Betta lost tail

[foxgirl158]

I’m so sorry you lost your betta. I lost one of my small goldfish in the exact same way. She was the smallest and sucked against the intake tube and I didn’t find her for twelve hours I know how you feel. You think you should have been able to prevent it. I recommend putting a sponge or mesh cover over the intake to prevent this from happening again. So sorry friend <3

 

[Rocky998]

Found out what it was, he may have got stuck to the intake of the tank, i found him stuck to it again so he’s now inside of a fry cage in the tank close to the surface so he can’t go near the intake again untill he heals, I’m putting him in a new beta tank tomorrow with pre cycled water from my old tank, with new ornaments.
a friend of mine pointed out she had a beta in the same style tank and the intake was so strong it sucked him against it.

What you can do to the intake is put something over it like pantyhose or wrap a sponge around it. It will give more space for bacteria to grow and increase the life of your filter

One other thing to mention, tank water from a mature tank CAN help but it is highly recommended that you use something like a piece of decor or a plant or better yet, the substrate... And an even better option is some filter media. The bacteria doesn't live in the water column and when they are there there is only VERY little. They only stay on surface areas like the things I mentioned.

 

[Rocky998]

Oh cool thank you so much!
Sad to inform grim passed... I'm in tears. Barely had him a week.
I try to do as much research as possible but the misinformation is everywhere it sucks

I'm so sorry, I didnt see this when I typed up the other thing I wrote... I know how it feels losing a fish... Sorry for your loss. RIP Grim

 

[AiresCosta]

Yeah, I mentioned earlier I was going to move one of the filter pads and hakf the sand into the beta tank, just using the water since it would have been to temperature and I would have been able to move him within the day.
I think I’m probably still going to collect my friends beta tank and cycle it just in case I want another beta. But I’m not sure I even want to keep fish after watching my two favorates pass

What you can do to the intake is put something over it like pantyhose or wrap a sponge around it. It will give more space for bacteria to grow and increase the life of your filter

One other thing to mention, tank water from a mature tank CAN help but it is highly recommended that you use something like a piece of decor or a plant or better yet, the substrate... And an even better option is some filter media. The bacteria doesn't live in the water column and when they are there there is only VERY little. They only stay on surface areas like the things I menti

 

[AiresCosta]

I’m so sorry you lost your betta. I lost one of my small goldfish in the exact same way. She was the smallest and sucked against the intake tube and I didn’t find her for twelve hours I know how you feel. You think you should have been able to prevent it. I recommend putting a sponge or mesh cover over the intake to prevent this from happening again. So sorry friend <3

I’m going To be getting a fry cage and MacGyver it to the intake

 

[AiresCosta]

personally I would call a stardust pleco galaxy, stary/starlight (after the starry night painting), nebula or nova (like a supernova)
but since Ziggy stardust is a David Bowie character you may wanna keep both the plecos named after The same thing. you could call it bowie, or name it after one of his songs, star, soul, stardust, ash, mars, daydream, Lazarus

View attachment 155168

Since you're good with fish names (I'm terrible at naming!) maybe you can help me name one of my plecos? This is Ziggy - like Ziggy Stardust, because he's a Starlight pleco, and I'm a David Bowie fan. He's grown a fair amount since I took this photo! But I also have a second one. Both too young to sex so I don't know whether male or female for either of them, but I don't have a name yet for the second starlight pleco, and I've had them for a long while, so I feel guilty, lol. Need a name for her(?)

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

I’m going To be getting a fry cage and MacGyver it to the intake

You could also get a simple sponge filter, if you don't mind the noise of an airpump and bubbles. Perfectly adequate filtration, inexpensive, provides surface disturbance and thus oxygen exchange, and not a risk to bettas!

Growing some tall live plants in front of the filter can also help a lot! Won't stop the filter doing it's thing, but will reduce the chances of him being pulled against it. My canister filter intake is tucked behind a curtain of vallis, and a soft fluffy plant like limnophilia sessiflora work well too, and will grow right to the surface Bettas love having plants to rest on, I'm sure your friend has already told you that. And plants also help with water quality and cycling!

