xXInkedPhoenixX

@Griznatch lol not sure if I am of the leave it alone variety as I feel like my hands are always in a tank!

Ok soooo I don't want to breed stuff. Anyone here that might be aware of me might be aware of my accidental breeding of Otocinclus. I chose Mystery snails because I could just remove their egg sacks- no more Mystery snails right??? Then how the heck did I get this little one?! I mean, I'm already in love but....how do I keep breeding stuff..... 😂

I used fake plants for a while to fill in my look and I do like the color they can bring to a tank. If you look at it some silk plants are just as much as real plants! So it shouldn't break the bank and I'm sure that lighting is just fine for them- I started with an Aqueon kit and the tiny LEDs still let my plants grow. I've since changed my lights and hood. Anyway- if you want something that will fill in pretty quick (and I don't use ferts and no heater) get yourself an Aponogeton. Yesterday at Petsmart in the Betta section I got 3 bulbs that were already sprouting for under 10 bucks. You can nearly watch these grow. The one attached here is under 3 mos old. Like I said before Anubias or Java ferns can be attached to rock or wood and are easily moved and in my experience, easy plants, slower growing. They're around 6-15 in the big box store depending on their size.

This is the one I have: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B08P1938MG/ref=cm_sw_r_u_apa_glt_fabc_A2RAQ4ZK7CZTYG2B55KG I've been happy with it.

Haha, sorry you don't I'm actually a Vine reviewer sooooooo....I do my best to write good reviews....

@HH Morant I have said battery (D celled) pump as well and always have batteries on hand because like you said, there are runs on them if there are long power outages. (Why can't people just be prepared?!) They'd also come in handy for moving stock.

More Otos. Minimum 6. 🙂 Plus nothing wrong with mixin silk plants but get some easy plants which will help your tank, Anubias and Java glued to rocks or wood aren't hard at all and you can move them later.

I remember when my FIRST Mystery snail did that. I have the pic I sent to everyone I knew (and keep in mind only ONE of them have an aquarium). Nobody knew what it was- thanks google. Ha!

I have two 20 gallon tall tanks that sit next to each other. They each have an airline run buy a Tetra Whisper pump to their sponge filters. THEN they both have a corner air driven bio filter (could be another sponge filter for all I care) driven by a plug in filter that is also a lithium battery. I live in an old neighborhood with above ground power lines/poles. It happens a lot- typically my power blinks off then on which is irritating because I have to reprogram my lights- HOWEVER when the power does go off for whatever reason, the battery takes over from that plug in pump and they both have at least 1 filter going.

