad for fish.

The article mentions a brita filter as a way of purifying water. I have one of these on my drinking water. In addition to running the water through a mechanical filter and some charcoal, brita filters also run the water through a water softener. Water softeners work on an ion exchange principal where it takes the elements that give water general hardness (GH), so thats mostly calcium or magnesium. And replaces those elements with the an element that doesnt contribute to GH, generally sodium. Sodium is often not good for freshwater fish. I had reason to speak to brita about their drinking water filter a couple of months back and they advised against using water that has gone through their filters in aquariums, which backs up my understanding of how they work and how they effect water chemistry.

If you are using the word purified to say its gone through a typical water treatment and is otherwise unfiltered then its probably OK. But you have never mentioned the word purified before so it stood out.

Need more information on what precisely "your" purified water is, not just a link explaining what the word purified means. Im English, i understand what words in english mean. At least most of the common ones.

If you have been using this purified water in your aquariums up to now, depending what the purification process actually is, it could go a long way to explaining your issues.

 

[Andy Sager]

I did use spring water, but ran out, so I added some purified water, which I had left over, so i used purified water, then after 2 days I noticed high ammonia. So then I added some tap water and I took the ammonia test up to my friends and she said it looked yellow, which is 0 ammonia. I noticed the high ammonia after a few days of using the purified water. I took an ammonia test today and it still reads 0. The natural light helped me to see it was yellow. i test yesterday, and today, and there is 0 ammonia. I guess I can use tap water, cause that is what I used and now my ammonia is 0
If you still want me to use spring water I will have to buy some more.

The issue then becomes were you giving us the correct readings before which is why Spring Water was suggested or was what you were adding to the water before causing you to have high ammonia and high nitrate readings so quickly? At this point, I'd keep tabs on your nitrate level as well as ammonia ( confirmed by your neighbor) and go from there. If you are getting a high nitrate level quickly, I'd go back to the Spring Water then compare the time frames as to how long it took to get that high a nitrate level using tap water vs how long using Spring Water.

 

[pettygil]

I checked my nitrate level as well as ammonia

I checked my nitrate level as well as ammonia and both are 0
From what I know I need some at least 0.5 nitrate but both read 0.
'I'm glad I ordered the digital reading, so I know for sure. The ammonia is 0 though. That is 3 days past Water Change. Also using tap water.

 

[Andy Sager]

I checked my nitrate level as well as ammonia and both are 0
From what I know I need some at least 0.5 nitrate but both read 0.
'I'm glad I ordered the digital reading, so I know for sure. The ammonia is 0 though. That is 3 days past Water Change. Also using tap water.

The only time you need nitrate in the water is when you have live plants. If no live plants, no nitrate is necessary. That said, you will eventually get nitrates in a cycled fish tank because that is the end result of the nitrogen cycle ( unless you are using nitrate absorbing items like plants, or matrixes that convert the nitrate into gas that leaves the tanks via bubbles. )

 

[pettygil]

The only time you need nitrate in the water is when you have live plants. If no live plants, no nitrate is necessary. That said, you will eventually get nitrates in a cycled fish tank because that is the end result of the nitrogen cycle ( unless you are using nitrate absorbing items like plants, or matrixes that convert the nitrate into gas that leaves the tanks via bubbles. )

I only have fake plants. Also unless I read wrong. I have had 0'5 nitrates before, now it reads 0. I could tell the nitrates because it looked a light orange. Now it looks yellow. i'll do a test tomorrow, see what color it looks like.

 

[pettygil]

I only have fake plants. Also unless I read wrong. I have had 0'5 nitrates before, now it reads 0. I could tell the nitrates because it looked a light orange. Now it looks yellow. i'll do a test tomorrow, see what color it looks like. My betta is eating now, which is a good sign.

