Goldie Blue

Luna is a beauty! I love her grumpy little face. It sucks to go through this kind of thing, but as you said at least you know now for the future! I have learned so much from this forum and through my own stupid mistakes over the last year and a half.

R.I.P. Pinky. I am so sorry you had to make this decision. I know he knows how hard you fought for him. It's a terrible position to have to be in, but watching them suffer is just as bad. I know I have kicked myself in the past for not realizing it was "time". Really sorry for your loss, but Pinky will be in a much better place swimming on in the fishy afterlife! Sending hugs your way from Texas 😭

Do you feed him by dropping food in? Have you ever tried feeding him with a pipette? That is how I feed my brine shrimp to Goldie Blue, he takes the food right from the pipette. Maybe you could help him eat that way if you have not tried. I am so sorry to hear he isn't really moving in the right direction. These pics made me tear up. I hate that you're in this position, possibly having to make a heartbreaking choice 😞

Same! I will take it one step further that I have been having both good dreams where everything is going great, and nightmares where I wake up and he is gone. Not gonna lie, every morning I wake up hoping I won't see him floating. I am so excited to hear this! I am cheering Pinky on!

Poor guy, he just looks so tired. I know it's hard to get caught up in the moment, and since we see our fish everyday and are looking so hard for signs of improvement it's sometimes hard to see if they are or if you're imagining it! I think he looks better than the pics from last week though. I imagine that Pinky will take a while to bounce back. This is super stressful, I am still waiting for things to go south again with Goldie Blue (thankfully they haven't) but he still looks beat up and his tail will take a while to grow. I like to think they know how much we love them though! I'm here anytime you need to talk/vent.

Actually come to think of it, my best friend bought this same chiller, and it was obviously used. Mine however, looked like it was brand new...but now I am wondering if it may have been a used unit or a return that was just sitting and gross. Anyway, any help on how you think is best to clean it would be awesome. Thank you!

The tubing is part of my chiller, it takes the water in through one tube then goes into the unit and puts the chilled water back into the tank. I have plenty of water movement in the tank (a big bubbler, filter that produced decent flow, and the flow from the out take of that tube) plus I do weekly water changes so I have no idea why it would have formed in here? I don't see this in the filter, filter media, airline tubes, or on the glass either. Water is kept at 61 degrees Fahrenheit. I have no way of opening up the chiller unit itself, so any suggestions would be much appreciated. I cleaned the tubes out with hot water and the snake but it's back up and running and now I feel terrible if it's something that can harm her!

Thanks for this info and time stamping that clip, very helpful! I found this awesome LFS last week, so I will go over there and pick some of that up in the event I need it. Goldie Blue is a Halfmoon Betta. Is the Q&A you're talking about within the co-op site? If you happen to have a link to it let me know. I can imagine that carrying around that big, fancy, delicate tail is stressful enough on its own without all the other issues that factor in. Being that majestic comes with a price. I do think he is happier in the Flex, I see him cruising about the tank all the time now, whereas in the 55 gallon tank he literally just sat in his log all day. I think he is moving in the right direction, and I am sure growing back the tail damage he lost will take quite some time. I did find out that he hates live food, he won't touch any of it that I have given him. He spit out the live brine shrimp, fruit flies, mealworms, and mosquito larvae. But he devours the frozen brine shrimp, so go figure lol. 🤷‍♀️ I still don't think we're out of the woods yet, and have been testing his water every day and closely monitoring him for any signs of stress or the fin rot coming back. Thanks again @nabokovfan87 for all your support and information!

I have a 20 gallon long tank with a single axolotl in it. It's been fairly easy to care for with no issues, but I did add a chiller on May 18th. I noticed the tubes for intake/out take looked weird, and thought it might be that weird pink slime stuff I see around my toilet rims in my bathrooms, so I got worried and pulled them off the chiller to clean. Well, it wasn't pink slime but more of a yellow/tan color, and REALLY thick. Both of the tubes were entirely covered in the stuff, and it had a strong smell to it. I was able to clean them out with hot water and a snake with a brush on the end of it, but I'd like to know if anyone knows what this is and how to avoid it. I keep her tank clean, weekly water changes, siphon up any food she doesn't eat and she currently only eats red wrigglers. Her filter and media inside the filter have never had this stuff on it either. I have three other established fish tanks in the house, and literally have never once seen anything like this in the tubing for their filters. Tested parameters before cleaning. Ammonia 0 ppm, Nitrite 0 ppm, Nitrates 20 ppm, pH 8.0. Water is kept at 61 Fahrenheit. Substrate is sand, and there are no plants in it. The fact this built up so thick and so fast in about 5 weeks has me wondering what is going on. If anyone can help please let me know! Pics are attached, you can see the difference between the cleaned one and the dirty one. 🤢