The API master test kit is, I bet, what the majority of us use (I do!) so yes good choice. It lasts a long time and yes I'm sure it's pricey for you but it's worth it in the end. Get a clear plastic tub if you can, a lot of people use storage tubs. Keep the lid, you can always cut holes in it to string airlines into. Yes if you can get a basic sponge filter or even just an airstone (or both). You will need at least 1 of the 2, water agitation I find is a must in hospital tanks. If you already have an air pump for your other tank you can (if you have room) put them next to each other and splice an airline with a restrictor (so you can turn up/down to off the air for the hospital tub) that way you don't have to buy a dedicated air pump for now since it sounds like budget needs to be respected. We've never really discussed what you are using for a filter but you've mentioned a charcoal filter so I'm not sure if you have an air pump for air stones or anything so you could always buy a small clip on air pump or similar I use this one: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0009YJ4N6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_0H8XZQSCVVDY28JE2509 it's a great, inexpensive, basic and quiet air pump. Sponge filters shouldn't cost you that much either. But in a hospital tank you can also just use an airstone, if that's all you can afford for now. Start up cost for the aquarium hobby to do things properly are a bit steep, but once you're established (unless you get MTS, known as multiple tank syndrome) your costs start to go down to tolerable. Now as to the cobweb stuff, I'm hoping that's hair algae (brown or green) and not some sort of fungus(typically white) so it will be good to see a pic. Usually, new tank keepers see a bloom of diatom algae which is a covering of a brownish powder like (when you clean the glass that's what it looks like- powder) algae that some bottom feeders like. I hope that's why you have a yellow tinge to your water, meaning diatom is growing on your glass because Prime and Stability don't color water (it could also be your wood adding tanins to the water which is GOOD). Hair algae is a good sign if that's what it is but you don't want that stuff to get ouf of control, typically it'll grow on your plants and enough so it will start to suffocate the leaves- so you can gently, manually remove it before it gets there with a (new) toothbrush. We don't want your plants to lose their progress! 🙂 So this is where the Nerite snails I mentioned in your other thread come in handy. You see, you have a small tank. Bioload is a concern. I have a 3 gallon with four plants and some floaters -I will only ever have a Betta and some bladder snails in (maybe a small horned nerite if she keeps eating the little snails). This tank is perfectly balanced in fact it probably has LESS bioload than it can stand however I don't want to have to do frequent water changes and I want my betta to be absolutely comfortable. You have 3.5 extra gallons in your tank however you have (sorry if I'm not remembering exactly) about 4 tetras left? 3 of one kind and 1 of the orange. Am I right? Honestly in order to avoid overloading the tank, I'd probably only get 2 orange tetras for your hospital tank. That way you have 6 total. Yes they would have been better in a larger group or 6 of just one species but I think that's about all your tank can handle FOR NOW until and unless you have some major plant growth (nature's filter). I'd let those settle in and see how that does bioload-wise until I'd consider replacing a betta OR instead of having a betta you could maybe add another few tetras and just have a tetra/snail tank- NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT. That's up to you and up to your tank. Back the the nerite. What kind of snail do you already have? I'm guessing it might be a mystery? (make sure you're feeding them too, fresh blanched veg is a cheap way to do it) If it's a mystery they aren't the greatest algae eaters I'VE found AND they're high on the bio-load spectrum- they're just pretty- to me. Nerites however are a different story. They are smaller and have a smaller bio-load PLUS they come in handiy.... If we can confirm you are getting algae you could probably add 1 or 2 without quarantining them. As long as wherever you get them from, you don't see a bunch of dead fish in the tank- but generally nerites and fish don't get the same illnesses and should be safe. This offers a few benefits: they can eat your algae (they eat film algae, soft green and brown algae and brown diatom- I've also found they eat hair algae- they also benefit from the veg thing like the mystery), you can add something living to your tank that will add interest for YOU, and really they are more fun to watch than you think. Personally I think you SHOULDN'T try to get ANY bottom feeder fish, and the cory you had- well they're NOT algae eaters- they really just eat left over fish food and whatever other bonus food you give them. Technically, they also need to be kept in groups of at least 6 too- your tank is too small for that. This all make sense?

@HonourWest honestly, knowing your situation and you being newer- if I were in your shoes I wouldn't pick anything that's going to breed in your tank. That can come later. You've said this is pretty much it for the size/space/time you have for a tank. If you get live breeders in that small of a tank you'll have an explosion of babies in a small tank and have parameter issues all over again (easy in a small tank). The exception to that is say if you got all male guppies. HOWEVER, in my experience my black neons are/can be fin nippers. So I wonder about your Betta having been stressed by them. I'd load up my tetras once the tank settles(just a few more). For algae eater I'd get a nerite MAYBE 2. They eat a wider variety of algae than most. Then I'd probably try a Betta- I'd look at a plakat (short finned) male or a female (which tend to be more peaceful).

