Fish Lovers 3.0 [new poll]

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Meep
Ok, so I have a male betta who I've had for a little more than a year now.
I'm not the greatest fish owner (I need to remember to feed him more) and I think that his fins are shrinking due to lack of food. I think the bushy-nosed pleco died, but we have so many plants that we haven't seen the body (or the pleco is still alive and hiding, but he was really old).
I have a 55 gallon tank, so Bong Bong is pretty much alone. I know I need a water change soon, but I need my dad to help. Any advice on helping Bong Bong's fins grow back?


update;;
I went to go put water in the tank with my dad's help but he abandoned me to go play scrabble and teh bucket fell off the tank and spilled and i had to clean that up and then I put the bucket on the floor and the hose started spewing water again so then we had to move all the bookshelves and clean up the lake and then I cleaned the glass on top of the tank because I didn't like how dirty is was
My dad added something that give a slime cover (?) and removes icky stuff from the water

Fins don't really shrink from lack of food from what we know? Fish don't need to eat all that often anyway so unless he's regularly going weeks without food or something it's probably something else. And if he is you might want to rehome him. It's much more likely to be a water quality issue causing fin rot.
How long since you last did a water change and what temperature is the water? c:
Keep the water clean and warm, don't forget to feed him and his fins should grown back eventually.

What Lonin said. ^^
And seriously try and find that pleco... Since if he's dead, the rotting body is bad for the water quality and bad water quality can cause fin rot.

[~Sunburst~]

Username:
Boodle Husky

How many fish tanks do you have:
55 gal. saltwater, 13 gal. freshwater, 2.5 gal. freshwater, 2.5 gal. freshwater, 2.5 gal. freshwater, 3 gal. freshwater

Types of fish that you have:
Freshwater
1 panda cory, 1 albino cory, 1 green/blue half-moon beta, 2 light blue/green crowntail betas, 1 glass fish, 2 female guppies, 1 black skirt tetra,
Saltwater
1 pajama cardinal, 1 blue damsel fish, 1 ruby red dragonet, 1 scopas tang

Your fishs' names:
Oh my, umm...let me see. Ying Yang, Creamer, Windex, Periwinkle, Emerald, Diamond, Boodles, Squishy Two-Fins, None-Eye, Ken, Surge, Mushu, and Oink.

How long have you had fish:
My WHOLE life.

Also if you have pictures of you fish we would love to put a link to them next to your name! If you have a tank with a lot of fish you are welcome to just put a picture of your tank. Please do not post the pictures on the actual forum since they do take up space; just the link will do (one or two small photos is okay)

[Firefly_Dreamer]

I think i have been permanantley scared out of fishkeeping. I dont want any of myfish anymore.

Im crying right now because my plecostamus of about four years died. i checked on him two days ago and he was fine, didn't bother looking yesterday... i just fed and walked away, and this morning he was Dead! i didn't have a big enough net for him so i had to use my hands and I'm still freaking out! i don't like dead things. In all honesty it makes me wish i never got into fish keeping. His head was picked clean to some sort of hard substance, likely bone on his face and the rest was dead matter. i just dont want to keep fosh for a while. i think i might take my larger ones to the pet shop as surrenders and my small ones i can handle keeping and flushing when they pass away at the end of their lives.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my fish, im just terrified of there eventual outcome of death, especially my angel which is almost bigger than my net. im just still so scared, and im not sure why, other than my fear of death and dead things... probably too many zombie videogames, but still i was like this even as a child. when i was seven after Mr. Rainbow, my first betta, died, i didn't keep fish again until about 10, and then my live fish got flushed by my parents when we moved so i didn't keep fish again until about 13 or 14 i wanna say, and even st that, it was still a single betta until i got some nice tanks.

i did a partail water on my tanks today anyway, both, due to the death in the one and seeing as i had started, i might as well do the other. I honestly hope i have a change in opinion after i calm down, because i love fishkeeping... im just terrified and traumatized right now. he was my favorite fish too... even though you really shouldn't pick favorites.

is there anything i can do to help me get over this?

[scuttlefish]

Sorry about your fish. You should get a bigger net. Also, maybe when they're dead, get someone else to take it out. One piece of adivice, don't flush live fish down the toilet! Some survive and may spread diseases to lakes and stuff. Search up how to humanely kill a fish. Don't fljsh dead ones either. They may have died of disease too. But sorry about you fish.

[Bolt1784]

If anyone's having a bad day, here's my rabbit snail couple sharing their dinner.
And NB kissing Noot Noot's head because she has a sore tentacle from my pleco's bristles. ♥

[Dappled Sapphire]

Sorry about your fish. You should get a bigger net. Also, maybe when they're dead, get someone else to take it out. One piece of adivice, don't flush live fish down the toilet! Some survive and may spread diseases to lakes and stuff. Search up how to humanely kill a fish. Don't fljsh dead ones either. They may have died of disease too. But sorry about you fish.

A fish will not survive flushing and make it out to a lake
It will die a slow death though
The toilet waste doesn't go straight to a damn or anything it has to be chemically cleaned and any of the waste removed a fish will not survive this process, more then likely it will have already died from the chlorine and muck in the water first

[Firefly_Dreamer]

If anyone's having a bad day, here's my rabbit snail couple sharing their dinner.
And NB kissing Noot Noot's head because she has a sore tentacle from my pleco's bristles. ♥

Thank you, this did make me feel better and also where do i find a foot wide net?

[Blood Storm]

If anyone's having a bad day, here's my rabbit snail couple sharing their dinner.
And NB kissing Noot Noot's head because she has a sore tentacle from my pleco's bristles. ♥

Thank you, this did make me feel better and also where do i find a foot wide net?

when fish get to that size, aquarium nets no loner come into play(at least here they don't). I use a smaller baitwell net used to net shrimp and baitfish out of buckets or baitwells. they tend to be around 8-14 inches across. they mesh is wider and a little more harsh but at a large size fish produce enough slime to not be affected by this.


though with big plecos(2-4 feet, yes I have found them this big) I use my hands. grabbing them by the tail makes it so the fish cant run(tail is being held) and you cant be stabbed or cut by their barbs and/or tusks. once out of the water support their bellies with your free hand.

do NOT try to do this with normal catfish or cichlids, you will cut your hands to pieces. plecos can be handled like this because they are armored and can turn as sharply as a normal catfish, which can turn and sink its barbs into your hand. cichlids are like swimming razors and are best netted with a baitwell net.

[Bolt1784]

How even...My dad kept finding mayfly lavae in his tank, and when I looked in mine weeks later...
There was a big fat one lurking in a fake plant I have on the bottom. |D How? Where did they come from?
And how did one end up in my tank if we haven't shared plants or anything?
Edit: wAIT IT'S A BABY DAMSELFLY NOT A MAYFLY ??

[scuttlefish]

If anyone's having a bad day, here's my rabbit snail couple sharing their dinner.
And NB kissing Noot Noot's head because she has a sore tentacle from my pleco's bristles. ♥

I know what the Noodle is saying- "Eww! So gross!"
Most of us are saying- "Aww! So cute!"