JillianGarcia05

I'll have to check those YouTube videos out. She likes the pellets - and wants more after feeding her allotment for the day. And yes - improvement has been made by leaps and bounds! The bacteria is almost 100% cleared up - just a tinyspot on her head left. Though her right eye is still a tiny bit swollen, not sure what to do about that. Might go to the co-op on Saturday and chat with the folks down there after her next tank change. Other than that she's been sassy as ever - her personality is back for sure. She even flared her gills at me when I did a quick water test and it wasn't food.

Hi @Odd Duck - I did add some more FritzZyme 7 after my tank change on Saturday (per the med instructions) and a little more aquarium salt too. Got her new food at the co-op and she seems to not be bloating after eating now. I was feeding her flakes and she seemed to gulp in as much air as food. Plus, I had a few people tell me the flakes weren't as good. So now she has the little pellets and I drop them in one at a time so she doesn't wolf them down. The fungual looks like it's improving a bit, a little less on her left side and the top of her head. The person I spoke with at the aquarium co-op said to give her a week off after the meds were done and see how she was doing. But I did watch a video on their YouTube that said aquarium salt can help with a lot of stuff. I guess we'll see :)

@Colu and @nabokovfan87 I'll have to find some aquarium salt for her tank then. @Fish Folk I think I've been saddling the line of accepting a positive or negative outcome with her. So I get what you're saying and all in all, just want whatever's best for her. But this lesson is important and I have learned so much from everyone. So thank you for that reminder that stuff happens, good or bad.

@nabokovfan87 thanks! I’ll watch those videos tomorrow and start doing some research. I’d imagine Amazon might have some option. updating on heater since I cant sleep. This looks promising and I can control the temp, plus 4+5 star reviews: Pawfly Submersible Aquarium Heater 50 W Betta Fish Tank Heater Adjustable Electronic Heating Rod with Thermostat and Water Shortage/Overheating Protection for Fish Tanks up to 15 Gallons https://a.co/d/1CU2GXh if this looks okay, I’m going to order since the other 25w barely got to 78. Oh no! My poor fish. The curious thing is the area you pointed out she had when I bought her end of September/beginning October. So it’s possible I brought her home with it. So do the maracyn and then dose with the other type of meds? The maracyn did list it helps with fin rot but might need something stronger it sounds. Also, I think the bloating is from her food and how she eats. She gulps a lot of air, since its fish flakes. But reading about that sounds like those aren’t the best for her due to the filler too. Any recommendations on betta food? I appreciate your help and time along with everyone else. I’ve asked a lot of questions and feel a bit lost. So thank you! I really want to make her better, she means a lot to me. i also have plans for building her a 10 gallon tank with real plants and more room to swim.

@nabokovfan87 thanks! I’ll watch those videos tomorrow and start doing some research. I’d imagine Amazon might have some option. Oh no! My poor fish. The curious thing is the area you pointed out she had when I bought her end of September/beginning October. So it’s possible I brought her home with it. So do the maracyn and then dose with the other type of meds? The maracyn did list it helps with fin rot but might need something stronger it sounds. Also, I think the bloating is from her food and how she eats. She gulps a lot of air, since its fish flakes. But reading about that sounds like those aren’t the best for her due to the filler too. Any recommendations on betta food? I appreciate your help and time along with everyone else. I’ve asked a lot of questions and feel a bit lost. So thank you! I really want to make her better, she means a lot to me. i also have plans for building her a 10 gallon tank with real plants and more room to swim.

Hi @Fish Folk - I took an updated picture, shown in my reply to @nabokovfan87. The photo above doesn't have the spots seen in the first photo I posted. However, I can confirm those aren't there on her anymore. I've looked very thoroughly!

