Hello from Maryland

[Humanegal]

Hi everyone. I'm new to the forums. I used to be a tropical fish enthusiast as a child in the 70's and 80's , with my big brother. He became pretty experienced and I loved learning from him.
Life got busy , but here in the 2000's I am excited to try to get back into it. So much has changed with technology etc. We used to use the inside filters , and had to change or clean the charcoal and the white filter material that you had to pull pull out like cotton candy. We had mollies, tetras, plecos, rasboras, glass fish, scissors, danios etc. I had a kissing gourami tank , goldfish tank, and Betta tank. My brother Angels, Discus and Oscars also.

Last year , after decades, I decided to put my toe in the water again - I bought a female Betta
(I believe Veil tail )-she was so sad and sickly looking. I wanted to rescue her. She blossomed into a gorgeous, vibrant, healthy, joyful fish.
She just passed away yesterdayfrom sudden severe bloating. Her symptoms overlap into 3-4 conditions and diseases. I tried all I could to save her. So sudden and I didn't know if she was egg-bound, constipated, had dropsy, or swim bladder disease.
I'm sad for her , and I want to learn precisely what happened I want to prevent this from ever happening again, and be a better Tropical fish hobbyist and owner.
Thanks for reading
Laura from Maryland, USA

 

[Sgooosh]

Hi everyone. I'm new to the forums. I used to be a tropical fish enthusiast as a child in the 70's and 80's , with my big brother. He became pretty experienced and I loved learning from him.
Life got busy , but here in the 2000's I am excited to try to get back into it. So much has changed with technology etc. We used to use the inside filters , and had to change or clean the charcoal and the white filter material that you had to pull pull out like cotton candy. We had mollies, tetras, plecos, rasboras, glass fish, scissors, danios etc. I had a kissing gourami tank , goldfish tank, and Betta tank. My brother Angels, Discus and Oscars also.

Last year , after decades, I decided to put my toe in the water again - I bought a female Betta
(I believe Veil tail )-she was so sad and sickly looking. I wanted to rescue her. She blossomed into a gorgeous, vibrant, healthy, joyful fish.
She just passed away yesterdayfrom sudden severe bloating. Her symptoms overlap into 3-4 conditions and diseases. I tried all I could to save her. So sudden and I didn't know if she was egg-bound, constipated, had dropsy, or swim bladder disease.
I'm sad for her , and I want to learn precisely what happened I want to prevent this from ever happening again, and be a better Tropical fish hobbyist and owner.
Thanks for reading
Laura from Maryland, USA

did you cycle
params (from back then)
tank size

welcome

 

[Sunnyspots]

Welcome Laura. Sorry about your betta . I hope being here helps with your future fish, but sometimes there's just no answer after all.

 

[Sgooosh]

Welcome Laura. Sorry about your betta . I hope being here helps with your future fish, but sometimes there's just no answer after all.

well, there has to be a reason, just sometimes ones we cannot find

 

[Slaphppy7]

Welcome to the forum.

The most important thing you need to know as a beginning fishkeeper is how to cycle a tank, to make it habitable for fish

Start here: https://www.fishforums.net/threads/cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first.421488/

 

[Essjay]

I think the biggest change from when you last had fish is our understanding of cycling. SlapHppy's link explains what cycling is and how to do it. Yes, it does mean having a tank with no fish for a few weeks, but it is the safest way to prepare a tank.
An alternative is to put a lot of fast growing live plants in the tank, though not everyone wants a tank of live plants.