Need Tank Help!

[FishHobbyist1564]

Hi i have asked this in another forum, but i think it might be better to ask it in this one. I have a 20-gallon tank with guppies and mollies (it is not overstocked) I also have two female bettas. But, for some reason, whenever i get guppies or mollies, they mysteriously die within the first few days. I go and buy guppies and mollies a lot, but every single time i do, they die! I will look at them one morning and they will be perfectly fine, but then i go and eat breakfast, and i come back and see that one of them just died on the floor. Why is this happening. My female bettas have been in this tank for about a half a year, but now today my red female betta died. This is so comfusing, but is there some way i can neutralize my tank? My pH is good, my ammonia is 0, my nitrites are 0, but my nitrates i think may be the problem. How do i lower nitrates and neutralize my tank? I really love this tank and if every fish i put in this tank dies when i buy them, then i have no choice but to take it down.

 

[mcdanielnc89]

Hmm, I did this one time and Mine absoullutely had to have the aquarium salt..... (died without it) and people say it doesn't do anything to the fish.. PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTtt.. whatever........... loooooooooool... well anyhow.. thats my two cents.. LOL

 

[FishHobbyist1564]

how do you put in aquairium salt? Can i use sea salt or Kosher salt? How much?

 

[smooth_bourbon]

Well first off I am sorry that you lost your Female Betta. What exactly is your setup, as in what filter heater, size of tank.

I have kept many fish for a long time and the one fish I ahve never had success with is fancy guppies. I have a tank packed full of endlers tho much hardier, and in my opinion prettier .

 

[smooth_bourbon]

get actual aquarium salt it has good minerals and stuff for your fish, but be careful tho some fish like/need it some such as catfish cant handle it. and do it very slowly with your water changes. I have kept mollies with and without tho I really dont think that is why yours are dieing.

 

[FishHobbyist1564]

I have a 20-gallon tank with two power filters working in it. I also have a heater in with them with the temperature at about 80 degrees Farenheit. I just have plastic plants, not live ones and of course i have gravel. I think maybe something must be off in the water quality, and it might be the nitrates. How do i lower nitrates and make them suitable for the fish? Also im still wondering about the salt and the questions about salt that i asked earlier. Thank you so much everyone for your help so far! i really appreciate your replies!

 

[smooth_bourbon]

sorry double post for some reason this forum is going really slow for me today .

 

[FishHobbyist1564]

ok thanks i have otto catfish in there and they seem to be doing perfectly fine without the salt, but are the nitrates a problem, because i think they are pretty high.

 

[smooth_bourbon]

I am not really sure about the nitrates, but Ottos are pretty sensitive fish, so if you have had them for a while and they are healthy you must be doing something right.

 

[Christine1014]

I don't think any of those fish have to have aquarium salt. I've never kept female bettas, but I'm pretty sure (somebody please correct me if I'm wrong) you can't keep a female beta with anything other than other female bettas. I know for a male betta the WORST thing you can put him with is another fish with pretty fins (i.e, a guppy). Also, you need to keep more than two female bettas together to minimize the agression toward each other. I think they're hpapiest in groups of 6 or more. Also, as long as you're doing regular water changes, your nitrate levels probably aren't the problem (what are your stats for nitrate?). Unless you have live plants in your tank, you're going to have nitrates. Most people's nitrate levels hang between 20 and 40. There are people out there who will tell you anything below 100 is fine. They're in the minority, I think, but just about everyone will agree that anything 40 or lower is okay.

 

[FishHobbyist1564]

thanks christine, ive seen no aggression with the female bettas and the guppies, but you are correct, female bettas should be with only other female bettas. But they are doing just fine and the female bettas that i am left with minds her own business and stays away from the other fish.

But what live plants would be good for this tank? What are good plants that will help nitrate levels? (and look good at the same time lol )

 

[smooth_bourbon]

lol ok I just did a refresher on my nitrite versus nitrate. I say test your tap water, cause if you are doing the water changes you say you are and you are not seriously overstocked, you shouldnt be having a nitrate problem.

start with java moss, java fern, or hornswort. Not that I know they are best for nitrates, just easiest to keep alive.

 

[Christine1014]

What are your nitrate levels?
I still wouldn't dismiss the idea of agressive betta, though. Just because you don't see the agression doesn't mean its not happening. I swear, sometimes fish just KNOW when you're not around, or know they can get away with stuff when the lights are out,
Pretty much any kind of plants will eat up nitrates, but the type of plants you can get depends on your lighting levels (watts per gallon), whether you want to inject CO2, what type of fish you'll want to keep (guppies are fine with pretty much any plants i think, but some fish may be plant nibblers, so keep in mind what fish you might want to get one day down the road), size of tank, your budget, etc. You might have a read of some of the pinned topics and active threads over in the planted section of the forum and that will give you an idea of what's involved with a planted tank.

 

[FishHobbyist1564]

thanks christine1014, i cant really get a reading on my nitrates from home, but i bring water samples to fish stores and they have told me that my nitrates have been going up. So i think some live plants will help, and also i like the look of live plants . Thank you for telling me that the plants need a certain light level, because i would have just gone and bought any plant! I think ill try to find some plants that can go well with my tank setup.