Jump to content

Betta help?

Serra

By Serra,
in Betta Fish

 Share

Recommended Posts

Serra Be nice I'm new here

Serra

Posted
Posted

Hi all,

I'm not sure if anyone will see this, but I'll give it a try!
I'm currently having some issues with my male Plakat that is 10 months old.
I have a 20 liter tank, heated, with a 30cm pro z led light.
The tank used to be scaped but he began to look unwell. We have another empty tank so I had him in there for about a week and he got better. Basically I've been putting him back and forth between tanks until I ended up taking everything out and he had a bare bottom tank with some rocks anubias and moss. This has gone well for about a month but yesterday he appears for a better word, lethargic. He seems to be spending a lot of time towards the top of the tank.
This is becoming highly frustrating as I am more than happy to have a nice landscaped tank for him but he doesn't seem to like it.
The ph is around 7.2
27deg
All water tests have been very low as I give him a small amount of fresh waster daily. I've tried straight tap with Prime, RO with equilibriam and a mix of both. There are always IAL in the tank also.
Any thoughts/help/comments would be greatly appreciated!
Cheers
Serra
 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
jc12 Shrimp Lover

jc12

Posted
Posted
54 minutes ago, Serra said:

The tank used to be scaped but he began to look unwell. We have another empty tank so I had him in there for about a week and he got better. Basically I've been putting him back and forth between tanks until I ended up taking everything out and he had a bare bottom tank with some rocks anubias and moss.


All water tests have been very low as I give him a small amount of fresh waster daily.
 

You mentioned a scaped tank. Do you use CO2 for plants when you had it scaped? Sometimes CO2 might either gas fish or induce PH swings if not set up properly.

You mentioned all water tests have been very low. Which parameters specifically? Ammonia and nitrite at low levels in a small tank could be toxic for fish.

Nothing else glaringly stands out other than the above questions and what OzShrimp has asked.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Serra Be nice I'm new here

Serra

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)

Thank you for your reply @OzShrimp

I'm not actually. Do you think a bubbler (or something else?) would be good to put in?

Thanks @jc12

Ammonia and nitrite are both 0, the nitrate was a *touch* off the normal yellow.

No c02 in this tank either :-/
PH has always been quite stable round 7.2...

 

Edited by Serra
Link to comment
Share on other sites
jc12 Shrimp Lover

jc12

Posted
Posted

Does the tank have a filter?

Is yes what type of filter? Is it generating a strong flow? Bettas are not strong swimmers and don't do well with strong water movement.

If no filter, then yes to an air bubbler to help water movement.

Bettas are air breathers and do not require well oxygenated water to survive.

Is it eating and pooping alright?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Bill88 Be nice I'm new here

Bill88

Posted
Posted (edited)

I would definitely recommend a small bubble filter as mentioned above. In my experience with bettas, even though people say they don't need it, it helps!

 

Edited by Bill88
Edit because it didn't make sense lol
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Serra Be nice I'm new here

Serra

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I did have a little internal filter until all of this started happening. So once I eliminated everything else, I ended up taking the filter out.
I put a bubbler in yesterday along with some IAL tea. He's not looking the best but seems to be hanging in there.
I appreciate everyone's responses x

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Join Our Community!

    Register today, ask questions and share your shrimp and fish tank experiences with us!

  • Must Read SKF Articles

    Shrimp Disease and Treatment
    Tibee, Taitbee, Pinto, Mischling, F1, F2

  • Tropical Fish Forum
    Discus Breeding Guide
    Discus Disease and Treatment Guide

  • Posts

    • krogoo22
      keeping cinnamon sticks and oak leaves in tank - how long?

      By krogoo22 · Posted

      I would add that boiling discourages natural decomposition and would likely break down the antifungals present in the bark, letting the fungus actually grow.
    • sdlTBfanUK
      Betta Water Parameters

      By sdlTBfanUK · Posted

      I shall probably just call him bertie as I did the previous 2 I had.
    • jayc
      Betta Water Parameters

      By jayc · Posted

      What nice friends you have! Have you named the new betta yet? 
    • sdlTBfanUK
      Betta Water Parameters

      By sdlTBfanUK · Posted

      I had friends round at the weekend, moving furniture around so now I can see the fish tanks from where I normally sit. The only tank that has been running since I moved has had bloody mary shrimps in it and they are fine. It was my betta tank before, and after moving my friends went out and got me a new betta;- As you can see he is ultra healthy looking (pic is of him in the fish store tank) and he has been very active from the moment he arrived and started a bubble nest within an hour of going into the tank. He is about half the size of a fully grown one! He is a bit bland to look at as just white but I went for him as the tank is quite (understatement) dark and so he is easily visible, even from a distance. Hopefully he won't devour the shrimps (the odd baby shrimp I don't mind) but I will have to see on that issue! All the water parameters seem fine aside frm KH which is 6 as this area has harder water than where I was before, but I will gradually get that down using the filtered water (RO) with GH+ shrimp remineraliser from this point, that has no KH and I will just do it gradually over a loooong period as neither he nor the shrimps seem unhappy as it currently is anyway! Apparently the store he came from also sell blue bolt (and some other taiwan bee type) shrimps etc so I will start thinking about setting that tank up (it is situ next to the betta tank) at some point in the near future, though that will be months away even when I do decide to start, as the substrate needs running-in, and the tank will need to cycle etc. 
    • sdlTBfanUK
      Identify illness

      By sdlTBfanUK · Posted

      I see the 2 shrimplets, very exciting and the shrimp in the photo look very healthy! The KH is fine at 3 and slowly dropping because of the substrate, but still in the acceptable range. Not sure about your tank size, other than 'nano' but if you have fish in that same tank (I think I see one in the photo blrred and at the back) I would do 25% weekly water changes (mainly because of the fish) and that will help counter the substrate as well, until the substrate is 'exhausted' of its buffering ability. Use the same kh4 new water as currently and always add the new water slowly, a drip method is best. Obviously you will need to be extra careful when removing the old water that you don't remove any of the new shrimplets........ Try not to change too much though as you may do more harm than good and it looks like everything is actually already going well, visible mating behavour and shrimplets doing well. Hope you manage to get rid of the planaria and that usually involves sizeable water changes in the process so complete that first and from then do the 25% regular water change routine. As the population grows you will need to increase the amount of food but be cautious not to overfeed. The bacter AE should help with biofilm growth etc but it isn't actually a food for the shrimps, though you may see them eating some if it isn't dissolved fully. The scuds are harmless and I would (and did in the past) remove them manually when you see them.
×
×
  • Create New...