bachina
New Member
So, our first betta came from a local chain pet store, and honestly, we definitely were mis-informed on how to keep a tank and stress-free fish. After a week, the betta died of fungus infection after a bit of his tail was ripped off probably by a plastic plant we had in the back to hide the heater. We tried taking him out and treating him with Jungle fungus clear, and later, Mardel Maroxy (not together at the same time) but to no avail--he just kept getting worse. At the time, we also had 2 whitecloud mountain minnows who survived the moving around and cleaning of the tank to rid us of our mistakes (the betta and the minnows co-existed fine, no nipping, and minimal chasing).
Fast forward two weeks to the present. Our tank is clean, cycled, stable, fully planted, and the two minnows are swimming around happily as ever through the cycling period, and a few days after it was done cycling. It didn't take us long to figure out what we had done wrong: we weren't patient.
With everything ready and convinced that we were ready to try another betta in the tank (pictures below, and more found at this thread). We even went to a privately owned, very reputable fish store in our area (living sea aquarium, park ridge, IL) and Friday night, we picked a young looking betta, with smooth scales, active, and flared when he deemed appropriate. We acclimated the new betta by floating the bag, taking out 1/4 of the bag water, and adding in tank water every 20 minutes or so for about 2 hours, and then netted and put him in the new tank. No fish store water got in the tank (not that i think it mattered, the fish store water was just as clean as our own. they have a nice barracks setup, and do not keep bettas in cups). Satisfied, we went to sleep and all seemed well...
Saturday night, I come home to notice that he had a very faint patch of lighter colored scales near his head. I tried to look closer, but it was difficult because my tank area was not well lit, and shining a flashlight on him didn't reveal anything.
Sunday morning, I wake up to see that he's got FUZZ growing off of his underbody, near his gills! He was definitely more pale, and just liked to swim a lap around the tank, and then stick his head into the rocks in this one place that fit him quite well. I immediately net him out, swab the fuzz off his body as best as I can with a q-tip, bag and float him in a 5 gal bucket with a heater I keep prepared with clean, conditioned water as a hospital tank. The jungle fungus clear goes in, I put him in a dim room, and acclimate him the same way before I leave for church. He seems to be stable right now--not active, but not getting worse.
This is an incredible coincidence. So I ask you, betta experts: What am I doing wrong? Do I just have bad luck? Or are my bettas just hating the tank so much that they scrape themselves on rocks so that they get fungus? I've asked the fish store to test my water and it is literally perfect for bettas, or really, any sort of fish. No ammonia, no nitrite, pH of 6.8-7.0 (this is questionable, I think. My API pH test says its 7.6 or more), nitrate ~10, and crystal clear water, and cleaning up uneaten food immediately after feeding. Plenty of real plants for him to hide in, lightly aerated with an area of calm water created by a floating piece of corkwood....
My only hunch: do bettas habitually sit on the bottom, and are more easily susceptible to scratches from rough substrate/gravel? I do have some of this ceramic substrate material that came with this biOrb that feels very porous, almost like coral rock, or lava rock. It's really not that sharp, but it is rough, with the texture of something like a pumice stone (like the kind you rub your feet with, found at spas). They're the black and white larger rocks you see on the bottom.
Just a note, I did clean everything as best as I could from when the first tank and first betta got sick and I netted him out. It is my understanding that fungal spores are everywhere anyway, so even if I did sterilize everything, fungus would still be present in some amount in my tank eventually.
So confused, my confidence with bettas is shaken!
My tank:
--Hans
Edit: I forgot to mention, this is a 4 US Gallon heated tank.
Fast forward two weeks to the present. Our tank is clean, cycled, stable, fully planted, and the two minnows are swimming around happily as ever through the cycling period, and a few days after it was done cycling. It didn't take us long to figure out what we had done wrong: we weren't patient.
With everything ready and convinced that we were ready to try another betta in the tank (pictures below, and more found at this thread). We even went to a privately owned, very reputable fish store in our area (living sea aquarium, park ridge, IL) and Friday night, we picked a young looking betta, with smooth scales, active, and flared when he deemed appropriate. We acclimated the new betta by floating the bag, taking out 1/4 of the bag water, and adding in tank water every 20 minutes or so for about 2 hours, and then netted and put him in the new tank. No fish store water got in the tank (not that i think it mattered, the fish store water was just as clean as our own. they have a nice barracks setup, and do not keep bettas in cups). Satisfied, we went to sleep and all seemed well...
Saturday night, I come home to notice that he had a very faint patch of lighter colored scales near his head. I tried to look closer, but it was difficult because my tank area was not well lit, and shining a flashlight on him didn't reveal anything.
Sunday morning, I wake up to see that he's got FUZZ growing off of his underbody, near his gills! He was definitely more pale, and just liked to swim a lap around the tank, and then stick his head into the rocks in this one place that fit him quite well. I immediately net him out, swab the fuzz off his body as best as I can with a q-tip, bag and float him in a 5 gal bucket with a heater I keep prepared with clean, conditioned water as a hospital tank. The jungle fungus clear goes in, I put him in a dim room, and acclimate him the same way before I leave for church. He seems to be stable right now--not active, but not getting worse.
This is an incredible coincidence. So I ask you, betta experts: What am I doing wrong? Do I just have bad luck? Or are my bettas just hating the tank so much that they scrape themselves on rocks so that they get fungus? I've asked the fish store to test my water and it is literally perfect for bettas, or really, any sort of fish. No ammonia, no nitrite, pH of 6.8-7.0 (this is questionable, I think. My API pH test says its 7.6 or more), nitrate ~10, and crystal clear water, and cleaning up uneaten food immediately after feeding. Plenty of real plants for him to hide in, lightly aerated with an area of calm water created by a floating piece of corkwood....
My only hunch: do bettas habitually sit on the bottom, and are more easily susceptible to scratches from rough substrate/gravel? I do have some of this ceramic substrate material that came with this biOrb that feels very porous, almost like coral rock, or lava rock. It's really not that sharp, but it is rough, with the texture of something like a pumice stone (like the kind you rub your feet with, found at spas). They're the black and white larger rocks you see on the bottom.
Just a note, I did clean everything as best as I could from when the first tank and first betta got sick and I netted him out. It is my understanding that fungal spores are everywhere anyway, so even if I did sterilize everything, fungus would still be present in some amount in my tank eventually.
So confused, my confidence with bettas is shaken!
My tank:
--Hans
Edit: I forgot to mention, this is a 4 US Gallon heated tank.
