Hello betta LVRSš«¶š»š š I hate that I even have to make this postā¦ but here it goes. I impulsively bought betta fish during a stressful period in my life and I now have a 20 G long tank with one tiny ass betta fish in there. I know crazy. I bought a 2.3 gallon originally and realized how the stores get people. Anyhoo I had two beautiful boys both full moons. THERE WAS A DIVIDER. Now I can fully recognize now that this divider sucked. It was a tad see through with the holes and I tried my very best to block lines of sight and create little oasis for each fish. I had my filter picked out and the right heater and just the whole thing. My fish were doing great for about a month. Then I noticed some tearing and also they just were not gaining weight. I treated with melafix for tears and saw some improvements. Guys I swear I bought the most problematic fish. Finlee has torn himself on like everything INCLUDING REAL PLANTS LIKE BRUH! I sanded everything and triple checked and I have lost track at how much I have moved the stuff in my tank. FYI this post is gonna be all over the place.
Ok so lemme speed it up. I lost my beautiful Faeta 3 days ago and Iāve just been in a daze. I think my care level went down a smidge when my grandpa died and he was so torn from the filter. Oh right! Thatās what he did he would hide behind the filter and it just is all my fault. I tried to make my landscape natural but I also wanted to see them swim and he just chose to be behind it everytime. I have melafixed and treated so many times. His body just gave out and I was grateful cause I did research on the clove snd ugh I just hate the thought of doing it. I tried so hard to save my fish with the best do my resources. I just am full stop admitting I probably have done so many things wrong. These two males have taught me so much. Iām going to attach a shit Ton of photos and my tank parameters. Iām at a point where I regret all of it. It is my fault. My lack of research led me here but I just want to see if Finlee can be saved. I swear he has bit his fins off and speared himself on live plants. He was just crazy. I shouldāve gotten a solid divider. I was broke and also my tank was set they were in it was so hard to change everything. Itās just lame. I have one fish death on my hands. Iām pretty sure he got dropsy and the initial was either cancer or the infection from the cut in his fins. Finlees fins are not growing back. Is there any hope to save him. He even I. The state he looks like has swam easily and never struggled. Itās scaring me because heās staying at the bottom. I drained the level of my tank to make it easier for him. I tested that water that I vac sucked out.
Tank parameters with TopFin Testkit
PH:7.5-8.0
Ammonia 0.25-0.5
Nitrite 0.25
Nitrate 5ppm
Itās so hard to tell with these damn kits. I just did a water change after a fully treatment of
Melafix on Tuesday. Iām just lost.
I have another female in a 10G and sheās thriving. Never cut herself once. And Iāve done her routine the same as there tank. I miss those flows fins. Iām just like is there a better system to all of this. I think I got in way over my head. I bought aquarium salt and I have the other thing to try to dose. Pictures will be attached please see them as they will help with this mess of text. I worked from 2-11 pm today with a mean ass old lady and Iām seriously like I donāt think I can do a 20 g tank. I kept killing my plants because I had the light on too long too. Omg I just have learned so much but still feel like I know nothing. I just need help on next steps exactly. And also I never wanna buy more fish till I got my tank down. I just hate it right now. But ya any help yall would be goated Im not the type to ask for help and thatās part of the problem. Someone should put a label on fish or pet keeping in general that it wonāt solve your problems and fill voids. It literally just added so much shit and Iām like I want to save him. My last fish pineconed and it was just horrible. If I need to clove him please be honest with me people. And yes say your shit but please I really tried my best. Thank you in advance much love šššdo I just let him go and tank a huge break until I know what Iām doing again. Cause like I said I just am lost bahahahah.
https://www.reddit.com/gallery/1fbt57t
Posted by MasterpieceNo3452
7 Comments
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EDIT:Finlee is almost finless. Like they are just strips. He wonāt let me take a photo of him heās hiding. But heās just staying at the bottom. He ate. But heās definitely struggling. Does a fish death in the water affect the other fish. I changed water and such after I just donāt want him to struggle.
I understand where youāre coming from, less is sometimes more in these situationsā¦ you tried to give him a better life with all of those decorations but it ended up harming him in the endā¦ too packed and too many sharp things to get torn on. I mean losing some of his fins isnāt the END of the world but it would make him unhappy. I see youāre saying you tried to make your landscape natural, Iām not sure what you might consider ānaturalā, but like I said it is sometimes best to have less. I say take out the plastics, get some real plants in, get some real substrate, you want to build up natural bacteria in the tank, make it a healthy bio environment.
Yes dead fish in tank raises ammonia in the water, along with excess fish poo and excess food so make sure youāre not over feeding. I try to put a little bit of food in at a time until they donāt eat and it hits the bottom, then I know theyāre not hungry and thereās no left over food.
You can try these things to see if he improves, Betta fish are also not VERY active fish so donāt be worried if heās not swimming around like crazy, but Iād start to get worried if heās at the top of the tank gasping for air or upside down etc..
Hereās a photo of my tank Iāve had it running like this about 2 weeks now with the plants and drift wood and had no issues;
https://preview.redd.it/h5ln0vfgxjnd1.jpeg?width=3849&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=71bc3b9c5aedbccbfc4656c1e87740d900c22b0b
(Ignore the biofilm on glass I just did water change so thereās stuff floating ever here atmā¦)
But like I said, less is sometimes more, make the fish happy by giving it what it needs, not by giving it cool plastic things it can look at. Create a small environment, by doing this the bacteria can also help keep your tank water clear and eat away any bad things in the water.
Good luck – next time round try and be/use real natural things to create a healthy environment for bacteria and the fish to thrive.
Ok, that was a lot. Seems like stress has done a number on your fish, I’m not an expert but this is what I would do.
I would remove the divider, your remaining fish may calm down if he realizes he’s alone now. You’ve changed the water which is good. I think a lot of the fin tearing and ripping could have been a response of the stress of having two males together.
Let him see he has the whole tank, switch the light off and let him recover.
I noticed a lot of artificial color in your tank, I’ve heard that can leach into the water and cause problems so I would look into that
Don’t be too hard on yourself, I also have an impulse personality and a lot of anxiety. I learned a few lessons the hard way too. I started looking at plants instead of fish because my tanks are at capacity and that’s been fun, maybe you could try to channel your enthusiasm into improving the tank while your betta recovers. after that please don’t put another male in there, add some khuli loaches or neon tetras or something instead.
Good luck to your fishy I hope he gets better ā¤ļø