BettaFishMommy

So it's a 40 gallon tank with: 1 oscar 2 silver dollar 3 tinfoil barbs... hmmm... you definitely can't keep the oscar in that size tank, and i believe the barbs get big too. the barbs grow up to 14 inches. the dollars, 6 inches. maybe you could keep the silver dollars, and nothing else, livestock wise, added to the tank, while the dollars are in residence.

i would repeat the floating breeder net/box procedure in the tank you transfer the male and female that are about to breed into, but reverse the fish, the female goes in the box. then the male is free to roam and find a suitable place for a nest. when you see the nest built, and the male is paying attention to his lady and vice versa, let her out. stand by with net in case things get a lil too violent. i swear, you'd think bettas had a fetish thing going on with the nipping when they, erm, you know......lol.

would you be able to post some photos of the fish in the tank? we'd be able to identify all the species for you. also, would be able to tell you if any are stunted from living in too small a tank. that many fish, and the adult size of them in that tank...... oh lordy, i don't even want to think of it....... good for you for knowing they can't continue in there together!

ah, good to know! i guess i havn't been in the hobby quite long enough to know all the lil 'dirty' secrets, lol.

and you are not worried about any cleaning/anti-mildew agents that might be in the dobie pads?

Hello and welcome to our friendly forum! as Qattarra said, you will need to decide which fish to keep and which to rehome. once you have decided, you could post a classified ad on here to see if any members want your fish, or you could contact some of the aquarium stores in the area to see if they may take them in. yes, the cycling of a tank is the most important aspect of fishkeeping. as a member on another forum i belong to once said "fishies are more happy when their water is less crappy", a funny lil limerick, but very true! do lots of research, don't skimp out on cheap equipment (but don't buy the most expensive either, find a good middle ground), love your finkids, and enjoy!

going back to the issue of having something contaminate the tank. i almost always do a warm water rinse on my hands and forearms prior to working on a tank. i don't use soap just in case i don't get it all rinsed off, and i don't use lotions or anything on my hands, ever.

somnio, when you say 'horizontal stripes' on the females do you mean stripes that run from their head to their tail, along the length of the body? if so, then they are not ready for breeding and are stressed. when a female is ready to spawn she will show bars that run from the top of her 'back' down to her tummy, and there may be a few or more. depending on the colour of the fish, these bars may be hard to see. if your females are showing the horizontal barring going from head to tail, do not try to spawn them.

there is a chance that the tank "crashed". something just happened that might have caused all this and you may never find out what it was. i've heard of SW tanks crashing unexpectedly, but don't know if it's the same for FW. keep the water change schedule a little more often than usual, i think, just to help clear out anything that may have potentially gotten into the water. monitor, and i hope all goes well from here!

floaters. 2 x SAE, 2 x S. petricola, 1 x zebra loach, 1 x L.F. albino bn, 1 x P. taeneatis dehane, 3 x P. pulcher albino 2 M 1 F, 10x glowlight tetra, 3 x harlequin rasbora, and 3 x black neons any of the above were new additions? were there any aggression issues between any of the fish that died? another thing i thought of is if just a couple fish died, that could cause a spike that would affect the living fish, but idk why only some fish and not others would be affected. when you clean your filters, you just rinse the media in old tank water, right? (i know, might sound like a silly question, but some people really don't know this) i'd go with frequent water changes and monitor them. why did you double dose prime on the last water change?

a magfloat is two magnetic pieces. one goes in the tank on the side wall and has scratchy velcro like stuff on it that cleans the glass but doesn't scratch the glass. the magnetic piece that goes on the outside of the tank has a velvet covering on it so it slides nicely on the dry side of the tank wall. the two pieces stay stuck together through the glass due to the magnets. i bought the medium size one (on the back of the package it says what size is good for what tank, due to magnet strength). got it from a smaller lfs for a bit more than you would pay at a store like big al's, and i can't recall the price but i do remember the big square one (one size up from the one i bought) was 30 bucks or so.

