Is Boris Okay?

[Devorax]

Boris seems fine. He won't say boo to a goose, but having read on several threads that bettas get 'stress lines', I was wondering if that is what he has got.

I hope this is nothing to worry about. He has had this ever since we had him. It's best described as a lump/bump on his rear 3/4, just below where his spine ought to be. He acts as his usual himself, there is nothing out of the ordinary. Are these stress lines? Are they due to actual stress, or something else?

His tank conditions are:
90l Roma, eheim 2224 filter, 4 Dwarf Gouramis, 5 Black Widow Tetras, 4 Zebra Danios, 4 Pearl Danios 3 Sailfin Mollies, Shrimps and Apple Snail.

The water stats always show ammonia, hence the daily 40% water changes until filter matures, but never above 1ppm ( I know this is unacceptably high but we can't figure out why they never fall), and there is always detectable nitrite. I know 'bad' water can cause stress to a fish, is that the reason?

Any advice, without shooting me down about inappropriate tank conditions, would be gratefully appreciated. Thanks

 

[Jdubz]

i would say hes getting a bit of hassel from the tetras and danios...

Most people would say to get him his own tank as he wont be hasseled

 

[bae1994]

id agree as in the pic theres a fish that seems to be nipping him

 

[Devorax]

I have never seen any form of harrassment involving Boris. No-one looks at him, and he'll only look at the Black Widows if he is a foul mood (usually if he works out everyone else has had bloodworm and he didn't cos he was too busy lazing around...lol).

I will say he seems a very placid betta, despite other people saying you can't house this with bettas, you can't house that with them etc, he has accepted everything thrown at him and not batted an eye-lid. No-one has hassled him, he seems unique

Edit:
That mollie is coming to lok at the camera, she was hassling the lens evrytime I wanted a good shot of Boris. She wasn't nipping, she was a good inch away from him then.

 

[bronzecat]

Hi

How long has the tank been set up and what way was the filter cycled? (fishless/fish in) If you are always getting ammonia and nitrIte readings i would say that the filter hasn't cycled, and with a fairly large bioload for a 20 gallon tank its struggling.

 

[Devorax]

The tank was started up about a month ago, using a maturing Interpet PF2 filter. It was not capable of handling the huge bioload it once had (read my other threads in other sections for more info) and so I wanted something that would do the job, and bought the Eheim. I ran the Eheim in tandem for about a week before splitting the stock between the 90l and 60l, giving the 60l the internal filter.
I knew the Eheim was still far from ready but I got so fed up of listening to my conscience telling me to split the stock that I just did it. The 60l has no readings of ammonia in it now, so I know it's filter is fine. I don't want to 'clone' the filter, I'd rather it set itself up naturally. It is intended for a 250l tank, so surely it won't be long before it's capable of handling this smaller tank's bioload.
I don't mind doing the water changes, as I know that sooner or later it will all settle down, but if the quality of water is responsible for Boris looking the way he does, I can quite easily move him in to a tank of his own. He will hate me for it no doubt, but if it's a case of the lesser evil.....
Is that a stress line, Bronzecat? I haven't seen any pics of one anywhere so I don't know what they are.

 

[Devorax]

Bump.....
Still wondering if that is a pic of a betta with stress lines. Your comments please?

 

[bronzecat]

There are no stress lines on it

 

[Devorax]

Sooooooooo, does anyone have a pic of a betta with stress lines? So I know what they are?

And big thanks Bronzecat, glad to know he isn't stressed.

 

[Netty]

Here's one of our former females showing stress stripes.

 

[Devorax]

Thankyou so much

 

[Netty]

No probs......they are pretty hard to miss when they do show them

 

[loraxchick]

i was at my lfs today and saw a boy with stress stripes...i really wanted to take him home

 

[newfishy]

4 Dwarf Gouramis, 5 Black Widow Tetras, 4 Zebra Danios, 4 Pearl Danios 3 Sailfin Mollies, Shrimps and Apple Snail.

the fish in bold, even if the betta is not atacking them they are atacking and stressing him. bettas should never be in with gouramis and even female bettas its a hit or miss with the other fish.

 

[Devorax]

It's like I keep saying, there is no aggression in the tank from anyone, except the male molly toward the gouramis. Boris doesn't get any kind of attention from anyone and no-one gives him any grief. We have watched after dark and nothing happens then either (yes, with all lights out with a little back light from the passage, they don't know we are there). This is not a normal situation, for some reason this mix does work for us. The male molly is going to be moved as soon as the fry are big enough in the other tank. Even at feeding time, there is nothing going on, yes it sounds unlikely but I can assure you that I am telling the truth. I wuldn't be asking for advice if I wasn't being completely honest. Boris and the male gouramis often 'hover' in the tank next to each other, not flaring or taking aggressive postures, just sitting there in the water, just as if they are friends.
I accept that a lot of people would have a lot of trouble with this mix of fish, but for some reason we don't. Like I have said, Boris seems to be a very unusually tempered fish, very placid, very tolerant, very accepting. I know he will pine and sulk if he were removed from other fish, he even sulked when the tank stock got split, I think he misses some of them, and they were guppies and tetras!
I am not trying to say I know best, but with this tank, they all get along. No doubt if I had another identical tank with an identical mix of fish, there would be problems because of it being another betta and not Boris. This is a happy little family, and I am so grateful for that because if there was trouble, we'd be a bit stuck for what to do with the problem causers.
Thanks to everyone that has contributed to this thread, I am just glad that Boris isn't showing stress stripes, fish can't talk to tell you how they feel, but all other signs seem positive, and for that I am glad.