Summer Lotus

Thank you for the explanation. I'm very new to this hobby and still learning.

I actually was forced to do fish in cycle so I watched the water parameters daily. After about a month, the ammonia/nitrite were 0ppm every day for a few weeks and the nitrate was 5ppm. I used bottled bacteria and live plants in hopes that it wouldn't take a long time to cycle the tank. After I saw that the ammonia/nitrites were 0ppm for a few days, I stopped using Prime so I'm pretty sure the ammonia was 0ppm since I still checked my water parameters very often. I'm very paranoid about killing my betta fish since I've gotten quite attached to that little thing. My tank is only 6 gallons so when I added more plants 1 1/2 weeks ago, I added maybe 5 easy root tabs for the new plants. Then 2 days ago, I noticed that my red dwarf aquarium lily's leaves were turning green so I added 2 more root tabs just for the dwarf lily. The next day is when the tank cycle crashed. I honestly didn't think that just adding a few more easy root tabs would cause such an issue. Lesson learned I suppose.

I've only had my tank for less than 2 months but my water parameters was stable for at least 3 weeks until now. I bought some plants last week and added a bunch of root tabs for them. Because of these changes, I've been monitoring my water parameters more often. Last week, the ammonia and nitrite were 0ppm. The nitrate was around 5ppm. Yesterday, my ammonia and nitrite were both 0ppm, while my nitrate was at 20ppm. Today, everything spiked so the ammonia and nitrite were about 1ppm and the nitrate was probably around 80ppm. I immediately did a water change but the water parameters are still in dangerous levels for the ammonia and nitrite. I've dosed seachem prime to protect the only betta fish in the tank and will probably do another water change tomorrow. What could have possibly caused this crash? There were maybe a few leaves that melted but nothing else seemed to have died. Are there any other suggestions in order to get this cycle back to normal quickly besides adding bottled bacteria, which I've already done?

I think the light uses about 13 watts. I haven't been able to use the light completely, maybe just 3 days. All the other days have been blue light only. If the java fern leaf comes off and they're still green, should I just leave them in the aquarium? I'm afraid the loose leaf may melt and cause an ammonia spike. The fern isn't attached to anything, and it's definitely not buried. Should I get rocks or driftwood so it can attach to something? I checked the water parameters shortly before doing a water change. Ammonia and nitrites have been stable at 0 ppm and nitrate was about 5 ppm based on the API test kit.

While I was cleaning my sponge filter today, two leaves from my java fern came off. There's a lot of black spots on the leaves. Is it salvageable? Is this a light issue? A potassium deficiency? Granted, I haven't been able to use a proper light because my betta fish can see himself in the glass and keeps flaring. He did it for 3 days and shredding his fins. I ended up turning off the light except for the blue light for the past 2 weeks while the betta fins heal. I'm also afraid all of my other plants will eventually die if I can't use a light. Would appreciate any suggestions.

Well, at least now I know that upgrading my tank to a 10 gallon tank won't solve the problem! Poor mystery snails. Which riser did you end up getting? The cheapest one I see on Amazon is $18, and I'm not sure if it's durable. I was tempted to get a hygger clip on light but glad I didn't based on what you've told me.

Hi everyone, I think I need a different light for my betta fish tank and was looking for recommendations. I’m currently using the Aqueon Clip-on LED for planted aquariums, and it seems to be too bright for my little 6 gallon tank. My betta can see himself in the glass tank and was flaring at himself non-stop so I had to stop using the white lights. I’ve been using the nighttime setting so only the blue lights are on. I thought of covering the tank to reduce the reflection but then I’d have to do that for the entire tank because he’ll just flare in every direction. Are there any lights I can buy that aren’t too bright but still allow me to grow plants? Thanks!

Hello everyone. I'm rather new to the hobby. I was gifted a betta fish last month and ended up doing a lot of research to make sure the little fish didn't die on me. What an adventure! My current setup is a 6 gallon tank with some plants, a hideout, sponge filter, and a heater. While I did have to do a fish in cycle, I'm happy to say that my betta has been happy, healthy, and very active. Now I just have to convince myself not to buy another tank. I hope to learn more about this exciting hobby!