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It's hard to say without knowing more about your setup. 1. What size tank is the fish in? 2. Is the tank cycled? 3. If so, how long has the tank been cycled? 4. How long have you had the fish? 5. Does it have tankmates? 6. Have you recently tested for ammonia, nitrites or nitrates? 7...

Can I ask what type of test kit you're using? If you're using a product such a AmmoLock to address the ammonia, but also using a Nesslar-based ammonia test kit, you will get false-positive readings. A salicylate-based kit will be needed. These typically have two bottles of reagent. Just a...

I have had such a film on every non-cycled tank I've ever owned, but not on my cycled ones. Apparently it's some sort of harmless bacteria -- not from the water conditioner, since I've never used a slime coat additive. sef

The first thing that came to mind for me, is that he may have had an internal parasite of some sort that broke through the skin. It's even possible that it was an intestinal parasite, and some of the digestive tract was expelled when the parasite exited. I've dealt with internal parasites on...

2.5 gallons is extremely difficult to cycle. The reason is that the environment is so unstable in such a small body of water. It can be done; I've done it three times. It took me 5-6 weeks to cycle each tank, and required decent filtration (with more current than is recommended for a male...

Hello, I think my paradise fish, Chaucer, is suffering from some sort of poisoning and I'm desperate to know what to do. After finding a fish disease website site, I realized that his behavior matches what they describe as Poisoning: 1. Erratic behavior; swimming madly around, appearing...

I have a blue paradise fish (not yet full grown) who is currently in a 2.5 gallon Mini-Bow tank with mild filtration and a water temperature of 77. Ammonia 0; nitrites 0; no nitrates. I'm performing 25-30% water changes every couple of days...the intent was to cycle this tank, although now I'm...

Thanks to you both. I think Horatio looks a little better tonight. He still has some swelling, but that never seems to go completely away. I didn't feed him yesterday or today, and plan to try to give him a little freeze-dried Daphnia in the morning, and maybe 1 BioGold pellet -- soaked in...

Our Betta, Horatio, developed a small swollen spot on his side a couple of weeks or so ago. At times it seemed better, at times more swollen. After trying to figure out what it was, the answer became clear this past Monday when I came home and found a string of poo hanging off him -- a common...

I was adding 5 drops to a gallon container of bottled water. If it's not necessary for slime coat, and it's not necessary as a dechlorinator (since I'm not using tap water), then.........why am I using it??? Maybe I will knock it off and not add to future water changes. Is there anybody out...

Okay, I need some feedback on this because I just did a partial (1 gallon) water change on my 5 gallon Betta tank, and read where someone on another site said that Stress Coat (I add 5 drops per gallon) is very hard on Bettas specifically, and fish in general. Has anyone encountered any...

Thanks! Glad to be here. Here is my boy Horatio with bubble nest at top: I think he will just live life as a bachelor, though, as I have no plans to add any females. :)

HooDude, Thanks. I see that I wrote in my original message, "Have I done something wrong in the cycling? Does the zero nitrates this soon just mean that they haven't spiked yet?" I meant nitrItes; not nitrates. :*) Sorry about that! The water changes that I've done so far have been about...

Yes, I did start with tap water -- which already had quite a bit of ammonia in it (which was shocking to me; no wonder the water tastes bad!). Also, I have a live plant in the tank. The single fish in the aquarium is a male Betta. Honestly, I didn't start testing for nitrites until 2 days...

Hi, Sorry to have so many questions here! :/ But I'm a little confused by what someone has told me, and would like some help. Horatio's 5-gallon tank has been cycling for 2 weeks, and I have been doing frequent partial water changes (every 3 days; 1 gallon or less at a time). His...

Well, this is interesting! First, yes -- I had the tap water tested by the LFS and watched as the results showed up. Ammonia was definitely present, and in fact (I'm still trying to figure out this one!) was HIGHER than the sample of aquarium water that I also took for him to test! So his...

Hi, I recently started gradually switching from our tap water to bottled after the pet store owner said our tap water had too much ammonia in it. Honestly, I didn't test it for PH because, when I bought my Betta Horatio, the pet store owner said that he uses tap water and all of the water...

Hi, I have a male Betta (Horatio) who has lived alone in his 5 gallon tank for several weeks. The tank is totally cycled, and I'm ready to add a couple of tankmates. My thought is to go with a couple of pygmie cories, because the tank is heavily decorated with lots of hiding places and plants...

Not necessarily true. It depends on the type of fish. All Bettas are different, and some do very well in a larger community tank. They obviously don't do well around each other (especially the males), but my understanding is that most Bettas will tolerate platys, mollies, guppies, etc., if...

:huh: Okay, I know this seems dumb, but I still am not sure I understand how to PROPERLY do a partial water change on my 5 gallon tank that houses a single male Betta. I keep getting the water temps screwed up! I have a 50-watt heater in the tank, and I TRY to keep the water temp at a steady...

Hi, thanks. I should have added that I keep a heater in his 5-gallon tank, so trying to get replacement water (I can't use tap water; it has too much ammonia so I'm using bottled spring water) up to the right temp is a REAL challenge. Not only that, but the heater seems hard to regulate...

:huh: Hi, Does anybody have any tips for maintaining water temp during a partial water change? I've changed my 5 gallon Betta tank twice, and all three times I just couldn't get it right -- even though I bought a second thermometer to check the new water. I keep Horatio's tank temp between 78...

Hi! Just wanted to say this is EXACTLY how I chose my Betta, Horatio! My husband and I were in the pet store looking at all the fish. We had originally intended to go with a 5 gallon tank of neon tetras, but then we spotted the Bettas.....Well, this one was just looking right at me. The...

Thank you !!!!!! You have definitely eased my mind! This is my first Betta (and first aquarium), and I'm just so paranoid about doing something wrong. I also talked to the pet store manager this morning after the shop opened, and he said the exact same thing. He said that if it would help...

The eye dropper idea seems to be the way to go next time, and I should have rinsed it out before using it, too. I was just focusing so much on the ammonia situation that it didn't occur to me that I should be worried about the test tube. (When you're new to these things, there is so much to...

Thank you for letting me know! I had let water run in the tube last time to rinse it out and let the water flow over the sides as well. I feel it was rinsed pretty well, but the thought hit me about any residue in the tube. I'm just a totally fretful Betta parent, I'm afraid! If you use...

Last night I took a second ammonia reading on our new 5 gallon tank which currently houses a single male Betta (the tank has cycled for a week). I dipped the little tube down into the tank to get the water sample just like I did the other day. After the reading on Monday, I rinsed out the tube...