I hope you don't give up. You're on the right track, and you clearly want to do it right and have things work out! I almost gave up several times too when I first started in the hobby. It's rough to lose fish, and I'm sorry for your loss. But you'll be a good fish keeper. Learn from this, take deep breaths, and be prepared for the next one

 

[AiresCosta]

T

Oh man, I'm so sorry That was the betta? It was quite a severe thing I'm afraid.

Please don't blame yourself. It might not have been anything you did - sometimes fish are sick when they come from the store, and I haven't ruled out the possibility that he had an aggressive type of bacterial infection or something... might not have been the filter.


And even if it were, we've all made mistakes that have sadly proven fatal to one or more fish. I made a mistake by not replacing a damaged intake filter sponge quickly enough, so some of my guppy fry got sucked into the filter. I found a load of them in the canister! Most survived, but some were badly injured and didn't survive
Still feel guilty about that.
But a lot of things have the potential to go wrong in this hobby, and there is so much to learn when you first start. Try to take it easy on yourself, resolve to learn from any mistakes and move forward.

Don't be too quick to get a new fish, give the tank time to settle, and yourself time to really research fishkeeping. Don't trust any single source of info, even us! always check the sources, and read around a lot of different places. Seriously Fish is a good and reliable one, but there are also some good youtube channels out there, if you prefer. I listen to a lot of fishtubers while I do tank maintenance There are some bad ones too, but Aquarium Co Op is a good one with a lot of good info. I also really like the "Big Al's" series of videos on fishkeeping- I'll link their video on the nitrogen cycle below. It really explains things in understandable terms, and Thomas is super knowledgeable. Sadly they're not working for that channel anymore, but their old vids are still there and still good. Have a look at their channel and see what videos appeal/might be useful

thank you so much for your help. I don’t think Im gonna be getting fish for a while lol. The heartbreak is too much, but when I’m ready again I think I’m just gonna stock my 20l with kuhli loach, I want more so they will be comfortable hanging out. Right now they are very skittish.
how many do you think I could stock in my 20l? Da Vinci will probably be moved once Im ready for more fish

 

[AiresCosta]

You could also get a simple sponge filter, if you don't mind the noise of an airpump and bubbles. Perfectly adequate filtration, inexpensive, provides surface disturbance and thus oxygen exchange, and not a risk to bettas!

Growing some tall live plants in front of the filter can also help a lot! Won't stop the filter doing it's thing, but will reduce the chances of him being pulled against it. My canister filter intake is tucked behind a curtain of vallis, and a soft fluffy plant like limnophilia sessiflora work well too, and will grow right to the surface Bettas love having plants to rest on, I'm sure your friend has already told you that. And plants also help with water quality and cycling!

I hope you don't give up. You're on the right track, and you clearly want to do it right and have things work out! I almost gave up several times too when I first started in the hobby. It's rough to lose fish, and I'm sorry for your loss. But you'll be a good fish keeper. Learn from this, take deep breaths, and be prepared for the next one

I think I may fully revamp my tank, I adore those super heavily planted tanks with sword grass, and all the driftwood covered in plants.
im not gonna keep betas in that tank at all, just kuhli loach and my pleco untill I move him, then maybe once he’s gone I might put a few guppy’s in if I feel like it but I think I just want a tank full of kuhli.
I love kuhli so much.
wiggly little sphagetti
but I will be keeping betas again, my friend has a proper beta trio tank I’m going to pick up today

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

personally I would call a stardust pleco galaxy, stary/starlight (after the starry night painting), nebula or nova (like a supernova)
but since Ziggy stardust is a David Bowie character you may wanna keep both the plecos named after The same thing. you could call it bowie, or name it after one of his songs, star, soul, stardust, ash, mars, daydream, Lazarus

I'm gonna be tagging you to help me name all my fish, thank you! Those are awesome suggestions.

