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stressed?

717 views 9 replies 3 participants last post by  brownmane 
#1 ·
they've both been hanging at the bottom or top of the tank they barely swim, I was told to do 50% change but it doesn't help them alot, I wanna know if theres something I can buy from the store that could really help?

Housing
What size is your tank? 10 gallon
What temperature is your tank? 80
Does your tank have a filter? yes
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? no
Is your tank heated? yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? divided with another male betta

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? pellets
How often do you feed your betta fish? once a day

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? 1 time a week
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 25%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Betta water conditioner (recommend a better one?)

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?

Ammonia: .5
Nitrite: .5
Nitrate: 40
pH: 7.6
Hardness: 300
Alkalinity: 80

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? seem dull, clamped fins
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? both lay at the bottom of the tank, seem stressed . sometimes they look dead I have to move them to check
When did you start noticing the symptoms? 3 days ago
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? changing 50% water like i was told but I wanna know if aquarium salt will help them perk up? or something I can buy from the store to help my fishies /:
Does your fish have any history of being ill? no I haven't had them that long
How old is your fish (approximately)? I'm not sure but they seem some months old
 
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#2 ·
How many days have you had the Bettas and the tank running and how many water changes have you made......are you using the proper amount of dechlorinator-check the label and make sure you are using enough to cover chloramine-some products direct that you sue double when you have both chlorine and chloramine in the source water....

What kind of testing products are you using

Any live plants....

What other additives are you using in the tank.....
 
#3 ·
Depending on how you've divided your tank, I've read that a single tank with a divider put into it can be tricky to adequately filter and aerate both sides.
How many pellets are you feeding them daily? And ditto to oldfishlady's questions. To me, the nitrates are a little high and doing a water change more often may help with this, but that may not be your fishes' problem.
 
#4 ·
bout a week 3 water changes, yes I am I checked , is there any other dechloinator (brand) you recommend? or you Like best?
API test kit
no live plants, any kind you recommend?
I have fake plants and a cave for one of my Bettas
here's a picture;
 
#6 · (Edited)
Sounds like you may have a tail/fin bitter.....

What method did you use to establish the nitrogen cycle.....I ask, because a tank running for 3 weeks or is this 1 week- with nitrate at 40 along with ammonia and nitrite spikes...one, makes me think the tank has not established the nitrogen cycle or a cycling product was used or testing error......be sure and shake, bang and shake some more on the nitrate #2 reagent bottle-it tend to settle giving skewed reading...

I would start making 50% water change with deep vacuum weekly and make a second weekly 50% water only with ammonia, nitrite 0.25ppm or greater-

You need to give the filter media a good swish/rinse in tank water with a water change now and then a couple of times a month....

You need to get the nitrate under 20ppm...too high and it can really do a number on the Bettas immune response

Re-check the water prams and be sure to follow the directions to the "T" and also run a test on your source water to make sure that is not part of the problem

Prime by Seachem is a good dechlorinator
 
#7 ·
i was told at pets smart to just let the tank run for two or three days but im guessing theyre wrong with all the research ive been doing. for PH and ammonia I used the test kit and for everything else I used strip tests, I just bought it I looked at the bottom of the bottle and it has an expiration date of 2009 can that effect it? I can't believe they had these on the self like this. I already checked my source water and it's ammonia is 0 and ph is 7.6
is there anything I can do for the fin rot?
 
#8 ·
I would take the expired test back to the store and swap it for one in date.....

Your pH is fine.....

Fresh, clean, dechlorinated like temp water from water changes is one of the best treatments/medications for fin problems......I would increase the water changes to twice weekly...1-50% with vacuum and 1-50% water only......

Nutrition is really important for general health and for fin growth and healing....a good quality varied diet fed in small frequent meals...occasional live food like mosquito larva would be enjoyed......
 
#9 ·
I will do that :) thank you, I just changed 50% of the water it seemed to purk one of them up a bit but the other is still laying at the bottom of the tank, for the fin rot, is it okay if I use aquarium salt? both of them seem to have it. sorry this is my first time owning fishes and I just want them to be good :)
 
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