Fish Lovers 3.0 [new poll]

[Khnum-Khufu]

Do you have a filter?
When you say a complete water change do you mean you changed 100% of the water? Because that's not a good idea. Larger water changes (50%ish) can be fine, 100% isn't something you ever want to be doing as the differences in temperature, pH etc can shock your fish. Do you add water conditioner when you do water changes?

Unfortunately your tank is overstocked. Flame tetras get too big for your tank and need lots of space to swim about. They need a minimum of 15 gallons, ideally 20+ gallons.

To start with you might want to get a thermometer and a water test kit to rule out any water quality issues. Ammonia poisoning can cause his symptoms, as can the water being too cold. Tetras can tolerate colder temperatures than your betta which could be why only he's showing symptoms.
If you can rule those out you can start looking into other things like bacterial infection or parasites.

I do have a filter, with activated carbon.

I know its a bad idea, its not something I normally do but I was afraid there was something in the water. I did add water conditioner to the new water and introduced the fish slowly (like you introduce new fish with the bag and gradual water addition).

Oh it seems I made a translation error, I apologize. Theyre not fire tetras but red (phantom) tetras. Sorry for that mistake, I translated them literally but appearently thats a different fish in englush. The ones I have a really tiny, like 2cm max.

I'll get the thermometer and testing kit as soon as I get home from work tomorrow. I did some research and it did sound like ammonia poisoning, but the water change didnt seem to have helped much (yet). Is there anything I can do to prevent ammonia poisoning in the future? I know more frequent water changes help but are there other things I could look into

[Lonin]

I do have a filter, with activated carbon.

I know its a bad idea, its not something I normally do but I was afraid there was something in the water. I did add water conditioner to the new water and introduced the fish slowly (like you introduce new fish with the bag and gradual water addition).

Oh it seems I made a translation error, I apologize. Theyre not fire tetras but red (phantom) tetras. Sorry for that mistake, I translated them literally but appearently thats a different fish in englush. The ones I have a really tiny, like 2cm max.

I'll get the thermometer and testing kit as soon as I get home from work tomorrow. I did some research and it did sound like ammonia poisoning, but the water change didnt seem to have helped much (yet). Is there anything I can do to prevent ammonia poisoning in the future? I know more frequent water changes help but are there other things I could look into

c: Awesome. You don't need carbon unless you're removing medication though, so you can safely take that out.

In the future you'll be better off doing large water changes in stages. So do 50% in one go then do another 50% etc

Your tetras still aren't suitable for your tank unfortunately. Tetras in general are really active and need lots of space to swim around. Unless you mean ember tetras?

Ammonia or nitrites means your tank either isn't cycled or the cycle has crashed. Do you clean your filter and if so how? Do you change the filter media?
Cut down on feedings until you figure things out and if you are having problems with ammonia do regular small water changes until your cycle sorts itself out.

Hopefully your fish feels better soon c:

[Khnum-Khufu]

I'll switch to a different filter then, hopefully something that can take out more ammonium. I mainly the filter to take out most of the poo and stuff ^^'

Alright I'll do that, thanks for pointing that out.

Yes I think ember tetras are the ones I have. Theyre small and red like the image you sent, the shop said they were suitable for my small thank (but then again petshops dont always tell the truth). Would ember tetras be alright in this tank or should I upgrade to something bigger?
(And sorry for the translation error twice. I find it very hard to translate animal names like these)

I clean my filter yes, I usually clean it once by running clean water through it after 2-3 weeks, then I replace it with a new one after another 2-3 weeks.

I have already been cutting down on feeding since I feared that was the problem, along with the risk of getting a lot of algae. They get daily mosquito larvae (the red worms) in a small amount, and regular flakes every other day. Should I cut down more? I'll certainly do more water changes though, that should help a ton.

I hope so too, thank you for your advice ^^

[Lonin]

I'll switch to a different filter then, hopefully something that can take out more ammonium. I mainly the filter to take out most of the poo and stuff ^^'

Alright I'll do that, thanks for pointing that out.

Yes I think ember tetras are the ones I have. Theyre small and red like the image you sent, the shop said they were suitable for my small thank (but then again petshops dont always tell the truth). Would ember tetras be alright in this tank or should I upgrade to something bigger?
(And sorry for the translation error twice. I find it very hard to translate animal names like these)

I clean my filter yes, I usually clean it once by running clean water through it after 2-3 weeks, then I replace it with a new one after another 2-3 weeks.

I have already been cutting down on feeding since I feared that was the problem, along with the risk of getting a lot of algae. They get daily mosquito larvae (the red worms) in a small amount, and regular flakes every other day. Should I cut down more? I'll certainly do more water changes though, that should help a ton.

