xXInkedPhoenixX

MY WONDERFUL COLOSSAL BETTA FANS WE HAVE A BREAKTHROUGH!!!! I needed a win lately and while I was doing my usual every other day water change for the Betta boys, you know what I saw? A. Fully. Recovered. Red. Crowntail. Betta!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Don't believe me that he's swimming normal? Here's a pic of him midwater just chillin': Need more than that? How about 19 beautiful Google video seconds here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/KAfiz6FS13si4AnU8 Or if that's not enough for you, 58 seconds: https://photos.app.goo.gl/y8ZJyEmmpGSydUEs7 Yeah? Nice eh?! We did it Red!!! Oh yes, White is good too, but it isn't about you mister: Woohoo! (small dance party at @xXInkedPhoenixX's house!)

Good luck @BettaMommy

How many?

@nabokovfan87 I'm with you buddy, bring on the super glue. I'm a sucker for multi-purpose things- and it would not stop me from using it on other household projects!

Exactly this. You could say the same about pit bulls, which were originally bred to do, exactly what the name suggests- fight in pits. They were bred to be human friendly but not dog friendly. However, often depending on the dog, how they were raised and their personality they get along with other dogs or even another pit bull just fine. But a good dog owner, knowing this history should always proceed with caution. I see lots of fish keepers trying this or that with fish even among the same type (CPD males will fight to the death), several types of cichlids and etc. I think the answer is always always "it depends". Bettas even with other fish can be iffy. I just removed 2 Guppies from my Mum's tank because we suspect (never witnessed but they were fine before) that the Betta Mum took on was attacking them. But I have another Betta who does just fine with MY Guppies- and is totally chill. I had experience in a rescue situation where there were almost 100 baby hamsters- dwarf Russians. Hamsters are typically NOT hamster friendly. Sadly even when they were very small we ran into massacres that were pretty horrific. I ended up with 2 of them- they were brothers, Sasquatch and Chupacabra- they lived their lives out in the same cage, would get grumpy with each other (often just squinted eyes and a vocalized "MEH!" and that was it). Should it have worked? No absolutely not - but it did. Didn't stop me from picking them up and kissing their little faces either. (never got bit and I got the same "MEH!") I think someone who is attempting an iffy combo (even putting Betta in a community tank is in this category) has to be VERY aware of the consequences and have a back up plan.

Like @Fish Folk says - Foods are a great idea. Budget definitely is a factor, and what you keep would be helpful to know but you did say shrimp! So new and cool structures for the shrimp (I see lots of cool things on Etsy for fish keeping that you can't find elswhere and the ladies love to shop on Etsy most of the time!). There are also plant holders and fish caves and all sorts of baubles and do-dads. Aquarium lights (that aren't too long so awkward to travel with). Any tools that need replacing or upgrades? Do you want to organize things? 3M hooks are portable and cool for hanging nets, tools, handled buckets in which to put tools and foods etc. Super glue is always needed, lol.

@Polemos that happened to me the other day. Try deleting the pics, then edit the post by scrolling all the way down and backspacing. Then re-add the pics. I see them, but sorry I'm not sure what the plant is.

oh, duh of course - I always automatically think snails and salt don't mix but this is not the case here. No matter anyway, they are safe from all meds now where they are. I though I'd killed them off with the Naladin. I have only caught 2 floaters, everyone else was at the bottom of the tank. I cannot guarantee anyone will eat the food but I will medicate some Repashy with the Metro - do you think it'd be ok to dose both in water and food?? This is absolutely something I thought about too. I know Otos are more sensitive but I'd think there would be others in my remaining tanks (like my Hillstream Loach) that would show signs. Nothing so far. Well, it happens. It sucks and no it's not easy at all, but it does happen. If I can add to the knowledge base and give out my experience, hopefully prevent others from having the issue OR help people who do have an issue that's the best I can hope for when something bad happens. At first one thinks, well this is embarrassing - but logically there is nothing I have done that was wrong (at least that I've found, but willing to admit it if I do find it). I think too, it's important for people new to the hobby to know that this hobby can have disasters - that none of us are immune to them no matter how long we've done it or how long the tank has been going.

@Odd Duck I don't have a heater there. The filtration is 2 sponge (lots of bubbles- I'll see if I can add more) so no electricity there but there is an Aqueon hob, can they transmit a current at all? Other than that nothing to transmit a current. I thought about salt but had already traumatized my Nerites. I moved them last night so I'll dose the tank with salt later today. Thankfully the Nerites are not where I put them last night so hopefully they will all be ok. I found 3 more deceased today that brings me to 17. One of the 3 I pulled yesterday in the breeder, 1 floater, and one along the bottom. Still no obvious signs of illness. I see a few more not acting right so who knows how many I'll find later. Food seemed to have been eaten more than the last few days. I sucked up the old food this morning and put new food in. Allllll the babies still with me. The large female I caught in the breeder box I'm keeping an eye on seems to be carrying eggs. She also has a very red anal area. I'm thinking of Epsom soaking her later too and trying to inspect her more closely. She's the only one that looks bad. Everyone else despite being dead or dying looks normal. Still scratching my head. I hope I don't lose the whole colony.