It is really hard to get photos of Goldie Blue in this new Flex tank! But he has been in it for six days now, and everything is staying stable. He seems happy in there, the flow is super gentle and he swims around a lot. Now, here is where I need advice! He looks like he is getting better and more color, but I see him everyday so it is hard to tell for sure. The bloody spots on his tail are gone, however that red spot (which I think is a vein?) by the base of his body where his tail comes out is still there. Is that part of his body, or is that still fin rot? I never saw it before he got sick because his body was always dark blue there. His tail looks like it has new growth and I notice the iridescent colors he used to have in it are coming back. Here is a collage, the BOTTOM LEFT is the one of him the day I put him in the hospital tank...the other three photos were all from today. Thoughts?

@A Moore How is Pinky doing today? Any improvement?

You're killing me, I feel like we are living the same life right now...we homeschool our 8 year old son too! Yeah we also have 2 dogs, and my husband is always waiting for me to bring home some new animal or creature lol. I feed a bunch of hummingbirds out back as well as having a small garden, so it feels like the animal chores are never ending some days, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I am that person that if I see a dog on the side of the road I am stopping traffic to help it, and probably brining it home and probably keeping it if nobody claims it. That is how we ended up with 5 dogs a few years ago lol.

I am so glad to hear that! Colu is a doll, they have helped me out a bunch too, and I probably would have lost all the fish in my 55 gallon last year if not for their advice! Please keep me updated on Pinky, I am really hoping he will turn around for you guys. Me keeping mantises all started with wanting to show my now 8 year old son how the oothecas hatched when he was 6. I thought they were such neat creatures, so I have been keeping some more of the exotic ones the last few years. Although my spiny flower mantis passed away yesterday (literally no idea why either!) my orchid mantis molted this morning, so that was pretty exciting to discover! I am up to 4 fish tanks - 55 gallon with barely anything in it at this point, 10 gallon with 1 betta and a nerite, 20 gallon with Bubbles our axolotl, and the Flex with Goldie Blue in it. My husband has said "NO MORE FISH TANKS!"....but clearly he forgets who he married. There will definitely be more fish tanks. 🤣

Is he in his regular tank or the hospital tank? I felt like the Fungus Clear didn't work as well as the salt alone. I ended up having to do two rounds of it because after the first 4 days he still looked bad. With the salt treatment alone I saw he was looking better within the first 24/48 hours. How many days has the Fungus Clear been in there? If he's struggling and laying on his side that's not a good sign. I did see mine hanging out by the heater now and then as well, but never struggling like you mention yours is. Maybe add another air stone and bump the heat up a degree or two? If it were me I'd probably get him into clean water and try the aquarium salt, you can also give him the kanaplex in his food while doing that. With Pinky having actual body rot though, you might need to start at the lowest dose of salt treatment and boost it up if he's not showing improvement. I'm so sorry you're having to go through this as well. it's so stressful, and hoping you're doing the right thing and then things still go sideways sucks 😞

Hi Torrey! Thanks for your reply, you've been such a big help to me through this. I'm willing to do whatever it takes for my bettas. I kept the hospital tank sponge filter running in the event I need to pull him out of the Flex for whatever reason. While I really like the way the Flex tank looks, the lid for it is really inconvenient, even after buying lid prop arms. He seems happy so far, but I am keeping a VERY close eye on him. I found the coolest local fish store today, it's not very close to my house but it's worth the drive. They have a ton of medications I was looking for over the last few months that I ended up having to order online. They also sell live brine shrimp so I got some for my guys, and unfortunately neither of them want anything to do with them. The cool thing is all their bettas are in long tanks, and they are gorgeous. If/when the time comes and either of my boys pass, I will certainly get my next betta from them. I really hope we get happy endings. I lost one of my praying mantises today, and have been nail biting these last two weeks with Goldie Blue in the QT tank. I just want all my babies to be healthy and happy 🥰

Oh no!!! Did you end up moving him into a hospital tank? I think getting him into salt right away will be good for him. Let me know how it's going! I moved Goldie Blue into the Flex last night, he seems to love it and the parameters are staying stable so far. The lightning and black background in that model tank really make his colors pop, he looks like an iridescent mermaid! I hope he can regain his old colors back because he will really shine in this tank, literally!

