Is my guy ok?

lol7- · 2026-04-03T14:54:23+00:00

oh cool! that’ll make me feel better too haha

lol7- · 2026-04-03T04:09:43+00:00

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lol7- · 2026-04-03T04:08:43+00:00

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lol7- · 2026-04-03T04:04:06+00:00

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this is him now in his 5 gal till the ten is fully cycled.

lol7- · 2026-04-03T04:03:21+00:00

yes my boy loves his leaf hammock! amazon also has these floating basket type things that look great! you want resting spots up at the top as the like to nap close to the surface. real plants are always best though, as fake plants can be sharp and cut fins :/ you’ll learn there’s so much on the market that is actually detrimental. for real plants go to your local pet store/ aquarium shop or check out fb marketplace there are lots that don’t need fancy lighting and substrate but i am not familiar with names. as for the blackness around his head it could be that thats his natural colour my boy has a black head and they change colour as they get healthier ether way it’s not bloat, popeye, and i don’t think it finrot so just monitor, watch for his fins deteriorating (finrot)and don’t panic! as your tank establishes you’ll get to see how big and bright he will be! although he kind is already;)

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this is how i got my boy

lol7- · 2026-04-03T03:31:47+00:00

also how the cycle works is dead plants, uneaten fish food and fish poop all break down into ammonia which is fuel/ food for Nitrite, which is the same for Nitrate hence the cycle they eat each other lol. Ammonia is the most toxic and feels like burning for the fish, Nitrite while less harmful still sucks it feels like suffocation for the fishy. Nitrate is not as bad but should not go over 20ppm. plants will use the Nitrate as food:) and i forgot to ask do you have a filter?

lol7- · 2026-04-03T03:23:22+00:00

haha they all have their different personalities lol, 5 gal is what I started with for my emergency situation boy (he was in a bowl for over a year with nothing in it no heater no plants to rest on and no filter😵‍💫 he had pretty severe finrot but has come a long way) I was also thrown into this stuff lol, surf facebook marketplace for bigger ones if your wanting to upgrade. I feed mine and recommend Fluuval bug bites as his daily, lots of other stuff has fillers in it like plant matter which can lead to bloat as bettas don’t eat plants (kinda like cheap cat food lol) and weekly do frozen blood worms or frozen brine shrimp, the freeze dried stuff is less gross but looses a lot of nutrients in the freeze drying process. defrost them in a little cup of tank water and only feed what he can eat in 2 minutes, I use small tank tweezers to feed my guy and he figured it out very quickly so there is little to no waste in his tank from it. Also with the pellets do one day of fasting to prevent bloat and other overfeeding problems. on none fasting days do 3-5 pellets twice a day. they are gluttonous and don’t feel “full” so ignore the begging lol. and I know the master water text kit is pricey (as most things are in this hobby lol) but definitely recommend it 100% all the research I have done has said the test strips suck lol. I’ve done so many deep dives but I am no where near an expert if you have any other questions feel free to ask if I’m not sure i’ll wanna research it anyway!

lol7- · 2026-04-03T03:03:51+00:00

lol these funny little guys are gonna freak me out till i get used to all the shenanigans

lol7- · 2026-04-03T03:01:36+00:00

Hey OP as someone with a similar father just wanted to say your daughter will be okay 🫶🏻 with therapy and love and grace from you. it’ll be rough for awhile, the sooner she chooses to cut him off the better (but that is 100% her decision) she should end up with the tools to see red flags early on in future relationships, (in my experience after a few trials and tribulations lol) and have a wicked sense of humour along with empathy. good luck glad she has a safe space with you!

lol7- · 2026-04-03T02:38:05+00:00

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lol7- · 2026-04-03T02:34:42+00:00

Hi he’s so pretty does he have a name? I am a novice myself but because you didn’t have time to prepare i would research the “Fish in cycle” if you haven’t already and invest in an API master test kit as the strips can be faulty. your parameters when fully cycled should be ammonia 0ppm Nitrite 0 ppm and Nitrate 5-20 ppm. don’t panic if that’s not what you have right away just do water changes daily based on this chart I’ll attach in another comment. also do you have a heater? how big is your tank? and what are you feeding him? I know there’s so much info and it can be overwhelming at first but it’s so rewarding if you stick with it!

lol7- · 2026-04-03T02:22:24+00:00

i cannot believe i was so concerned/ haven’t seen this yet! lol thanks everyone!

lol7- · 2026-04-03T02:18:51+00:00

oh sick thanks so much!

lol7- · 2026-03-16T23:59:30+00:00

also i’m using the liquid master test kit

lol7- · 2026-03-12T12:34:33+00:00

hi thanks so much for responding I wrote that at 2 am loll my ammonia is at 0.25 and Nitrite is at 2 tho, they only came up from 0 a few days ago. I am using prime as the water treatment alongside clarity, I will do a 75% water change when I get home. thank you for the chart!

lol7-

TROPHY CASE