Hi @nabokovfan87 - this is the best I could get (see image below). She loves moving around a lot when she sees me. Lots of energy. The heater I have I can't adjust the temps. So I will have to wait to get paid on Thursday to find another one to help heat the tank more. Do you have any recommendations for one that's for 3 gallons? I did have a carbon filter. But replacing it with a sponge (got the sponge from the co-op) because of the maracyn treatment. I followed the instructions of how to transfer that old filter and replace it with the new one per the co-op instructions (went in person). I also have ceramic rings in the filtration set-up (which is a back hanging on that came with the tank - Top Fin betta set-up). As for the water change, I did do some big ones when I found out I had an ammonia spike (around Thanksgiving week). And did 30% water changes daily for about one week. I was instructed when i went to the co-op to put that Fritz 7 in and follow the med instructions leaving the tank be. I only did one treatment of the maracyn. So basically, I need to repeat what I did a few weeks ago with daily tank changes? Sorry, just clarifying! Thanks! Also noting - I will make sure to make her fast. She isn't going to be too happy about that. Does the bloating mean something? Also, I only did one full treatment of the maracyn (started 12/2-12/7) and did the 25% water change recommended on the 6th day last Thursday. So was I supposed to do one more round of treatment or should I hold off?

Hi @Fish Folk - I have Maracyn from Fritz. I did one round of treatment for the pop-eye re: ammonia spike. Sounds like she needs another round of the 5-day treatment? Thanks!

I need some help again. I thought I was out of the woods with my betta, but yesterday I noticed some light patches (like the one on her head) around her gills and under her chin. This morning her right eye got cloudy again - I'm not sure what to do. For context, I was battling an ammonia spike and got it down to 0ppm. To help with getting the spike down I did a week and a half of water changes and then went to the co-op in person to get more help. I was instructed to put FritzZyme 7 Freshwater and then start treating the tank with Maracyn due to the pop-eye and what I thought was an ammonia burn (the light patch on her head). She perked back up, is WAY more active and her normal self and by the time I completed the first cycle of treatment, the water parameters seemed to have balanced out - that was on Thursday. Tested the waters on Saturday and the same. But today I tested and it seems to have a little ammonia in the water (the API said 0-.25ppm). I think she has a bacterial/fungal thing happening, should I do another dose of the maracyn? I see on the box it helps with bacteria on fish and the description matches what might be happening. Here's the tank info: 3 gallons 77 temp pH: 7.0 Ammonia: 0-.25 ppm Nitrite: 0ppm Nitrate: 0ppm Picture's below of my Augustine - sorry for the hazy glass, was told to leave them alone because that's where good bacteria live too.

@reefhugger I think that was my issue too, overfeeding. My betta gets SO excited and begs for food. Right now I'm only feeding her once a day, a tiny amount since I'm getting this back to where they should be because before this, there would be food waste on the bottom of the tank. Defintely learning from this past experience since I was messing with a lot of things well it was trying to cycle. Got a sponge filter now (from the co-op) and have biomedia in the filter too. 🙂

Thank you @nabokovfan87 - I appreciate it 🙂

Thanks, @AllFishNoBrakes! I'll make sure to be consistent from now on.

Hi all - just doing a feel-good post that today I tested my water after two and half weeks of dealing with ammonia levels and they are finally at 0ppm!! Shout out to everyone including Paul at the Aquarium co-op for all your advice on how to get my sweet betta, Augustine's tank back to where it should be. Now for an ultimate newbie question. Now that I've got her water parameters in the right direction, what's the best way to keep them that way? I've seen a variety of different "This is how you do it" kinds of advice in researching it online. But curious what you all think. Thank you!

Thank you - so far she's perked back up. So I'm hoping that's a good sign. 🙂

She got pop-eye/swollen eye and also an ammonia burn on the top of her head. So this is to help ease those issues. @Macready - yeah that's what I thought. So I only gave her a tiny bit of food. But I'll hold off on feeding her again until tomorrow/Thursday. I have the API water test kit that I've been using. Was instructed to wait to test until I do the 25% water change. Since i was babying the tank for almost two weeks with water changes and testing to help with the ammonia spike.