I just read through your post, Pinky is a really beautiful betta! If he is two and a half years old, and from a box store, then there might be a chance he won't bounce back. I hate to even say that out loud, because my Goldie Blue is from PetCo, and I have only had him a little over a year but I have learned so much about how awful the breeding is with the ones they sell at big box. I hope you have good results with the leaves and the salt. I was like you and afraid to add to his stress by moving him, but honestly once he got into the hospital tank and had the full aquarium salt dosage I mentioned, he started improving so fast. You have the advantage of having a seeded filter at least, I was all YOLO and put him in a tank with nothing but cycled water from my old tank lol. I also thought the 55 gallon tank he came from was pristine and well balanced. The parameters were/are never off, I kept up with weekly water changes etc. I honestly think it was from the flow, which is really strong in that tank. I know now that I over cleaned things, but even with that factored in I still think it was the stress of the flow of the tank. He'd also get SUPER stressed out when I dosed that tank with Easy Green, like he'd visibly change colors within 24 hours. He is just a really sensitive fish apparently, which is why I think this Flex will be a great forever home for him. I will not put anyone else in there with him, the flow is perfect and calm, and if I need to pull plants out to medicate him again I can easily do so. It's crazy how sensitive the bettas can be, and they all have their own personality. My betta in my 10 gallon is so angry all the time, but Goldie Blue has always been soooo chill, never flares, always so friendly, comes to see me every time I come over to the tank, and eats from my hand or a pipette. It hurts my heart so much to see him suffering.

I have those in the Flex waiting for him! They have been soaking for 12 days in the water. I hope they help him, they didn't make a dent in things when I put them in the 55 gallon tank he was in before this. He was an absolute beauty before this ordeal. It breaks my heart, and I hope I can restore him to his former glory. This fish has my heart for sure, he is so gentle and friendly. Let me know how the KanaPlex works out. I fed it to Goldie Blue for about 5 days after two rounds of Jungle Fungus Clear, I thought he was doing better then he went downward REAL quick. The photo above where he has the bloody spots and a chunk of his tail fell off...all that happened after I thought he was better after the 2 courses of meds and KanaPlex. Doubtful it was anything to do with the KanaPlex, just saying keep your eyes on things even if you think your fishy is getting better. Do you know why your betta got body/fin rot? For the longest time I thought it was my water quality, but now I fully realize it was stress from the harsh flow in my 55 gallon tank he was in. Would you mind sharing a picture of him? I really hope that you can get your fish friend healthy, this is SO stressful to go through, but on the other hand I have learned so much from this community and now have the knowledge that I will can use for future catastrophes.

He is still in the hospital tank, but I am going to move him into the Flex later tonight. The numbers have stayed stable for 3 days now, and I am having a hard time keeping the ammonia in the hospital tank down. He has been in the hospital tank ( 4 gallons with daily 25-50% water changes from my main established tank ) for 12 days now, with 1 teaspoon of aquarium salt per gallon. We went with the lowest level of dosing first, and never increased. He's showing improvement every day, and I can't tell if it's totally cured but he certainly looks better than he did 12 days ago! I'll add pics of the day we moved him into hospital tank, and of him today. As you can see, the bloody spots on his tail fin are totally gone, and his coloring is coming back. The bloody spots healed up within two days of him being in the hospital tank too, so it happened pretty fast thankfully. He is swimming around the hospital tank regularly, he never did that before in my 55g. I still see the redness by where his tail meets the base of his body, but I can't tell if that is from the infection, or just a vein that is there normally? His red gills look totally healed up as well. We did no meds, just aquarium salt and water changes daily. It sucks that the sponge filter I added was not cycled, but it looks like things are going in the right direction. I am feeding him some new food (Northfin Betta Bites), along with frozen brine shrimp, frozen bloodworms. I tried giving him live fruit flies, and he wanted nothing to do with it. If he looks like he is getting worse again, I can salt the Fluval Flex, I made sure to attach the plants I have to items I can remove from the tank if I need to medicate or salt so that it doesn't kill them. At this point, the ammonia in the Flex has been at 0 for three days, and I can't get the hospital tank to go below 0.25ppm so I think it's the right move to make. Don't be stupid like me and wait too long to help your guy. I just wasn't sure it was fin rot, and looking back on it now I was really dumb not to see that it was. I'd definitely try salt first, my guy has responded well to it. Just make sure you have an airstone in whatever setup you treat him in. If you have any questions, just ask! I am by no means an expert at this, but I am happy to share my experience with you! I hope your betta can recover!

