Surprise! Guppies

I had been looking to get a start of Java moss for quite some time, after hearing it was an excellent ground cover, easy to grow, and great for shrimp. I had just set up two, two and half gallon tanks for shrimp, they just needed to be cycled. But I was still researching how best to do that, finally coming on the conclusion to put plants and good bacteria from Castiel's tank in the two smaller tanks and wait two months, and pop some shrimp in the tanks. Java moss is supposedly very common and it seemed like it would be easy to find. However to buy some over the internet would mean high shipping price. Finally I asked one of the employees at a local aquarium store if they had any, and he said not here but that he would bring some in for me. Great! Problem solved, there might be an unwanted snail or two in which case I'll soak the moss in salt and it will be fine. The reason I didn't want pesky snails is because they reproduce like mad. Eventually I will get a mystery snail, which are easier to control. After work on Wednesday I went straight to the aquarium store to pick up the moss. It was packed for me in a plastic zip lock bag with plenty of tank water to keep the moss from drying out. As I watched the bag of moss while waiting for the young employee to ring it up for me, a little baby fish swam out of the moss in the plastic bag. I was surprised to say the least. He packed the zip lock bag in a brown paper bag and and I stowed it away carefully in the back seat where it wouldn't flop around. When I got home I dumped the contents of the bag into a bucket, shaking out the moss in the water gently before removing it back into the bag. I then used a net to scoop out the baby fish into the uncycled shrimp tank. I couldn't put them in Castiel's tank, because they were a good snack size for him. Once the fish were safely transported, I took the moss to the kitchen sink and rinsed it thoroughly because there many a snail in there. I filled the bucket with water and salt and let the moss soak for an hour or so. I have had no sign of snails in the tank. I learned that the babies are guppy fry. Likely newborns when I got them. Guppy fry need to be fed four to eight times a day, and need a lot of protein. Their meals are as of now;
Fish flakes that have been crushed in a zip lock bag.
Hard boiled egg yolk with a little water to make a paste.
Blended frozen brine shrimp in water.
Brine shrimp aren't as high in protein as baby brine shrimp, so I will be getting some eggs and hatching them out myself soon, along with microworms.
They are doing well so far, the sponge filter is set very low, I have to keep the tank very clean to avoid an ammonia spike, and I put Castiel's moss ball in their tank to promote good bacteria build up in the filter.
They are not at all what I expected or planned, but they are adorable little babies. If they grow to be male and females and reproduce, I will be getting a ten to twenty gallon tank for the bathroom next to my room and starting a tank for guppies in there.
With each surprise comes new opportunity to learn.
Happy Bubble Nesting!

Tank Cleaning Day

I have been reading a lot of controversy about water changes in cleaning a tank recently. Here are some points I have come across;

 

How Much?
How much water should be taken out when doing a water change. For a regular weekly water change I take about 25% of the water. Castiel is in a five gallon tank, with substrate, gravel and ornaments. I figure 25% is about one gallon of water. Old water goes into a five gallon bucket when vacuuming the bottom of the tank. I have a sharpie mark in the bucket when the water level reaches one gallon, pulling up just before it is at the mark. I would not recommend more than a 25% water change, unless the betta fish is ill and requires you to take out more water. 50% is moderately safe, but I would not recommend it unless needed. 100% water changes should be only used in emergencies. The higher quantity of water taken out of the tank will lead to a higher chance of stress in betta fish.

 

How Often?
A well established tank with a running filter should only need a 25% water change once a week. A smaller tank with no filter should be changed every few days. Three to four times a week. A cycling tank with fish should be changed every day to every other day depending on the level of ammonia. Ammonia should be tested every day if you are cycling with fish.

 

Deadly Chemicals
It can be easy to put your hand in the tank to move an ornament or to place an plant back in the substrate, but remember that it is very easy to bring dangerous chemicals into the tank. If you washed you're hands with soap, it cannot be washed enough, there will still be soap residue on your skin, which is poison to the fish. Any other cleaning chemicals will also harm the fish if it gets into the tank. It is best not to get your hands in the tank if possible, but when needed make sure you haven't had soap on your hands recently, and rinse thoroughly with tap water before cleaning the tank. I also recommend keeping a towel just for tank cleaning day, for drying your hands.

 

Overdose
After taking water out, you will be adding conditioner or medications to replace what was taken out. It is important to always triple check doses for the amount of water you are adding in. It can be easy to get in a hurry and throw it in but overdose can make the fish very sick and possibly be fatal.

