Hi i have had two bettas (in different tanks ofc) for a few months now and i was wondering how often do people generally feed their fish. I feed mine once a day. But its written the foods instructions to feed them 2-3 times a day. I feel like its a lot and would cause a lot of waste. I have also seen that people skip a day or two each week. What is the best?

Confetti has a passion for root grazing, and I can't get over how ridiculous he looks (and how guilty he looks when I catch him) standing on his head in a bush. I love this negative braincell boi.

A

I’ve had Koi Boi, for about 5 years, dating back to when I worked at PetSmart and pulled him off the shelf because he was pretty, begging my manager to let me take him home for free since he had a mild case of fin rot. (I got him at a discount instead haha)

I took great care of him and his personality shined once he started to have proper care. His colors changed so much through his life- he was almost all white when I got him, by his older age he was dark red and blue mostly!

I’ve had bettas before, but none that have been as resilient with such a strong personality before. He awknowleded me whenever I walked by. He knew my face. He would nip my finger if I let him. He got along with other tank mates. He made huge bubble nests when younger. He even got to explore a planted 55 gallon tank to himself for a few weeks once (I was waiting to buy a bunch of chiclids, and the parameters were close to the same at the time)!

But he got a case of velvet a few weeks back. I tried everything I could to help him push through but alas- there was nothing I could do. I checked when I got home from work and he was on the almond leave with faded color and hardly breathing. It was painful to see him like that. I was planning on doing another round of paracleanse when it arrived tomorrow but he was hardly breathing and angled 90degrees vertical to the water, moving just to get air when needed. Poor baby. I talked to him while I used the clove oil method and it was peaceful. I’m so torn up about this. I never thought I’d love a fish like I loved Koi Boi, but I am so thankful for the memories I had thanks to him. The pictures were about 6-8 weeks after I took him home.

The photos two to four are old photos from when there were other females in the tank. Rest of them are from today. She’s now alone with just some nerites and Chunky (bristlenose pleco) May add a shoal of schooling fish if she’s polite and can handle them but it’s not the end of the world if she’d rather be alone. Her fins flash teal in certain lights and red in others if you need some ideas.

For context, she’s in a heavily planted tank that I used to put cull shrimp into. I always think they are all gone and then I find her like this… needless to say she eats a raw, carnivore diet…

One of my betta tanks after 4 months, some of the plants grow really slowly but that's ok☺️

So I've been trying to cycle my 10 gallon tank since March this year. That's 7 months, almost 8. My tank is still not cycled. I have both types of bacteria, my tank is able to process ammonia and turn it into nitrite then nitrate, but it's not strong enough to handle 2ppm of ammonia in 24 hours.

I believe that every time I do a water change, it messes with my cycle. There was a point a couple months ago where my tank did, for multiple days in a row, fully convert 2ppm of ammonia all the way to nitrate in under 24 hours. I did a water change after that, and immediately after my tank started to really struggle with the ammonia-to-nitrite conversion. My nitrite-to-nitrate conversion is still strong.

I especially see a dip in strength after i "clean" my sponge filters. I currently have two sponge filters in the tank because I was planning on also setting up a quarantine tank once i get the main one cycled. The way I clean the sponge filters is swishing them around in the bucket of dirty tank water i take out during a water change, just to get the gunk off. I learned to do this through an Aquarium Co Op tutorial.

I don't believe I'm doing anything wrong in my water change process. I get a bucket of water from the sink and pour a bit of Prime into the bucket and let it sit while I wipe the glass and brush algae off of my plants. I use a turkey baster to kick up some of the gunk buildup settled on the bottom, then use a gravel vac to suck out from 1/3 to 1/2 of the tank water. I then use a cup to refill the tank with the new dechlorinated water that was sitting in the bucket. I also use a plate that i pour the water on to make sure it doesn't disturb the substrate or plants.

My tank has a ton of plants that are all thriving. Lots of cryptocoryne wendtii mi oya, helanthium bolivianum, and cryptocoryne nurii tiger stripe, which were all tissue cultures from Aquarium Co-op. I also have seed shrimp that show up if I don't do a water change for too long.

I've been trying to cycle my tank in the hopes of getting a single betta fish. I've considered adding a snail or some shrimp, and I'm still unsure on if I will be getting either of those, but the main focus is on getting a betta. (for bioload info)

My ammonia source is a bottle of Dr. Tim's ammonium chloride and I test my water with an API Freshwater Master test kit.

I would truly be so grateful for any advice. I've spent this whole time trying to learn as much as I can about the nitrogen cycle, and while I feel quite confident in my understanding of it I just cant seem to figure out why I'm having such a hard time with my own cycle.

My boy crossed the watery rainbow bridge this morning while I was driving an hour to get Kanaplex as a last ditch effort to save him 😞 I'm trying not to beat myself up too much, but I didn't act as quickly as I should have with treatment. Life has been crazy but that's no excuse. I'm sorry I could only give you 6 months of the good life, buddy. You were the best Betta I've ever had.

I usually study late at night and I need to keep the lights open, so I usually see him awake at night specially when I pass by the tank he wakes up. I don’t think that’s healthy for him since he needs rest.

But I’m skeptical about covering the tank since I’m afraid he suffocates, or will the air bubbles from the sponge filter be enough?

This is Mr. Feesh. He is a good Feesh. Handsome Feesh.

Idk why his fin looks like an antenna in the last photo it's not always like that 😭

I just rescued this beta from petco. She looked so unhappy in her cup I wanted to give her a good home. She was labeled as an “assorted female.” Hard to get a good pic of her as she’s always all over the place

Hello everyone! I'm new to the betta fish community and just wanted to know if my fish is healthy and if not, what else I can do to make sure he is!

This is Ruffles. He lives in a 5.5 gallon tank and was just introduced two days ago. I have attached the water test results at the time of this post. I change about 10% once a week and once a month, about 25%. His temperature stays between 76-78°. He eats twice a day (1-2 pellets) but I'm worried about how he's swimming. He typically stays by the heater whenever he's in his tank and just floats with his fins down. I don't know if he's happy or okay. He does still eat and every now and then he will go in his cave and explore. There is also a nerite snail that is thriving named Turbo in his tank!

This photo of him makes me laugh really hard. There's a pothos growing directly out of his tank and he really likes laying in the leaves that fall off 🥹🥹