Hi @RogueAquarium welcome to the forum! Thank you for your service to our country. I LOVE your daughter's tank 🙂 and it sounds like you've got lots of great things going on! (I had a hamster named Jet, he was AWESOME)

Hi. I'm very sorry you lost your Corycat too, we did know that could be a possibility- I too am glad they are not suffering but I'm sorry it happened- your bottom feeders and long finned friends usually catch wind of illness first in aquariums. Ok. So, tetras are pretty tough. If you don't think they look at all sick and are acting "normal" (say the same from the day you got them and/or saw them at the store) and if I were you- I'd go ahead stop medicating, since you already put the filter back. I'd do a 50% water change (treating the new water with Prime as a water conditioner). THEN INSTEAD of using Prime every day, I'd go with the Seachem Stability every day, for 7 days as the instructions advise, MONITOR water quality (I hope you have an ammonia and nitrite test now those are the toxic ones to fish- being paranoid I'd probably test every day but you could get away with less maybe), AND what's left of your inhabitant behavior and physical looks (any sign of illness may need to be treated) -changing water ONLY when either of those have anything much beyond 0). You can leave the water as long as it's testing clean- if it doesn't I'd do a small water change if the reading say for ammonia is only .25 (maybe 20%, and then dose the Stability after). After the 7 days I'd probably STILL dose with Prime every day still keeping a close eye on inhabitants until you are sure you have a cycled tank. When you look at your fish, look for any signs of fin damage or tiny white spots, look at their eyes make sure they're clear, look at their scales and make sure there is no redness or white spots anywhere, if you can see gills make sure they're not super red and inflamed. Watch for "flashing" (swimming irratically- you can youtube this) or rubbing on decor, make sure they're not constantly at the top of the water gulping air. Like I said, tetras are some of the tough fish so hopefully they can get you through this fish-in cycle. Don't even think about adding more fish until your numbers are consistently stable. THEN make sure you get a container you can safely quarantine any new fish BEFORE you add them into this tank (this tank has seen enough casualties, you don't want to go through this again, trust me). Then after at least a couple weeks (I'd do at least a month) of observation THEN add the new inhabitants into the tank and every time I've done that in MY tanks I do another round of Seachem Stability. 🙂

Just remember Prime is a great emergency tool, but don't forget it loses its power so you must remember to redose every day during this time. Later when you're over this hump, and you will get there if you are determined, it can just be a tool like everything else ( say as a water conditioner).

As to antifungal meds, I don't think that's the illness concern. I think the antibacterial will help that. Others may have some ideas but that's where I'd stand. Columnaris is bacterial infection (what your betta had) so I'm thinking you should just focus on clean water, Prime and anti-bacterial. So the care steps @KaitieG laid out if you would like to go that route, do that and dose meds and Prime after your water changes. When I had Ich in my tank, I did smaller 20% water changes EVERY day and dosed Prime and meds.

Hi. Keep the filter out if you're going to medicate still as it is supposed to remove the meds. The Prime should be safe to use with meds as long as there is no copper in the medication. Seachem said it could interact badly for the fish if it does. I think the med you picked up is tetracycline and I don't see any reason why it would have copper but check the bottle for mention of it. If it does not absolutely YES use the Prime every 24hrs to make sure it continues neutralizing the bad stuff. If you have to or want to do small water (or up to 50% as @KaitieG said)changes before redosing that and the meds I really don't see why you couldn't. It has worked for me when my tank had Ich. You may still end up with losses but keep going. @KaitieG is right, nevermind about the pH 7.8 is on the higher end of things but it's absolutely NOT a bad pH. The fish will get used to that if it stays there- she is absolutely right. It's ther nitrogen cycle we're concerned about right now. You can do this.

