Please Help!!

[am.cannon]

I'm afraid my fish, John Quincy Adams, is sick! He had a white spot on his fin when I first got him 9 months ago but it did not grow or change so I left it alone.

I've begun to notice that his tail looks like it might be deteriorating and some of his dark blue color is lightening.

He has always been a feisty boy but he does like to hide and nap inside/around his tank ornaments regularly. He still eats but he stays at the top of his tank mostly.

He is in a 10 gallon tank with 3 snails and one plant. I clean it via partial water replacement as needed and change the filters routinely. I always treat the water with conditioner and I've even used a "tank cleaning kit" that had some salt and cleansing tablets in it.

John Quincy Adams is my first fish and I am very concerned!

 

[Demeter32]

He has a case of fin rot, which is often due to poor water quality. If you can test your water for ammonia, nitrates, nitrites and temp then post the results that would be great. Can you also post a pic of the entire tank? I think you might be under-planted/decorated, as bettas prefer tall soft plants (real or silk) to rest among. Plastic plants tear fins as do some of the rougher tank ornaments.

You do water changes when needed, which is how often? Also, you change the filters, meaning you replace the entire cartridge each time? That is disrupting the Nitrogen cycle, which could be part of your fish's problem. When you remove an established cartridge you are taking away the majority of the bacteria that break down the fish and snail waste. W/o the bacteria the waste products are building up to dangerous levels, effecting your betta's health.

To treat your betta's fin rot the most important thing is clean and warm water. Start doing water changes every other day, around 50% should be good. You can add a little bit of salt, but be sure it is the amount of water you are replacing and not dosing the entire tank volume each water change.

Side note: a tank cleaning kit sounds dubious to me, the best way to clean a tank is to gravel vac it and do a water change. Adding any sort of chemical besides water conditioner is pretty pointless and perhaps more harmful in my opinion.

 

[am.cannon]

He has a case of fin rot, which is often due to poor water quality. If you can test your water for ammonia, nitrates, nitrites and temp then post the results that would be great. Can you also post a pic of the entire tank? I think you might be under-planted/decorated, as bettas prefer tall soft plants (real or silk) to rest among. Plastic plants tear fins as do some of the rougher tank ornaments.

You do water changes when needed, which is how often? Also, you change the filters, meaning you replace the entire cartridge each time? That is disrupting the Nitrogen cycle, which could be part of your fish's problem. When you remove an established cartridge you are taking away the majority of the bacteria that break down the fish and snail waste. W/o the bacteria the waste products are building up to dangerous levels, effecting your betta's health.

To treat your betta's fin rot the most important thing is clean and warm water. Start doing water changes every other day, around 50% should be good. You can add a little bit of salt, but be sure it is the amount of water you are replacing and not dosing the entire tank volume each water change.

Side note: a tank cleaning kit sounds dubious to me, the best way to clean a tank is to gravel vac it and do a water change. Adding any sort of chemical besides water conditioner is pretty pointless and perhaps more harmful in my opinion.

I will take his water to be tested today!

I do partial water changes about every month and a half to two months and I do replace the entire filter cartridge. I thought I was supposed to? How should I replace it??

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I will take his water to be tested today!

I do partial water changes about every month and a half to two months and I do replace the entire filter cartridge. I thought I was supposed to? How should I replace it??

Yup... this is a common understanding based on misinformation out there. Its not necessary and in general, does WAY more harm than good.


A brief summary of the nitrogen cycle:

Fish produce ammonia which is toxic to them.
Bacteria take the ammonia and produce nitrite, which is also toxic to the fish.
A different bacteria take the nitrite and produce nitrate, which is also toxic to the fish, but only really harmful in MUCH higher concentrations.
The fishkeeper removes the nitrate by way of water changes.


1 - you need to increase your water change schedule to weekly. The nitrate will build up too much with your current schedule and you'll end up with Old Tank Syndrome.

2 - you need to RINSE your filter media monthly (or more often if you notice it being clogged up) but not replace it. The filter media is where much of the bacteria you are looking for grows. Removing it means that the fish are constantly dealing with ammonia and nitrite - leading to secondary infections, like you are seeing with JQA.



Get a test kit of your own (API offers a decent one for a decent price that includes ammonia, nitrite and nitrate). Test for ammonia and nitrite until they are both zero without any water changes needed for a full week. If the ammonia or nitrite rise too much, doing a water change will lower it again. *There are a lot more details on this, but I'll keep this short.*

Ultimately, the tank keeps going through mini-cycles as you remove your filter media and this is causing the fish extra stress, leading to disease. And as a side note: Clean water... aka lots of water changes... is the best method to reduce the likelihood of disease and to deal with many diseases that do happen with our fish.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Btw, the tank cleansing kit stuff is worthless junk, unfortunately. Just suck the water and debris out, and refill with clean, dechlorinated water. No need for any other additives.

 

[am.cannon]

Yup... this is a common understanding based on misinformation out there. Its not necessary and in general, does WAY more harm than good.


A brief summary of the nitrogen cycle:

Fish produce ammonia which is toxic to them.
Bacteria take the ammonia and produce nitrite, which is also toxic to the fish.
A different bacteria take the nitrite and produce nitrate, which is also toxic to the fish, but only really harmful in MUCH higher concentrations.
The fishkeeper removes the nitrate by way of water changes.


1 - you need to increase your water change schedule to weekly. The nitrate will build up too much with your current schedule and you'll end up with Old Tank Syndrome.

2 - you need to RINSE your filter media monthly (or more often if you notice it being clogged up) but not replace it. The filter media is where much of the bacteria you are looking for grows. Removing it means that the fish are constantly dealing with ammonia and nitrite - leading to secondary infections, like you are seeing with JQA.



Get a test kit of your own (API offers a decent one for a decent price that includes ammonia, nitrite and nitrate). Test for ammonia and nitrite until they are both zero without any water changes needed for a full week. If the ammonia or nitrite rise too much, doing a water change will lower it again. *There are a lot more details on this, but I'll keep this short.*

Ultimately, the tank keeps going through mini-cycles as you remove your filter media and this is causing the fish extra stress, leading to disease. And as a side note: Clean water... aka lots of water changes... is the best method to reduce the likelihood of disease and to deal with many diseases that do happen with our fish.

ok, thanks so much!

 

[am.cannon]

Btw, the tank cleansing kit stuff is worthless junk, unfortunately. Just suck the water and debris out, and refill with clean, dechlorinated water. No need for any other additives.

So I should do partial water changes weekely and use a gravel vaccum?

 

[eaglesaquarium]

So I should do partial water changes weekely and use a gravel vaccum?

Exactly.