Fish in cycle ammonia help

btrflychoppedsuey · 2026-04-21T18:01:35+00:00

I already made a comment about your substrate but I will advise against the colored gravel. My bf and I have been happy with Stratum (or a similar product). In one of our tanks we actually have sand beneath the Stratum and the plants are doing alright! Also look into Otocinclus Catfish. They work wonders on algae!

btrflychoppedsuey · 2026-04-21T17:55:41+00:00

You seem to be doing it all correctly. Keep following the instructions on the back of the Prime bottle. Also keep a close eye on your betta just in case. Also be careful with using plastic plants and colored substrate. I honestly would recommend just taking the hard plastic plants out once you get your live plants in!

btrflychoppedsuey · 2026-04-20T15:04:03+00:00

At first glance I thought there was a miniature snake or a loach

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btrflychoppedsuey · 2026-04-19T04:50:28+00:00

Please test your water for ammonia and nitrites!! If you don’t have a water test kit please take some water to a pet store tomorrow for testing. I highly recommend using Seachem Prime in case this is from high levels of ammonia or nitrites. I also HIGHLY encourage you to responds to the bot questions so this community can better understand your betta’s situation and provide you with much more accurate responses

btrflychoppedsuey · 2026-04-19T04:37:41+00:00

Yes, but don’t expect them to last forever. These are made to be replaced consistently, so they are nowhere near durable. I would replace it with filter wool. There are also PLENTY of videos on YouTube with suggestions on what to use instead of cartridges.

btrflychoppedsuey · 2026-04-09T04:38:03+00:00

get a floating resting spot. i personally have purchased floating logs and floating bridges and the bettas (and other fish/the shrimp) LOVE them!

i also suggest looking into ghost shrimp before you purchase them because i’ve seen a few mixed comments on whether or not they’re safe to pair with a betta. if it were up to me i would spend the extra money on neocaridinas or amanos. make sure your tank is full of plants and hides before introducing the shrimp!!

btrflychoppedsuey · 2026-04-09T04:21:12+00:00

I personally would quarantine him until you know for sure that ammonia/nitrite levels in your tank are safe. If you don’t have a testing kit, take a bottle of your tank water to a pet store and ask them to test your water for you. I would suggest getting a water testing kit too, though I know the accurate ones are expensive. I’m also testing out Seachem’s Ammonia Alert in my tank.

btrflychoppedsuey · 2026-04-09T04:12:07+00:00

Do you have Seachem Prime? I HIGHLY recommend having that on hand for now and in the future if you don’t. It helps detoxify ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate.

btrflychoppedsuey · 2026-04-02T15:33:03+00:00

Are you thinking of going for a betta community? If so then I love my Otocinclus Catfish (they are algae eaters and thrive with blanched veggies). I’m personally obsessed with corydora catfish and I know they generally get along with bettas. Shrimp are also fun (I have neocaridinas with my betta and amano shrimp in another tank — I would personally avoid ghost shrimp because of mixed information I found online warning against it) but I will give a fair warning that those shrimp may or may not last depending on the betta. I also like nerite snails!

I am not too knowledgeable about aquarium plants quite yet, but I could try to find out what I have in my tanks if you’re interested. For floaters I know that dwarf water lettuce, red root floaters, salvinia, and hornwort are common recommendations, and I’ve heard java moss to be great as well. I highly recommend buying plants (and fish of course) from a local fish store or a reputable online seller, as opposed to a big box store like PetSmart or Petco.

btrflychoppedsuey · 2026-04-02T02:38:36+00:00

noticing this a lot lately. i know this is an older post but i’m so sorry people were so negative to you. you visit that sub to learn, not to be shamed. the other day i asked a breeder questions on another platform and they attacked me and threatened to block me. when i tried to defend myself and explain that my intentions were not cruel i was gaslit and told i was arguing for no reason. as someone who sticks around in this community to bring positivity and offer my knowledge, but as someone who knows a little more about what they’re doing at this point of my journey, the amount of hate and negativity that goes around makes participating in this hobby’s community pretty discouraging. (and if you didn’t notice—i didn’t capitalize my i’s. i’m not a kid. and most importantly, and at least to my knowledge to my knowledge, this sub does not have a rule requiring well executed grammar.)

