# Learning as I go (Kanped and Tong Po)



## kanped (Jul 4, 2016)

So, I had previously been posting a bunch in my thread on the Betta Care forum (http://www.bettafish.com/30-betta-fish-care/703873-white-spot-back.html), but there was a lot of stuff that wasn't related to the initial issue, so I've decided to make new thread over here just to say how things are going in the hopes that people will chip in with advice and things.

Just so everyone's up to speed, I'm brand new to fishkeeping, got a 30L tank with a filter and heater and some live plants and added the fish a week later. Anything that's happened up to now is recorded in that other thread anyway, if you're curious.

Latest news is that the water board are sending out a tech to test my tap water because it should be 0 ammonia and it's over 0.25ppm but that hasn't happened yet.

In other news, I managed to get some frozen food, after numerous failed attempts to buy it online (local post cannot get the package to me in any kind of reasonable time). Got a mixed blister pack of daphnia, blood worms, cyclops, tubiflex etc. in separate cubes.

I tried Bloodworms first. I'd heard people usually cut a cube in half and feed that. I'd guess there were about 15 (big) worms in the cube, so maybe I got a really generous bloodworm bredder because 7 and a half of these was *way* too much. 
He had a bit of struggle to eat them and I had to turkey baste the first few out because he'd take a bite, they'd start to sink and as soon as they're sinking, he loses interest. Did manage to get him to jump out of the water a little and get a good grip on one, then he swam away with it and ate it like spaghetti. He ate 2 like that but didn't quite finish the second for a while so I figured he'd had enough. Few minutes later, he looked a lot more full than usual but very happy, swimming merrily and for once not going back along the surface looking for more food after his feeding. Skipped the next day's breakfast.

This morning, I decided to try daphnia. Now, when thawed, it looks like a kind of paste (*it happened at this point; see later) and breaks away quite easily. It also doesn't float, at all. So, when I put it in, it breaks into a hundred little parts that float merrily past Tong Po while he's looking at me, perplexed as to why he's still hungry. OK, so I use the tweezers and hold it out of the water. He jumped up and knocked it off, sending another cloud of food straight to the bottom of the tank. One more try; he started jumping and biting at the side of the tweezers that didn't have the food on it. 

Well, OK. Guess he doesn't like daphnia or it's too awkward for him. I'm doing daily water changes anyway and the syphon will get it all no problem. I gave him pellets instead and he readily ate those, floating on the surface.

I decided to type this up at this point and by the time I got to typing "(*it happened at this point)", he'd started eating the daphnia from the bottom of the tank. He's never eaten *anything* from below the water surface before. Except, he's already been fed; this is way too much, so I had to go turkey-basting for a while. Think I got most of it; he's not gorging himself, anyway, might find the odd little flake around but not an issue. 

It's almost like he planned it.


----------



## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

Haha, funny. Well, good news is daphnia helps them poo, so even though he ate a lot more than normal, he should be safe from getting plugged up. 

For frozen foods, I usually defrost about 1/3 of a cube at a time in the fridge and feed them from that for 2-3 days. Each feeding is until their tummy starts to get a bit rounded. As long as it's flat again by next feeding, that's a good amount to feed. 

Good luck!


----------



## kanped (Jul 4, 2016)

Yeah, I guess people have different definitions of 'a bit' rounded but I can tell if he should skip a feeding at least  He only got a little bit of the daphnia in the end. I'll maybe try an alternative method in the future. He'll jump out to eat pellets off my finger, so I might do something like that.


----------



## kanped (Jul 4, 2016)

Got a water sprite in the post today. Dispatched yesterday, arrived in a nice little oasis thing, very well packaged. Sent priority, so it actually got here quickly and in good shape. Fish is still doing well as far as I can tell. White spot looks better every day, to me at least. Got a lot of alage going on but... cycling. Still reading 0/0 nitrite/nitrates, adding Stability and prime daily. Dropped the water changes to every other day now since the tank water is consistently reading lower ammonia than the tap water, but I'm testing every day and if it goes over 0.25 I'll change early.