@Minanora @Odd Duck I really like the idea of diminishing stones but my idea here is more like a slice of life/shadow box, as if it were taken out of a section of a ruin. I might use that idea though in a future tank I need to build, more on that another time. (and no @Odd Duck, haven't found any weapons to add to this tank yet, lol.) All the above said I haven't decided what to do - but I did decide to actually pull all the smooth stones I had for the "floor" and put in all the ragged ones. IF I decide to keep it I'll put in a little more Eco complete to fill in between the stones and make it more flush. I'd like other opinions on this look. Sadly it doesn't translate super well in pictures- always looks better in person. I might find darker stones to replace the lighter ones but again - I'm on the fence over the look. Remember too though, I will likely be adding Java Windelov behind the Archway to add to the spooky and then the Subwassertang will be dangling along the moss shelf. This is how the walkway looks now: Then I got the moss shelf from Etsy. Since it bows a little I trimmed the end so now it fits straight. It's not going to be a danger to the fish and can be covered by Subwassertang: Also have an update on stocking. As mentioned I'd previously planned to put my CPD in here. Well that changed because the temp I planned to put in this tank. @TheSwissAquarist suggested maybe giving up a fish, and you know what- that was probably the best thing. I ended up finding someone who posted they wanted some CPD and I messaged them and gave him my CPD. Bonus they're going in a larger tank and in with more CPD, this includes their Derpy baby which he agreed to take - and you know what, I feel better about this direction. (Maybe it was also motivated by my recent Oto losses, time to go a new direction!) Now I have an empty 4 gallon which will get broken down and sold since it is a very nice tank for somebody's shrimp or whatever! I have purchased a 7 gallon Aquatop that will take it's place and Red will move into that tank when it's set up! It will have a very simple plan - nothing like this Medieval set up or crazy carpeting. Now the only other fish I would move at this point would be Guppies! So White will move in this 12G when it's ready, with 3 White Guppies (if they make it) and 4 (admittedly unknown type) other Guppies. Speaking of which my Mum's Guppies in the tank with Koianu are doing fine. I can barely get pics of them as they move so quickly, but you can at least see here how badly one of them got damaged, and the other with his tears too. So at least they'll have a chance to recover some until they go into the new tank:

OTOCINCLUS VITTATUS: The Parent Tank I still have a huge head scratcher. In the last 2 days I've lost yet more Otos. My total loss right now is 14. Some of them had concave stomachs but I can't tell if this occured after death. They otherwise looked healthy. One was too far gone/decayed to tell. Again, 0 ammonia, and the other parameters tested steady/well. The pH is steadily going up. I did a 24 hour dose of Naladin on a hail Mary move. Possibly to the detriment of my Nerites. I've seen signs of life on one, I moved the 3 out of the tank. Hopefully they'll perk up. I did a 50% water change today and added Alkaline Buffer to bring the pH more. Doesn't appear anyone is eating in the main tank. I pulled 3 more Otos that look like they're not going to make it and put them in a floating breeder. STILL all the babies are fine. They are all alive and eating. This is what perplexes me most- if there was something bad going around in the tank you'd think they'd be the most vunerable. I've also not found any of my 5 Tiger/Zebra Otos dead. They all seem to be accounted for. I'm not sure there's much more I can do. I could try another medication but not sure where to go from here. If anyone has any ideas throw them out there. Like Guppysnail suggested I'm not feeding any cucumber at this time, just Repashy.

It can take a very long time until you know for sure what his eye will ultimately look like. I think once you finish the rounds of Kanaplex and if you decide to do a few Epsom soaks it should be safe to put him back in his own tank, just be vigilant of his water parameters. I'm glad he's not getting worse and is still eating/pooping and active.

Oh also, besides all the thoughts above. I did a thing. Took some of the little rocks I found while foraging for this tank (both smooth and rough ones) and started to do a stone floor beyond the arch. What do you all think about it? Shall I continue rock foraging and finish said floor? I think if I do, once it finished I'll need to put a little more Eco Complete between the stones to level the floor but when the rocks are wet they look pretty good. Or should I just do other gravel or leave it?

