really thin body? ...

[Chicklet]

what about hardness?

I have extremely hard water, and all my fish do great,

Just curious.. But Has your water ever been water tested for human consumption?
I just say that because both my neighbors on both side of me can't seem to keep fish alive.
They ended up sending off samples of their water for testing and was shocked at the results,
They both are installing 2000.00 systems to make it safe,
They listed off some of the things found (long list), I do recall the warfarin levels being way up there.

Mine for some reason is different then most. the only reason I can figure is, my well is dug, everyone else's that I have spoken too is drilled.....

What started this was my son moved in next door and took his fish with him,
They slowly died off no matter what we did or tried.. So the remaining ones I brought back home, They perked right back up and are doing fine, The neighbours on the other side have tried keeping a few fish for yrs but they always end up dying on them...
So I do know water source can be a big problem..

[Neelie]

Originally Posted by Chicklet

I have extremely hard water, and all my fish do great,

Just curious.. But Has your water ever been water tested for human consumption?
I just say that because both my neighbors on both side of me can't seem to keep fish alive.
They ended up sending off samples of their water for testing and was shocked at the results,
They both are installing 2000.00 systems to make it safe,
They listed off some of the things found (long list), I do recall the warfarin levels being way up there.

Mine for some reason is different then most. the only reason I can figure is, my well is dug, everyone else's that I have spoken too is drilled.....

So I do know water source can be a big problem..

its the tap water i use atm... treated, of course. it has mad amounts of chlorine in it, but i always take a taste before i let it near my fish and it tastes perfect. no smell. nothing. so i take it its fine... my mother has a €4,000 water treating system in her house but i could never drive so much water across the country... i used that water before and seemed to have less fin problems but then again i only had 1 VT and not 4 SDT...

went to my petshop and asked the pro (yes, there is one chap thats an expert) says my gravel is the problem regarding hardness. it disolves... he said to either change or go without... i might leave gravel out after next WC.

maehk is getting extreme red fins too now... but he's perfectly fat and happy and healthy looking

[BerkB33]

I just really got started with bettas recently but have been keeping fish for 40 plus years...I know that when cory cats, for example, frantically swim up and down the walls of your tank they're telling you that something is wrong...usually the water quality!!! Do bettas "convey" a similar message when they bite their fins? Thought this question was appropriate considering you haven't had Ghost very long, and 'ol Draco's kinda doin' the same thing.....was the "tank" water used where they came from vastly different than what you're using? i.e. RO water, tap water, bottled water, etc.? All this provided it's not internal parasites, of course.

[Neelie]

Originally Posted by BerkB33

I just really got started with bettas recently but have been keeping fish for 40 plus years...I know that when cory cats, for example, frantically swim up and down the walls of your tank they're telling you that something is wrong...usually the water quality!!! Do bettas "convey" a similar message when they bite their fins? Thought this question was appropriate considering you haven't had Ghost very long, and 'ol Draco's kinda doin' the same thing.....was the "tank" water used where they came from vastly different than what you're using? i.e. RO water, tap water, bottled water, etc.? All this provided it's not internal parasites, of course.

the sorority uses the same water and they are fine. the cory's are behaving totally normal happy chappy.

i have no idea what their water was like where they came from but seeing as they're from the UK i take it their water is similar to mine here and it wasnt a "private" breeder so i take it tap water was used...

when draco started biting his fins i used top class bottle water to keep him healthy but he didnt stop biting... so i dont think its the water...
ghost and maehk are showing the red ugly lines on their tail tips... but its just ghost that has lost all his fins and weight and color etc...

the tanks are 2.5g tanks, i do 100% WC sundays and 50% usually wednesdays or thursdays... with the 100% i wash out the whole tanks incl decor etc btw.

should i try putting them in bottled water with no gravel and see if they improve? caus if they do its either water or gravel and id change both lol....

[BerkB33]

Boy, you're doing all the right things it seems....had a LFS owner tell me one time when I was having trouble keeping my algae eaters (plecos, oto's, etc.) alive that the cobblestone river rock I used in my tank may contain harmful minerals or metals. When the algae eaters would feed on those particular stones they would ingest those harmful contaminants...and of course die. I suppose if your gravel/rock is obtained from a source other than an aquarium type of business, this possibility exsists. BTW, the algae eater problem I was having was NOT the cobblestones...the LFS where I bought them had incredibly bad livestock and they were all "unhealthy" to start. Good Luck, hope you get it solved.

[Chicklet]

If it is Parasites (which I suspect it probably is)
It can take 2 weeks before you really start to notice change in his body weight.

It also depends if you treated him with the correct parasite treatment for the Parasites he has.

[Neelie]

Originally Posted by BerkB33

I suppose if your gravel/rock is obtained from a source other than an aquarium type of business, this possibility exsists.

tis' aquarium gravel for tropical fish (NOT marine) that doesnt effect PH and other water values... expensive stuff

Originally Posted by Chicklet

If it is Parasites (which I suspect it probably is)
It can take 2 weeks before you really start to notice change in his body weight.

It also depends if you treated him with the correct parasite treatment for the Parasites he has.

i put in a dosage of the stuff i got for him... ill see what happens... its all i can get... ill do the garlic thing tomorrow too. he's eating brilliant but he looks like death... no colour, no fins, no energy etc... poor guy... god bless him should i wake up one morning and an angel came to take him away...

[BettaxFishxCrazy]

Awww poor little guy! I hope he makes it!

[Neelie]

^^^ thx BFC. he seems quite happy today for some reason... swimming up and down the tank saying hello... dunno. hard to say what will happen...