BTW they're stupid cute. Hope you can raise them successfully. 🙂

There are several ways you could approach this. You *could* leave the tank as is treating the whole tank, finish the medication cycle, if anybody else is sick- the body damage you're describing could lead to bacterial infections so may be good to medicate. I believe using Stability through that might work to keep things from going sideways but the meds might also kill beneficial bacteria. So doing the med course (changing water if needed by testing water quality and then redosing) and then starting with some water changes when it's over then restart with Stability. You *could* potentially move your plants out during treatment into a bucket which might be easier than you setting up a hospital tank since you're new to the hobby I'm guessing you're not quite set up for that yet. To keep the plants fresh you could do water changes there if need be and fertilize them, you'll just to have to make sure they get light too. That way maybe you can bring some of your plants back and replant them when the med course is over. You *could* clean out the tank as you said by removing inhabitants putting them into a bucket temporarily and cleaning the tank, refill and start with Stability. The only thing you're risking here is maybe some of the fish do still need meds and you end up having to medicate the tank anyway- BUT everything could go well and get a lot better once the water is clean/tank is clean and you start with Stability then Prime. You *could* do the complete cleaning, put back the inhabitants you think are the most healthy and quarantine the others in a hospital container of your choice and medicate them there. You could do any of the above in combination. Whatever you think will be easiest for you and your inhabitants. I'd be worried about the snail, make sure the medication is invertebrate safe. Maybe it could live with your plants if you quarantine them while medicating make sure any fertilizer you pick is invertebrate safe too. There's so many ways you can approach this.

Yes I hear about first bites often, that will likely work. I think breeder boxes are great because they get to live in the water conditions that they were laid in if you can put them back in the parent tank.

Can you put them in a floating breeder? My understanding is you can feed them foods that you're feeding your adult fish, like crushed flake or pellet, and of course first foods that they sell at LFS. My floating breeder boxes (solid bottoms, vented sides) have worked best for my Otos, but the netted kind might work better for these kind of fry. I crush Hikari Algae wafers for my baby Otos have kept them alive and thriving so crushing adult food does indeed work.

I am very sorry. I'm sure you're very discouraged. The answer to me if you still really would like to try is a resounding YES. But with the caveat- don't get one right away, continue with what you have left and get your tank cycled. I'm sorry did you have other fish left? Are they showing signs of illness? It wasn't that YOU couldn't keep him alive, it's that you got bad information. Now that you know, you can get your tank cycled and do some more research on tank and Betta care. To me this is the fun part of the hobby.

I'm cheating because I don't have them yet but I'm waiting on tank space- I want to be a Hillstream Loach, they look like they have fun and I like how they move. Otherwise I'd be one of my Otos.

Well it sounds like you have a low tech set up with no heater, same as how I do it. I don't dose fertilizer. Now because of that my plants may grow a bit slower than those who dose fertilizers- my oldest tank right now is 9 months, I'll attach a picture. I chose "easy" plants because of this, so Anubias, Aponogeton, Amazon Swords are some of my favorites, but I'm experimenting with other "easy plants". They are all listed in my profile under About Me with pictures of all my tanks. I started with larger river gravel and a bit of planting substate at the back to put some Swords. Anubias and Java don't need substrate, they need to be attached to something. It looks like you might not have much for planting substrate for those kinds of plants that root into it to grow? Besides the tank already being new and stressed that might be part of the issue as they aren't getting the nutrients they need yet from an established system. You might do as I did in my main tank and EVENTUALLY add substrate in places or put in pots to place more plants. It takes a while for things to grow in but it's very satisfying when you can run a low tech tank.

Well I'm sorry to hear that there is no improvement but it appears you have the right type of med to treat what is going on. Stability will help with your new tank syndrome- hopefully that will help even things out- make sure you dose exactly as the bottle says (7 days). The Prime will help in emergencies- lets just say it neutralizes the bad stuff for 24 hours so you do have to redose. It's also a good water conditioner if you want to use it for that. It's multi-purpose which is why I recommend its use. I really hope the meds help your poor Betta, Alphonso, he looks miserable. I think your tank will look really nice when this is all over and the plants can be filled in. I know it's disheartening but if you're determined you'll come out better in the end. The diving helmet is actually really cool, it will look neat surrounded by plants and fish. Fish like hiding places, there's nothing wrong with it. On my profile under about me you'll see my own little man made caves. We all have different styles- that's what so cool about this hobby.

@HonourWest Hi, how are the fish today?