Andrew Geiger

Seems like it may have been bad luck... Also they sometimes live for months with no food or water changes, in stores. And before that raised at horrible fish farms that keep them in tiny living conditions. When you buy a full grown betta there is a chance that they are 3 years or older, in which case in bad water conditions that is most of their life. Look for one that flares up nicely and keeps his fins fairly raised even when not flaring.

I wouldn't chase ph, I cannot speak for endlers specifically, but all fish can adjust and live comfortably in a wide range of ph. Especially if you get them locally; they will be adapted to water similar to yours then. If you do want to raise your alkalinity you can add crushed coral to your filter or use as a substrate. It can also be hidden in media bags and buried under your desired substrate. I use this even with hard water out of the tap with all my live bearers and if I had African cichlid I would use with them.

Ive never had rainbows, so take this as a grain of salt. But I would bet that if its behaving like a male that it is a male, you'll find out when they go gravid with eggs which are which. Alot of subdominant males will have less color, also I know that some egg scattering fish have early maturing males that wont have good color and sometimes smaller in size too.

Haven't had one but I really like the look of some of the north american darters! Second thing that comes to mind is ember/green flash/glowlight tetras. They are too flashy to not like. Pricey for a large school that amounts to one medium size fish though. edit: I guess I need a 3rd; so pygmy corydora is my choice 😁

It may be something to do with the water source, currently the city water that is supplied from the lake near town is melting algae from seasonal changes. So there is a spike of nitrites currently. (biofiltering my water before changes) -This might not be your issue though. Its also possible that its just a new tank syndrome of some sort, you could try flourish or microbe lift to balance it if it is caused by some bacterial bloom. You can try laying a well rinsed/then dried towel, or paper towel on top for a second to absorb some of it. It might help.

Were you testing your water parameters before the death? If you were, and the kit was reading everything fine, then its possible the kit was giving false readings. A second kit or bringing it in to compare results with a lfs is a good idea when seeing problems. How long has your tank been running? Is it possible that you didnt have a strong cycle? Or that your cycle crashed if you had one to begin with. What type of flow is in the tank? I normally would use a tiny low flow filter, tiny submersible pump, or a air-stone turned way down located close to the surface. A feeder ring (air tube with a coupler is a easy way to make one) helps to keep high surface tension at a minimal in his hang out areas. ~my first betta in a community tank didn't make it due to flow (I was to dumb to know at the time) The reality is some fish just aren't going to make it, and its possible he was doomed from the start. Since he seemed in good health its possible that something else that you couldn't know happened. Such as he was raised in high ph water, and you having a normal ph for bettas was a bad idea. Its hard to say but we all try to prevent such things from happening.

I just plugged in a nano pump in an IBC tote, over 4 feet deep and it pumps like a champ for a large sponge filter

Are you asking about the swelling/color near the vent/anus? It could be a gravid female. I would keep an eye on it though, parasites are possible. I wouldn't jump to the conclusion of an internal parasite until you familiarize yourself with that breed though. Gravid females my first guess. Not the easiest pictures to diagnose (a good quality one wouldn't even help me, but others might appreciate it. I wouldn't zoom so much; it makes for a low resolution)

I personally would try salt (possibly epsom/marine if aquarium salt doesn't work), see if you cant get him to work through what ever is blocking him up. Co Op has a great video on the steps that can be taken. You'll have to remove plants if you don't want them to suffer through it. (beware that this might increase nitrates if too many plants are removed) I would start with 1tsp and go up after 2weeks if no improvements have been made.

I would treat it the same as a heater in an aquarium, the more on/off cycles it goes through the harder it is on the components. I have used larger heaters for reservoirs in outdoor conditions that are fairly cold. I always get the coated metal ones so that they cannot shatter, and didn't burn any of them in two winters of running. Just and idea: It may be more efficient to boil water and pour in to get up to temp though

@Streetwise oh definitely microbes and bacteria in soil! A lot of “regular” substrate is inert and sometimes man made stone. Soil could be one of the best starters.

All things outdoors, but as far as my obsessions. Plants and aquaponics (kind of fish related), I have chickens and quail for eggs, I guess health in general. So mostly keeping things and myself alive and thriving consumes a decent amount of my time. I'm extremely passionate about living soil and the carbon/nutrient cycles work! Phasing out mono-culture, and normal conventional farming with salt base synthetics is key to eliminating many of our current problems.

@Daniel Thanks! Very good response and explanation. Yea, I was thinking back on the first aquarium that I established with no added organisms, didn't add plants or anything. It took a good 2 months to get good hold... thinking back I should have reached out for some established media. It is a bacterial world, our bodies wouldn't function the same. We cant even digest food without them. @KBOzzie59 I think hands makes sense. But depending on the decor they may have some as well. Most substrate is intert, then we clean the heck out of it, so id imagine that has to reestablish if it had any to begin with.

No war needed, we can have different opinions, doesn't bother me any. I'm speaking from my experience of customers complaints/pictures. Our business shipping out nationwide and receiving a few packages. We ship out of OK, CO, CA. And definitely still use fedex and ups as its a lot cheaper most of the time. I cant speak for the length of time it, or mistakes in where its going, (havent had too much issue with that) BUT the way carriers treat the boxes seems more tender with usps than any other in the last year or two.

I guess its just like the rest of the world, more tech and more options available... in the 90's it was exciting to have a big ole box tv. Now you get these bright sleek, thin flat screens for a reasonable price. The new tv's look way better, but the old style will still serve the same function.