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Post by nathanp2007 on Oct 23, 2008 19:59:18 GMT -5
Ok so i have had my 5 gal tank for probably 2 years..and in it has been a great Male Betta, which after 1 year died (cause of stubbornness to eat anything but bloodworms). And for a few months i had a AD-Frog in there but it died cause it never ate enough of the frog food i put in the tank.
So now that i have re-done my room and have the tank in a cool new place, im ready to put a new Betta in the tank. The tank is 5 gal, filtered by the marineland filter it came with, and has a heater in it thats at 76 degrees. Just covering my bases, that sounds good to everyone right? Just 25% changes/cleaning once a week and hopefully this one will eat the biogold food the other didnt, and il be all set? Thanks
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Post by bikeguy33 on Oct 23, 2008 20:03:00 GMT -5
start him off on what he will be fed normally. you start offering "tasty food" too often and they arent going to want anything else
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Post by nathanp2007 on Oct 23, 2008 20:06:34 GMT -5
Carl have you stopped selling the product that you put the plastic plants into a bucket and bathe them in the bucket with the chemical in it, so it cleans the plants? I really need that product w/e it is.
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Post by murdock6701 on Oct 23, 2008 21:22:20 GMT -5
I'd be interested in that as well - I boil mine and scrub them w/ a toothbrush - go thru a lot of toothbrushes! - wife is a nurse - brings them home weekly
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Post by cashay on Oct 24, 2008 9:48:34 GMT -5
You cant use a bleach on plastic plants? oops I rinse really well, and also put them in old tank water before putting them back in tank, But It cleans them great!!! Is this not safe?
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Post by murdock6701 on Oct 24, 2008 11:41:08 GMT -5
bleach is fine as long as you rinse and rinse and soak and rinse afterwards - I never use it though on plastic
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Post by cashay on Oct 24, 2008 13:56:21 GMT -5
It makes the plants look bran new again, although i have changed to live plants in my 5 gallon, think I will be using a few artificial in the 14 gallon.
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Post by Carl on Oct 24, 2008 19:06:26 GMT -5
Carl have you stopped selling the product that you put the plastic plants into a bucket and bathe them in the bucket with the chemical in it, so it cleans the plants? I really need that product w/e it is. I have never sold a specific product for cleaning plasitc plants, I just use good 'ole fashioned' bleach as others already noted in a 20 to 1 water/bleach mixture. Rinsing and using ANY chlorine removing water conditioner (such as Start Right or Prime) will instantly remove bleach as they are de-oxidizing products (reducers) See this article for more about water conditioners: Aquarium Answers; Water ConditonersCarl
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Post by nathanp2007 on Oct 24, 2008 20:23:51 GMT -5
Oh ok, thanks carl, il do that.
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Post by 8 in the Corner on Oct 25, 2008 10:22:11 GMT -5
Ok so i have had my 5 gal tank for probably 2 years..and in it has been a great Male Betta, which after 1 year died (cause of stubbornness to eat anything but bloodworms). And for a few months i had a AD-Frog in there but it died cause it never ate enough of the frog food i put in the tank. So now that i have re-done my room and have the tank in a cool new place, im ready to put a new Betta in the tank. The tank is 5 gal, filtered by the marineland filter it came with, and has a heater in it thats at 76 degrees. Just covering my bases, that sounds good to everyone right? Just 25% changes/cleaning once a week and hopefully this one will eat the biogold food the other didnt, and il be all set? Thanks Both of them died of self imposed starvation? Were you soaking the pellets in tank water before you offered them? Possibly overfeeding caused the problems?
I, personally, never use pellets for small fish without soaking them first. I believe that the dry pellets can cause obstructions in their little digestive systems as the pellet expands inside them when it finally soaks up some moisture. So, if they eat too many (possible overfeeding) , they could possibly die.
I only feed Betta Min by Tetra to my bettas as a regular daily food. It is a small flake food, red in color. They do get bloodworms and frozen brine shrimp as treats on occasion with the rest of the tanks.
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Post by nathanp2007 on Oct 25, 2008 16:50:20 GMT -5
The frog i couldnt ever really get to eat, he never WENT to the food, just once in a blue moon he'd stumble to it and eat one. And yeah starvation of the Betta, no matter what i fed it (except bloodworms) it never ate, it would spit it out, whether it was soaked or not.
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Post by goldenpuon on Oct 25, 2008 20:21:31 GMT -5
Maybe trying a different kind of food would have helped. In my experience, bettas love Thera tropical fish food and also flake food. If one food doesn't work, try a few others. Just make sure the fish's diet is not just treats.
Did you betta look skinny before he died?
Hope that helps!
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Post by nathanp2007 on Oct 26, 2008 0:32:21 GMT -5
Well the food i bought and used i got from carls advice. Which is the Sanyu Betta gold. The only flakes i have are the spirulina stuff (which is algae based) and top fin stuff, which iv heard isnt that nutritious. Ya thats why the betta died, all it would eat was the treats (BWorms) Ya kinda skinny, hard to say though its been a while since it died. Thanks though.
