Redoing my 6 gallon

[Colin_T]

As long as there is open areas at the surface for him to breathe.

 

[Lcc86]

As long as there is open areas at the surface for him to breathe.

It's probably annoying me more than it is him, he seems quite happy!

 

[Lcc86]

Only just noticed today that my tiger lotus is going through a real growth spurt! It went dormant before I tore the tank down but I made sure I kept the bulb and now it's making a comeback! (Excuse the glare).

 

[Lcc86]

Water change day! Decided that the tannins were a little too dark as I could barely see inside the tank so when I did today's change I didn't add any fresh tannins. Had a trim up of the limnophilia and elodea densa as both were growing like mad! (Not the worst complaint to have). I put the trimmings into my frog tank although that's now looking a bit too dense so will have to see how that goes. It seems such a waste to throw good plants away, I don't have a LFS near me although I do have a Pets at Home so I might pop down at some point and ask if they'd want any excess plants from time to time.

 

[Lcc86]

Noticed something strange when feeding yesterday and today. After eating frozen bloodworms he becomes quite lethargic and needs to rest (see picture). This doesn't happen when he eats pellet food so not sure what it is about the bloodworms that seems to cause it. It looks quite concerning, but after an hour or so he's back to normal. It also doesn't happen with live food either. I think I'll stop feeding frozen bloodworms, he doesn't like frozen mysis or brine shrimp so I'll stick to a combination of pellets and live food.

I think he may also have a bit of a curved spine unfortunately, I will try and get a proper picture at some stage but he's hard to photograph from above as he is a bit shy.

 

[MattW]

I can’t fully remember what species of fish it was but Nick from KFS over in Aus actually lost some fish feeding bloodworms. May have been some tetra or pleco species. I think it was down to how well they were digested inside the fish. I haven’t fed blood worms in over a year now. I’ve stuck to daphnia and copepods since I have small fish.

 

[Lcc86]

I can’t fully remember what species of fish it was but Nick from KFS over in Aus actually lost some fish feeding bloodworms. May have been some tetra or pleco species. I think it was down to how well they were digested inside the fish. I haven’t fed blood worms in over a year now. I’ve stuck to daphnia and copepods since I have small fish.

I know that there are some issues with some bloodworms in the US as I frequent ADF forums, they can cause bloat and death, something to do with not being "true" bloodworms but I forget the details. I live in the UK so I didn't think I'd have the same problem, although the frozen bloodworms I've bought are much bigger than previously, I have to chop them up. I'm definitely going to avoid feeding them now (annoying as I have loads in the freezer but would rather my fish and frogs are healthy!). I'm sitting next to the tank now and he is much better.

Luckily for me I'm starting a new job soon and it's right round the corner from where I bought him, and they sell live food so I can pick some up conveniently on my way home.

 

[MattW]

I reckon you could still feed them, just in small and less frequent amounts. Glad to hear that he is better as well. Also, good luck with the new job!

 

[Colin_T]

The first issue with frozen or live bloodworms (Chironomid midge larvae), is they have hard heads that can't be digested by fish. If the head gets lodged in the fish's digestive tract (intestine), it can cause a blockage and the fish can swell up and die.

The second issue with frozen bloodworms is they can carry harmful bacteria due to where the worms are found in tropical Asia (sewerage farms, waste outlets, etc). The bacteria can kill fish and is quite common on frozen bloodworms. The bacteria also survive freezing. Some companies counter this by irradiating the packets of frozen bloodworm and that kills the bacteria on them so the fish don't get sick. Other companies don't irradiate them and you need to check the packet to see if it has been irradiated. If it has, then it's probably safe to use, but cut it up for small fish, and if you are really concerned, cut the head off the bloodworm and throw it away.

 

[Lcc86]

A potentially silly question - can I trim this pothos root a little to stop it burying itself in the substrate?

 

[MattW]

You can trim pothos roots. I left a pothos plant alone for a while and ended up pulling an 80cm long root that had burrowed itself in the substrate

 

[Lcc86]

You can trim pothos roots. I left a pothos plant alone for a while and ended up pulling an 80cm long root that had burrowed itself in the substrate

Haha yeah that's what I'd like to avoid! Will give it a small trim during next water change.

 

[Lcc86]

I'm a little bit worried about my betta, although I'm not sure if my worry is because I've been working next to the tank a lot for the last few days so I've been around him more. He seems to spend a lot of time resting on the bottom, before springing back into action and going for a swim. I've attached some pics of him in his resting position and then another of him back to "normal". He also rests in other random places at different levels in the tank, like he'll nestle himself between my tiger lotus leaves and chill for a bit.

His appetite is good, he's hunting down some live food as we speak. I've never had a betta with such long fins before, I have read loads about them becoming tired more easily so I'm not sure if this is just normal for him. Luckily the tank is heavily planted so he has lots of resting places to pick from, I think it just worries me to see him on the floor as I've only ever seen dying fishes resting in that way.

 

[Abaddon]

I'd be worried if he was lying on his side for extended periods of time, or if he was darting around frantically in between his "rests". Otherwise - especially if your parameters are OK and he has no other symptoms - I think it's probably normal, bettas are not constant active swimmers (particularly the long fins). They're very good at being healthy but appearing half-dead, lol, especially when they're resting. Keep an eye on him, sure, but don't worry too much just yet. He looks fine in the photos.

 

[Lcc86]

I'd be worried if he was lying on his side for extended periods of time, or if he was darting around frantically in between his "rests". Otherwise - especially if your parameters are OK and he has no other symptoms - I think it's probably normal, bettas are not constant active swimmers (particularly the long fins). They're very good at being healthy but appearing half-dead, lol, especially when they're resting. Keep an eye on him, sure, but don't worry too much just yet. He looks fine in the photos.

He's definitely not on his side, he still scares me when I see him there, he has very weird poses when he's resting! Parameters are all good (ammonia 0, nitrite 0 and nitrate around 5ppm). Perhaps I am too worried having not seen a betta do this before!