Stress Coat + Any Food/Meds/Cond suggetions?

[betazigzag]

I live near only one pet store (and its 45 mins away lol) and ran out of water conditioner so I bought Stress Coat which is the only brand they carry and the lady recommended. I've never used it before. I have 1 male betta in a 5 gallon tank that has been cycled. I clean the water 25% when test results taken daily show it needs to be done, and am using 5 drops of Stress Coat for each quart of water changed as the bottle recommends. What is your opinion of it? It says it removes chlorine etc (there is no chlorine in our water but I use it anyways), and helps repair damaged fins. Well, Ziggy's fins are a little torn, comsidering the tiny thing he must have grown up in until we got him I can see why. He appears quite healthy, swims around the tank all the time, is curious, eats very well, the fins are not changing at all, just tiny tears here and there. He was a $3 fish - if that gives me any idea of the care he got.....Looks more like he was in a fight and won than sick. Would this help his fins? I'd like some opinions - if they are against this it will be at least 2 weeks before I'm able to try anything else. He seems fine with it right now.
Thank you!!!

 

[jacblades]

stresscoat will help his fins heal but it wont keep the bacteria at bay.
theres nothing wrong with stresscoat-i think its actually what most people use.
its not my first choice but it is still a good product imo.

 

[SnowyzMom]

I'm just wondering what kind of plants you have in the tank with your Betta? Thanks for rescuing the poor little guy by the way! I ask about the plants because I found I had to remove anything except silk fake plants and add just live plants to Jack's tank. His fins would catch and tear on anything else really easily because he loves pushing through really tiny spaces! That's like a woman in long skirts trying to crawl through a 24" diameter culvert!

Usually using StressCoat or Melafix, my fav, works great on healing. Can you get Aqua Pur? That seems to work great at dechlorinating water. Could you order some products through the mail? There are some really decent mail order aquarium supply stores out there and it would save you worrying about running out of supplies, not to mention a 45 minute trip! I would imagine your TLC will help Ziggy heal more than anything else. Knowing he's in a safe stress free environment should help him heal really fast. What do you feed him? If he's anything like my Jack, he'll enjoy cooked peas as a change from Bloodworms or Betta flakes. Jack tends to spit out all Betta foods, the picky so and so.

 

[betazigzag]

I saw those poor little guys and wanted to rescue them all, actually stood there and added up the cost of larger tanks, filters, etc. Ok, I've brought home hurt birds, kittens, geriatric cats, a pig that couldn't stay but needed a place for a night or two - don't ask, pick an animal, but how do I convince the cost of 14 betta fish and the works to my husband lol. The saddest part is the store would replace them by the following week.
I have a pond so it didn't occur to me to put fake plants in, I found aquarium plants, he has several different kinds in there, a group floats on the top that he likes to sleep in. Love the visual of the skirt I do have a filter, but nothing he can get caught on, its a simple box filter. There really isn't anything in the tank that could hurt his fins, except, perhaps the gravel if he picks thru it.
He's fussy, won't touch bloodworms, shrimp, I've tried all different kinds of stuff. What he's turned down goes to the goldfish in the pond who will eat absolutely anything. He will eat the Tetra Mix and the Hikari Betta Bio Gold, has a great appetite if he likes it (how the heck can something so small be fussier than a toddler?? I order most things online because we're so rural but didn't with the fish because I hadn't found any suggestions yet. I'll try the Melafix, and Aqua Pur. Thanks so much for the recommendations! Does anyone have any other suggestions about food (other than bloodworms & shrimp), medicines, water conditioners...? What do YOU prefer? Might as well make it a good order worth the cost of shipping!

 

[f250fisherman]

I have used Stresscoat for 27 years. It has always worked for me, so I found no reason to change. Since doing constant water changes with bettas, I use more water conditioner than anything else. I order 1 gal jugs of stresscoat for 34.00 The same amount in many small bottles costs over 100.00 I usually order dividers, salt, meds, and anything else at the same time, and save on the shipping. Usually when I order, the savings buys something that is basically free.

 

[karrihug]

I order 1 gal jugs of stresscoat for 34.00 The same amount in many small bottles costs over 100.00

could you tell me where you order it from? i just ordered 1 gal from my lfs and it was $60.

sorry didn't mean to hijack. )

 

[rollntider]

www.petsolutions.com
www.bigalsonline.com
www.petwarehouse.com
those are the big 3 i order from.

 

[f250fisherman]

I get stresscoat from aquariumpros.com

 

[tekknocolor]

I use stresscoat in every water change. Works great and I've never had a problem with it.

 

[Elisabeth83]

Do you use stresscoat as well as de-chlorinator...or does stress coat take care of that as well?

Whats the benifits of stresscoat?

 

[tekknocolor]

Stress Coat replaces the natural protective slime coating fish need in times of stress, removes chlorine, neutralizes chloramines and detoxifies heavy metals. Use whenever setting up an aqaurium, adding or handling fish, changing water or when fish are damaged due to injury or disease.

 

[Elisabeth83]

Thanks for the info....will definately pick some up next time I'm at my lfs!!

 

[Elisabeth83]

Oh wait a sec....just checked my water conditioner but it actually is stresscoat...called VBC- Stress Protection. The brand is Sera Aquatan? I've never heard of it before. I was just readin my boyfriend your reply and he said no we already have that..and then read me the back of the bottle. I didn't realize what it said because its in Swedish.

sorry for hijacking this post ) Thanks for the info though!!