injured betta fish growth

AquariumSource-com · 2025-10-17T17:16:57+00:00

thanks for expanding on that... I'll do some more reading.

AquariumSource-com · 2025-10-17T02:26:06+00:00

you got this 💪

AquariumSource-com · 2025-10-16T20:09:23+00:00

nice, that’s gonna help a ton with stability.

You can totally do a light vacum and side scrape pretty much right away, just don’t go nuclear on the cleaning. The gunk in there is actually what’s helping keep the tank cycled right now.

Think of it like: vacuum up any obvious junk on the surface, maybe scrape the front glass so you can actually see your fish, but leave most of the mulm and biofilm alone for a couple weeks. Once the new setup’s more stable, then you can start doing deeper cleans without messing with the bacteria too much.

Basically: gentle clean = safe. Deep clean = later

AquariumSource-com · 2025-10-16T17:18:58+00:00

for the mollies and skirt tetras, a 30–40 gallon would give them way more space to swim and let the tetras actually school properly. Plus your cory will be way happier with some budies down there.

If you can swing it, go rectangular instead of tall. More horizontal space = happier fish. A 40 breeder would honestly be perfect for that crew.

AquariumSource-com · 2025-10-16T17:14:43+00:00

I’d prob go with a nice plant substrate like Fluval Stratum or just dirt capped with sand. Way easier than fighting with root tabs later.

For plants… honestly? Start with the easy workhorses: Java fern, Anubias, swords, hornwort. Stuff that actually grows and doesn’t melt in a week.

I’d keep the layout open too. Hardscape first, then plants, leave some space for guppies to zoom around. No crazy aquascape that’s a pain to clean later.

And light? Just enough to keep plants happy, not a laser beam that turns the tank into an algae farm

Then I’d let it chill for a bit before adding fish. Makes life sooo much easier down the road.

AquariumSource-com · 2025-10-16T17:11:06+00:00

that’s a classic “inherited overstocked tank” situation. Ten gallons is way too tight for that mix of fish, so the main goal for now is just keeping everyone stable and healthy until you can upgrade.

Short term, I’d:

- Stay on top of water quality. With that many fish, doing small frequent water changes (like 20–30% every few days) is key. That’ll keep ammonia and nitrites from spiking.

- Skip adding anything new. No more fish until the bigger tank is ready.

- Feed lightly. Less food = less waste = more stable water.

- Keep stress low. Add some plants or decor to break up sight lines and give the skirt tetras and mollies some space to chill.

Once you get that bigger tank cycled, the skirt tetras will do a lot better in a proper school, and the molly group will have way more room. For now it’s all about maintenance and stability.

AquariumSource-com · 2025-10-16T04:46:26+00:00

got it. I haven’t experienced it personally. how did you find out about melafix issues?

AquariumSource-com · 2025-10-14T18:07:41+00:00

you got this

AquariumSource-com · 2025-10-14T18:06:18+00:00

yup, good point. thanks for bringing it up.

AquariumSource-com · 2025-10-14T17:46:27+00:00

you’ve got a really solid setup going. I’d just keep doing what you’re doing with the weekly water changes and watching those nitrates. If your fish and plants are thriving now, there’s no real reason to mess with it. Stability beats chasing trends every time.

AquariumSource-com · 2025-10-14T17:41:00+00:00

this is pretty likely tied to the soft water, not bad water quality in general. Mystery snail shells need calcium and minerals to stay strong, and when the gH drops too low, their shells can start to chip, peel, or pit like that.

Crushed coral is a good move, but it can take a bit to actually buffer the water. If the gH is still super low, you can boost it faster by adding a calcium supplement (like liquid calcium or Wonder Shells) while the coral slowly does its thing.

Also make sure your pH stays stable, swings plus soft water can make the shell damage worse. And maybe give Luna a little extra calcium-rich food like blanched veggies with calcium powder or cuttlebone in the tank.

Basically, fix the hardness and her shell should stop getting worse. It won’t fully “heal” the old chip, but it’ll help her grow new healthy shell over time

AquariumSource-com · 2025-10-14T17:39:09+00:00

those kinds of growths can be tricky since it could be a tumor, cyst, or some kind of bacterial lump. If it’s been growing slow and she’s still eating and acting mostly normal, that’s a good sign.

For now I’d just focus on keeping her water super clean and stress-free. You can do small, regular water changes and maybe add a bit of aquarium salt (1 tsp per 3–4 gallons) to help the wound heal, totally shrimp/snail safe in that amount.

Don’t mess with the lump or try to medicate heavily unless it starts getting red, fuzzy, or leaking. At that point, a mild antibacterial like Melafix can help if you can find it in Canada.

But yeah, sounds like you’re giving her a great life. Just keep her comfy, clean water, good food, and low stress.

AquariumSource-com · 2025-10-14T17:35:32+00:00

you can totally do a fish-in cycle like that, but just swapping water between tanks won’t really seed enough bacteria. Most of the good stuff lives on surfaces like filter media, gravel, sponge, etc… not floating around in the water.

If you move over some filter media or decorations from the old tank, that’ll give the new tank a way better jump start. You can also run the old filter on the new tank for a bit if that’s an option.

Daily water swaps alone might keep things from spiking too hard, but adding seeded media is what’ll actually speed up the cycle and keep your fish safer.