Okay fishy friends, I have another dilemma I need advice on lol. Flex tank ammonia has been at 0 two days in a row. I checked water twice a day, and I never saw a spike in Nitrites, and the Nitrates are sitting at about 5.0. Does this mean the cycle is done and the tank is ready? Issue I am having is now I am struggling to keep the hospital tank ammonia at 0. I am pulling water from my 55g every day for water changes (that tank is at 0 ammonia, I test every time before water change) but when I test a few hours later after putting it in hospital tank it's at 0.25ppm. Goldie Blue has been showing improvement everyday, and I'd like to move him into the new Flex tank if you guys think those numbers are cycled. Let me know your thoughts!

That is a good idea, I placed sand on the bottom, could I just place an inch or two of this over the sand or should I take it out? I know when we talked about this last week, we were concerned about water changes in the 55g. I was very closely monitoring it after my weekly water change because I am using that tank water for the hospital tank. The ammonia in there is sitting at 0 ppm. I don't understand how this works at all, so I guess I need to take some time to read up about it lol. Can you advise what kind of water? Just tested the Flex, it's sitting at 8.0, which is what all three of my other tanks usually sit at. The Nitrites and Nitrates keep showing as 0 every day, and even with seeded media in there, does this mean eventually it will spike/cycle? That is what I am most worried about, is I put him in there and then it cycles and he gets stressed out. Goldie Blue is looking a little better each day, and I can keep him in the hospital tank a while longer, but he definitely cannot go back into that 55g, that is where all his stress and issues stemmed from, I am certain of that now. I just don't want to add any more stress to him by moving him into the Flex too soon. Thank you for the help and advice!

I still have my betta in a hospital tank treating his fin rot (day 5 of his salt treatments and he is improving!) The problem with that hospital tank is that the sponge filter I have in it wasn't seeded it was brand new, so I am pulling water for an established tank everyday for his 25% water changes. I bought and set up a Fluval Flex 9 on Saturday intending on putting him in there asap, and took ceramic balls and a piece of filter from my established tank and placed it in the Flex filter. My tap water ammonia is apparently really high (1.0-2.0) and Prime didn't help at all. The water parameters in the new tank have not moved since Saturday ( I used tap water to fill it) so the ammonia has stayed high (1.0-ish), the Nitrites and Nitrates are still at 0. I don't know if this just takes time, or if there is something I can/should do to help speed this up so I can get him into the tank asap. There are no fish in there, two plants, but because my tap water was already so high with ammonia, and I have seeded media in there, do I just need to be patient?

I ended up taking a sterilite tub and filled it with 4 gallons of the 55g tank water, dosed with aquarium salt (2 teaspoons), and acclimated him for about an hour in a cup before adding him. Honestly I was expecting him to freak out, but he's very calm and actually swimming around slowly and exploring. With daily water changes from the 55g I am hoping that this can help him heal enough while the new Flex tank is cycling. I have a totally brand new sponge filter, heater, air stone, and his seeshelter in there with him in the sterilite tub. I hope I did the right thing, but I knew I had to do something fast because he looks awful. The Flex is seeded with media from the 55g, and with the ammonia being this high on the same day as set up, realistically how long do you think it might take to see safe numbers to transfer him? He is going to LOVE this tank if he makes it, the flow is so gentle. What a weekend, it was SO busy for us and on top of the fishy emergency we had an outdoor party scheduled for today, in this Texas heat is was 108 real temp. I hope Goldie Blue and I can both start to relax and recover after this crazy weekend. I can't thank you guys for your experience and knowledge enough.

Last night I took the media I placed in the Flex from my 55g (the bio balls and filter padding) and rinsed it out in tank water as @nabokovfan87 suggested and did a water change, and since it was already 2:30am by that time, I left the tank alone for the night and went to bed. Tested ammonia again this morning, and it's still 1.0 ppm. I tested my tap water and it's even higher, closer to 2.0 out of the tap. I added Prime to the Flex of course, and if the tap water is just this high to begin with, I really don't feel like it's safe to move Goldie Blue in there? It's obvious he needs some kind of action today, but not having an established QT tank set up I don't know how to proceed. Goldie Blue looks very bad today, noticeable spots on his tail that weren't there yesterday.

This is what I added, along with some of the padding on top. Fish isn't in the new tank yet, I wanted to make sure I was doing the right thing. What do I do from here? Water change?