VioletT

Update: I have done a round of Kanaplex and I have no noticed a change. During this time I am battling trying to keep the Ammonia low as it turns out I STILL have yet to get any Nitrites to appear in the tank. I have reintroduced salt to the water and added another almond leaf. He managed to flare at his reflection though and his appetite has been good. Current plan: I'll return to daily water changes until the ammonia is clean (still adding Prime and stability)and start another round of kanaplex. Also remove the blue tree and try to figure out how to replace it with something organic.

I was really hoping that getting the water stable would resolve the issue but you are right. Thank you for reminding me.

Indeed! I'm proud of the little guy.

Update: keeping water clean with 2 days doing a 30% water change. He eats well and is very active. I have stopped putting salt in his water and I have noticed that his fins aren't improving. I plan to add salt back into the water next time I do a water change.

For now yes. Things are pretty much the same as last time I reported. It's a waiting game now.

He is pretty active. Whenever I move he is quick to see what I'm up too. He is eating well and always ravenous. I have not noticed any further decay but as mentioned hard to tell if the fins are re-growing or not. The inflammation on his cheek is completely gone. He doesn't flair a lot when using the mirror but seems to be doing alright. He hasn't blown any bubble nests yet.

I hope that is the case. I'll keep an eye on it. Thank you!

I have been using Stability and Prime like you mentioned earlier with daily water changes for about a week. Below is a photo of the filter additions I added.

I am noticing that the water in the tank is showing 0 ammonia when I use a liquid test kit but the test strips I use for everything else is showing also 0 nitrites and nitrates. I am continuing to struggle to get my tank cycled but I am also not seeing any worsening symptoms in my fish. The inflamed spot on his cheek has nearly gone away and I haven't noticed any further decay on the fins but it is still really hard to tell if that is really the case or if I'm just used to how his fins look now.

Okay, I'll do my best to update with any changes. Thank you!

5 Gallons

Thank you for the encouragement. I have put a lot of time and stress into trying to helping this little guy and it is defiantly a trial by fire. He Seems to be holding it together for now, it's really hard to tell if there is progress but I have noticed that the inflamed sore on his cheek has gone down quite a bit and might disappear soon. My plan it to get the cycle going and potentially another round of kanaplex. I am considering getting some plants and I'll defiantly will have to educate myself on how to do that correctly. but I've been taking more and more plastics out and replacing it with things like a floating log and other hiding spots. Currently I am feeding him three top fin floating pellets two times a day (very basic I know). I recently got him some shrimp pellets and bloodworms.

okay thank you the videos did help me better understand. I will get some foam and media and start to attempt to cycle.

Here is the filter I am working with.

My parameters seemed alright this morning but I think you are right with needing to focus on water quality, NH3 0.03, NO2 0, NO3 0. Currently the only media I have for the filter is the Ecoclear filter pad that came with the filter. I feared that it would remove the kanaplex so I removed it. I think having a better understanding of how filters actually work would be helpful because if I can get the tank cycled then I could do another round of Kanaplex within a week because so far he seems to be improving and I think getting the tank cycled as you say may help with that.