I hope so too, thank you for your advice ^^

Ember tetras stay really small so if your tank is closer to 8 gallons than 6 they should be fine in there. It's no problem, fish names can be confusing even in the same language c:

Ok, so your problem might be coming from your filter. Filters are for more than just removing physical waste, they're the home of vital bacteria that keep your aquarium healthy. These bacteria get rid of ammonia and nitrites produced by your fish and turn them into less harmful nitrates. If you have a healthy population of these bacteria your tank is considered cycled.
Problem is, tap water normally contains things like chlorine which will kill your bacteria. It's good to rinse your filter media but only do it in tank water, most people do it in the water they take out of the tank during a water change. You don't need to replace your media/sponge until it's basically falling apart, and when you do you should only change a little bit at a time so you don't get rid of all your bacteria. If you're changing your media every month your tank never has the chance to cycle which might be why you have ammonia building up.
So you don't need another filter you just need to stop cleaning it in tap water and stop replacing the media so often. Then you need to keep testing your water. Every time it registers any amount of ammonia or nitrite do a small water change until your tank cycles.

[Khnum-Khufu]

Ah I see. The petshop at the time told me to change the filter monthly, so I suppose that was bad advice. The filter I currently have only has active carbon refills though. I know there exist those big blocks of filter-stuff that you need to cut yourself, should I look into getting something like that? Or is the active carbon one fine as long as I dont rinse it in tapwater?

I'll do that too, I'll get the things tomorrow and get to testing the water immediatelly. I'll also make sure not to mess up my filter again ^^'

[Lonin]

Ah I see. The petshop at the time told me to change the filter monthly, so I suppose that was bad advice. The filter I currently have only has active carbon refills though. I know there exist those big blocks of filter-stuff that you need to cut yourself, should I look into getting something like that? Or is the active carbon one fine as long as I dont rinse it in tapwater?

I'll do that too, I'll get the things tomorrow and get to testing the water immediatelly. I'll also make sure not to mess up my filter again ^^'

Yup yup just stuff some filter sponge in there. While carbon can hold bacteria it's not going to work as well on it's own and that's not it's main job in filters.

It's not your fault and you're doing an awesome job trying to fix things c: Even filter instructions say to change the media every month since that way they get regular money from you.

[Khnum-Khufu]

Ah I see. The petshop at the time told me to change the filter monthly, so I suppose that was bad advice. The filter I currently have only has active carbon refills though. I know there exist those big blocks of filter-stuff that you need to cut yourself, should I look into getting something like that? Or is the active carbon one fine as long as I dont rinse it in tapwater?

I'll do that too, I'll get the things tomorrow and get to testing the water immediatelly. I'll also make sure not to mess up my filter again ^^'

Yup yup just stuff some filter sponge in there. While carbon can hold bacteria it's not going to work as well on it's own and that's not it's main job in filters.

It's not your fault and you're doing an awesome job trying to fix things c: Even filter instructions say to change the media every month since that way they get regular money from you.

Im gonna try my best to find some filter spongue that I can fit in my current filter then ^^

Ah Im glad to hear, I was a little afraid that people would be mad at me for doing the wrong thing ^^' I am trying my best of course, I care a lot about my betta boy

Some more optimistic news though, my ember tetras actually had a baby so now I have one extra, healthy little tetra in the tank c:

[ophelia;]

Username: fluid;
How many fish tanks do you have: 1
Types of fish that you have: 3
Your fishs' names:
Male Fancy Guppy #1: Charlie
Male Fancy Guppy #2: Duke
Male Fancy Guppy #3: Freddy
Albino Corydora: Casper
Peppered Corydora: Cosmo
Neon Tetra #1: Finn
Neon Tetra #2: Sushi
Neon Tetra #3: Bubbles
Neon Tetra #4: Squirt
How long have you had fish: just over a month

[Hime]

Darn that betta of mine is picky... -_- He's very into food in general, like he will go for it very actively. But he'll take it in his mouth kinda 'chew' on it for while and spit it back out... NLS small fish formula is major no for him in terms of actually eating it properly even though I think it would be very good for him (adult guppy loves it though...). With JBL Gala (staple flake mix by looks of it with some freeze dried stuff in it), some types of flakes he seems to actually eat and others he just spits out after 'chewing' on them for while. Anyone ever had betta do this? He's not fat, like I actually think he should be bit fatter, so I don't think I'm over feeding him plus as said he's very interested in food where as when I was overfeeding my previous fish they'd loose interest in the food.

Also trying to somewhat 're-scape' the tank by changing plant order and by looks of it I think I might need another type of vining plant and maybe some foreground plants, though not 100% sure on those as I might want to leave some sand unplanted. Aaand my forever problem is no height growing sword plant... -_- It has perked up a ton with some root sticks (or at least I think those were the reason), like it actually has a nice bunch of leaves now, but it's still like small crypt in terms of height...

[vantablaque]

Username: top notch
How many fish tanks do you have: none yet qwq
Types of fish that you have: n/a
Your fishs' names: n/a
How long have you had fish: i've owned fish when i was younger, but i haven't really been into them until just recently qwq

so i'm planning on getting a couple fishy friends soon!! i know i want a couple colorful babs; does anyone have any suggestions for types? :0