Fish Lovers 3.0 [new poll]

[Trphlthdl]

does anyone have any tips on lowering water hardness? i recently tested my 20g as i am preparing to have a betta sorority, and i want to have the most ideal water conditions as possible.

-snip-

I have heard of Betta Sororities working actually. And i know for a fact that they can work as i work in a shop that sells fish and has done it. We had a heavily planted 70 litre tank i think it was and there were around 5 or 6 females in there and they were (as far as i know) fine in there for a few months, until the boss got bored and changed it around. xD I never noticed any of them in a bad condition either- though there is of course a possiblity that i was just too busy to notice, but i did frequently check them all out, as i loved it. They were all lovely and i so wanted to set one up myself.
While i agree that there will be nipping and bickering and small things can set it all off, i know it is certainly possible, albeit difficult and i don't know how long term it could be either.

Sororities all eventually fall apart, and ones that work for so long are few and far between. In my opinion, the risk is just too high to be worth it, especially when you can easily have tanks that are just as pretty without any danger to the fish.

That’s my two cents on the matter.

[deadroses.]

How many ghost shrimp should i put in my 3.5 gallon with my betta?

[elizae]

time for me to jump on here and disappear for a couple months again lol

i love my angelfish, but god are they frustrating. i have a pair and they spawn on a fairly regular basis, but oh lord, they keep eating their babies. mom chases away dad and then eats the babies. i've tried removing the eggs but they normally die about 36 hours after being moved. they're so pretty though i love them.

also, i have angel who is questionably a veil? i don't know.. his fins are extremely long but they don't look like a normal veil. maybe just a weird gene. dunno.

also i need names for some fancy goldfish. i got 3 of them and im in love with their personalities (they're currently in a 10 gal, but will eventually be moved into a 30/40 gal as soon as they grow a little).

one's a "black moor" - but i do realize that he won't be black for long. im curious as to how bright orange/silvery he will be. his belly is silver.

the other two are just regular fancy goldfish (?- they have the butterfly tail but only one is that round body shape, the other has a comet body shape) the round one is a calico, and the long one is orange with a brown dapple. so pretty.

(the black moor is definitely my favorite. his body shape is so awesome and he always comes up to the glass to greet me)

[akita.]

Hi. so I've had a 20g tank running with 5 rasboras (a little less then I prefer but im getting more), and one male betta. i had the male betta in for a good two weeks, monitoring them and making sure there was no aggression. Everyone was eating, and the water was ideal. I left the tank for about 4 hours and when i returned i found 2 rasboras mauled to to death and my betta acting extremely aggressive, chasing all of my other rasboras so I assume it was him who did it. So, I don't know what I did wrong. My betta had lots of plants to hide in, and he was not aggressive in any way (he had a snail in his old tank as well that he was fine with), up until the incident. I have never had rasboras be aggressive to eachother and couldn't not have inflicted the damage that they had. Does anyone have any tips on how I could have foresaw this? Was this bad play on my part? I'm just super frustrated rn because everything was so smooth.

edit; i moved him to an old 2.5 gallon temporarily

[Ƈಎ႑ಎෆiႵƴ]

Hi. so I've had a 20g tank running with 5 rasboras (a little less then I prefer but im getting more), and one male betta. i had the male betta in for a good two weeks, monitoring them and making sure there was no aggression. Everyone was eating, and the water was ideal. I left the tank for about 4 hours and when i returned i found 2 rasboras mauled to to death and my betta acting extremely aggressive, chasing all of my other rasboras so I assume it was him who did it. So, I don't know what I did wrong. My betta had lots of plants to hide in, and he was not aggressive in any way (he had a snail in his old tank as well that he was fine with), up until the incident. I have never had rasboras be aggressive to eachother and couldn't not have inflicted the damage that they had. Does anyone have any tips on how I could have foresaw this? Was this bad play on my part? I'm just super frustrated rn because everything was so smooth.

edit; i moved him to an old 2.5 gallon temporarily

Sometimes the color of the rasboras sets off the betta. If they are too colorful the betta will mistake them as a another betta. Also, if the rasboras were too small, the betta will try to take anything that can fit in his mouth. The Harlequin Rasboras, I would recommend due to their duller colors. Besides that, rasboras are natural co-existing fish with bettas in the wild and shouldn't have issues with trying to nip your bettas fins or cause any aggression. You made the right choice for the kind of fish to be with your betta, it's just a size or color alteration that may need to take place for those rasboras. Sometimes this happens suddenly and without any indication that your betta was just interested in those little guys. It's not uncommon for your betta to have territorial disputes with other fish, it depends on his personality as some bettas differ one to the next as you may know.
Hope this helped!

