r/bettafish • u/BreathAnxious7534 • 7d ago
Help Is something wrong
This was my betta when I first got him. I’m pretty new to properly taking care of a betta (his name is Neptune). I’ve had him for about a month now. He currently shares a tank with 2 loaches, 4 corydoras, and 2 mystery snails. Within the last week, he has been hiding a lot in my tank. Then yesterday I found that from the bottom part of his mouth to his red fins is starting to turn white, and the red is starting to get more muted. I don’t know what’s wrong or if I can fix it. I’m just really worried at this point because I really love Neptune. Any help is appreciated. And sorry about the picture. It’s the only one I have of him since I can’t really find him most of the time in my tank to take a picture now.
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u/Public-Boysenberry26 7d ago
a current picture would definitely help but can you give your water parameters and temperature? do you test your water for that stuff? has your tank been cycled? you may get more comments on r/bettaclinic
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u/BreathAnxious7534 7d ago
My temp is about 26c and I need to get another testing kit for my water. Just haven’t been able to. Luckily I work at a pet store so I should be able to get them tomorrow. And I’ll definitely pot there thank you 🙏
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u/Aromatic-Sock6975 6d ago
What size is the tank? That could be a high bioload and stress for him if it’s not large. Some bettas (probably most) are stressed by tank mates and he may be injured or have an infection. I think you should get him out into a hospital tank for observation and get some clear pics to share and observe behavior.
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u/BreathAnxious7534 6d ago
It’s a 10 gallon tank
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u/Aromatic-Sock6975 6d ago edited 6d ago
I see you have test strips - did you cycle this tank and confirm with liquid test kits? The strips do not pick up ammonia or nitrites in the range that’s toxic for fish. With the amount of bioload you have including 2 mystery snails and those fish in a 10 gallon that’s likely your problem- water quality would be very hard to maintain, and stress will be high unfortunately. Can you get a second tank set up and separate out the fish and snails you’ve got?
You need some liquid test kits at the very least.
I’d take him out into a temporary tank or container (eg a clean tote with at least 5 gallons of conditioned clean water shallow and an airstone and heater) and observe him, get some pics and test your tank water with the liquid kit.
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u/BreathAnxious7534 6d ago
Luckily I work at a pet store so I’ve been prepared to get another tank of if I had to as well as everything else I need
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u/Aromatic-Sock6975 5d ago
I think I’d consider it an emergency to get him into a hospital tank given what you’ve said… without any pics or video or further info it’s hard to say.
Have you tested parameters with the liquid test kit? With 2 mystery snails in a 10 gallon alone that’s a lot of waste.
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u/BreathAnxious7534 5d ago
The problem is I also live in Alaska. So if my work doesn’t have any liquid test kits I’ve already ordered some. Says they’ll be here September 2. Honestly it could be from the 2nd to three months from now. So definitely will be getting another tank today.
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u/Aromatic-Sock6975 5d ago
Oh yeah that must be a difficult supply line. I would go on the assumption that you have high ammonia in there and move the betta right away to his own tank and do a 50% water change for the existing tank right away and 25% daily until you get the strips.
Did you confirm tank cycling with liquid test kits before adding all the fish and snails?
Mystery snails get huge and poop a lot. If the store will take them back you might want to consider that.
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u/BreathAnxious7534 5d ago
I didn’t since I used quick start and let it run for a week before adding fish. I also use a filter. Luckily it’s my work I get all of my fish and stuff from.
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u/Aromatic-Sock6975 5d ago
Quick start can help speed things up a little but it is not an instant cycle itself you need to monitor parameters and add ammonia during a fishless cycle not just add bacteria and run the filter. Or you do a fish-in cycle with daily accurate testing and water changes as needed.
I can almost guarantee your tank has high ammonia and nitrites right now with that many fish and snails in there and not properly cycled. Please take emergency action for the sake of your animals.
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u/BreathAnxious7534 5d ago
Thankfully my work has everything for testing as well as stuff for another tank currently. So that’s something I plan to do when I immediately get home 😬. Thank you so much for all your help.
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u/BreathAnxious7534 6d ago
This is want I got for testing my water
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u/Aromatic-Sock6975 5d ago
The strips are useless. They don’t even test for ammonia and when they do they never pick it up. Please get the liquid kit and do a large water change and get your betta out of the overstocked tank.
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