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For the first time, it would appear as though one of my bettas is sick.
I blame the ghost shrimp I got from Petsmart.
Sky is active and eating and all that, but about 30 minutes ago, I noticed him repeatedly rubbing his face on his plants. He's always had a lot of gold coloring around his face/gills, so shining light on him is inconclusive. Definitely no white spots of ich. So, if anything, I'm thinking velvet. I don't think anything could have contaminated the water.
And, as such, I'm treating him currently in 2tsp/gallon aquarium salt, floating in his tank. The light is off... which is problematic for my plants. So I may move him to floating in a tupperware bin with his heater cranked up to 84, so the plants can still get light. Right now, the game plan is to keep him out and in salt for a week. But, is that long enough?
How long should I keep him out of his tank to assure that the parasite dies off from the tank? I have snails and ghost shrimp, not sure how long they can carry parasites? I can't do a 100% water change, as it's a NPT. I intend to do a series of huge water changes (like 50-70% per day for the next week). I'd rather not treat the whole tank.
Housing
What size is your tank? 10 gallons.
What temperature is your tank? 80 degrees - upping to 82-84.
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? 2 ghost shrimp, bunch of pond snails.
Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Aqueon pellets.
How often do you feed your betta fish? 2 pellets, 2x day, fast one day (today).
Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? NPT, so once every... 6 mos - year. Last water change was Thursday, as I'm getting harder water into the tank.
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 20-40%. I'll be doing 50%-70% changes everyday for the next week because of this, though.
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Prime.
Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
pH: 8.4
Hardness: 3.
Alkalinity: 16.
Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? It hasn't. Maybe more gold around the gills?
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? He's scratching.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? 30 mins ago.
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? 2 tsp/gal aquarium salt, floating container in tank.
Does your fish have any history of being ill? Never been sick. D:
How old is your fish (approximately)? I've had him almost a year, so ... 1.5?
Sky is active and eating and all that, but about 30 minutes ago, I noticed him repeatedly rubbing his face on his plants. He's always had a lot of gold coloring around his face/gills, so shining light on him is inconclusive. Definitely no white spots of ich. So, if anything, I'm thinking velvet. I don't think anything could have contaminated the water.
And, as such, I'm treating him currently in 2tsp/gallon aquarium salt, floating in his tank. The light is off... which is problematic for my plants. So I may move him to floating in a tupperware bin with his heater cranked up to 84, so the plants can still get light. Right now, the game plan is to keep him out and in salt for a week. But, is that long enough?
How long should I keep him out of his tank to assure that the parasite dies off from the tank? I have snails and ghost shrimp, not sure how long they can carry parasites? I can't do a 100% water change, as it's a NPT. I intend to do a series of huge water changes (like 50-70% per day for the next week). I'd rather not treat the whole tank.
Housing
What size is your tank? 10 gallons.
What temperature is your tank? 80 degrees - upping to 82-84.
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? 2 ghost shrimp, bunch of pond snails.
Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Aqueon pellets.
How often do you feed your betta fish? 2 pellets, 2x day, fast one day (today).
Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? NPT, so once every... 6 mos - year. Last water change was Thursday, as I'm getting harder water into the tank.
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 20-40%. I'll be doing 50%-70% changes everyday for the next week because of this, though.
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Prime.
Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
pH: 8.4
Hardness: 3.
Alkalinity: 16.
Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? It hasn't. Maybe more gold around the gills?
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? He's scratching.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? 30 mins ago.
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? 2 tsp/gal aquarium salt, floating container in tank.
Does your fish have any history of being ill? Never been sick. D:
How old is your fish (approximately)? I've had him almost a year, so ... 1.5?