Sometimes, especially when you're new at something it's good to bounce ideas off others or just have others confirm your thought process. There are always other ways to approach the same problem in the aquarium hobby so it can be very confusing and frustrating at times because there is not just ONE right answer. I don't care how experienced any fish keeper is - we ALL run into issues (I'm having a mysterious issue with my Oto tank right now) and it just takes time and thought to figure things out. Go with the package instructions. You can start with half that dose and work your way up to a full dose. I have to look at the box every time I do it! Hahaha! There are times you can up the dosage even more- check out the aquarium salt blog page on the Aquarium Co-op's main site for more: https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/aquarium-salt-for-sick-fish Some countries like Canada don't have access to meds like we do so treating with salt is the only option. I get this. Keep an "eye" on the eye. :-) I have 3 gallon QT too, and it's amazing how much flow an airstone can cause. 2 of my Betta rescues are awaiting their tanks with just airstones in the QT with them. I had to dial the air pump back a bit to get them to the right flow. I didn't have any extra nano filters at the time, but these are also very good for future: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07XZ831WR/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 They're gentle on the flow and will help with filtration in QT especially if it will be long term. You can sanitize it after use let it dry out really good then run one in your main tank (it comes with an extra sponge too) so that you can when need be, throw it in a quick QT. Has saved me many times. It's good that Jupiter is moving as normal, hopefully eating well too. We couldn't save Lucien but maybe Jupiter will pull through for us! I wish you both lots of luck. Let me know how he's doing.

Well 15 days have passed since the carpet plants have been in the 12g Bookshelf. They're doing well though I was gone 4 days. They are visibly growing and putting down roots. I'm especially happy with the Repens, it's standing tall and bushing out. Very exciting. The Monte is growing slower but I have a feeling most of the action is under the plant though some strands have reached out from the plant and when I moved a couple there were long roots attached. Here's a peek (can't get side pics because of the humidity around the bottom of the glass): Here are the roots I'm seeing: I also got the 3D printed moss shelf. As I thought might happen it's just a titch too long for the deep part of the tank (8.25") though that is the case in measurement one also has to consider the space the suction cups take up for length. SO because it will be flush with the front of the tank I'm going to snip the end a little. I could use it as is and it does bow a little, with Subwassertang on it you shouldn't notice however I'm going to shoot for the goal of it being straight. You can't see the bowing really in this pic but it's going to look really good when it's in the tank - I think: Then there's the Java Moss. I was most concerned about my 4 day trip and it surviving on the Spiderwood as previously discussed here as the Spiderwood is not waterlogged. I was glad to see it seemed mostly still green when I returned. I've been spraying it 2x a day at least. I think it's starting to stand up from growth and not just as I placed it day one. I'm not all that familiar with growing moss so I hope this is normal healthy growth?: You may have noticed if you've been following this thread that the title has changed. Realizing I can't move my CPD to this tank due to planned temperature. Other developments have occurred. I was visiting my Mum and in her tank where my rescue Betta formerly known as Purple MAY have been beating up her Guppy tankmates. It hasn't been witnessed but her 2 Guppies had tail damage and she wanted me to look at them. One poor Guppy almost has no tail. The other is pretty badly torn up. She wanted me to take them (they originally came from my nephew's tank). So upon seeing their condition I agreed. Mum said she never witnessed Purple attacking the Guppies only chasing. The Guppies harrass each other a LOT however they didn't have tail issues before. So Purple is the suspect. Mum's Neons are fine so I took the 2 Guppies home with me. They are currently residing with Koianu in the Accidental Oto tank - but in the nursery section (on the other side of the divider from Koianu). When this tank is finished, whatever is left of the white Guppies, these 2 from my Mum and 2 from my Flex will go there. I will also pull my Embers from the Flex (about 7 of them) which was an idea sparked by @TheSwissAquarist's mention of Embers (didn't know I had them already didya?). Then I could put the CPD in the Flex. However I've sadly purchased another tank. A 7 gallon Aquatop. We'll see how it pans out but I'll either leave the CPD in the 4.12 gallon Aquatop and start up this 7 gallon for Red- OR - I will move the CPD, decommision the 4 gallon and Set up the 7 for Red and sell the 4 gallon. We'll see!

A small piece of paradise in the boiler room of an NYC building! Super cool! Welcome to the forum @porcnick! Looking forward to seeing your journey!

