Community Tank Help And Betta With Tail Rot

[Feather_Sword]

Hi. I have a 16 gallon bowfront tank with 2 Zebra Danios, 2 Dalmation Mollies, 3 male Fancy Guppies and one male Betta. The Betta was in the tank before I bought him some aquarium company of which I based on Petco's fish compatibility chart. My Betta male has tail rot which seems to be getting really serius although it is not at the base of the tail yet.

First question: Should I use Bettafix on him to cure him of this fungus?

Second question: Are there too many fish in the type of aquarium I have?

Third question: Are these fish good community fish for each other?*
*I do realize I need more decorations that can provide hiding space for any shy fish that I have.

Fourth question: Is Bettafix okay to use in the same aquarium with my Betta and community fish? Right now I cannot afford (for reasons) to buy another tank for use as a hospital tank.

Fifth question (Not Betta related): I am not so sure about my Danios' behavior towards other fish. They tag each other but then they also go after the Guppies. They do not seem to nip thier fins but it almost looks like they are tagging them as well. Any suggestions to this?

Sixth question (also not Betta related): I am not sure my two Mollies are either both males or one is male and the other female as the darker of my Molly fish noses the other Molly's belly, mostly after feeding. Is it possible that one is gay? (just a joke because I am new (sort of) to owning a big tank and several community fish)

Maybe it is becuase they are all males

 

[LauraFrog]

1 and 4. Bettafix is antibacterial and will not work on fungus. I seriously doubt that finrot is fungus, it's usually bacterial. It's community safe so try it and see. If it's not strong enough you will need antibiotics. This cannot be added to a community, you NEED a hospital tank if bettafix doesn't work.

2. The tank is not overstocked with what's currently in it. The recommended maximum is somewhere between one and two inches of fish (not including the tail) per gallon of water, with 2 inches the absolute max for a mature, well filtered tank with lots of water changes. Because zebras and guppies so slim, you could count them as slightly less than their actual size (count as 1.5in not 2in).

3 and 5. Zebra danios are nipping each other's fins because there are not enough of them. They are schooling fish that should be kept in groups, the larger the better. 10+ is ideal but obviously if you do that you are overstocked. I would recommend buying another three at least. This will not overstock you if you do plenty of water changes. Guppies and bettas should not be kept together because the male betta mistakes the guppy's bright colours and flashy fins for another betta and beats the crap out of the guppy. You may get away with it but only if the guppies have small fins. Personally I wouldn't risk it. The mollies should be fine but prefer salt in their water. The guppies will also benefit from it and the other fish wouldn't mind if you added about 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of salt (use aquarium or marine salt, NOT cooking salt) for every gallon of water. This will also help the betta's fins heal.

6. Mollies are easy to sex. Look at the fish's belly. Both sexes have three fins on the belly. In both sexes, the first two are a pair of thin fins that are tucked up when swimming. In the female, the third fin (the anal fin) hangs down in a loose fan shape. In the male, it is a tube used for internal fertilisation of the female. If keeping two mollies they should be the same sex. If one is male and the other female the male will harass the female to mate, stressing her greatly, so you should return one or the other and buy one the same sex (or else buy at least one more female). If one is nosing the other's belly it's probably a male trying to mate with a female, but in the absence of females, males will do this to each other, ignore it. They aren't gay lol, add a female and they'll soon prove it. (DON'T please, that was a joke.)



What I would do is add bettafix and then seriously review your stocking because the finrot is likely brought about by being in a tank with relatively nippy fish (danios) which may have started the finrot by making the ends of the fins bleed. Unless the tank is heavily decorated with LOTS of hiding places for the betta this stocking might not work long term.

 

[liz2]

You can buy plastic containers really cheap, ones with lids on and drill holes in lids. Use as a hospital tank to treat betta. If you put container in warm spot in your house temp will be warm enough.

 

[Feather_Sword]

Thank you for your input.

The aquarium salt will not turn my Freshwater aquarium into a salt water aquarium right? When using salt, do you add salt every time you change the water?


Would a bowl under a constant 40 watt lamp substitute for a warm place since there is not a small heater for small bowls?


LauraFrog, thank you for the information.