NPT issues. HELP!!!!!!

[BS96TB94]

I have a 10 gallon tank that i put "Black Magic" brand potting soil in. the pH of the water was normal before i put it in. Everything was setup and my betta was in his tank with an African Dwarf Frog and a Mystery snail. pH now reads 7.8-8.5 and the water has a brown tint to it. Feed my betta live bloodworms and two mosquito larvae. Later he started spasming and twitching only calming to take a breath. i removed him the snail and the frog. Tested the pH and it was high. The snail is back because he wasn't happy in with my female. He is i QT with iodized salt

So did the pH cause this to my betta he also has a scale issue where it looks like he has lint on him.

Help please

[PewPewPew]

The lint may be columnaris or a slime coat issue. Please let the disease section know about this issue to help you best. Please fill out the form in the top called "please fill this out..." to give you the best answers.

NPTs can be tough. Keep the animals in QT for now, perhaps contact the moderator Oldfishlady, who has a long history working with NPTs.

Your betta needs NONiodized salt.

Please remove the fish from the salt, now. Get aquarium salt or non-iod. salt (non-caking). Its harmful the way you have it.

[BS96TB94]

Okay I already put a thread about it there and oldfishlady said to start this thread. What if the salt isn't anti- caking? It doesn't say anything on the ingredients about anti- caking.

[PewPewPew]

Caking isnt good...I dont remember why, but it isnt :(

[Oldfishlady]

If the ingredients say anything other than Sodium chloride and Iodine....it has anti-caking in it and that can be toxic to fish....the amount of iodine in table salt is usually very low and not harmful to fish and can even be a needed mineral a fish needs.

Check and make sure your fish do not have Ich..google some pic....

Post a pic of your NPT...list the species and number of live plants, what did you use to cap the soil...

Right now get all the livestock out of the tank and start water changes to get the salt out and to clear the water

Tell me about your source water
Type of testing kit used
Lights-watts, kelvin, age of bulb-how long the lights are on
How many days the tank has been running
How thick is the soil layer and cap
Type of filter

[BS96TB94]

I used aquarium gravel. Not sure on the species except African Dwarf grass and two lily bulbs. 3 live plants and two bulbs. I didn't put the salt in the whole aquarium just QT. Used well water mixed with softener water. I live in the country so it's okay. I only have a pool test kit but I'm hoping to get a full test kit tommorrow.not sure on the lights just clear aquarium bulbs from Wal-Mart, usually 12 hours. Umm about a week it's been running. The soil is about 1/2 inch to 3/4 the gravel is about 1 inch to 1 1/2 inches. Auaqtech 5-15 gallon filter.

[Oldfishlady]

Lights are really important...check the bulb and see if you can find the kelvin or get another bulb that is 6500k....I get mine in the lighting dept at walmart...GE daylight 6500k cost about 6 bucks

You need lots more stem plants and floating plants....in soil based tanks its important to start out with lots and lots of the right species of plants or the tank will crash

Good that you are on 12h/day photoperiod

This is a filtered 10gal-you may need to start over....your soil-I would go with at least 1 1/2-2inch deep with either really small diameter gravel or better...sand- half to 1inch to cap the soil to keep it in place

Water-since you have well water...I would use 100% well water...unless you have a RO unit-the home filtering system that use salt are not good for fish...it changes one Ion for another that is worse for fish long term health...

If you get a test kit....get the API freshwater Master test kit....it is more accurate and cheaper in the long run than strips......If you order things online Dr Foster and Smith has it on-sale right now for $19.19 with Free shipping on orders $49.00 or more....if you have never seen that site...it has some good stuff at good prices......and a link is on our Forum too.....

[BS96TB94]

I think I might start over. I have a lot of planaria I think it might be from the lily bulbs. I'll drain it let it set to dry. Add new soil and cap with sand and then gravel. Sound good? I also put my betta in completely new water. :D
He seems better. I think it was just slime coat

[BS96TB94]

Will the plants be okay at room temp for awhile? And I dont know if I can get pics no memory card, I don't know how to post them from my iPod.:(

[bahamut285]

To grab pictures from your iPod:
- hook it up via USB
- go to my computer and look for your device, it's like a file system so you can find it there

As OFL said, I recommend using 100% well water, and aerate it to get the CO2 out to neutralize the pH a little bit. CO2 causes the water to be slightly acidic. When you get your testing kit tomorrow, test pH again (saying 7.8-8.5 is highly inaccurate) and also test your alkalinity. Poor alkalinity will cause wild swings in many aspects of your water chemistry, causing unneeded stress to your fish.