I think I'm gonna pick Stardust! Works well with Ziggy of course, and works whether s/he turns out to be male or female

T

thank you so much for your help. I don’t think Im gonna be getting fish for a while lol. The heartbreak is too much, but when I’m ready again I think I’m just gonna stock my 20l with kuhli loach, I want more so they will be comfortable hanging out. Right now they are very skittish.
how many do you think I could stock in my 20l? Da Vinci will probably be moved once Im ready for more fish

I've never kept kuhli's so I can't help you there I'm afraid. Check out Seriously Fish and use their search function for kuhli loaches

I think I may fully revamp my tank, I adore those super heavily planted tanks with sword grass, and all the driftwood covered in plants.
im not gonna keep betas in that tank at all, just kuhli loach and my pleco untill I move him, then maybe once he’s gone I might put a few guppy’s in if I feel like it but I think I just want a tank full of kuhli.
I love kuhli so much.
wiggly little sphagetti
but I will be keeping betas again, my friend has a proper beta trio tank I’m going to pick up today

This worries me I'm afraid. Guppies can't live in a tank that small, they need some swimming space. There really aren't many fish that can live a long happy life in 20 litres of water...

In your shoes, I would revamp, but in a bigger tank. a 75 L tank will give you so many more options for fish, and be much easier to maintain a stable environment for whatever fish you do get. When something goes wrong in a small tank, it goes wrong fast. Not much water to dilute it, you know? So small tanks need water changing more often. A 20 US gallon/75 litre can maintain more of a balance, you can get more plants and dramatic wood arrangements, and far more options for fish.

Those betta trio type tanks - Do you know the dimensions or make of this tank?

I've never yet seen one that is suitable for bettas. Some only give like a half gallon per fish, or even less! Plus most of them have shared water, which stresses bettas out. They're able to sense the other males close to their territory, yet can't fight and chase them away. Bettas are also called Siamese fighting fish for a reason... and they rarely have any room to swim and explore in a tiny trio tank...

I wonder if your friend's set up has led you to believe that bettas are good in quite small tanks? The thing is, many betta breeders separate male fry into individual jars and things, because otherwise males will fight. But it's only meant to be temporary, while they're raising their fish. They live in pretty large territories in the wild (not in puddles, as so many places will tell you!), so they really should then go to homes who keep them in at least 20 litres/5 gal tanks. Condemning them to live out their lives in a tiny half gallon sectioned tank, with another male either side of them that they can sense through the water... it's just cruel I'm afraid.

What about that large 300 odd litre tank you were talking about setting up?

 

[AiresCosta]

I'm gonna be tagging you to help me name all my fish, thank you! Those are awesome suggestions.

I think I'm gonna pick Stardust! Works well with Ziggy of course, and works whether s/he turns out to be male or female

I've never kept kuhli's so I can't help you there I'm afraid. Check out Seriously Fish and use their search function for kuhli loaches


This worries me I'm afraid. Guppies can't live in a tank that small, they need some swimming space. There really aren't many fish that can live a long happy life in 20 litres of water...

In your shoes, I would revamp, but in a bigger tank. a 75 L tank will give you so many more options for fish, and be much easier to maintain a stable environment for whatever fish you do get. When something goes wrong in a small tank, it goes wrong fast. Not much water to dilute it, you know? So small tanks need water changing more often. A 20 US gallon/75 litre can maintain more of a balance, you can get more plants and dramatic wood arrangements, and far more options for fish.

Those betta trio type tanks - Do you know the dimensions or make of this tank?

I've never yet seen one that is suitable for bettas. Some only give like a half gallon per fish, or even less! Plus most of them have shared water, which stresses bettas out. They're able to sense the other males close to their territory, yet can't fight and chase them away. Bettas are also called Siamese fighting fish for a reason... and they rarely have any room to swim and explore in a tiny trio tank...