 

Cleaning The Filter

It is a careful procedure when cleaning the filter media of the tank, so as to not kill the good bacteria that lives in it. The filter media should be cleaned every two weeks to once a month. You should have a sponge, and ceramic media in the filter. When you want to clean the filter, take one of these and swish in tank water that's been taken out from the water change. Clean water will kill the good bacteria. Place the media back in the filter. The next time you clean the filter, do the same procedure with the other media. Continue to alternate, to keep good bacteria growing in your filter.

 

Leaving anything behind
Finally, make sure you are thorough in getting waste and dead plants or anything else that could cause an ammonia spike.

 

Happy Bubble Nesting!

Signs of Illness

I will be listing off the common signs of a sick betta fish. Knowing your betta can be the first clue. If you have a mellow betta who is suddenly darting around the tank, or an active betta who doesn't want to come out of his cave. These may be signs of a bigger issue and can be a clue you should be looking for other signs of illness.
Bettas can't tell us when they don't feel good, so it's our responsibility in owning a betta to keep an eye out for their subtle signs of being sick. The sooner we catch these signs the sooner we can treat the cause. Timing is everything when working with bettas, it doesn't take long for a small issue to become fatal. Ideally we can avoid our betta fish getting sick at all, with healthy habitats and a clean tank with regular water changes. But even then bettas can fall ill.
Common signs of illness in betta fish;

Clamped Fins
When stressed, bettas fins will often clamp together. It looks like someone took superglue to their fins and they dried to their body. This could be a sign most any illness causing stress. It may also be the temperature in their tank, check that their thermometer is between 72 and 82 degrees. Try raising their temperature. Only raise it one degree every twenty four hour, a sudden change in temperature will shock them and cause death. If the fins look clamped and are degrading, like melted plastic, they likely have fin melt.

Degrading Fins
If the bettas fins seem to be degrading a little at a time, there are a few things it could be. If the fins look torn, split, frayed or have pin holes, check for sharp objects in the tank. Take any ornaments in question and run a pair of women's nylon pantyhose over it, if they tear or snag this is likely harming the bettas fins as well.
If their is nothing sharp in the tank and no discoloration to the fins, it may be a case of fin nipping. It will get worse overnight or when you are not with them, and it will look like small round bites were taken out of their tails. This is common in half moon tails, due to the weight of their fins weighing them down, they bite their tail to lessen the burden, however any betta can bite their fins. It may help to distract them by moving things around in their tank once and a while, to keep them from getting bored. Make sure the tank is clean to avoid infection. If you have a betta community or a female with a male the other betta may be the culprit.
If their fins are discolored, such as black tips or red from irritation, you may be dealing with fin rot. Fin rot is a bacteria that eats away at the fins and tail of a fish. If left untreated it will move on to body rot, which is very serious and can quickly become fatal if left to work it's way to this stage.
There is also a pin hole fin rot. And fin melt, which is when the fins look like melted plastic.

Darting around the tank.
Rapid movements rather than smooth swimming is a sign of distress in betta fish. Stress can be caused by illness, bad water quality etc. Bettas will also dart around the tank when spooked, make sure your bettas tank is on a sturdy surface as sudden shaking of the tank will stress them.

Hanging around the heater.
Bettas will sometimes wrap their body and tail around the heater if they are sick, or if the water is not warm enough. Check the water temperature is between 72 and 82. When raising the temperature, only raise it by one degree every twenty four hours.

Rubbing and scratching.
Bettas will rub themselves against the tank and decorations from irritation. This could be caused by external parasites. You may see white worms such as anchor worms in the tank in this case, or discolored patches on the betta. Cleaning the tank with a gravel vacuum will pick up the eggs and help reduce reproduction. Treat with parasite medication.

Floating or Sinking uncontrollably.
Bettas will lose control over their swimming and either sink like a stone or float like a cork, sometimes vertically or on their side. They will likely also have a very large underbelly. This is cause by Swim Bladder Disorder. SBD. Most likely caused by over feeding. Bettas only need two to three pellets of feed in the morning and evening. A simple treatment for SBD is fasting for two to three days, then giving them a blanched pea. Take a frozen pea from the grocery store, thaw it in room temperature tank water, peel the skin off and cut the inside into tiny pieces small enough for the betta to eat. Bettas love peas! And they are great for constipation in betta fish.