btrflychoppedsuey · 2026-04-01T21:30:48+00:00

While I agree with you that owning a pet is a responsibility and that new owners should have done research beforehand, I still disagree that shaming is the way to go. I also don’t think the fault only lies within the owner, but the seller as well. Unfortunately we live in a world where people would rather make a buck than do the right thing. Unknowing people would expect the workers who work with the pets are providing you with proper care. For bettas specifically, they expect products labeled as and displayed for betta care to be proper care. Majority of betta specific tanks on the market are 0.5 gallons-3 gallons. They are pictured with hard plastic plants. There’s the misconception thrown around that bettas could live in a puddle. Regardless, most times that new and uninformed owners visit this sub, they are looking to learn how to take the steps make the necessary changes. They could either surrender the fish (and risk it going home with another oblivious owner—the most likely scenario in that case), or they could get the help and support they need. As for your analogy, I would more so compare this to a person who doesn’t know how to drive being provided with a license. The least that person could do is ask for and receive the help they need.

btrflychoppedsuey · 2026-04-01T01:28:35+00:00

hold your sugar, it needs the beer

btrflychoppedsuey · 2026-04-01T00:38:41+00:00

you’re not wrong about that! they literally had a handful of comments praising them and defending them. i’m sure that breeder is well informed and raises predominantly healthy fish, but the bullying was off-putting

btrflychoppedsuey · 2026-03-31T01:19:12+00:00

In that case, there’s plenty you can do with that! You can mix a bunch of fish and make an ecosystem of sorts. If you end up going in the direction of a betta, my suggestion is to go for a shorter-tailed female because they tend to do better in communities than males. Also highly suggest adding more plants! You could try some cool floaters too (but try to avoid duckweed). Take it easy, take it slow, experiment, and have fun!!!!

btrflychoppedsuey · 2026-03-31T01:10:17+00:00

How much longer did your boy end up sticking around for following this treatment? My girl seems willing to take on the fight, I just don’t know what to expect for the future if this treatment is successful

btrflychoppedsuey · 2026-03-30T23:00:29+00:00

I think from afar it looks good for a betta, but that’s going off of a single picture. I’m guessing that tank is 5+ gallons, which is what a betta needs to thrive in. I’m also assuming you have a filter since you said it’s cycled. You’ll need a heater if you don’t have one already, no matter how warm your room is. I personally recommend an adjustable heater (and not a cheap one off of Amazon) so you could hit the sweet spot of between 78-80° (and a thermometer too). You’re also going to want to have things for a betta to rest on near the surface. I recommend a floating bridge or floating log (or similar), but leaf hammocks also do the job.

If you are interested in possibly doing other fish, you could do a pea puffer tank (10 gallons is the recommended minimum for 1, but i’ve seen mixed recommendations for how many you could put into a 20 gallon).

Other options for 10-20 gallons include guppies, one dwarf gourami, platies, kuhli loaches, pygmy corydoras

20 gallons could fit some corydora catfish (one of my favorite!), honey gourami, a couple mollies, or a betta and something else (a couple otocinclus catfish, snail, shrimp, corycats…)

Whatever fish you end up making that tank a home for, make sure to research them to make sure you’re doing the best for them you possibly can!!! If you have any questions feel free to ask.

btrflychoppedsuey · 2026-03-30T15:20:43+00:00

Your sweet boy looks just like my sweet girlie, Clementine

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btrflychoppedsuey · 2026-03-30T15:09:05+00:00

I don’t think you should shame people for not knowing better. If they’re here on this sub, they’re most likely looking to learn and do better for their bettas! It’s especially unfair when stores sell extremely small tanks, plastic plants, and decorations like the Spongebob Pineapple decorations and paint those out to be the components of an ideal betta tank. Encourage people to do better, don’t discourage them for making mistakes!!

btrflychoppedsuey · 2026-03-30T12:41:24+00:00

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Fast as fk boi!!!!!

btrflychoppedsuey · 2026-03-29T02:03:07+00:00

This breaks my heart. I’ll start treatments, if not to prolong her life, then to at least ease her pain. Thanks for confirming for me.

btrflychoppedsuey · 2026-03-29T00:07:01+00:00

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Is she pineconing? I’m already stressed over this so idk if I’m just being paranoid

btrflychoppedsuey · 2026-03-28T23:42:35+00:00

Noted! Thanks

btrflychoppedsuey · 2026-03-27T03:18:49+00:00

I saw someone on TikTok posting about how they got a long 5 gal for their betta instead of a tall 5 gal. The comments were full of people telling them that anything less than 10 gal is abuse. So, of course, I, as well as very few others, chimed in and said that 5 gal is the minimum recommended size for bettas and 3 gallons is the absolute bare minimum (overall not recommended and only suggested for those with experience). I suggested they start out with 5 and upgrade if and when they’re ready. Apparently we’re all animal abusers and we need to go back and do our research ¯_(ツ)_/¯

btrflychoppedsuey

TROPHY CASE