Took a little vid of the tank with the sprite added

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-6Krh8_3VSHREprZmdEWWV3RmM/view?usp=sharing


----------



## kanped (Jul 4, 2016)

Found Tong Po lying sideways at the bottom of the tank. Took a closer look and in a split second he was over at the opposite side of the tank, at the top with a trail of substrate in his wake. I think he was trying to squeeze under the driftwood. Damn troll fish; frightened the life out of me twice in a couple of seconds. I had no idea how fast he could move if he wants to, though, it was pretty crazy.

Water board came to lift the samples today. The guy came out yesterday but apparently, nobody had told him that I had a specific problem with ammonia. He's used to people saying 'my water smells / tastes weird' or 'my water is the wrong colour', so he just tested for calcium and chlorine and left but he was back this morning to take samples back to the lab. Hopefully that'll get the ball rolling on working out what's going on. Best guess is agricultural run-off. We're in a big farming area, relatively speaking. Well, Northern Ireland as a country is pretty much a big farming area. Also, given that our governmental environment Minister is also a climate change denier, I doubt anyone takes their environmental responsibilities particularly seriously. Don't think it's too much of a stretch that it could be the cause but who knows?


----------



## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

That's as good a guess as any.

I had a boy dart around before. He was my fin biter, and when he started biting, he got scared of people at the same time and would dart to hide if startled. I was also amazed at how quickly they can go!


----------



## kanped (Jul 4, 2016)

Called the water board but apparently it'll be next Wednesday before they have anything to tell me. Just keeping up with the water changes in the meantime; fish seems happy. Algae's getting a bit mad, though. I wonder if this counts as a floating plant?


----------



## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

Haha, at least you can joke about it! It almost does look like a floating plant by now.


----------



## kanped (Jul 4, 2016)

It's not doing any harm, anyway. I'll maybe look into more treatment after the tank cycles. Establishing that is the most important thing right now. That and getting the ammonia down. There is a LFS that will give me RO water but it's a 90 minute round trip. Hopefully it doesn't come to that.


----------



## kanped (Jul 4, 2016)

Went to the LFS today and picked up a Sulawesi Rabbit Snail to help combat the ever-growing algae. I've also set my timer to come on twice a day and use the natural light to create the night/day cycle instead of leaving them on all day like an idiot. Got them to test my water parameters too and everything's good; last water change was Sunday, it was 1/3. Very small ammonia, nothing of anything else. They were saying it's possible due to the high algae, reasonable number of plants and low bioload that it's acting like a filterless setup and dealing with everything itself. Regardless, the water quality is good.

New guy had been in about 40 seconds and Tong Po already took a bite at him... doesn't seem to be any damage, he's still crawling around, sticking to the glass etc. and thusfar there hasn't been a second attempt but obviously, it's kinda worrying. I'm going to play it by ear and keep a close eye. Hopefully that's his curiosity satisfied and they can get along now. If not... I'm not sure. I can keep the snail in a critter keeper inside the tank, maybe. Or I could go set up a dwarf cory tank and put him in there or something... really didn't expect him to be that much of a jerk.


----------



## kanped (Jul 4, 2016)

The snail was initially very explorative and had just got up the side of the glass when Tong Po bit him. Now, he just crawls to a corner and stays there; not sure if he's eating. If I move him, he crawls until he hits a corner and stops again. He can move OK but doesn't seem to be doing much right now. I didn't get a really good look at him before the attack but he doesn't have the stalks that these snails usually have. TP definitely got a chunk off him; he spat something yellow afterwards, it was pretty violent. TP seems to be mostly ignoring him now, at least. I've tapped the glass a couple of times if he's looked like he might go for it again but he might have just been looking around. Hopefully the snail's alright.


----------



## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

Some tolerate tank mates, and others don't.


----------



## kanped (Jul 4, 2016)

The snail got bit again. Still seems relatively unharmed but obviously, this isn't going to work out. Going to go back to the LFS and see. I can probably give him back. Kinda toying with setting up a new tiny tank and keeping him... could maybe get some other nice, friendly things and get a second setup going. Little 2.5g thing with something nice. I dunno. It's a commitment. If they have something small and heated I can get on my desk without it breaking in half, I might just go for it.