 

[Andy Sager]

I only have fake plants. Also unless I read wrong. I have had 0'5 nitrates before, now it reads 0. I could tell the nitrates because it looked a light orange. Now it looks yellow. i'll do a test tomorrow, see what color it looks like. My betta is eating now, which is a good sign.

Amazing what a good water change can do, isn't it?

 

[pettygil]

Amazing what a good water change can do, isn't it?

I ordered the ammonia thing to put in the tank. I will be able to tell if I need to do a water change, or not. Yes, WC are very helpful. I will also check for Nitrates.

 

[pettygil]

Seachem Laboratories Ammonia Alert works great

Seachem Laboratories Ammonia Alert works great. I wish they made for Nitrates. However, I can read from the test kit, so I am using the test kit for Nitrates. and Seachem Laboratories for testing Ammonia.

 

[Andy Sager]

 

[pettygil]

My ammonia reading

My ammonia reading is 0.05 is that high? I changed my water a day ago. The nitrates were fine though, it was 0 for the nitrates. I have had the tank for 3 or 4 months. It should be cycled by now, but it's not cycled with ammonia. I am going to take out the fake plants and boil them, then stick back in the tank. I did change the substrate to sand.

 

[Andy Sager]

My ammonia reading is 0.05 is that high? I changed my water a day ago. The nitrates were fine though, it was 0 for the nitrates. I have had the tank for 3 or 4 months. It should be cycled by now, but it's not cycled with ammonia. I am going to take out the fake plants and boil them, then stick back in the tank. I did change the substrate to sand.

Possible causes: It's coming from the tap water. If so, go back to using spring water.
How close to feeding did you get that ammonia reading? The monitor may be reading the increase in excrement. Check again in 24 hours to see if it changes. If no food was involved, I'd take the plants out and keep them out. See if that changes anything. Boiling them will not change anything. If you want plants, get some low light needing live plants for the Betta tank.

 

[pettygil]

Possible causes: It's coming from the tap water. If so, go back to using spring water.
How close to feeding did you get that ammonia reading? The monitor may be reading the increase in excrement. Check again in 24 hours to see if it changes. If no food was involved, I'd take the plants out and keep them out. See if that changes anything. Boiling them will not change anything. If you want plants, get some low light needing live plants for the Betta tank.

Can I put live plants in my sand? I looked on amazon for live plants for Bettas. As far as feeding. I only feed a few betta fish pellets every few days. I will wait 24 hours and let you know the results. I will take the plants out of the tank, and see if that helps. Thanks for your help.

 

[Aiken Drum]

My ammonia reading is 0.05 is that high? I changed my water a day ago. The nitrates were fine though, it was 0 for the nitrates. I have had the tank for 3 or 4 months. It should be cycled by now, but it's not cycled with ammonia. I am going to take out the fake plants and boil them, then stick back in the tank. I did change the substrate to sand.

Just be aware that the ammonia patch is measuring something slightly different to the ammonia test. Your ammonia test was measuring free ammonia and ammonium combined, whereas the patch only measures free ammonia. Its only free ammonia that is harmful, so knowing how much free ammonia you have from your patch is much more useful than knowing that ammonia + ammonium combined number from your drop test.

0.05ppm free ammonia is in the warning zone. Its not in the immediate danger levels, but its telling you have a problem. Personally i would do a water change with the spring water to get it down any time it goes into that alert region on the patch.

 

[pettygil]

I will go buy some spring water

Just be aware that the ammonia patch is measuring something slightly different to the ammonia test. Your ammonia test was measuring free ammonia and ammonium combined, whereas the patch only measures free ammonia. Its only free ammonia that is harmful, so knowing how much free ammonia you have from your patch is much more useful than knowing that ammonia + ammonium combined number from your drop test.

0.05ppm free ammonia is in the warning zone. Its not in the immediate danger levels, but its telling you have a problem. Personally i would do a water change with the spring water to get it down any time it goes into that alert region on the patch.

I will go buy some spring water, see if that helps. Tanks for your help.