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92 Posts
Backstory:
My room mate has a 10 gallon community aquarium with a Betta, a couple of Cory Cats, a few tetra, and a pair of dwarf frogs. I have a temporary 1 gallon aquarium with a single Betta; he's getting a 5.5 gallon upgrade all to himself on February 15th.
Situation:
My room mate and I discovered yesterday morning that, not only did the Betta in the community tank die suddenly, one of her dwarf frogs was also on his way out.
Symptoms:
The Betta had started to lose some of his color around the face (we chalked this up to old age), but had also developed a strange cyst behind his gill that also appeared rather suddenly. The frog's face was also white and appeared to be covered in some sort of white, fibrous material -- we think perhaps his skin was rotting off? He has since passed away.
It might be worth mentioning that Paul (the late, great Betta in the community tank) was a Wal-Mart rescue; I've since been reading a lot of sickness stories from Wal-Mart fish.
The Concern:
My room mate and I, to give our fish more variety, share our fish food supplies. She often dips her fingers into the water and lets her fish eat the small blood worms from her hand. Although I don't do this with my fish, I do know that sometimes she 'double dips' and that our mutual food supply has been touched by the other aquarium's water and fish.
Question:
Should I be treating my betta with some sort of proactive agent to make sure he's safe? And if so, what and where can I acquire it? Will it hurt him to treat without any signs of illness present?
Aquarium Specs:
My Betta's temporary, 1 gallon tank has a heater that keeps the water between 76-78 degrees. I change the water once every six days by about 40% with a siphon hose and add aquarium salt to the treated water. I have the water tested a day or so before I change the water, the tests so far confirm that ammonia and nitrates are at zero. There is no filter in the smaller tank, but there will be one in his new arrangement later this month. He has white gravel and a single leaf hammock.
Although I haven't had him for very long, Luna (the name of my little, black half-moon Betta) has wormed his way into my heart. I'd be devastated if he met the fate of my room mate's Betta; please help!
My room mate has a 10 gallon community aquarium with a Betta, a couple of Cory Cats, a few tetra, and a pair of dwarf frogs. I have a temporary 1 gallon aquarium with a single Betta; he's getting a 5.5 gallon upgrade all to himself on February 15th.
Situation:
My room mate and I discovered yesterday morning that, not only did the Betta in the community tank die suddenly, one of her dwarf frogs was also on his way out.
Symptoms:
The Betta had started to lose some of his color around the face (we chalked this up to old age), but had also developed a strange cyst behind his gill that also appeared rather suddenly. The frog's face was also white and appeared to be covered in some sort of white, fibrous material -- we think perhaps his skin was rotting off? He has since passed away.
It might be worth mentioning that Paul (the late, great Betta in the community tank) was a Wal-Mart rescue; I've since been reading a lot of sickness stories from Wal-Mart fish.
The Concern:
My room mate and I, to give our fish more variety, share our fish food supplies. She often dips her fingers into the water and lets her fish eat the small blood worms from her hand. Although I don't do this with my fish, I do know that sometimes she 'double dips' and that our mutual food supply has been touched by the other aquarium's water and fish.
Question:
Should I be treating my betta with some sort of proactive agent to make sure he's safe? And if so, what and where can I acquire it? Will it hurt him to treat without any signs of illness present?
Aquarium Specs:
My Betta's temporary, 1 gallon tank has a heater that keeps the water between 76-78 degrees. I change the water once every six days by about 40% with a siphon hose and add aquarium salt to the treated water. I have the water tested a day or so before I change the water, the tests so far confirm that ammonia and nitrates are at zero. There is no filter in the smaller tank, but there will be one in his new arrangement later this month. He has white gravel and a single leaf hammock.
Although I haven't had him for very long, Luna (the name of my little, black half-moon Betta) has wormed his way into my heart. I'd be devastated if he met the fate of my room mate's Betta; please help!
