Crystal_Marie

I noticed my betta has what look like stress stripes but also has this white vertical patch. She has had a faint vertical line of white scales before but it’s more distinct. tank info: temp: 78.2°F filtered with 2 sponge filters + air stones Cycled planted 29gal tank pH 7.6-7.8 ammonia and nitrites 0 nitrates 5 kh 120-180 but stable gh 150-200 but stable tank mates: 6 panda corydoras that were fully quarantined for 4 weeks with the ACO recommended medication trio. since adding corys, my betta has become food aggressive. She doesn’t fuss with the corys except at meal times. So I feed her in an iso/nursing box for 20-30 mins while the corys eat. She doesn’t like their food but will chase them away from it. So now I’m concerned that she’s stressing herself sick. Normally I would’ve added her after the corys but that wasn’t a feasible option. Other than the food aggression her behavior/swimming/appetite has not changed. Any advice would be appreciated.

@CT_that makes sense. I’m just sad because I literally placed an order and it just shipped, lol.

Hi forum! so, I’m setting up my new 29 gal and I was looking at my supplies and noticed the bullseye for my small aquarium co-op sponge filter has disappeared. I’ve looked everywhere and can’t find it. Do you know if spare parts are available or anything? I know it’s a long shot. Thank you

@Colu I have fritz maracyn and fritz paracleanse. I’m treating with those just in case. I prophylactically medicated her when I first got her so I know she tolerated the meds well. I’m also soaking her pellets. She only gets 2 pellets 2x/day.

Hi all. So, my betta has become a picky eater. She’s now spitting out pellets she used to eat so quickly. But she spits them out and chases it, tries to eat it again, spits it out, etc until it hits the tank bottom. She was able to eat frozen blood worms no problem. Last night she saw her food and just ignored it. I just saw her open her mouth wide as if to vomit. She’s still actively swimming and exploring. She was just able to eat a pellet I presoaked. She spat it out until it broke up and then ate the pieces. I can tell she feels hungry. Should I be concerned for illness? She’s always been a good eater and I’ve always used the same food (API betta pellets). tank mates are a female nerite snail who has just started laying eggs and a blue shrimp. Tank is planted. water parameters are: pH 8.2* this is the only parameter that I don’t understand. I was 7.4 for over a month. I have an API water softener pillow in the tank. I recharged it 2/19 and pH went from 8-8.2. On 1/21 I replaced my carbon filters. Could that be the issue? Nitrates 20-40 (it’s really hard to get a good pic but I’m basing my reading off of the master kit and test strips. I used both). Hardness 30ppm Nitrite 0 Ammonia 0 KH/Buffer 80ppm Water Temperature: 80°F edited to add: my shrimp just died 😣 I don’t know how old it was. No signs of illness. Was going about the tank yesterday like normal.

Your tank pictures are so beautiful!

Welcome! Such a beautiful betta!

Hello! Welcome to the forum! Your tank is absolutely beautiful 😍

Thank you! I thought I saw a video where Cory said how many gallons the nano pump can handle but I don’t remember which one. I’ll keep looking ☺️

Hi all, I tried searching the forum but couldn’t find anything yet. I’m hoping to start setting up a 29 gallon planted community tank. I’ll be moving over my female betta, nerite snail, and shrimp. I’ll also be adding some schooling nano fishies and possibly some bottom dwelling fishies too. My question is: Is a medium sponge filter with an air stone run on the usb nano air pump enough? I plan to also have a small sponge filter with an air stone and nano pump running but wanted those only as an emergency cycled filter for a hospital tank. So I’m the event I need to quarantine a fish, I want to know if the single medium sponge with the nano pump is enough. Thank you 🙏 Crystal

@Guppysnailyeah, I guess that is my biggest worry is with water changes. Every time I have to change the water I don’t want to start at square one with the hardness issue. I definitely thought about the almond leaves. I don’t know if they are too big? I definitely feel like I’m back in chemistry class at times trying to find the right balance😅

Hi all! So it turns out I have very hard water…like it was off the charts 😳 I have my 9 gal fluval flex and it currently is home to a nerite (Lazarus) and blue shrimp (Pepé). I’ve added driftwood (previously boiled) and a softener pillow. I’m expecting my betta from aqua huna this week. Should I added Fritz dark water? Or any other source of tannins? I’m worried it’ll still be too hard for little miss when she arrives. side note: I didn’t learn about my hard water issue until after I ordered my new betta 😩 So I’m scrambling for something to get the water soft enough for a betta but not too soft because I have my snail. also, also…I have carbon in the back filter…should I take it out? I read it can reduce tannins. I plan to take it out to do the triple meds prophylactically once betta gets here. Beside my inverts, it’s just her in the tank so I planned to medicate her directly in the tank. I swear, I feel like the more I’m learning about fish keeping, the less I know 😓 Thanks in advance!

@xXInkedPhoenixX thank you for your kind words. I think I took this harder than my kids. I knew it was a strong possibility based on what I read about “making it passed the first week.” 😔 she was only here a short time but was such a fun little fish. mom concerned now that if she had a contagious illness that my tank is now contaminated. Do you think putting meds in the empty tank will help? I want to make sure my filter media and good bacteria aren’t completely destroyed. also, my daughter said she’d rather do a community tank when we eventually restart. I had already order supplies for a quarantine tank in hopes of setting it up to add some tank mates. Sushi was so small in our tank that we were hopeful there would be plenty of room for a shrimp or small schooling fish. I guess it’s back to the drawing board 😔

Hi all. So I’m a newbie fish keeper and after cycling my tank for a month I had stable parameters of pH 7.4, Ammonia and Nitrites at 0 and Nitrates at 10-20. Temp set at 80-82. 9gal fluval flex. I placed sponges over the pump to slow the flow but still have some moment. Tank is planted. today our female betta died. She had been refusing the food (Omega One Betta Buffet Pellets) but was seeming to eat the copepods in the tank and was interested in the “Dial a treat” dried food. I checked the parameters this morning after we removed her. It’s still pH 7.4, Ammonia/Nitrites 0, Nitrates 10-20, temp 82. We also have a nerite snail in the tank but it went inside the cave decoration and never came out. I’m going to investigate if it’s still alive once I change the water. My question is, what could’ve killed our fishy? She had “zoomies” yesterday according to my husband so she wasn’t lethargic. I noticed she looked a bit bloated and was getting white under her chest/belly area. I worked 12 hr shifts the last two days so I couldn’t do any interventions. My plan was to buy fish medicines today but it was too late. I have included pics of her from last Wednesday and then today. Also, what should I do to make sure the tank doesn’t have any infection in it? Should I remove the carbon filter and dose the tank with medicine after a complete water change? I’d hate to start from scratch but understand if that’s what needs to happen. Thank you so much for your help!

Thank you!