[akita.]

Hi. so I've had a 20g tank running with 5 rasboras (a little less then I prefer but im getting more), and one male betta. i had the male betta in for a good two weeks, monitoring them and making sure there was no aggression. Everyone was eating, and the water was ideal. I left the tank for about 4 hours and when i returned i found 2 rasboras mauled to to death and my betta acting extremely aggressive, chasing all of my other rasboras so I assume it was him who did it. So, I don't know what I did wrong. My betta had lots of plants to hide in, and he was not aggressive in any way (he had a snail in his old tank as well that he was fine with), up until the incident. I have never had rasboras be aggressive to eachother and couldn't not have inflicted the damage that they had. Does anyone have any tips on how I could have foresaw this? Was this bad play on my part? I'm just super frustrated rn because everything was so smooth.

edit; i moved him to an old 2.5 gallon temporarily

-snip-

Thank you! i did have harlequin, but the two that were attacked were kind of the runts, so I can see how he would tried to eat them lol. I thought it was strange because he would almost avoid the larger ones. Do you think I should try to reintroduce him, or just better safe then sorry? As he's usually calm.

[Ƈಎ႑ಎෆiႵƴ]

Thank you! i did have harlequin, but the two that were attacked were kind of the runts, so I can see how he would tried to eat them lol. I thought it was strange because he would almost avoid the larger ones. Do you think I should try to reintroduce him, or just better safe then sorry? As he's usually calm.

You know your fish better, but if you want to try re-introducing try another time. Right after an assault like that the rasboras may be a traumatized and would feel stressed with the betta. I would try in a week or two after the incident. If he wasn't interested in those larger ones then it should be 'ok'. I think your betta may test them by nipping occasionally but hopefully they won't end up as the other ones did. Eventually if all goes well, I believe tensions will level out and your betta will learn to tolerate them. If it is his first tank mates that are fish, it will take some getting used to. Time will tell, but if you prefer for the rasboras to not be threatened it would be best not to re-introduce them again.

[rancidram]

Username: sleepysushi
How many fish tanks do you have: None. I used to own fish, they all died after living long lives. My mom won't let me get anymore, so I'm just a fish lover for now!
Types of fish that you have: I used to own a gourami, beta, platy, swordtail, mollies, plecos, tetras, and guppies!
Your fishs' names: None were named
How long have you had fish: 6ish years

[Ƈಎ႑ಎෆiႵƴ]

How many gallons is your tank?: 5 gallon
Number and Type of fish in tank: Just the betta, Ember
How long has it been running?: All day
Did you cycle it?: I change the water weekly to a week and a half
If possible what are the ammonia nitrite and nitrate levels?: Good, just changed it again
Does it have a heater? Only for winter
If it has a thermometer, what is the water temperature? 73-75
What is the issue or question?: Not sure if it's fin rot, or that he tore it, or if it's a possible defect, OR maybe he's still growing. The extra part of his tail fin... Doesn't look like it fits with the other double edged webbing and is dangling. He's had it since I've gotten him, 6 days ago, and I noticed it the other day and looked back at the photos from the first day I got him and he had it then. Doesn't affect him what so ever and is happy and healthy. But if it's torn, it's not healing quite yet, or at least no sign of it.
Any other information?: I didn't just get him from a chain pet store, but from a single business that's been around my town for years. He is a small betta, not entirely finished growing yet. Compared to the other bettas in the store, he was the second smallest.
Any information helps ^^

[fluffycat6]

^^ Looks fine to me, but if you’re worried about it just keep the water clean.