Refusing to eat.
A betta fish who doesn't want to eat is very serious, often meaning they are close to fatality. Do not panic right away though, if they skip one feeding it may be they are disinterested in the offering, the light is too dark or was turned on too short a time ago, meaning you flipped the light switch after dark and expect them to eat but they are still in night time mode. They need ten to twenty minutes in the light to adjust. If they continue to refuse food, it could be stress, internal parasites, any sickness causing them stress. If they are not showing any other signs of sickness, try enticing them with frozen blood worms, or soaking their food in seachem garlic guard. Garlic guard is also my first internal parasite medication. Let their food soak in a little water and garlic guard for a few minutes then feed it to them with an eye dropper.

Red irritation around the gills.
Ammonia burns, bright red irritated patches around the gills at first. If left untreated the ammonia will build up until the acid attacks the rest of their body, eventually becoming internal. A 25-50% water change will bring the ammonia down. Next find out what may be causing the ammonia spike. Not cleaning the tank is the most common. A smaller tank(one gallon bowls for example)without a filter will need a water change every other day. A tank with a cycled filter needs a water change once a week. Check for rotting uneaten food or dead plants which also cause ammonia build up.

Pine cone scales.
Some bettas have tiny black marks that define their scales in a way that makes it look like their scales are sticking out like a pine cone, be sure not to mix this up with an illness. There seem to be two different illnesses connected to pine cone scales. Very little is yet known about either of them in the betta community. One can be treated with clean water and patience, the other, Dropsy, is fatal. It is thought that dropsy is caused by live food. The internal organs of the fish are under attack, filling with fluid, causing the scales to protrude from the body. The best you can do is keep their water clean and hope for the best, unfortunately dropsy will kill the fish within fifteen days.

Discolored feces.
Betta droppings are normally black. If you notice it is white and stringy or yellow, it is most likely internal parasites. It can be treated by soaking their food in seachem garlic guard for a few minutes before feeding them with an eye dropper. They can also be treated with some animal dewormers like Safe-Guard, which is cheaper and easier to find then betta dewormer.

Gold dust.
It can be hard to spot in early stages, best seen with a flash light. Velvet looks like gold dust sprinkled over the bettas head, which then proceeds to the rest of the body. Velvet is a parasite that attaches itself to the fish, dropping off to lay eggs, then reattaching later. The best time to medicate is when it's fallen to the bottom of the tank, but is difficult to monitor the stages. The betta will seem to get better when it lets go, but if left untreated it will reattach later. Darkness will slow the process. Treat with parasite medication.

White dots.
White dots, which look like grains of sugar on the betta, is Ich. Or Ick. Ich is a parasite like velvet. Fortunately their are medications to fight ich. Jungle Ick Clear for example. Make sure the tank stays clean, doing a water change every day to every other day. Aquarium salt is also said be good in treating Ich.

White cotton patches.
White cotton that has attached itself to the betta. A fungus infection, which can be treated with clean water and a fungus clear medication. A fungus infection will also cause the bettas color to fade.

Swollen or Inflamed Gills
Bettas gills can become swollen or inflamed, sometimes looking irritated inside. This can be caused by bad water quality, or a bacterial infection.

Swollen eye.
If you notice one or both of your bettas eyes swollen like it will pop out of their eye, your betta has Popeye. Popeye is a bacterial infection, and can be avoided by keeping the tank clean. Do daily water changes, and the swelling should go down. Treat with antibacterial medications.

If you have a community of bettas and one or more appear sick, isolate them in a hospital tank to avoid infecting the rest of your tank.

Do not treat bettas with harsh medication until you have positively diagnosed the illness. It can be a life saver to ask other betta enthusiasts for their personal opinion. I go to; http://www.bettafish.com/
Get a picture of your betta and fill out their form under Betta Fish Diseases and Emergencies.

These are common signs of betta fish disease. Identifying the illness is first priority. Once you know what you are up against, put on your armor. Grab your weapons, gravel vacuum, fresh water, and medication. The most you will ever learn about bettas is when they are sick. Do lots of research on your enemy before treatment, there are many medications, just because it says betta or fish doesn't mean it is best. Ask other betta enthusiasts, research treatments for what you are up against. Everyone has their own idea on what's best, narrow it down to what stays consistent and make your own verdict.
Sleepless night, midnight water changes, trips to the pet store for medication, all signs of a betta fish owner with a battle to be won. Don't give up on them without a fight! With your care they can pull through.
Happy Bubble nesting!

