Need some help with small planted tank with a single Betta

I’m fairly new to the hobby, with this betta being my first fish / tank of any kind.

Quick history of how it got to this point:

Added well rinsed gravel to the tank and filled with water, added API quick start and left for a few weeks. Bought a plant bundle, planted, added some osmocote root tabs. Add fish a week later.

Fast forward a few months, getting a ton of brown algae all over the plant leaves and gravel.

Went for a trip and had someone else feed, who completely over fed and algae went crazy.

At that point I got rid of most of the, put the fish in a temporary tank and washed the gravel thoroughly hoping to have a fresh restart of the tank. Planted what remained of the plants and added the fish.

Fish got sick and didn’t eat for weeks, but managed to get him better by doing lots of water changes, adding some sea chem stability and some aquarium salts.

Fish is missing most of a tail but I’m using API Stress Coat and hoping it’ll grow back.

Now currently the plants are kind of dying, still got a fair bit of green algae.

I didn’t put any more root tabs, and having only been using Flourish. The light I’ve been using grew the plants well at first so I assume it’s enough light. Trying to stick to 10hr photo period since it’s on the weaker side.

Also have been running diy co2.

I recently learned that Flourish has no macro nutrients so I’ve gotten some 2Hr 3 which is an NPK + micro fertiliser.

Here is the tank currently. Started out with far more plants but most have died long ago.



Can anyone give advice on moving on from here. I’d like to have a flourishing tank with a healthy fish.

First thing I would do is buy lots of floating plants, something easy to care for like elodea densa and some water lettuce. Your betta will appreciate having some cover, and these plants are pretty cheap too.

Have you been checking your water parameters? You mention your betta is missing part of its tail, fin rot can be caused by poor water quality and that may also explain why your plants haven't been doing well.

Too many nutrients for the tank and no need for carbon dioxide (CO2), there's not enough plants for the extra CO2. Make sure you use an aquarium plant fertiliser, not a garden plant fertiliser.

The following link has basic info on aquarium plants.

The best plant for Bettas is water sprite (Ceratopteris thalictroides/ cornuta). It can also be planted in the gravel where it grows into a light green shrub.

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The slimy green stuff on the plants is blue green algae (Cyanobacter bacteria). It's a photosynthetic bacteria (bacteria that can photosynthesise like a plant) that loves nutrients, red light, low oxygen levels, and slow water movement. The fertiliser and CO2 is the cause of the blue green algae. your light is fine, you just need less nutrients (less fertiliser).

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The fish doesn't have a tail. It appears to have a bacterial infection that has eaten away the tail and is starting on the caudal peduncle (the area where the tail meets the body). You will need antibiotics and that will probably cost more than replacing the fish, and it might not help at this stage because there is a lot of damage to the fish. You can try treating the fish in a bare container or euthanise the fish and start again. If the fish is treated and survives, it might not grow its tail back due to the damage that's been done already.