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Post by goldenpuon on Oct 26, 2008 10:56:43 GMT -5
You're welcome. How long did you ahve your betta befopre he died? Because sometimes you will get them and they will only live a year because at the petstore they can already be preety old and bettas (unless very well cared for) only live from 3-5 years.
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Post by nathanp2007 on Oct 26, 2008 14:48:15 GMT -5
Id say a year+ yeah i would consider age to be a factor if he was eating something besides BWorms once in a while but thats all he was eating. But i got a new one, and so now i hope i can get the new one to eat the good food wish me luck..haha
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Post by nathanp2007 on Oct 26, 2008 15:21:12 GMT -5
Ok so heres a new question, i noticed yesterday (of the dieing tetra that died yesterday) and of a tetra (one of the older ones) that looks a bit sick and has a tear in his tail, that it has HUGE eyes, and the one did yesterday that died. Anyone ever hear of that? I mean they eyes are twice the size of my other 2 healthy older tetras (all bought at the same time) is that a sickness anyone knows of?
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Post by Carl on Oct 26, 2008 16:21:48 GMT -5
Ok so i have had my 5 gal tank for probably 2 years..and in it has been a great Male Betta, which after 1 year died (cause of stubbornness to eat anything but bloodworms). And for a few months i had a AD-Frog in there but it died cause it never ate enough of the frog food i put in the tank. So now that i have re-done my room and have the tank in a cool new place, im ready to put a new Betta in the tank. The tank is 5 gal, filtered by the marineland filter it came with, and has a heater in it thats at 76 degrees. Just covering my bases, that sounds good to everyone right? Just 25% changes/cleaning once a week and hopefully this one will eat the biogold food the other didnt, and il be all set? Thanks Both of them died of self imposed starvation? Were you soaking the pellets in tank water before you offered them? Possibly overfeeding caused the problems?
I, personally, never use pellets for small fish without soaking them first. I believe that the dry pellets can cause obstructions in their little digestive systems as the pellet expands inside them when it finally soaks up some moisture. So, if they eat too many (possible overfeeding) , they could possibly die.
I only feed Betta Min by Tetra to my bettas as a regular daily food. It is a small flake food, red in color. They do get bloodworms and frozen brine shrimp as treats on occasion with the rest of the tanks.As John/8 already noted it is important to soak ALL dry foods (even flake) although pellets more so. For the reasons stated but also to prevent air in the intestines that can cause problems. I have had difficult to feed fish as well, and one way around this is to "gut load" your worms with foods such as the Spirulina 20 you already have. This is more natural as to the "prey" carnivores naturally eat, but unfortunately most commercially available black worms, blood worms, etc are empty of this important part of nutrition. This article has a section about "gut loading" as well a comparison between foods for Bettas such as Tetra. Fish NutritionCarl
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Post by Carl on Oct 26, 2008 16:31:23 GMT -5
Ok so heres a new question, i noticed yesterday (of the dieing tetra that died yesterday) and of a tetra (one of the older ones) that looks a bit sick and has a tear in his tail, that it has HUGE eyes, and the one did yesterday that died. Anyone ever hear of that? I mean they eyes are twice the size of my other 2 healthy older tetras (all bought at the same time) is that a sickness anyone knows of? This can be a fluid build up behind the eyes, or an infection of the eyes (which can cause fluid behind the eyes). What are your water parameters in this tank? You might consider a bath with NaCl (salt), Epsom slats and Methylene Blue or Potassium Permanganate (Potassium Permanganate is generally a better choice for eye infections). See this article for more about baths: Aquarium Disease Prevention/ Section 6, bathsBefore a treatment is used IN THE TANK, it is important to know your water parameters as often this can be a major cause and treatment may make this problem worse, especially with Erythromycin which is often the best "in-tank" drug for eye problems in fish. Carl
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Post by goldenpuon on Oct 26, 2008 16:59:52 GMT -5
If your fish are getting their fins eaten away and their eyes are huge or bulging, it sounds like your fish have fin rot and pop eye. Like Carl said, you'll want to makes sure before you treat though. Also, have you noticed any white spots on yoru fish like salt grains? The white specks I am talking about is ich and it is a common killer of fish. You may want to check fro that too as that kills fish pretty fast and if you keep adding new ones, it is very contagious so they will get it too.
Can you gt any pictures?
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Post by nathanp2007 on Oct 26, 2008 18:05:14 GMT -5
Ok so by salts do you mean like one of these? (if so which is better): www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752205www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2754001I am gonna be buying methylene blue soon, i cant find the Potassium permanganate on your list of things to buy. I read what the reviewers said about the salt and it sounds like its smart to use, do tetras and siamese algae eaters like salt added? and if so do i just follow the directions on the salt i buy (for adding it to my tank/water changes)? Here are my water perameters: (done with the mardel test kit) Nitrate-0 Nitrite-0 Hardness-120 Buffer- 80-120 pH-6.8 Ammonia- .50
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