xXInkedPhoenixX

Hi! Welcome to the forum, lots of Corycat lovers on this forum they'll be identified quickly!

Thanks @DaveO and @Guppysnail for your responses. Well, I can say the lighting is crappy in my post respiration container pic so the color of the algae is only slightly darker, it's already pretty dark algae. I'm hesitant to say what is underneath the algae is an uhealthy leaf- granted it's probably not doing well but even trying to pull and scrape off the algae the leaf is holding fast to the plant and seems healthy in the areas I can still see (under/stem). I'm wondering if it would be bad to run it through again so soon? Maybe trimming the leaves most effected would be best. I don't know. I would like to put it back in the tank. For now it sits in a container awaiting my decistion.

OK y'all, advise please. I pulled this Anubias Nana out of my Medieval Tank and put it in a vat of Seltzer along with a Java fern for 12 hours last night. It looked like this as I was pulling it out of the tank: It's a particularly nasty hair algae in that it REALLY sticks to things- I would not be able to toothbrush this off. So this morning I pulled it out and put it in the clean water bath with an airstone. I actually left it there all day. It doesn't look a whole lot different to me AND the hair algae is still SUPER stuck on the plant. Looks like this: What should I do?!

2 of my 4 Betta fish definitely sleep in the tunnels I bought them. One of them sleeps on a Subwassertang shelf near the tank surface I built for the purpose. The 4th, I'm not sure where she goes to sleep. I've seen her in the tunnel (same as the others) but never caught her.

My Hillstream Loach, Kirby is one of my most favorite fish. They are definitely my favorite oddball and not popular enough IMO!

Nah that's Polyfilter, no affiliation with Seachem as far as I know. :-)

Yes Catappa would be good for him regardless of water parameters. They are naturally antibacterial and can help with fin problems. You can put the leaf in but don't let it decay too much since he's solo. I often brew my own leaf tea and use it in my water changes. :-)

THE ABOVE NEEDS TO BE ADDED LAST- and preferably when the tank is WELL established. You go through cycling, you've had your other fish added and they are established in the tank for at least a month with no cycle issues or deaths. Bottom feeders require a tank that's been in operation a bit for best results. Shrimp are especially suseptible to this and part of it is also because they'll need food sources that come with a well-esstablished tank. Clean up crews need to be fed just like the rest of your fish (do your research!) :-) For your centerpiece fish I would also consider a small group of male Endlers. They seem to be much hardier than Guppies IMO and are just as interesting/active/fun to watch. I would also consider smaller schooling fish (lower bioload) Ember Tetras or Kubotai Rasboras. :-)

Hi there. I don't think most of the time it should be an issue but if this is the only thing you suspect could be a problem what I might do is start mixing his tap water with spring or distilled. 300 is pretty high but I'm not sure what those effects might be - however typically they prefer softer water. It doesn't appear there is much in his tank he could harm himself with. Betta with long fins often have this issue. I would try several things but not all at once in order not to stress him and so you know what actually works. @Chick-In-Of-TheSea had some of the same issues with her Gepetto. One thing I would recommend is put a floating or attached tunnel at the top of his tank (leaving a little room for air) so he doesn't have to exit for a breath. This will give him to chance to hide from light and stressors.

I have and mine died completely, haven't tried one since.

Never been one, never made sense to me. Only people I know who have it, say they want the streaming services and access to prime days (I've never seen anything I needed that badly being SO much cheaper to make it worth my while). Plus the times I've seen people streaming video most of what's on there is also another charge to "rent". No thanks. I'm good. I don't know about you @nabokovfan87 but I've noticed they've done a lot less of the "order ready" and it sits for days lately. I think they plop you in an electronic line now so you don't get that notification a week before it's actually shipped. Yes that's what that is. I have it at the front around the back of the tree and into the back. There is an incline in that area, mostly to cover the base of the tree. It's actually doing well for what I've been told can be a difficult plant. Monte Carlo is in that same category but it's actually also doing well which is the first time that's happened for me. I attribute the success of both plants to the dry start. I'm a huge fan of Anubias. I found a few species of Nana and have only one other broader leafed one in the tank (about the middle). I had to Reverse Respirate one of my Nanas as it was getting attacked by some rather stubborn hair algae. More on that later here. In this tank in particular it lends itself to a believable medieval ruins scape. Plus being such a short tank I needed plants that didn't get too tall - so I think I picked well here so far. Thanks to you both for the compliments there. It's a simple tank but an enjoyable one.