you are your own store.....lol, too funny. yep, if you're breeding, always a good idea to have meds on hand for antibacterial/antifungal since those shredded fins are soooo susceptible to infection. how are your fry doing now Wingin It?

no prob. i found a 10 super easy to do maintenance on, but all mine were bare bottom, with just one or two weighted plants, and sponge filters, so uber easy maintenance! (BFM wonders why nobody wants her small tanks these days.......lol)

yep, and the trend i've seen is, smaller store, bigger price. but i prefer to support the small lfs over the box stores.

mag floats are awesome, but pricey. i have one on each of my tanks and swear by them for cleaning. they even do a lil work on the water spots on the outside when i run them across the glass, lol.

you might want to try Canar Rock Products on 75 street, just north of Roper Road. i know they have play sand there, but it is stored outside so i don't know if that is a factor in any contaminants that might be in it. doesn't hurt to go look and ask though!

Welcome fellow betta-ite! lol. when i had bettas i swore by the 'Betta Revive' by Hikari. it has methylyne blue and malachite green, so it is sure to stain your silicone! lol. this product works great for fin rot, trust me. i would give Whyo a bigger tank now, instead of waiting for him to get too big for the current one. a 10 gallon would take up just a lil more room than what he is in now, as well as have room for a tankmate or two (snails, etc) if he will tolerate them. if you want, i have a 10 gallon for sale, with lid and accessories (but no stand). PM me if you are interested. And Wingin it, did you pick up the betta revive for a particular problem your betta has, or just to have meds on hand if needed?

gorgeous! and nice pics too!

what is the size of the tank and how full do you have the tank? strength of filter flow and type of filter? is the male (dad) betta still in there with the fry? how old are the fry? they've all hatched out of the bubble nest? yolk sacs still attached to fry? any of them free swimming? no gravel or anything on the bottom of the tank? (you should never have substrate in a betta fry tank). i need answers to all these questions to be able to determine the situation. if you have had to take the dad out, then you want to drop your water down some. normally the dad would be in charge of picking the fry up off the tank floor and putting them back in the nest while the fry are still in 'wriggler' stage. for example, if you have a 10 gallon tank and it was only half filled for the spawning and when the fry hatched, i would drop the water down to about 1/4 to 1/3 the height of the tank, as long as that still allows you to have the filter work properly and the heater will not be out of the water at all (translation: dry hot heater equals kablooie!) with the amount of the water in the tank being so minimal, you will want to do daily water changes. i would do a 25% to 35% change, using a piece of airline tubing, and siphon the old water into a clean, fish safe bucket. that way if any fry do take a ride in the tubing, they can be scooped with a cup or netted (they say those lil shrimp nets are the best) out of the bucket and put back in the tank. disclaimer: i've not successfully bred bettas myself (the male was just too mean), but did enormous amounts of research. there are members on here that are seasoned betta breeders. blackmumba! where are you?!?!?!? lol.

no no no! never keep a male betta with the female as a long term living arrangement. the male will hurt or kill the female or vice versa (yep, some girl bettas are just as mean as their male counterparts). The only time the two genders should be kept together when it comes to bettas is if you are attempting to spawn them.

Welcome to Alberta Aquatica! wow, quite the array of finkids! any chance i might be able to come see your fish some day and vice versa?

IMO, 'special' water, such as R/O, distilled, or bottled, is not necessary as long as your tapwater is safe to drink and you have a good dechlorinator on hand that neutralizes the chlorine and chloramine (which may be present depending on what municipal water supply you have) how is mr betta doing now? update please!

invert tank all the way! apple snails would be my pick. and bulldog.... i have about ten or so if you want them.... home bred and raised.......really nice........ for cheap...... lol.

i would use just tap water with a water conditioner, like Aquaplus. no need to use any 'special' water. don't think the epsom salts are necessary, unless he looks bloated, but if he hasn't eaten, that is not likely. how many days since the betta got moved? he may still be adjusting. as another poster said, the filter flow might be bugging him. did the water from the bowl get transferred over too?

he is gorgeous! in the first photos, it looks like he thinks he's a goby......lol.