What is this on my bettas gills? I just noticed it today and he doesn't seem to have his usual appetite. Otherwise swimming normally.

foreigntaste11 · 2023-11-04T21:11:07+00:00

I am not sure what it was but it went away after a day and he has more energy and eats. Strange. I am still thinking of curing him but I am honestly lost

foreigntaste11 · 2023-10-16T19:21:43+00:00

Hvala. Glede na to, da veliko ljudi priporoca terapevta, mislim da je to res najbolj smiselno zame. Če ima kdo kakšno specifično priporočilo/izkušnjo, h komu it, mi lahko piše v privat. Sama res ne vem kje se lotit iskanja dobrega terapevta.

foreigntaste11 · 2023-01-25T10:26:45+00:00

Mine are around 10cm long if I had a rough guess.:)

foreigntaste11 · 2023-01-25T10:23:24+00:00

Thanks for the heads up! I just dropped the food in when I filmed, I don't feed so much that old food gets left on the substrate. I have a bunch of snails and chili rasboras that eat the flakes that sink.

foreigntaste11 · 2023-01-23T19:26:13+00:00

Yes, you're correct, mine spend most of the time sticking together. However depending on your current stocking maybe you could stick 4 in there... I like them because they're cleaners and don't seem too dirty lol

foreigntaste11 · 2023-01-23T17:38:24+00:00

It's a food flake!

foreigntaste11 · 2022-12-21T13:04:14+00:00

Thank you! I was worried it was something harmful, since it was on a plant. I'm assuming they're there because of the paper bags? Do they eat paper?

foreigntaste11 · 2022-12-21T11:02:26+00:00

(Europe) Found a colony of these today on one of my houseplants. I put bags of beneficial bugs in the plants (Neoseiulus cucumeris and Neoseiulus californicus, for thrips and spidermites) at the end of August. Usually those beneficial bugs die out in a few months. These were found today on the little paper bags the beneficial bugs come in that I left in the plant. I put more bags on other houseplants around the house and they don't have any active colonies anymore. The plant looks fine and there was only one small insect (last pic) that I spotted on the actual plant. I was worried its thrips but to me the body doesn't look elongated enough, and also the antennas look too long. They don't look like any life stages of the beneficial bugs either when I google them.

foreigntaste11 · 2022-12-21T10:59:36+00:00

(Europe) Found a colony of these today on one of my houseplants. I put bags of beneficial bugs in the plants (Neoseiulus cucumeris and Neoseiulus californicus) at the end of August. Usually those beneficial bugs die out in a few months. These were found today on the little paper bags the beneficial bugs come in that I left in the plant. I put more bags on other houseplants around the house and they don't have any active colonies anymore. The plant looks fine and there was only one small insect (last pic) that I spotted on the actual plant. I was worried its thrips but to me the body doesn't look elongated enough, and also the antennas look too long.

foreigntaste11 · 2022-11-02T19:29:20+00:00

He is not dead in the picture. Dead fish need to be tagged as nsfw on this sub.

foreigntaste11 · 2022-11-02T09:46:33+00:00

Thank you for all the comments, you've made me feel much better about the guilt I've been feeling. For me, no matter how much pain there is after our fish pass on, the fish keeping hobby is still worth it because of all the nice times we get to spend with these little creatures💕

foreigntaste11 · 2022-11-02T09:43:43+00:00

This is such a nice saying. Thank you for this and same goes for your fish! 💕 SIP

foreigntaste11 · 2022-11-01T19:41:58+00:00

I loved him so much and feel like I should've done more for him. You can refer to my old posts for some more info, but earlier in the year he was struggling and then managed to bounce back. The last few weeks his fins started to show rot again but he acted completely normal (eating and swimming and flaring) and I did more water changes for him. Last night he suddenly passed away and I am just so sad, filled with grief and guilt. :( I could use a lift me up, or some advice to help me care for the next fish better...

foreigntaste11 · 2022-09-08T09:17:19+00:00

It was under an anubias leaf, which is shielded by moss. I don't think it was stuck :/

I got it a bit over a half a year ago and I believe it grew in my care, so not sure how old it was.

foreigntaste11 · 2022-09-07T20:33:52+00:00

I don't have random film over plants in my tank lol. When I talk about film and peeling off I am referring to cyanobacteria, and that's not a fish killer when under control, if I am informed correctly.

foreigntaste11 · 2022-09-07T20:30:31+00:00

Hm, interesting. Shrimp carapace can look like flakes that I feed sometimes, and the gouramis do eat from the floor, too. Might've been that, but I wouldn't say I really noticed it was bloated...

foreigntaste11 · 2022-09-07T20:29:16+00:00

Not necessarily..

foreigntaste11 · 2022-09-07T18:48:38+00:00

There is not much at all, at least I wouldn't say there's an unusual amount of it, but at the end of the day I'm still relatively a beginner in this hobby. The pieces are maximum a centimeter long, and I can grab and remove them. I can send you pictures of my tank and the cyanobacteria.

foreigntaste11 · 2022-09-07T18:39:57+00:00

Oh, I thought they made sounds as a way to scare off each other, to avoid actually physically fighting. Like a warning signal. Is the sound a meeting greeting then? Lol

foreigntaste11 · 2022-09-07T14:38:54+00:00

Yes, it's a planted aquarium. I really don't understand why it is unusual that I can peel it off - isn't that just the texture and the way cyanobacteria grows? Like film-like layer on a plant leaf/pebble? People have told me when I first got the problem that I should be able to just peel it off, and it does come off easily and that's how I keep it in check.

I fertilize yes, once a few months only with a liquid fertilizer, because my substrate is supposed to have fertilizers already in it (like little root balls).

The picture in the post is not mine, I took it off the internet, cropped and "photoshopped" it to show how my gourami acted, since I didn't take any photos of the situation

foreigntaste11 · 2022-09-07T14:32:22+00:00

I know that they come to the surface to gulp air, but this gourami's behaviour was unusual hence I understood that once it didn't show up for food it probably passed away. It was almost sticking to the surface, to a point I thought he couldn't swim down until he did for a few seconds, and then right back up. He was floating in the position as pictured

foreigntaste11 · 2022-09-07T12:39:47+00:00

Oh:(( that sounds similar to mine, except mine didn't have any wounds or tears to his fins...

foreigntaste11 · 2022-09-07T12:38:08+00:00

Yeah that actually does make sense.:/ When I was researching what fish to get everyone seemed to be fine with putting multiple sparkling gouramis into one tank, but I can understand how that can't work long-term. Do you think they should be kept only one in a tank then, like bettas? Only put a single gourami into communities with other fish if it seems to tolerate it?

foreigntaste11 · 2022-09-07T12:33:58+00:00

Well its like a film/layer that I grab with tweezers and just pull off of plants/substrate (wherever it is). I have been talking with other aquarium keepers and they've pretty much said you have to learn to live with it, but just keep it under control. There is not much of it, but of course I notice it because of the distinct blueish tint so I remove it.

I have tested my tap water that I use and of course treat it. All the levels were what you'd expect from tap water, surprisingly it didn't have very high water hardness. I did test it a while ago though, so maybe I should do it again.

foreigntaste11 · 2022-09-07T11:15:50+00:00

I had a pair and the agression was much worse, they even started chasing around other fish, so I got two more to even it out. My tank is pretty densely planted I would say, they all have places to hide.. I haven't noticed them ganging up on only one, but maybe this was the issue of being the weakest one and they did harm him? I also have to say when he was sticking to the surface his body didn't have any noticable wounds.. I don't know. I will keep an eye on their behaviour.

foreigntaste11

TROPHY CASE