I wonder if your friend's set up has led you to believe that bettas are good in quite small tanks? The thing is, many betta breeders separate male fry into individual jars and things, because otherwise males will fight. But it's only meant to be temporary, while they're raising their fish. They live in pretty large territories in the wild (not in puddles, as so many places will tell you!), so they really should then go to homes who keep them in at least 20 litres/5 gal tanks. Condemning them to live out their lives in a tiny half gallon sectioned tank, with another male either side of them that they can sense through the water... it's just cruel I'm afraid.

What about that large 300 odd litre tank you were talking about setting up?

OH HECK! MY TANK ISNT 20 LETRES LOL
it’s 20 gallons

 

[AiresCosta]

I'm gonna be tagging you to help me name all my fish, thank you! Those are awesome suggestions.

I think I'm gonna pick Stardust! Works well with Ziggy of course, and works whether s/he turns out to be male or female

I've never kept kuhli's so I can't help you there I'm afraid. Check out Seriously Fish and use their search function for kuhli loaches


This worries me I'm afraid. Guppies can't live in a tank that small, they need some swimming space. There really aren't many fish that can live a long happy life in 20 litres of water...

In your shoes, I would revamp, but in a bigger tank. a 75 L tank will give you so many more options for fish, and be much easier to maintain a stable environment for whatever fish you do get. When something goes wrong in a small tank, it goes wrong fast. Not much water to dilute it, you know? So small tanks need water changing more often. A 20 US gallon/75 litre can maintain more of a balance, you can get more plants and dramatic wood arrangements, and far more options for fish.

Those betta trio type tanks - Do you know the dimensions or make of this tank?

I've never yet seen one that is suitable for bettas. Some only give like a half gallon per fish, or even less! Plus most of them have shared water, which stresses bettas out. They're able to sense the other males close to their territory, yet can't fight and chase them away. Bettas are also called Siamese fighting fish for a reason... and they rarely have any room to swim and explore in a tiny trio tank...

I wonder if your friend's set up has led you to believe that bettas are good in quite small tanks? The thing is, many betta breeders separate male fry into individual jars and things, because otherwise males will fight. But it's only meant to be temporary, while they're raising their fish. They live in pretty large territories in the wild (not in puddles, as so many places will tell you!), so they really should then go to homes who keep them in at least 20 litres/5 gal tanks. Condemning them to live out their lives in a tiny half gallon sectioned tank, with another male either side of them that they can sense through the water... it's just cruel I'm afraid.

What about that large 300 odd litre tank you were talking about setting up?

my tank is a 20 gallon 75l im So sorry for freaking you all out!

 

[AiresCosta]

I'm gonna be tagging you to help me name all my fish, thank you! Those are awesome suggestions.

I think I'm gonna pick Stardust! Works well with Ziggy of course, and works whether s/he turns out to be male or female

I've never kept kuhli's so I can't help you there I'm afraid. Check out Seriously Fish and use their search function for kuhli loaches


This worries me I'm afraid. Guppies can't live in a tank that small, they need some swimming space. There really aren't many fish that can live a long happy life in 20 litres of water...

In your shoes, I would revamp, but in a bigger tank. a 75 L tank will give you so many more options for fish, and be much easier to maintain a stable environment for whatever fish you do get. When something goes wrong in a small tank, it goes wrong fast. Not much water to dilute it, you know? So small tanks need water changing more often. A 20 US gallon/75 litre can maintain more of a balance, you can get more plants and dramatic wood arrangements, and far more options for fish.

Those betta trio type tanks - Do you know the dimensions or make of this tank?

I've never yet seen one that is suitable for bettas. Some only give like a half gallon per fish, or even less! Plus most of them have shared water, which stresses bettas out. They're able to sense the other males close to their territory, yet can't fight and chase them away. Bettas are also called Siamese fighting fish for a reason... and they rarely have any room to swim and explore in a tiny trio tank...

