Fish Hobbyist
New Member
Hi again! This is the owner of a betta and a female, young bristlenose pleco named Nyx. They share a 20 gallon tank in relative harmony. I have just been made aware of some things I am doing wrong, which has led to my fish having maybe Columnaris... I'm really scared rn and I'm trying to figure out how to fix my problems and balance the tank again, and rescue my poor babies...
So I don't have money, time, or space to make a quarantine, so I was going to use my 5 gal bucket with an airstone for just the betta, but that fell through when Nyx started seeming sick, too.
They are both eating well and swimming well, it's just my hetta has bloat and raggedy fins, and they both have these weird patches on their body, they look like sores from Columnaris. I don't have pics tho.
I have a fungal treatment and a test kit on the way now, and I'm planning on just dosing the tank.
But as for water conditioner, I haven't been using it because I thought I didn't need to with having well water and no chlorine, but I was told that was wrong. Every water condition just says it removes 'chlorine, chlorimine, and other harmful chemicals.' Even API brand. But then reviews say that it just works for chlorine. So what water conditioner should I be getting instead, because that clearly won't be useful at all. Also, the instructions are unclear. They all say 'use one ml for every 20 gallons.' Is this for 20 gallons of water, or for a water change on a 20 gallon tank? Can someone help me figure out how much this means if I replace 5 gallons in a 20 gallon tank every week? What brand water conditioner is best? And how easily treatable is Columnaris? I'll post a pic of my betta later, but I don't have any pictures of his condition right now. Thanks for any help!
So I don't have money, time, or space to make a quarantine, so I was going to use my 5 gal bucket with an airstone for just the betta, but that fell through when Nyx started seeming sick, too.
They are both eating well and swimming well, it's just my hetta has bloat and raggedy fins, and they both have these weird patches on their body, they look like sores from Columnaris. I don't have pics tho.
I have a fungal treatment and a test kit on the way now, and I'm planning on just dosing the tank.
But as for water conditioner, I haven't been using it because I thought I didn't need to with having well water and no chlorine, but I was told that was wrong. Every water condition just says it removes 'chlorine, chlorimine, and other harmful chemicals.' Even API brand. But then reviews say that it just works for chlorine. So what water conditioner should I be getting instead, because that clearly won't be useful at all. Also, the instructions are unclear. They all say 'use one ml for every 20 gallons.' Is this for 20 gallons of water, or for a water change on a 20 gallon tank? Can someone help me figure out how much this means if I replace 5 gallons in a 20 gallon tank every week? What brand water conditioner is best? And how easily treatable is Columnaris? I'll post a pic of my betta later, but I don't have any pictures of his condition right now. Thanks for any help!
