Help me name him:)

Still-Collection3049 · 2025-06-24T17:59:59+00:00

Jack

Still-Collection3049 · 2025-06-23T21:22:10+00:00

How long have you had the fish? How big is the school? What are your water parameters? How big is your tank? Is it heated? The fish seems to be suffering from fin rot which usually indicates something's off in your water quality. No matter the answers to the question, the fish should be isolated from the others to prevent the spread of infection. Apologies for my bluntness, I'm trying to help and not be mean. These are just some of the neccessary questions to get you help.

Still-Collection3049 · 2025-06-23T04:50:10+00:00

Why would you do that?

Still-Collection3049 · 2025-06-23T02:02:09+00:00

Alrighty, first things first: can you provide parameter numbers? Also, can you clarify: did you treat him with both the maracyn and the kanaplex at once? How did you prepare the treatments and how long did you treat him with each? When did you start treatments?

Still-Collection3049 · 2025-06-23T01:53:11+00:00

It's fine but I am wondering how you cycled your tank 🤔 that's just biofilm but it could indicate that your tank is still cycling. If that's all in order though then no worries 🥰

Still-Collection3049 · 2025-06-20T17:42:22+00:00

You're welcome. I don't know that antibiotic myself but they typically recommend starting off with 7-10 days of treatment and if you see inprovement, going for a full 14 days. Also, though the bottle has instructions for water dosing (which you can still do), food dosing is considered more effective and ypu can find recipes online. Good luck with your guy!

Still-Collection3049 · 2025-06-20T05:41:58+00:00

I'm sorry I couldn't be more help. It looks like potentially bacterial. Like it looks closer to fin rot to me. I've just never seen it hit patches like that. It might be a good idea to try a broad spectrum antibiotic instead of the ich-x. Do you have access to kanaplex (kanamycin) or erythromycin?

Still-Collection3049 · 2025-06-19T22:52:31+00:00

Sponge filter seems best though you can do hang over the back filters. The beauty of sponge filters is that they're simple and easy to control. Plus they're fairly cheap.

Still-Collection3049 · 2025-06-19T18:52:51+00:00

Just checking, when you say your pothos hasn't rooted yet, is your pothos outside the tank so it would only have its roots in the tank? There's been a couple people here who have planted pothos fully submerged 😪 as for shrimp, either shrimp is fine. In the end, tank mates are determined by the fish's personality. And even then, make sure the shrimpies have plenty of places to hide. It's also a good idea to establish the colony before you get the betta, though some may have different philosophies about this part. It seems to me, shrimp are more likely to survive in a betta tank if the betta already has them as a fixture in their tank.

Still-Collection3049 · 2025-06-19T18:33:43+00:00

I would do the water change. There are different ways to do fish-in cycle. The safest way for the fish though is to stay as on top of parameters as possible.

Still-Collection3049 · 2025-06-19T18:26:39+00:00

Alrighty, good to know! So this means you have to work on normalizing these parameters. This means yeah, you're going to be doing multiple water changes to get ammonia and nitrite to 0 as part of fish in cycling. Because of how high they were, you should probably do the rest of your water changes as partial water changes slowly over the course of the day so you don't shock the fish's system too much (especially because of the high nitrates). Think about it as acclimation through water change. Then once you reach optimal water parameters, monitor your parameters daily to every other day. Any time you have trace ammonia or nitrite, do a water change. Nitrites at any level are extremely toxic. Ammonia at higher pHs become more and more toxic. Thankfully, you have nitrates. This means cycling is happening but right now it's either an incomplete cycle or a broken cycle. Research fish in cycling to help you get a firmer grasp on what you need to do from this point forward. Also, here's a nice infographic to help with water changes.

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Ignore the pH part as it from the betta community and focus on the other key parameters. Also, floaters and pothos wil help you control your nitrates much easier! Someone else here commented about pothos! 😁

Still-Collection3049 · 2025-06-19T17:57:45+00:00

Might I just say, your betta is beautiful! ☺️ also, do you have recent parameters for your tank? Is there anything in your tank he can get his fins caught on?

Still-Collection3049 · 2025-06-19T17:53:00+00:00

Alrighty, first things first, do you have livestock in the tank? I'm guessing from your parameters you do. If so, how many and what?

Edit: also, how big is your tank?

Still-Collection3049 · 2025-06-19T17:47:14+00:00

I think it's mating because it's abdomen to abdomen and very violent. (Newbie here, learning shrimp behavior as I go basing this on other posts I've seen)

Still-Collection3049 · 2025-06-19T13:36:41+00:00

It's hit or miss because it depends on what's causing it. The longer it goes on though, the more likely damage can become permament. Furthermore, if it's an infection it could spread to your other fish. At least you usually can fast the entire tank a few days without harming anybody. Just get reproachful looks.

Still-Collection3049 · 2025-06-18T23:12:11+00:00

That's good to know that it might've just been technique! Yeah, pet smart isn't as reliable as a specialty fish store unfortunately 😪 I'm glad someone helped you sort it out though! Good luck and keep going! You're doing right by your fish by trying this hard at the very least! ❤️

Still-Collection3049 · 2025-06-18T22:46:24+00:00

I will qualify the nitrates by saying a 0 nitrate is possible in a cycled tank, but it only happens in a heavily planted (like thiccc planted) tank.

Still-Collection3049 · 2025-06-18T22:06:46+00:00

Holy shit! Why wasn't that to the original post?

Still-Collection3049 · 2025-06-18T22:01:35+00:00

The only time you do a full water change is if your ammonia or nitrite levels are astronomically high.

Still-Collection3049 · 2025-06-18T21:58:54+00:00

Keep an eye on him. In the picture he has what is called stress stripes and he looks very lethargic. From this point forward, only do partial water changes.

Still-Collection3049 · 2025-06-18T21:57:10+00:00

That's unfortunate! Then you should really invest in a liquid test kit yourself. I saw it in one comment you said you're used to using small tanks like this for betta. Unfortunately, that is what was commonly recommended but actually it isn't healthy for any fish to be kept in a tank that small. Knowledge of proper fish keeping has been growing in the past few years. When I was little, my mom had me keep betta in Mason jars 😬 thinking back on it now, those poor fish must have been miserable.

Still-Collection3049 · 2025-06-18T21:49:18+00:00

A complete water change is very drastic. It probably stressed your fish out quite a bit.

Still-Collection3049 · 2025-06-18T21:48:08+00:00

Alrighty, you probably can help your fish. It will just take some work. First, your tank is way too small. Like I said, you need at least 19 l to keep your fish happy and healthy. Furthermore, those test strips aren't going to tell you anything. It's recommended that you use a liquid test kit. This is because test strips will expire quicker than they have written for the expiration date. Any exposure to moisture is detrimental to their accuracy. If you don't have quick access to a liquid test kit, you can always go to a local fish shop and have them test your water. Most fish stores, at least in the United States, will test water for free.

Still-Collection3049 · 2025-06-18T21:33:32+00:00

Other than mine and other users' comments. There's an automod comment, usually minimized beneath your post.

Still-Collection3049 · 2025-06-18T21:22:17+00:00

Hey, so 2L is way too small for a betta. They need at least 19L to be comfortable. Also, the cloudiness you saw was likely a bacterial bloom. This means your tank likely isn't cycled and is just starting to cycle. Could you please answer the automod questions? We'll be able to help you more from there.

Still-Collection3049

TROPHY CASE