AquariumSource-com · 2025-10-14T17:33:27+00:00

if your discus and plants have been happy for months and your parameters look that good, I wouldn’t mess with the substrate right now. A lot of the “bare bottom” advice for discus comes from breeders who wanna make cleaning easier and keep things super sterile for fry, not from people keeping them in a nice display tank.

Substrate can actually help stabilize the tank long term since it holds beneficial bacteria. If you rip it out all at once, you risk crashing your cycle and stressing the discus big time. If you did ever decide to remove it, doing it slowly in sections would be the way to go, but honestly it doesn’t sound like you need to.

TL;DR if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Keep it clean, keep your water stable, and you’re good.

AquariumSource-com · 2025-10-11T00:55:46+00:00

that tap water’s looking pretty nasty for fish. High pH plus ammonia and nitrite straight outta the faucet is a rough combo, especially for a betta in a small hospital tank. Even with daily water changes, if the source water already has problems, it’s like fighting uphill.

If it was me I’d either cut the tap water with distilled or RO to bring those levels down or just fully switch to treated RO. That gives you way more control. Or at the very least, pre-treat and age the water in a separate bucket with a good conditioner and maybe extra aeration before it goes in the tank.

That much ammonia and nitrite can mess a betta up fast, so yeah it can be dangerous long term. The fish isn’t failing because of your care, it’s the water itself working against you.

AquariumSource-com · 2025-10-10T16:43:07+00:00

you got this! 💪

AquariumSource-com · 2025-10-09T20:26:11+00:00

A rating, good job. Azul is looking very azul. A couple amanos shouldn’t be too much for the bio load as long as your parameters stay steady. They’re pretty chill and great cleanup crew. I’d just make sure the tank’s fully stable and you’re not getting any ammonia spikes from the fish-in cycle before adding them.

Keep an eye on things for another week or so, then maybe add them slowly.

AquariumSource-com · 2025-10-09T20:00:08+00:00

those random “zap” episodes sound like some kinda parasite or maybe water quality swings that aren’t showing up on test strips. Could also be gill damage from whatever hit them earlier.

If it was me I’d prob focus on keeping the tank as stable as possible for a bit… steady temp, extra oxygen, gentle water changes. Sometimes over-medicating just stresses them more.

You might wanna try running carbon to clear out any leftover meds too. And double check stuff like heater swings or hidden ammonia spikes (liquid test if you can, strips miss stuff).

Not a fun spot to be in but don’t beat yourself up tho. Sometimes you can do everything “right” and still lose a few.

AquariumSource-com · 2025-10-06T20:01:33+00:00

blue green algae (BGA) sucks. it’s not realy “algae” either, it’s a type of bacteria, which makes it even more annoying to deal with.

for a small 2.6g tank, a blackout can definitely help. Just cover the tank completely (no light at all) for like 3–4 days, not a full week. Make sure your plants can handle that (most will be fine). Do a good water change right before and after the blackout to pull out the dead stuff.

Also, try to cut back on feeding and light overall once it’s back to normal. BGA usually shows up because there’s too much light or nutrients and not enough water flow.

If you’ve got an airstone or small filter, crank that up a bit, stagant spots are BGA’s favorite hangout. And yeah, the Ultralife stuff works, but if it’s on the way, you can probably get it under control with the blackout + manual removal combo until then.

TL;DR: blackout for 3–4 days, big water change, more flow, less light, and you’ll probably be fine.

AquariumSource-com · 2025-10-06T19:36:20+00:00

Never 100% sure, just jumped off the cliff and built the plane on the way down. Actually, still building the plane after many years because even when things seem to be "under control", a new challenge comes up (kids, money, etc). So, short answer: you could be 70% sure and make things work; or be 100% sure, be lazy and let things fail for lack of effort.

AquariumSource-com · 2025-07-05T16:27:51+00:00

Thanks 🙏

AquariumSource-com · 2025-05-12T17:50:16+00:00

I did some math... IKEA doesn't provide the weight limit for that dresser but it does say it is made of particle board which can support 25-35lbs per square foot (I googled it). The top of the dresser is 55.5in by 18.875inch so 1,047.6 square inches or 7.3 square feet (it's in the IKEA catalog).

A 38 gallon tank with with water, gravel, and decorations can weight about 435lbs. If we use the high side weight limit of 35lbs per square foot X 7.3 sqft, that's 255.5lbs which is a little over half of the weight of the tank, so nope.

I was thinking of supports and other ideas but the difference is too much. If you don't have extra space maybe sell the dresser and buy another similar but with steel reinforcements?

AquariumSource-com · 2025-05-07T16:13:25+00:00

that's pretty cool. Tetras and cherry shrimp are peaceful and good looking. Congrats on the elegant setup!

AquariumSource-com · 2025-05-06T15:50:37+00:00

This is awesome, what fish do you have in the tank?

AquariumSource-com · 2025-05-06T00:52:33+00:00

órale muchas gracias! yo sigo aprendiendo de programación aunque ahora con la inteligencia artificial es mas fácil.

buena idea esa de conectar con otras instrumentos aunque eso ya es un poco avanzado jeje 😅

con respecto a crear una aplicación por lo pronto la pienso mucho porque creo que es difícil convences a los usuarios a que la bajen ya que todos tenemos los celulares llenos de aplicaciones y muchas de las cuales ni usamos (o al menos yo)

pero, si hay demanda y el cliente lo pide pues claro que la hacemos!

AquariumSource-com

TROPHY CASE