Hello again, my fish enthusiasts and friends,
After a brief hiatus (and minimal tank problems) I am back yet again, with a heavy heart and broken spirit. In a matter of 12 hours, I have had a complete tank meltdown. I cannot pin point where the problems are coming from and I am at a complete loss as to what direction to head in. I don't want to admit defeat, but I believe it is time to do so. I'm pretty much ready to give up the hobby entirely, but figured I'd give one last push to try and set things right before I throw away all I've worked so hard for over the past year and say goodbye to Grosso (although just a betta, he has a special place in my heart).
I awoke this morning to find the a large amount of the scales on Grosso's right side to be rotting off. (The pictures below don't do him justice, its worse than it looks.) He has a light reflective film hear his gills (that's the best way to describe it). He was not like this last night before bed. A small white spec (doesn't look like ich) had been on his left side for a few days and I have just been watching closely to see what happened with him and what it could be. (Didn't want to jump the gun on treatment. Came about after a water change, wasn't sure if he hurt himself or if it was more malicious. I see my mistake was waiting and watching.)
As far as water parameters go, I have no idea what happened. I only use store bought UV sterilized, soft/PH balanced freshwater (with added electrolytes, etc. necessary for fish function) and my parameters are all over the place. PH is on the low scale, being very acidic, hardness is through the roof, small amount of nitrates, but no nitrites or ammonia. I tested the store bought water this morning and it was all normal, but the tank is horrendous. There's been an explosion of white, stringy algae and a thick biofilm on the spider wood (I know it rots over time, but I usually scrub with a clean toothbrush and it was boiled prior to placement in the tank). I tested the water after his last change last week (25% change, took out some of the sand substrate and added some new sand in its place, and added some fresh fertilizer for the plants) and it was all in great condition at the time. During the water change I also rinsed filter media with betta water and popped it back into the filter, and added some filter floss as a last step to really crisp up the filtration and catch any particles from the new sand that may not have rinsed out. (Every time I change water I vacuum the substrate to remove any waste/plant rot. Plants are doing great, though.)
I can only guess that my issues at this point are filtration. I have a cannister filter designed for a 10 gallon (which is what I have) and I set it up by watching the video provided by the company. It was primed properly prior to start up, and was running fine. It started making a noise last night (which I had never heard) like there was air in the filter (not sure how it could have gotten in, no leaks going on) but output is normal. Checked to see if input was clogged, but nothing was impeding water flow. I even made my own air stone out of lava rock to give him a more natural feel (because I forgot to buy a new one at the store when I was picking up water) and that's been functioning great. The cannister filter has a sponge, carbon and bio stones, and filter floss.
I use almond leaf extract, stress coat (after a change because Grosso gets very stressed during, but I always remove him from the tank when changing water since he will freak out if he's in there with the gravel vacuum) , a shrimp safe liquid fertilizer for the plants that I put in weekly (just 1-2 pumps as an added boost) and always put a small amount of beneficial tank bacteria after a water change. I decreased his light time to 6 hours and he is on a timer. Water is heated and maintaining appropriate temp.
I don't know where to go from here. I'm tired and upset, I don't want to rip this entire tank apart and completely start over with cycling and brand new substrate/wood. I also don't want to replace this cannister filter (again). I can't tell if there is a malfunction going on with the filter and am not mechanically inclined enough to pull it apart and put it back together. I don't want this fish to suffer any more than he already has. He looks horrible, and I feel horrible for letting him get to this condition once again. Simply put, I feel like a failure.
Any last ditch efforts, recommendations, or changes I can make to attempt to save this tank and fish before I give it up completely and toss it all in the trash?
After a brief hiatus (and minimal tank problems) I am back yet again, with a heavy heart and broken spirit. In a matter of 12 hours, I have had a complete tank meltdown. I cannot pin point where the problems are coming from and I am at a complete loss as to what direction to head in. I don't want to admit defeat, but I believe it is time to do so. I'm pretty much ready to give up the hobby entirely, but figured I'd give one last push to try and set things right before I throw away all I've worked so hard for over the past year and say goodbye to Grosso (although just a betta, he has a special place in my heart).
I awoke this morning to find the a large amount of the scales on Grosso's right side to be rotting off. (The pictures below don't do him justice, its worse than it looks.) He has a light reflective film hear his gills (that's the best way to describe it). He was not like this last night before bed. A small white spec (doesn't look like ich) had been on his left side for a few days and I have just been watching closely to see what happened with him and what it could be. (Didn't want to jump the gun on treatment. Came about after a water change, wasn't sure if he hurt himself or if it was more malicious. I see my mistake was waiting and watching.)
As far as water parameters go, I have no idea what happened. I only use store bought UV sterilized, soft/PH balanced freshwater (with added electrolytes, etc. necessary for fish function) and my parameters are all over the place. PH is on the low scale, being very acidic, hardness is through the roof, small amount of nitrates, but no nitrites or ammonia. I tested the store bought water this morning and it was all normal, but the tank is horrendous. There's been an explosion of white, stringy algae and a thick biofilm on the spider wood (I know it rots over time, but I usually scrub with a clean toothbrush and it was boiled prior to placement in the tank). I tested the water after his last change last week (25% change, took out some of the sand substrate and added some new sand in its place, and added some fresh fertilizer for the plants) and it was all in great condition at the time. During the water change I also rinsed filter media with betta water and popped it back into the filter, and added some filter floss as a last step to really crisp up the filtration and catch any particles from the new sand that may not have rinsed out. (Every time I change water I vacuum the substrate to remove any waste/plant rot. Plants are doing great, though.)
I can only guess that my issues at this point are filtration. I have a cannister filter designed for a 10 gallon (which is what I have) and I set it up by watching the video provided by the company. It was primed properly prior to start up, and was running fine. It started making a noise last night (which I had never heard) like there was air in the filter (not sure how it could have gotten in, no leaks going on) but output is normal. Checked to see if input was clogged, but nothing was impeding water flow. I even made my own air stone out of lava rock to give him a more natural feel (because I forgot to buy a new one at the store when I was picking up water) and that's been functioning great. The cannister filter has a sponge, carbon and bio stones, and filter floss.
I use almond leaf extract, stress coat (after a change because Grosso gets very stressed during, but I always remove him from the tank when changing water since he will freak out if he's in there with the gravel vacuum) , a shrimp safe liquid fertilizer for the plants that I put in weekly (just 1-2 pumps as an added boost) and always put a small amount of beneficial tank bacteria after a water change. I decreased his light time to 6 hours and he is on a timer. Water is heated and maintaining appropriate temp.
I don't know where to go from here. I'm tired and upset, I don't want to rip this entire tank apart and completely start over with cycling and brand new substrate/wood. I also don't want to replace this cannister filter (again). I can't tell if there is a malfunction going on with the filter and am not mechanically inclined enough to pull it apart and put it back together. I don't want this fish to suffer any more than he already has. He looks horrible, and I feel horrible for letting him get to this condition once again. Simply put, I feel like a failure.
Any last ditch efforts, recommendations, or changes I can make to attempt to save this tank and fish before I give it up completely and toss it all in the trash?
)
