# BAD Gravel and a potentially sick betta..



## Burd (Apr 10, 2011)

I'm pretty mad with wal-mart but more so myself this morning for buying the cheapest gravel that wal-mart sold; that raver green, pink and blue stuff. I rinsed that gravel endlessly for hours and THOUGHT it was clean. My friend watched me rinse it in the sink at least 7 times for 20 minutes each time and then it got tiring so I took it in the shower and used the heavy setting on the shower head to rinse it. Looks like even that wasn't enough.

I moved my zebra danios to a temporary tank that was about 3 gallons. There 'were' six of them and it looked like they were doing okay by nights' end. The water was clear. They were still swimming around and eating. I woke up this morning to a very pinkish-blue cloudy haze and 6 dead fish. They had a heater, a filter and completely fresh, clean, all bad things clear water. Same tap water and conditioner I use when cleaning Jabu-Jabu's tank (that used to be their tank). I thought they would be okay over night... obviously not.

I'm more worried about Ruto, my female betta, now. She was in that tank for about 10 hours before them before she moved to half of Jabu-Jabu's tank, separated of course. She's still doing ok... but just ok. She's very lethargic but still alive and eats. She wasn't a very active fish when I brought her home, though. :/ I'm afraid she might be 'poisoned' from being in that tank with the gravel, as I cleaned that water a dozen time before trying to get the water clear of the murk that the danios unfortunately suffered.

Anything I can do to help her before she suffers the same fate..? 

Housing 
What size is your tank? 10 Gallons
What temperature is your tank? 78
Does your tank have a filter? Yes
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? Not in that tank.
Is your tank heated? Yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? Separated but in with another male betta. Several ghost shrimp.

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish?Freeze dried bloodworms, hikari betta bio gold
How often do you feed your betta fish?A 2-4 pellets 2-3 times a day

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change? At first I did a 10% water change daily. I just did a 40 or so percent change yesterday on the tank she's currently in due to a lot of plant and crap debris floating around. The tank she was in was not cycled but had 100% new water with conditioner.
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 10-20% usually
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Conditioner (chlorine etc. neutralizer), sometimes plant food, seachem stability

Water Parameters: No
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity: 

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? No, aside from her fins occasionally clamping? I can't tell if they're clamped because she's been sticking to the top of the tank.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? Staying at the top of the tank, not moving much.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? Last night.
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? Not yet.
Does your fish have any history of being ill? No.
How old is your fish (approximately)? Fresh from pet shop/breeder.


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## CyerRyn (Apr 8, 2011)

Awww ;( I'm sorry for your losses. Hope your Betta pulls through. I think I use the same gravel, is it "Aqua Culture Aquarium Gravel"? D=


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## Burd (Apr 10, 2011)

CyerRyn said:


> Awww ;( I'm sorry for your losses. Hope your Betta pulls through. I think I use the same gravel, is it "Aqua Culture Aquarium Gravel"? D=


I think so.
I noticed also that while cleaning it, the color was coming off of the gravel. I could see the clear rocks under the colors in some spots. That's why I know it had to have been that gravel. Perhaps I just got a faulty batch.


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## CyerRyn (Apr 8, 2011)

I haven't personally had any problems. I've been using the same gravel (rinsing it off during water changes) for the 4mo I've had Sazzer, but you're right, maybe it was a batch that might have been exposed to something before packaged. If you haven't dumped the water yet, you should run one of those water tests.

**Edit** I also noticed the color come off, but it hasn't totally washed off. The color is still there. Not sure why it does that, this was my first fish since a goldfish I won at a fair when I was 9yrs old (which died within 3 days sadly). I just figured the gravel needed to get "used".


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## Burd (Apr 10, 2011)

Yeah, from here on out I'm getting the gravel from my LPS. The gravel from there is naturally colored and has been fine for Jabu-Jabu. Not much more expensive either... I was just trying to save a few dollars. Meh.

I'll also add that the reason I separated the danios from Jabu-Jabu is because he seemed stressed because of them. Wasn't making bubble nests, was swimming around crazily. I separated them to see if that was the cause and I was right... he's been a busy boy over night in his solitary space and seems much happier now. At least that's a plus?


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## BettasForever (Jan 18, 2011)

Oh nooo I got that gravel in black last night and allready set up the tank (no fish)... The water was all murky when I put it in but the filter took care of it over night. Hopefully when I get a new betta he won't die. :d I did a 25% today , and now I'm thinking of stirring up the gravel to let the filter do it's job.


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## Burd (Apr 10, 2011)

BettasForever said:


> Oh nooo I got that gravel in black last night and allready set up the tank (no fish)... The water was all murky when I put it in but the filter took care of it over night. Hopefully when I get a new betta he won't die. :d I did a 25% today , and now I'm thinking of stirring up the gravel to let the filter do it's job.


Perhaps my filter was crap too. It also came from wal-mart.
I swear.. I'm never shopping there again.


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## BettasForever (Jan 18, 2011)

Well, you can't say that. If I was in your position, I would clean the filter intake, the bio-whatever(the white, hard thing) the blue filter cartridge, the tank, and the gravel with really hot water.Because I do that with every new thing I put in my aquarium, I'm kind of regretting just hosing it down like I did when I got it last night. You can also let the filter run for a couple hours then clean out each thing. My water is super clear now! Then, none of the junk will build up in the cartridge if it's cleaned. Worked for me.


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## Burd (Apr 10, 2011)

I think I'm just going to stick to bigger tanks and better gravel from now on...

If it's any consolation for their death, I just found a ton of baby danios swimming around in my main tank. Their death shall be avenged by their spawn!


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## CyerRyn (Apr 8, 2011)

Burd said:


> I think I'm just going to stick to bigger tanks and better gravel from now on...
> 
> If it's any consolation for their death, I just found a ton of baby danios swimming around in my main tank. Their death shall be avenged by their spawn!


Hahaha! Spawn revenge.. that's awesome!


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## fleetfish (Jun 29, 2010)

Congratulations on your new babies! <3

I don't use gravel because I never know what chemicals are used to colour it. Nothing is totally aquarium safe.


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## Burd (Apr 10, 2011)

Just an update about Ruto and what I'm doing to try and help her...

The people who run the local pet store recommended aquarium salt and stress zyme so I'm giving both a try.. Ruto seems okay, though it's almost like she's having trouble staying down when she wants to. She seems to always float back up.

I really, really, really don't want to lose little Ruto.. :<


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## turtle10 (Dec 30, 2010)

Burd said:


> Just an update about Ruto and what I'm doing to try and help her...
> 
> The people who run the local pet store recommended aquarium salt and stress zyme so I'm giving both a try.. Ruto seems okay, though it's almost like she's having trouble staying down when she wants to. She seems to always float back up.
> 
> I really, really, really don't want to lose little Ruto.. :<


That sounds like swim bladder disorder, and from reading your posts I think it is because your are feeding her too much. 3-4 pellets 2-3 times a day is quite a lot, especially with a low quality food like hikari. I really suggest switching to a different brand, like Omega One or New Life Spectrum, because Hikari's ingredients changed and there aren't good for bettas any more.


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## phoenix91 (Mar 21, 2011)

turtle10 said:


> low quality food like hikari. I really suggest switching to a different brand, like Omega One or New Life Spectrum, because Hikari's ingredients changed and there aren't good for bettas any more.


I didn't know that. I just bought some of this today. How is it not good? can i still feed what i have and then get something different? I do have other food i could use but thought that this brand was better for some reason.


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## turtle10 (Dec 30, 2010)

It contains a lot of wheat in it, and the protein it has in it isn't very good quality.


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