Cycling The Tank

Castiel, Half Moon Tail Betta

There are several ways to cycle a fish tank. Cycling refers to the nitrogen cycle that will occur, ammonia breaks down into nitrite, nitrite breaks down into nitrate. This is done by the good bacteria growing in the tank, mainly inside the filter. This bacteria is essential in a fish tank, breaking down the ammonia before it reaches high levels of toxicity, putting stress, even killing the fish inhabiting the tank.
You will need an API water testing kit, and a fully set up aquarium. If you have live plants, they will thrive in the high levels of ammonia.
Fish In Cycle - Years ago, the most common way to cycle the tank was with live fish. This was done by setting up the tank, putting hardy fish in, and letting them produce the ammonia, being exposed to toxic levels, until the bacteria grew strong enough in the filter to break it down. Most, if not any of the fish would not survive this process. Fortunately this is now not the only option.
Fish-Less Cycle With Food - Not precise, but it is possible to cycle a tank with fish food. This is done by putting fish food in the tank, to rot and create ammonia. It is difficult to get a steady level. To cycle a betta fish tank you want the ammonia level at 2-3ppm. When it drops to 1ppm, add more until it reaches the needed level. Eventually the good bacteria will begin breaking down the ammonia, until the ammonia recedes to 0ppm within 24 hours. This can take a couple weeks, to a month. To help the process along, get something from an already cycled tank to 'seed' your tank. This can be filter media, or even an ornament, anything that will have good bacteria growing on it's surface. Make sure to keep it wet during transportation. Once the levels are dropping, you have created a good home for bacteria in the filter. Keep adding fish food until you are ready to add fish. Do a 25-50% water change, being sure to pick up all the rotting food the day before you add inhabitants, and the tank is ready for a betta fish.
Fish-less Cycling With Ammonia - Probably the best way to cycle a fish tank, so long as you are careful when working with ammonia. With an eye dropper, put a couple drops of pure ammonia, not cleaning ammonia, that may have detergents or other harmful chemicals, into a gallon of water. Test the water for ammonia. You will want the level at 2-3ppm for a betta tank. If the level is below, add a few more drops of ammonia. Continue until you reach desired level. Multiply that by how many gallons you will be treating in your tank. Test your tank water for ammonia every few days. When it drops to 1ppm, add more ammonia until it reaches the needed level. Eventually the good bacteria will begin breaking down the ammonia, until the ammonia recedes to 0ppm within 24 hours. This can take a couple weeks, to a month. To help the process along, get something from an already cycled tank to 'seed' your tank. This can be filter media, or even an ornament, anything that will have good bacteria growing on it's surface. Make sure to keep it wet during transportation. Once the levels are dropping, you have created a good home for bacteria in the filter. Keep adding ammonia until you are ready to add fish. Do a 25-50% water change the day before you add inhabitants, and the tank is ready for a betta fish.

When introducing a betta fish to the new tank, it may take a few days for the bacteria to adjust to the level of ammonia the fish is producing. This will cause ammonia spikes. If the fish is creating less ammonia, some of the bacteria will die, creating ammonia. If the fish is creating more, the bacteria will have to grow to accommodate. Check the water daily to every other day to make sure ammonia is at 0ppm. If you are experiencing ammonia spikes,

do a 25% water change to bring it down. If betta is getting ammonia burns during this spike, add a tablespoon of aquarium salt to promote healing.