----------



## kanped (Jul 4, 2016)

OK... so here's what I'm thinking. I'll go and get a new 20L (around 5.5g) tank and eventually move TP into it, which gives me a 30L (8g) tank for the snail and something else; neon tetras, dwarf corries, danios. Something friendly. My desk is rated for 60kg, so I think I'm good on that front, which other than caring for the tanks, is the main concern. I'll set up the 20L and let the snail live in peace there while I keep an eye on the water quality. Not going to have nearly as much algae for the little guy but I reckon he'll prefer it to the constant maiming.

*Meant to post the above before heading to the LFS. Got a Fluval Spec 5g; longer than the current tank, but obviously not as wide. TP might even prefer it; he only ever hangs out at the top, usually, anyway. Got some sand, couple of vallis, some java fern and some grass. I think it'll be a fine home.

Going to take 10L of water from the 30L and cycle it with the snail and Stability for a while. See how the water quality goes and then move TP over maybe Sunday, maybe next weekend. Do some research about what I could put in the 30L afterwards. LFS guys suggested Galaxy Rasbora; the snail was in with them in one of the store's display tanks, but there's a choice of small schooling fish. I'll do some reading (suggestions welcome!).


----------



## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

It's hard to fit stuff into smaller tanks. Even the smaller schooling fish will sometimes want more swimming space than 8 gallons. I've read that endler guppies can do okay, but I would probably stick with all males so you don't get a population explosion. Most snails tend to poo a lot, so you'd want something else that doesn't poo too much. Most of the things I'm thinking of either poo a lot or may pick on the snail or are picky eaters or like more swimming space.


----------



## kanped (Jul 4, 2016)

Not half bad, I think. Phoebe (Yorkie) approves. Hopefully the snail doesn't manage to destroy all the plants before the switch. That snail is apparently a voracious eater of fish waste and might help the balance a little, maybe. Probably not. The do eat, and therefore poop, quite a bit. I've gotten used to doing water changes on a very regular basis, though. Much research still needed, anyway. The Galaxy Rasboras (which, it turns out is not their name, having been only discovered 9 years ago and assigned a genus as a guess) seem to do better in colder water about 25c; the snail prefers warmer water, about 30c but the LFS had the display tank they shared at 25c with no issues. They also don't seem to really school, but are social, which is a bonus because I can keep several of them without needing a dozen or more. Still, there's plenty of similarly sized fish that will do better in warmer water. Right now, I'm thinking of a small school, about 6 fish. Hopefully there's something that that will work with. Tank's not quite mature enough for shrimp. I'm in no rush, anyway; plenty of time to do some reading.


----------



## kanped (Jul 4, 2016)

Endlers are looking like a really good choice right now, actually. The tank's set up pretty well for them as is, they can nibble the algae, 6-8 is fine (although more is recommended, it seems to be mostly for breeding purposes and a group of 6 will display their natural schooling behavior), I have plenty of food they can eat (which will help use the smaller frozen food that my betta mostly ignores), and I can keep the temperature at a decent comfort level for the snail. From what I've read, they also have some personality, which is great.


----------



## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

I have some normal guppies, and they're like that. They're more social rather than schooling. I've never had endlers and had always assumed they were the same.


----------



## kanped (Jul 4, 2016)

Well, after a few days of reading, Endlers' seem to be what the locals would call an absolute shout (i.e. the perfect choice). There are other options but none seem quite as good. 

Scarlet Badis shy, hard to find and if incorrectly sexed I could run into big problems. 
Pygmy Sunfish are trickier to feed. 
Pygmy gouramis are less attractive than endlers and having multiple males might not work. 
Least Killifish are shy and generally less active. 
Dwarf Pufferfish could be aggressive towards the snail and can be tricky to feed. 
Ember Tetras, Boraras and Rasboras prefer softer, more acidic water than I can easily provide. 
Don't have quite enough space for Ottos or Corys to do really well.

Other option I'm considering is Scarlet Livebearers (swamp/painted guppies), whose requirements, behaviour and waste production are pretty much identical to Endlers'. I think I'll just see what the shops have between them. Even if, unexpectedly, I can't get either, there are other choices.

In other news; water board have told me that my water tested 0.012 for ammonia. Meaning that my test kit is unreliable. I did get the LFS to test my water just a few days ago, so I know that it's OK but obviously, need to get another ammonia test. The pH, nitrite and nitrates tests were the same in the LFS as I read at home, so presumably, it's just the ammonia that's off. Apparently changes in temperature can mess it up and it was ordered online, which at a minimum means a couple of hours in a cold plane. The good news is that I can do water changes with confidence now.


