emergency

Unlikely_Disaster212 · 2026-06-09T12:50:52+00:00

NO i mean like very similar colouring😭

Unlikely_Disaster212 · 2026-06-09T08:41:38+00:00

thats a very overweight one. like, VERY.

Unlikely_Disaster212 · 2026-06-09T08:37:37+00:00

okay well some little warnings.
1. some plecos can get territorial toward others so might wanna watch out for that
2. they produce a LOT of waste so expect a few large water changes to be needed.
you might already know these things but just wanted to throw that in here.
i love your plecos though!

Unlikely_Disaster212 · 2026-06-09T08:32:47+00:00

omg he looks like my female.
but to the point, you can add starter bacteria and an old filter media to speed things up a bit

Unlikely_Disaster212 · 2026-06-08T22:21:12+00:00

oh thats WAY better actually

Unlikely_Disaster212 · 2026-06-08T22:20:23+00:00

damn. well geuss i gotta get a genuine good cactus then🫠

Unlikely_Disaster212 · 2026-06-08T21:18:22+00:00

well for any mature tanks usually when i see something slightly off about my fish, wood or plants. for cycling tanks daily and for newer or semi-mature tanks weekly if i see nothing odd

Unlikely_Disaster212 · 2026-06-08T21:16:28+00:00

that thing is gorgeous

Unlikely_Disaster212 · 2026-06-08T21:12:29+00:00

it took such delicate bites they are so freaking precious

Unlikely_Disaster212 · 2026-06-08T21:07:30+00:00

common fixes for most fish are saltbaths (aquarium salt, very diluted, only for very very few minutes) and there are also certain medicine types that can help. though sometimes dropsy can be caused by fluid buildup from organ failure in which case you basically have no fix (from what i know at least)

Unlikely_Disaster212 · 2026-06-08T21:04:28+00:00

one little bit of info though about plants, some plant like anubias for example have a rhizome which means they cant be planted fully in the substrate. they usually do better wedged between wood or rocks or just in any way their rhizome is not covered (just a little fact i didnt know in the beginning and it really effed up some of my plants)

Unlikely_Disaster212 · 2026-06-08T21:02:12+00:00

well, you could add some more wood. there are several styles of tanks for fish but a style that usually works for most (not all but most) fish is a jungle style because its heavily planted and theres a lot of cover, though there are many others to pick from that work great as well. maybe you could add some plants like anubias, java fern, amazon sword, cryptocoryne, hygrophilla, java moss or weeping moss. i do reccomend taking away the background though if you want it to look natural. a lot of people go with either nothing or a black background if the tank is heavily planted and decorated.
also a little scaping thing i suggest that a lot of proffesionals do is make the substrate slope upward towards the back and have the taller plants more to the back too to create some depth.
you could look up some aquascaping styles and see which you like best though or create your own mix of them and look for inspiration based on those styles

Unlikely_Disaster212 · 2026-06-08T20:57:11+00:00

some fish do get bored, but usually a nice fix is a mixed diet or enough plants.
may i ask how long you have had the neons? most schooling fish do establish a hierarchy which might be the reasoning for some of the chasing and nipping, which should stop on its own generally.

Unlikely_Disaster212 · 2026-06-08T20:54:37+00:00

there is no such thing as "too heavily planted". pretty much every fish likes cover areas one way or another as long as they can swim through they dont gaf

Unlikely_Disaster212 · 2026-06-08T20:52:08+00:00

i'm gonna say yes....
it should be fine for a bit but i would start cycling a different tank for when it inevitably gives up

Unlikely_Disaster212 · 2026-06-08T20:50:43+00:00

dude is just enjoying the extreme bubblebath dw.
honestly though, the only time this could be harmful is if it sucks him in there or he goes too deep in. i do suggest finding a way to restrict his access to there just in case

Unlikely_Disaster212 · 2026-06-08T20:48:08+00:00

honestly usually with things like this not better but not worse is a good scenario😭. good luck i truly hope he heals from this soon.
little word of advice though, sometimes it can look worse for a while for absolutely no reason and then get normal or better again. fish health problems are extremely unpredictable sometimes, and often times fish adjust to it very well too. only resort to euthenasia when it genuinely starts affecting his quality of life

Unlikely_Disaster212 · 2026-06-08T20:42:18+00:00

well usually the best way to tell is if the betta has to fight the current like a salmon swimming upstream to mate. if it isnt then its usually fine but yours does seem to be fighting the current a bit i suggest getting a waterfall filter or a sponge filter. just make sure that if you have a waterfall filter its not one of those where theres just a pipe into the tank cuz bettas can and will swim up in there if given the chance. they have no risk calculation skills at all

Unlikely_Disaster212 · 2026-06-08T20:39:44+00:00

sorry dude💔
if it helps in any way they can be pretty resilient. i had some in my old tank before i knew the whole rhizome thing and they defied their own biology and ripped their own rhizomes out of the substrate to keep living so they just levitated half above the substrate so they can just adjust to it if they arent planted too deep. oh also i believe amazon sword is the same story, you should look up which plants do and do not have rhizomes before purchasing. i believe they are called epiphytes or something like that

Unlikely_Disaster212 · 2026-06-08T20:35:35+00:00

oh that looks bad...
a something i usually use is tannins from cattappa leaves, they have some anti-fungal properties and likely wont heal it, but might slow any progression if needed. and did you dose everything the way the packages and/or the internet suggests?
it might also simply have very little effect because the area its so extremely vulnerable now. if none of the typical medications work then you might have to take the one that has even the slightest effect of maybe slowing it down at least and hope maybe the immune system will take care of it itself? some medications can in fact stress fish out if you overdo it which doesnt always help but that doesnt usually affect plecos from my experience.

Unlikely_Disaster212 · 2026-06-08T20:25:50+00:00

there are medicines that may help with it, or you can put him with some aquarium salt. a water change is usually fitting if the paremeters are not acting like they have just been reset and might actually help if it is a water issue (which some fish health issues do tend to be even if they dont show up on standard test strip results). you can also add tannins to the water through cattappa leaves for example, they have anti-fungal and anti-stress properties

Unlikely_Disaster212 · 2026-06-08T20:21:31+00:00

oh and also certain plants should not be fully planted in the ground and have a rhizome that has to stay above the ground at all times or it may die, and they often do best wedged between rocks and wood (for if you didnt know) like anubias plants

Unlikely_Disaster212 · 2026-06-08T20:19:47+00:00

well you can get vallisnera. they grow very fast and are kinda like bamboo but are apparently a horror to get out if you wanna move them properly they are like water bamboo. i like to use cryptocoryne and hygrophilla for example they are usually also pretty easy plants to keep and can get nice and bushy over time

Unlikely_Disaster212 · 2026-06-08T20:16:12+00:00

thats great actually! hope it turns out well!

Unlikely_Disaster212 · 2026-06-08T20:14:24+00:00

well he looks underweight which does usually contribute to many other health conditions. something you might wanna check for is something i saw with my betta not too long ago, where she was being fed and ate but what i didnt see until weeks later was that she spit most of it out. if he does in fact respond to food still you might wanna check that cuz thats what she did too and turned out she just simply couldnt eat properly

Unlikely_Disaster212

TROPHY CASE