I wonder if your friend's set up has led you to believe that bettas are good in quite small tanks? The thing is, many betta breeders separate male fry into individual jars and things, because otherwise males will fight. But it's only meant to be temporary, while they're raising their fish. They live in pretty large territories in the wild (not in puddles, as so many places will tell you!), so they really should then go to homes who keep them in at least 20 litres/5 gal tanks. Condemning them to live out their lives in a tiny half gallon sectioned tank, with another male either side of them that they can sense through the water... it's just cruel I'm afraid.

What about that large 300 odd litre tank you were talking about setting up?

She hates beta in those small tanks, the one she keeps hers in (peacock) is a 30l I think. The trio tank I’m getting is a 32l shared water tank but I’m going to take the dividers out (they can be removed) and only keep one in it I don’t want more than one beta anyway and I know it’s cruel to keep them in little tanks

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

OH HECK! MY TANK ISNT 20 LETRES LOL
it’s 20 gallons

This made me belly laugh, and sigh in relief at the same time! LOL! People using different measurement systems can be confusing, it happens! You can see now why I was worrying about the bristlenose and guppies, eh? LMAO

A 20 gallon is absolutely fine for the bristlenose to stay in and can probably manage with quite a few kuhli's too. Guppies do really need harder water though - @itiwhetu, isn't water in New Zealand often soft? and also good quality for fish, compared to our rubbish tap water here?

If yours is soft, then that gives you a lot more options for cool fish! I'd avoid hard water fish like guppies/mollies/platies etc, since they need hard water to thrive, especially mollies.

my tank is a 20 gallon 75l im So sorry for freaking you all out!

Looking really good! Just needs more plants!


Kuhli loaches are famous for hiding away beneath the sand/in decor and rarely being seen. Sometimes people think theirs must have died, then find it months or even years later when they take the tank down, alive and well! lol. Having a good sized group of them will help, but also adding more cover they can hide in and feel safe, means they're more likely to come out into the open, surprisingly! A tank that's open and clear, with no floating plants, not many plants, wood or leaves on the bottom, and open sides, leaves fish a bit spooked and more inclined to stay hidden away. Open water means being exposed to predators, so fish are always wary of being out in the open like that.

So while it's looking great, I'd still add some more plants, maybe a wood piece or two, and some leaf litter like Indian Almond leaves. You'll likely spot them moving around and under them then, especially when they have a bigger group to feel more secure

 

[AiresCosta]

O

This made me belly laugh, and sigh in relief at the same time! LOL! People using different measurement systems can be confusing, it happens! You can see now why I was worrying about the bristlenose and guppies, eh? LMAO

A 20 gallon is absolutely fine for the bristlenose to stay in and can probably manage with quite a few kuhli's too. Guppies do really need harder water though - @itiwhetu, isn't water in New Zealand often soft? and also good quality for fish, compared to our rubbish tap water here?

If yours is soft, then that gives you a lot more options for cool fish! I'd avoid hard water fish like guppies/mollies/platies etc, since they need hard water to thrive, especially mollies.


Looking really good! Just needs more plants!


Kuhli loaches are famous for hiding away beneath the sand/in decor and rarely being seen. Sometimes people think theirs must have died, then find it months or even years later when they take the tank down, alive and well! lol. Having a good sized group of them will help, but also adding more cover they can hide in and feel safe, means they're more likely to come out into the open, surprisingly! A tank that's open and clear, with no floating plants, not many plants, wood or leaves on the bottom, and open sides, leaves fish a bit spooked and more inclined to stay hidden away. Open water means being exposed to predators, so fish are always wary of being out in the open like that.

So while it's looking great, I'd still add some more plants, maybe a wood piece or two, and some leaf litter like Indian Almond leaves. You'll likely spot them moving around and under them then, especially when they have a bigger group to feel more secure

Oh my god yeah a 20l for a bristlenose no waayyyy
I had some leaves in there but they all got pretty gross, I'm looking into buying bulk indian almond leaves my tank was originally just for my plecos so the decor is more for them, I'm going out soon to Hollywood fish farm to buy a ton of hides/plants, but I gotta wait for the vaccine mandate to end to do that (
They are pretty funny little guys it would be awesome to have tons