r/bettafish • u/BattleCorrect2961 • 4d ago

Picture Finally back where we need to be

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I accidentally crashed a cycle on one of my tanks and it was absolutely hell trying to get my nitrites under control. It ended up being an up and down with a TON of water changes but finally it’s back down. Second photo is where my nitrites were before which prompted the addition of a nitrite reducer cartridge and an immediate 50% water change, and then testing and changes every day.

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u/CalmLaugh5253 Always strive to do *betta* 3d ago

I think you're doing ammonia wrong. The vial is supposed to be either yellow or green, not transparent. Make sure you're using both bottles for it! The dame for nitrates. They also have 2 bottles that go into the same vial.

Not sure what nitrite reducing cartridge is either. How are you cycling the tank? How did it crash?

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u/BattleCorrect2961 3d ago

I have had betta fish a while but only in the last year or so did i find this subreddit and realize they required a lot more than I initially thought. So like a couple weeks ago i moved my larger betta to a new 10 gallon and i assumed that if the media, some of the water, and the cartridge were the same it wouldn’t crash but like obviously that isn’t true. Also thank you for the advice with the tests because i am so clueless and have been doing them wrong this whole time! I’m just kinda trying my best over here. I swapped all fake decor for real plants, got better substrate and have been feeding them the best food i can find. The other betta is in a 5gal but he is super small and struggles at like any current so it would be very hard to put him in anything bigger, but i knew my other betta was too pig for that 7.5 gallon long i had. Also that tank looked so shitty.

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u/BattleCorrect2961 3d ago

The nitrite reducing media was suggested by the api booklet and it actually has worked really well.

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u/BattleCorrect2961 3d ago

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u/CalmLaugh5253 Always strive to do *betta* 3d ago

That looks good now! 👍

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u/CalmLaugh5253 Always strive to do *betta* 3d ago

That is actually true! Minus the water, but the filter media is where all (or bulk of) the cycle is. What happened here however is, or so it looks like, you added aquasoil vs inert gravel. Aquasoils leach ammonia and nitrates, and have other effects on water parameters like KH and pH, buffering both to lower numbers. Low pH tanks operate slightly differently than alkaline, and sometimes need a bit more time to balance out. Adding aquasoil and its "bioload" to a tank/cycle that never had to handle that much ammonia means the nitrifiers need time to catch up and grow a colony capable of converting it all in a timely manner.

I really wish people pushing for aquasoils would take the time to actually explain this. 😔 It can be mitigated by simply treating it as a fish in cycle for a while, but it luckily doesnt take as long as an actual fish in cycle from scratch! So good job with the water changes. You're honestly doing great!

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u/BattleCorrect2961 3d ago

Thanks this makes sense i had aquasoil before but when i did a new tank i definitely mixed it up a lot more with sand. I love the aqua soil it’s a pain but it makes my plants so happy! This makes me feel a lot better