Fluffypants

I set up a new tank about 6 weeks ago with plants but no fish. The plants ended up with slimy green layer that I could peel off the leaves. The tank went cloudy after a couple of weeks, so I did a few water changes. I put betta in it a couple of weeks ago, along with some more Stresszyme but the water is still cloudy. Have done a couple of water changes this week and it clouds up again the next day. The betta doesn't seem to be worried but the water has an appearance of smoke swirling with the current. The tank is 29L, underground filter, 4 plants (Excel added weekly for them), no driftwood and only gravel on the bottom. Is it algal bloom or something else? What suggestions can I try to clear the water?

Sounds like a great idea :lol: Count me in.

Can't make it this month either Had been hoping to get some advice on my inability to grow healthy plants.

I have just bought a male and am having a few problems. At first I put him in the main tank with 2 females and he managed to kill a dwarf honey gourami and a blue dwarf gourami. Now he's in a 29L tank with the females and is pestering the heck out of them. When I got home from work today I noticed his anal fins are tattered and torn. Is this from the females retaliating (which I haven't witnessed) or could there be something else wrong with him. The last male I put in the the females lasted a few days and died of a bowel protrusion, after the girls attacked him. This male seems much hardier but the shredded fins have me worried.

Sadly (but not unexpectedly) he was dead by this morning. Can't believe how quick it was from first symptoms until death. This now leaves 1 male dwarf blue gourami and a pair of honey gouramis. Will this combination be okay or should the blue gouramis be kept in pairs?

Did a search on dropsy and figure that's what it has. It's just been moved to a separate tank as it's not looking too good and starting to list quite a bit. I hope that the other fish that it was in with will be okay. :-?

It's a male dwarf blue gourami. If it's dropsy, how do they get it and what can I do? Should it be removed from the tank? We only got it on Sunday and it was perfectly fine until this afternoon. It sits near the top of the tank and appears to be gulping the water.

I've noticed that one of our new gouramis (only had it 3 days) is floating near the top and seems to be slightly bloated. The other 3 are fine. I took some old plants out yesterday which stirred up quite a bit of sediment. I did a 25% water change straight afterwards and the tank is now clear. Coincidence? I'm going to do another water change in case it is the sediment. Could I have a different problem? Any suggestions?

That's good to know that water for testing should come from the bottom of the tank. I had always been skimming it from the top. :oops:

I was talking to a staff member at Animates Tower Junction about different types of danios and asked if she had seen the glo danios. She said she didn't think so, but they sounded beautiful and would see if they could get some if I wanted them. How clueless is that????? She also had not idea of what the fish were in some of the tanks.

No sign of fry anymore. I'll get some infusoria started and have another go in a week or so. Might be a dumb question, but how often do danios breed and what's their gestation period?

Hide ALL fish food from the person who is looking after your fish. Even after strict instructions to feed measured amounts they still feel sorry for fish and 'just a little bit more'. Result....high phosphate If a new betta is sulking in the corner.....leave it to sulk Work mates aren't as interested in photos of the lastest purchase as you are :oops: Fish are addictive :lol:

I have just discovered fry in our danio tank. :bounce: Luckily I checked the water bucket before I threw it on the garden. What I thought was pooh, was swimming and on closer inspection turned out to be fry. I don't have the heart to chuck them out so thought I would have a go at raising them. What do I feed them and what is the best way to raise them? They are about 2mm long and still in the bucket at the moment.

The post mortem verdict is stress induced prolapse of the bowel. I've learned a hard lesson and will be a lot more patient with the next male. He can 'bob' away in the back corner of the tank until he's big enough to deal with our stroppy females.

The post mortem verdict is stress induced prolapse of the bowel. I suspected it was the instestine but mistakenly thought the anus was further back in the body. I now know that in bettas, the anus is located directly behind the ventral (pelvic) fins. I'll wait until the water in our small tank has cycled properly and will attempt another male. Only this time I'll leave him alone and not be tempted to introduce him to the females until he is a bit bigger.

Thanks for the help. It's really disappointing to lose such a beautiful fish and not know why. I hope we have better (pun intended) luck next time and produce some gorgeous offspring.

Pretty certain he never had the energy to attempt to mate. He was pretty subdued from the start which is why I thought he may be sulking in the tank on his own. Once put in with the girls, they were very attentive but I think more because he was just floating.

Sadly he didn't make it through the night. I hope to find out what the protrusion was.

Sadly, he didn't survive the night. I have put him in the freezer and will take him back to the LFS to see if we can shed any light on what the problem could have been.

I've posted a photo of him on the thread in the beginners forum. He looked fine in the shop although he looks slightly worse for wear now that the girls have had a go at him. I'm not holding out a great deal of hope for him.

Welcome, you will get lots of good advice in this forum. I agree with Slighty Blue Dalmation - John at Organism is my fish guru.

I have moved him from the new small tank into our bigger established tank with the two females. They showed a lot of interest in him to the point of nipping his fins. He is now in an isolation tank but in the last hour we noted a small white tubular sac with a black circle on the end appearing to protrude from behind his pelvic fin. It tapers near the body. I thought it might be his intestines but there doesn't seem to be an obvious tear in his abdomen. It doesnt look like a worm either. The best photo I could get is below. Any suggestions.

I've already posted about this in the beginners topic but am hoping to get some reassurance from other betta owners. We bought a male (approx 5 months old) on Friday and all he is doing is bobbing around at the top in a corner. Doesn't seem at all interested in food and won't move when I put my finger near him. I keep thinking he has died and then he will move a little. He is the only occupant of this tank. Should I be worried or will he spark up a bit as he gets more used to the new surroundings?? Please help

He is a crown tail with a purple body and red fins. We think he is just gorgeous and hope our girls will too. We'll just sit back, try to be patient and give him some time to adapt to his new surroundings. It's a worry as his behaviour is a stark contrast to that of our females who are extremely social creatures. Caryl, I used the Melafix because the directions stated that is could given in when the fish are being moved or handled. I hope I haven't done any harm, plus I only used half the recommended dose as a precaution.

We only got him last night. He's about 5 months. I gather he came into the LFS on Thurs, then to us on Fri. That's quite a few moves in a short time frame.