----------



## kanped (Jul 4, 2016)

New tank's still cycling. Daily water changes, Prime and Stability. Snail's in there. Hasn't come out of his shell since last night (getting close to 24 hours) but the ammonia levels have been dropping so I'm guessing he's OK... or, alive anyway. I think he might have been cold; I had the heater behind the frosted glass to make more room in the tank but it turns out, it was only really heating the spot it was in, not the tank. I've moved the heater, so I'll give a bit of time for the water to heat back up and see how it goes. The ammonia has never quite reached 0.5ppm (0.25 last 2 days) and I'm dosing Prime daily; getting slight trace Nitrite and Nitrates now, so starting to look good. I'd be safer cycling with TP in there rather than the snail but I don't want to move him sooner than I have to and he's just been through a fish-in cycle. I will say, he and the first tank are doing great, though. The white spot on his head has all but cleared, his colour is good and he's eating and swimming as well as ever. The tank's still only getting very minor ammonia readings and no nitrites or nitrates after a water change on Saturday.


----------



## kanped (Jul 4, 2016)

Snail still hadn't moved this morning. Took it out for a sniff, and he's definitely dead. Not sure if it just didn't survive the cycle or the temperature issues caused it. I did ask at the LFS if I put the heater in the separated part would it heat the whole tank and was told it would. I said I didn't want to cycle the tank with TP and would it be OK to do it with the snail; they said it would be fine. Both of these things were not true. Sulawesi Snails should only be added to mature tanks but I didn't find that out until this was already put in motion; he did seem pretty hardy. Given his behavior, I think the temperature was more likely to be the cause but I'll never know for sure. Still, I should have researched it better before making a decision but TP had put me in an awkward place where they needed to be separated and I wasn't prepared properly for that. I should have been, but I wasn't and needed to act quickly to get something set up. Lessons learned, but obviously I'm kinda bummed out.

Other thing is that it does scupper my plans somewhat. Now that I don't need to move TP... he's happy where he is and he should stay there. Since I changed the lighting schedule,the algae has dropped significantly and the water parameters are great; the plants seem to be consuming all the nitrates as far as I can tell. So, now I've got a Fluval Spec V cycling and TP's not going there. If I was hesitant but willing to have some male Endlers' in the 8g, I'm much moreso about the 5g. It's not impossible and they might be OK but not worth the risk. I'll get the tank cycled in the meantime and see how we go. It's going to be a second betta, really, isn't it? Small local LPS has a really nice looking red VT. I saw some dead corys and guppies in his tanks; there were some angelfish with ick. Little hesitant, obviously, but the betta actually looked much better than I've seen in most stores; good colour, swimming well and flaring. Had him divided in one of the guppy tanks. Well, no point in thinking about it now, anyway. Just get the tank cycled and then we'll see.


----------



## kanped (Jul 4, 2016)

Ammonia spike in TP's tank... great. Over 0.5 (a little) yesterday, did a 50% change, back to just under 0.5 today. Back to the daily water changes. I started cycling this tank on the 2nd of July; have never had any nitrite or nitrates, ever. I've ordered some Dr. Tim's one and only and ammonia for the now-empty 5g, so if it cycles before this one, I might move TP after all, even if it's just to cycle this tank fishlessly and properly. This is after almost a week of 0-0-0. I did have a dead Anubias in there (removed before yesterday's water change); possible culprit. I had it tied off to the driftwood but I guess the rhizome wasn't getting enough light where it was at. 

TP looks a little bloated tonight, so I'm skipping a feeding but there was fresh poo in the tank, so nothing too much to worry about. I do tend to give him a little too much (packet says "as much as your fish can eat in 30 seconds"; in my case could probably be a week's supply); skipping one every now and then will probably do him good.


----------



## kanped (Jul 4, 2016)

Well, I was doing daily changes again because the ammonia was reading over 0.25 but 24 hours after the last one, it's at 0. Huh. Maybe it was just the anubias releasing ammonia into the water. I'll keep testing daily.