Aww @Tam I'm sorry!! I think kanaplex is a good course of action. The ammonia is concerning for sure but it may or may not have been the cause- water parameters are typically the cause of BOTH eyes having popeye- so inspect him closely. Usually one eye is an injury. Now the ammonia will not help the infections he could get so that will need to be addressed. Check the tank for other tankmates (can't remember if he had any) who have passed. Do you leave the Catappa in the tank? They can only stay in the tank for about a week before they start to decay in a hotter tank- so make sure you pull them. This is why I make Catappa tea instead. I didn't like the mess decaying leaves made in my tank. and I imagine could potentially cause ammonia. Would be fine if I had shrimp in my tanks but I don't. Also check for other decaying plant matter. The next thing you'll need to do if you haven't- check all around the tank for things that could have caused injury. Make sure the filter, hardscape and other items are not too close to the back or sides of the tank so he doesn't try and squeeze through and hurt himself. My test is if I can comfortably run my flat hand around the outside of the tank without having to rub hard against anything. Also make sure nothing has sharp edges. In the meantime in the QT keep the water pristine, you can also use aquarium salt in the tank with the Kanaplex. It's very important to make sure the water is good so I usually do daily small water changes when a fish has an infection like this. That can be problematic when medicating so you can do it every other day right before you medicate again. Also remember to put only as much salt back in the tank that you believe to be lost during the water change as salt does not dissipate. The other thing you can do to reduce swelling is short Epsom salt soaks. Epsom you can get at the drugstore if you don't have it - JUST MAKE SURE IT HAS NOTHING BUT SALT (some have oils like coconut or lavendar this are no good for your fish). So you mix 1 tablespoon in 1 gallon of water (I use an empty gallon jug and shake it to mix) then I take a small container and put my fish in there with a bit of the Epsom solution. This can be done for 10-15 minutes ONLY, once a day for 5-7 days as long as it doesn't stress the fish more and seems to be helping. Hope this helps. I know it's stressful. Betta are very difficult fish to keep. I hope he gets better. Popeye can be tricky. May take a few rounds of Kanaplex then a lot of time and care for them to get back to normal.

Frustrating, but this is still a fish in cycle, usually 2 weeks of this stuff or more- if you're unlucky in water. Just keep going, sometimes the cycle will have a wobble. I'd also check for dead material, fish etc to make sure they're not adding to your ammonia issue.

Found another. (bringing recent sudden deaths to 7) This one was found while doing a water change. I cleaned the HOB (which was recently cleaned) and put some crushed coral in it. I usually keep a piece of Polyfilter in the tank as a canary in a coal mine, so I changed it. It was indicating no ammonia and more brown (organics). I'll test the tank again in a few.... Ok, After water change still 0 Ammonia 25 Nitrate, 0 Nitrite, Still hard as liquid diamond, My KH is approaching 80 now (a color between 40 and 80 but neither color exactly), pH is getting between 6.8 and 7.2 (another color issue), of course 0 chlorine. Now we wait.

@Guppysnail I suppose that is very possible but I didn't leave a whole lot more than what I do on a daily for that fear that it would foul the tank. All the Repashy was cleaned up and only a little of the Banquet Block was left. At first I thought it could be that but I fed it to the babies too and there was some left in their floater. The Nitrate read between 25-50 which is normal for this tank. It's a bit of a head scratcher for me. Just hope that's the end of the loses but I'm bracing for more.

OTOCINCLUS VITATTUS: The Parent Tank So, mystery maybe some of you can speak to. For a little context, I was gone for 4 days in the last week. Of course I prepared my tanks, leaving a couple of cucumber slices and a little extra bottom feeder food but not a lot (1 banquet block and some Repashy). A day after I returned I found one deceased Oto and one struggling one who later died. There were NO physical/outward signs that were obvious illness. This morning I found 4 more. Same thing- maybe their stomachs were a little deflated but I'm not sure if that happened after death. Otherwise they looked OK. I used ACO test strips- 0 ammonia (as my Seachem Ammonia Alert says), Low Nitrate, no Nitrite, my water is "very hard" but it has ALWAYS been, low KH and low PH (6.8). All I can think to do is raise PH/KH as maybe it's affecting them? So I added a little Alkaline buffer until I can do a large water change and add more crushed coral to the tank. But here's the mystery to me: ALL 20 babies are still alive (even as I type this) they were also left Repashy and a Banquet block when I was gone. The only thing the adults had access to that the babies didn't was Cucumber. In case that is something I'm not feeding anymore off that cucumber (organic English, that I cut the skin off of). There's always a chance this is "natural" I suppose but not 6. It's weird.

@Chick-In-Of-TheSea yeah I've always seen moss fail in my tanks (but clearly I'm a glutton for punishment trying java moss again)- however the shelf will more easily (IMO) work with the Subwassertang since it's already long and spindly, I can secure it by pulling individual pieces through and let the rest hang.

@TheSwissAquaristyou did give me an idea though, I might shuffle the Embers I DO have from the Flex9 to the new 12G along with the 2 remaining male Guppies in there. THEN that thank should have enough bioload space to move the CPD in there with Serket. It will get hot in there occassionally but I think most of the time they will be ok. I'll have to ponder on it more.

@TheSwissAquarist that was part of the problem, I was moving the CPDs to the new tank along with White so that I could move Red into the CPD tank and therefore not having to add a tank. It looks like I'll need to start another tank.

@Chick-In-Of-TheSea yes Punk is fine with his 10 Harlequins and 10 Black Neons, but he is very territorial of the bottom waters and that is where my CPD hang in their tank. So I'm not sure how he would react.