The Equipment

Some pet stores will tell you that bettas are very low maintenance fish, who don't need anything but a bowl. This is wrong in so many ways. Bettas can be low maintenance, once properly established, however, they need proper equipment to live a long and healthy life, and to assure disasters are not fatal. Also note that fish keeping is an expensive hobby, even with a small set up.
Castiel lives in a five gallon tank, which is the minimum size to house a filter. His filter is an AZOO Mignon Filter 60. Inside is an Aquaclear Foam, Aquaclear Biomax and Seachem Purigen clamped to the lid to diffuse the water flow. There is also a heater with an adjustable knob, but always shoot under when starting out with this heater, it can heat the water hotter than you think it will, perhaps being a disadvantage of a smaller tank. It is also important to have a good thermometer in the tank, and check regularly. Between 72 and 82 Fahrenheit is acceptable for a betta.
Inside the tank there is also a betta leaf hammock, which neither of my bettas have been particularly interested in but I know other bettas love them. A ceramic betta log, which is the most beloved thing by both bettas I've had, but the paint will flake off with certain harsh medications. There are also small to medium gravel rocks, and decorative glass rocks. Below the gravel for the plants, is Seachem flourite.
Castiel is fed two OmegaOne pellets in the morning, and again at night. OmegaOne also has a line of frozen foods, which Killian lived on because he hated pellets, and frozen foods are very healthy for a betta. Beware that once given a long term taste, they will not want to go back to pellets. Bloodworms, brine shrimp, and mysis shrimp are a good selection. Mysis shrimp are a must in a frozen food option for fiber in their diet. To prepare frozen food, cut a piece of one of the cubes into a glass of safe water, like spring water or RO water, for added taste Seachem has garlic guard which also helps against internal parasites. Serve with an eyedropper.
Tools to keep on hand are a net, I only use to scoop out things in the tank that should not be. A gravel vacuum for cleaning day, which should be once a week. A turkey baster, which sounds funny but is for picking up uneaten food. API water testing kit, a must. A side option is Tetra test strips, for quick and easy testing of Nitrate, Nitrite, PH and Hardness, just dip and check the colors. Tetra test strips do not cover ammonia, as API test kit does. Ammonia testing is a necessity.
For maintenance I swear by Seachem. They are more expensive but they are great products. Once a week I add Seachem Stress Guard, which is self explanatory. I also put Equilibrium in new water, which replaces the minerals taken out of spring water or RO water. And with each new gallon of spring water I put two drops of Seachem Prime in to condition the water.
Entertainment, because bettas get bored and need excitement in their little lives. A ZooMed floating mirror, to bring out their primal instincts of flaring and fighting with other fish to protect their territory. It should only be used for a few minutes at a time, fighting with their reflection for long periods of time or frequently will stress them. I have also read that a clean ping pong ball can be placed in the tank for the betta to play with.
And to conclude, Medication. Jungle has a line of treatments, which make a mess of the tank, staining anything rubber a bluish green, but they can help the fish. If you are unsure of what ails your sick fish, Lifegaurd, which treats a number of illnesses. Jungle also has Ick Clear and Fungus Clear. Seachem medications are Kanaplex, for bacterial illness like fin rot. Seachem also has Paragaurd, for parasites. And a fallback for any illness, or healing is Aquarium salt, one teaspoon to a gallon. In a pinch any table salt that does not have Iodide will do fine.
And that finishes the equipment post.
Happy Bubble Nesting!

How It Started

Killian, Photo by Sabrianne Photography

It all started with a little veil tail named Killian... Wait, lets go back a little further.
I walked into the pet store with my mother and sister who was eight years older then me. Over the sounds of gerbils and squeaky guinea pigs, I noticed a mason jar sitting on a shelf way above my head, being eight years old at the time. Inside, a midnight blue fish with long flowing fins swam peacefully around and around the jar.
A Siamese fighting fish, I was told. They were supposed to be aggressive, but he looked so angelic in his little jar. From then on I wanted a betta fish, but only when I was nineteen did I realize I could get one. That's where Killian came in.
I set up a little two and a half gallon tank, with gravel and a little log and leaf hammock. When it came to picking out a fish, I looked at twenty to thirty plastic cups of veil tail betta fish, until I saw this little blue betta placed behind all the others. He was tiny compared to all the others, but he was lively. I brought him home, set him up in his tank.
A week later I realized he was so small because his fins were clamped together like they had been glued down. And he appeared to have an illness called Velvet. Immediately I starting realizing even with all the research I had done about caring for these fish, there was still so much to learn.
I went through a velvet scare, high levels of ammonia, swim bladder disorder and internal parasites. I realized he was so small because of his poor immune system, likely sick long before I picked him up off the shelf. I gave him a comfortable life for the few months that he was alive. I was crushed that I couldn't do enough to cure him of all his ailments, so I did even more extensive research before getting another betta.
A month's time passed, spent cycling a five gallon tank with a little filter, heater, a new log, with added substrate for various plants under the gravel. When the tank was finally cycled, I went to the big city of St. Louis and picked out a gorgeous half moon tail betta, Castiel.
I knew the basics, but even with Castiel I am still learning new tricks and tips. I will be writing about all things that I have learned, so that just as I found articles, forum posts, facebook statuses, and blog posts to help me learn a little more about my betta, so too will someone find this simple blog post to help them along in their research.
Happy bubble nesting!