@Chick-In-Of-TheSea nah, I only use Seachem Kanaplex and Metroplex (along with Focus if binding meds to foods). However looks like @nabokovfan87found all the answers to the questions here. I have found Seachem is very responsive to emails as well. You typically have to deep dive on sites about meds but there is always a SDS sheet as they need to be available (believe that is law)

I ordered my tank lights for the Medieval Tank yesterday via Amazon. Keep in mind I'm not a prime member since i'm a) never in that big a hurry to get anything and b) always spend over the minimum amount to get free shipping - I never found it worth my while. And another reason - sometimes I get things within a few days anyway. Well. Today is even more of an example. I got my lights today! The day after I ordered them! Woot! So, here is the original light, don't really pay attenion to the color temp - lighting was different that time of day and this is the same light/brand (Hygger) but the way it sits on the tank and lights the tank overall is what I wanted to get away from: The light sits (IMO) too compactly on the top of the tank/lid and being so close made it really hard to lift the lid for feedings and maintenance even with lid off and light on. Plus to me it wasn't really aesthetically pleasing. I've been very happy with the Hygger clip on light I got for the Dragon Tank. It has the same features as the long Hygger but looks nicer IMO and is out of my way: And the tank looks great: So I happily removed the original light as soon as they arrived and put them on. OMG, night and day difference. The fish seem to appreciate them more too as they are out of the dark corners and out and about in less of a spotlight-esque setting. I think my algae problem will be a little less extreme with these lights and less glare on the lid. All I gotta do is some Reverse Respiration on a few plants and see how it goes from there (to see what other adjustments will be needed). Much happier right now though!

Yea I still don't see much of concern. Though his behavior change is concerning. This may be because of the change in his water environment. Betta are one of those who really don't do well with fluctuations. Get his tank back to normal parameters and do you best to make sure they don't wobble much at all. HOPEFULLY it's something simple like that!

Well awesome @JoeQ! Thanks for the recommendation!

Kudos to @Guppysnail for the recommendation of KatsAquatics food for Nerites! I've never been able to get mine to eat ANYTHING. So I ordered the "3-1 Limited Edition Calcium" food from Amazon: ...and here is Curlycue my oldest Nerite mowing down the white colored wafer (just at the edge of her shell, she is almost done it was about as wide and long as she is). Invictus is carefully monitoring the situation....

Hahah! The couple of times I had shrimp (and sadly not for long) I was surpised all the places they fit. I do however liken them to bugs (I call them and their like sea bugs though the fresh water variety don't come from there, I am aware). They can fit themselves into the smallest places. They are not dumb!

Hello @Juxtaposed, welcome to the forum! What a lucky 3 yo!

I'm wondering if the low pH is too acidic for him if his scales are being effected. That was my thought. Acidic water does stave off bacterial issues typically so it shouldn't be bacterial. However, I like to keep my Bettas in 7 pH range. I've never kept a Betta in that low a number so it makes me wonder. Try and get more pics if you can, others may take a gander and have other ideas or experience with what's going on here.

Very nice! Welcome to the forum @mkeyz!

I found this picture of a Betta with Velvet...any resemblance to what is on yours?

Hi there @GinkoTracks. Sorry about your Betta. However if he truly had Dropsy you're the only one I know that got their to survive, so kudos to you and him. I'm not sure about the yellow, as far as I can see on the pics it's just discoloration. Does it have a different texture are scales missing is there anything coming off of those patches at all or does it look like the rest of him? Also, are those the parameters he's always lived in? Buffer, pH seems a bit low, and no Nitrate is unusual unless you have a super heavy plant load. I ask, if he's always lived in those parameters that helps me maybe go another direction.

I'll 3rd the sponge. Most Betta aren't going to be fans of flow which other internals offer. Especially if it has longer fins. My plakat Koi likes the flow in his tank (Aqueon Quiet flow 10) I see him using it as a treadmill at times during the day but he can avoid the flow as needed (10 gallon). Longer finned Bettas could have fin damage from too much flow.

One Bolivian should be fine. I have one in a 20 gallon that runs 2 sponge filters and he has 20 schooling fish above him (10 Harlequin Rasboras and 10 Black Neons).

Looks great! What a neat jungle for the fish!