Any Huit

HI! My blue female betta has white fuzz growing around her mouth. I struggled to get a focused photo because she swims so quickly! What should I do? I have several things in my arsenal: - a 3 gallon hospital tank with aquarium salt - seachem kanaplex, neoplex, and metroplex - fritz maracyn two, paracleanse, and expelp - ichx which one should I use? has anyone seen this before? some quick googling showed someone had success with sulfaplex, does anyone has a similar recommendation? SOS, Worried betta momma here

Thank you everyone for being so nice and suggesting what these could be! I guess it's okay after all 🙂 I don't see segments or antennae clearly with the naked eye, but based on everyone's descriptions of copepods, amphipods, etc. I agree that they are probably the same. In general my water parameters look okay, so I hope my tank is a healthy mini ecosystem. I think Glimmer will appreciate the fish food now, I feel silly for thinking they could bite her!

Hi, My blue female betta Mermista has had a bloated tummy for 1 month now - it's not getting worse or better. I've tried kanaplex - both putting it in the water & feeding it with frozen daphnia - epsom salt baths, and now maracyn II. I've changed the water and added tannins. Nothing I do seems to be working! I've fasted her for 5 days, took a break to feed her frozen brine shrimp and daphnia and soaked hikari pellets (only 2 at a time), and then fasted again. She's acting very normal, she enjoys swimming around her 10 gallon a lot and still has a big appetite, the only issue is I cannot see if she's pooped. I haven't used paracleanse yet, I need to do a water change today, and then I can start treating for that too? I've also ordered expel p. Here's a zoomed in picture of her sunbathing. Does anyone else have any suggestions?? I thought she might also be full of eggs, but it's been a one month, so I'm not sure anymore. Could it be a tumor?

Hi, I hope you don't mind if I also ask a question about my female betta in your thread! Do you have any updates to share about Daenerys? Im asking bc I'm in a very similar boat! My blue female betta Mermista looks exactly the same for 1 month now. I've tried kanaplex - both putting it in the water & feeding it with frozen daphnia - epsom salt baths, and now maracyn II. I've changed the water and added tannins. Nothing I do seems to be working! I've fasted her for 5 days, took a break to feed her frozen brine shrimp and daphnia and soaked hikari pellets (only 2 at a time), and then fasted again. She's acting very normal, she enjoys swimming around her 10 gallon a lot and still has a big appetite, the only issue is I cannot see if she's pooped. I haven't used paracleanse yet, I need to do a water change today, and then I can start treating for that too? Here's a zoomed in picture of her sunbathing. Does anyone else have any suggestions??

Hi eyeebrows, Do you have any updates to share? Im asking bc I'm in a very similar boat! My blue female betta looks exactly the same for 1 month now. I've tried kanaplex - both putting it in the water & feeding it with frozen daphnia - epsom salt baths, and now maracyn II. I've changed the water and added tannins. Nothing I do seems to be working! I've fasted her for 5 days, took a break to feed her frozen brine shrimp and daphnia and soaked hikari pellets (only 2 at a time), and then fasted again. She's acting very normal, she enjoys swimming around her 10 gallon a lot and still has a big appetite, the only issue is I cannot see if she's pooped. I haven't used paracleanse yet, I need to do a water change today, and then I can start treating for that too? Here's a zoomed in picture of her sunbathing. Does anyone else have any suggestions??

Hi everyone, Upon super-duper close inspection of my 5-gallon tank (1 purple female betta), I saw lots and lots of what looks like tiny white mites crawling around the glass! I got really worried and deep cleaned my tank - 100% water change, rinsed tank in bleach solution and gravel in hydrogen peroxide mixture. I dipped the live plants in a hydrogen peroxide mixture too. I was so worried that these were parasites, or they could bite my betta. Initially, they seemed to have vanished. But this morning (about 1 week later) I see a few tiny mites crawling around on the glass. I also see some on the glass of my 10-gallon! They're significantly fewer than before - I saw a hand full today but before there were hundreds - but I want to know how they came back after a deep clean (which I don't want to repeat) and what's causing them. What should I do? I want to post a picture, but they're so small and won't appear. Does anyone know what these might be? I have sponge filters and heaters in both tanks. I googled and found "detritus worms" but mine don't look like worms, they're barely visible and my parents cannot see them at all. Water parameters according to the API freshwater master test kit are OK. I also add tannins - Indian almond/catappa leaves, bark, and casuarina cones – after boiling them first. Please send help, the worried betta mom

Hi all! I'm thinking about buying new heaters for my two betta fish tanks, a 5 gallon and a 10 gallon. Currently, there is a 25w heater for the former and a 50w heater for the latter. But lately, I've noticed that they aren't keeping the water temperature above 70F (in the 5 gallon) and not above 74F (in the 10 g). Neither one is adjustable, they're at a preset temperature of 78, but the mercury thermometers (the stick ones, not digital) don't seem to agree. So my question is, do you think in your experience it's worth buying new heaters, and if yes, should I double the wattage? so increase from 25w to 50w for the 5g and 50w to 100w for the 10g? I always thought that the rule of thumb was 5w per gallon, and I don't want to accidentally electrocute my bettas 🤯 Also, if yes, do you have any brands to recommend? I was thinking this time to get adjustable heaters with digital thermometers built in. always thankful for your patience & ideas! a betta mom

Hi! I've been feeding my female bettas Hikari Betta Bio-Gold pellets, with Tetra freeze dried blood worms for occasional snacks. But I'm interested in giving my bettas more variety! Can anyone please share what else you feed your betta? Shrimp, insects, daphnia? Do you prefer freeze dried or frozen? I want to continue feeding Hikari pellets as their main meal (it's also easier for my parents when I'm traveling overseas), but what brands do you recommend for betta food, and what retailers did you purchase them from? Overall, my bettas aren't picky eaters and they're big now, so I'm not worried they won't like it/the food is too big to eat. I just want to make sure it's a safe brand/retailer and would love to hear of any of the ones you've had good experiences with 🙂 Thanks for your patience & advice! a questioning betta keeper Also I read this post from Aquarium Co-op: 5 Best Betta Fish Foods You Need to Try | What to Feed Betta Fish – Aquarium Co-Op (aquariumcoop.com) And watched a video from girltalksfish:

a cellar would be super cool. thanks for the advice!

Yup, I've been watching the parameters using test strips. They look okay! I've also just ordered the API master freshwater test kit, and when it arrives I'll figure out how to use it tooo I didn't know that, thanks! Do you refrigerate all opened bottles? For example, the aquarium coop's all-in-one fertilizer, seachem's prime and stressguard? I currently store them in a cool, dark place, like potatoes (no direct sunlight). woah that's really cool!

Thanks, this is really handy to know! I ended up buying Seachem's this time, and will see how it goes. This thread's been super helpful to learn about other bacteria products, I didn't know many of the products before. Personally, I got seachem's because it's unrefrigerated, and my tank is mostly established now. But I'm really keen to try a live refrigerated line the next time I want to set up a tank or change tanks.

yup, going forward I'm going to bring my old filter into my new tank!

Thanks! This is also genuinely really helpful, I'm also going to see if I can find this somewhere around me.

Cool, thank you! Personally, have you ever had to use expel-p or somthing like it for hookworms? are hookworms, roundworms etc common? Just not sure if I should buy now or wait and buy if those parasites ever happen 🙂

Thanks! I wouldn't have remembered to do this. Also, how many times do you do an epsom salt bath, just one day, 2 days in a row, for 5 days, etc.?