----------



## kanped (Jul 4, 2016)

Been documenting my cycling over yonder; http://www.bettafish.com/30-betta-fish-care/708089-dr-tims-one-only;-cycling-advice.html

Quick update; haven't done a WC in TP's tank since posted above and ammonia is reading 0.1ppm tonight, still. I think I'll do one soon just to vac the gravel and top up what's evaporated and been taken for testing but all seems well. 

The other tank seems to be cycling impossibly fast; ammonia started at 2.4, 48 hours later was at 0. Topped up to 2.0, down to 0.3 24 hours after that. 0 nitrite or nitrates at any point. Now, it's a 5g with 10 (count 'em, 10) live plants but even still, that's a little too good to be believable. I'm beginning to get suspicious about my test kit. 

I'm also thinking about this fantastic orange and black striped betta in the LFS last time I went. Little guy looked like a tiger and had been moved from the display nano-tank (5g cube with cherry shrimp and I think some other stuff) to a solitary tank in the very far corner of the store. Never seen a colouration like it, will probably marble into something totally different but still, it was really striking and if he's still there after I'm 100% confident in this tank, he's coming home.

In less good news, cottony white stuff on some of the plants, which I was very sure was just decay is now on the wood I put in there; looks exactly like hair algae, which is a pain but apparently common in new tanks. TP's tank had it for a while but doesn't seem to any longer. I'm already dosing liquid CO2 ferts, which is the recommended treatment, other than getting Rosy barbs or mollies to just eat it but I'm only on day 2 of that. Some sites recommend overdosing it, and well, if I'm gonna do that, it might as well be when it's just the plants in there; the recommended dose is 1ml per 50L and my tank's only 20L, so frankly *not* overdosing is a bigger problem.

Oh, and TP's also ripped up his caudal fin pretty bad on something. Don't think the filter can do it, so he's gotten stuck behind the heater or caught on the driftwood at some stage. I've seem him try to burrow sideways under the driftwood, down into the substrate before, so I'd say that's a likely cause. 2 separate tears, one maybe 1/3 of the way deep into the fin, one a little less. He's still swimming absolutely fine and his behavior hasn't changed at all but it's just a little concerning to look at. He's been there 2 months by now, though and this si the first sign of any damage I've seen. Hopefully it's a one-off and not him getting too bold for his own good.


----------



## kanped (Jul 4, 2016)

TP's tank is *still* reading 0.1 without a WC. The fishless tank is reading 0 after dosing to 2.5ppm 48 hours ago. The algae is getting a little bad in both tanks again, even with the lights only on 6 hours a day. Looks like BBA in the new tank; I've been dosing liquid CO2. I'll need to get in and manually clean as much as I can tomorrow. Seems like I've got it pretty early but it's already spread along the whole back wall. It's mostly on the glass right now; no rooting on that so hopefully I can deal with it. No fish until it's sorted; don't want it blowing up with a fish in there.


----------



## kanped (Jul 4, 2016)

Still battling the algae in the new tank. Some new growth since the clean-out yesterday (more here http://www.bettafish.com/101-betta-...697-algae-getting-really-bad;-how-tackle.html) but I'll keep at it. No rush. It's still going through ammonia faster than I can add it; anybody know how long it would take to lose the cycle from the bacteria not being 'fed'?

TP had made his first (I think) bubble nest when I got home today, just above his heater. Seems like he has interests other than murder after all. In saying that, he's really been attacking his food lately; I'd noticed him bloating a little before and had cut down a wee bit and then missed a day from being out of the house and since then he's been snapping the pellets like they were Sam Jackson in Deep Blue Sea (if you haven't seen it... eh... don't). Overall, though, very healthy and active.

Also did a water change even though the ammonia was still reading next to nothing. The water level was lowering and it was getting dark, either with tannins from the IAL or algae. Also gave the glass a scrub and the whole thing's looking a lot better again. The plants are doing great too, especially the water sprite; TP seems to love swimming in and around it. And of course, occasionally biting it (presumably due to the aforementioned love of killing).


----------



## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

Take that, leaf!


----------



## kanped (Jul 4, 2016)

Oh yeah; his head's totally cleared up now; no more white spot. I'm now 99% convinced it was a scrape from the PVC I had in there the day before I noticed it; must have snagged a corner.

His fins are darker than they were for the most part and he's gone blood red instead of the orangy-red he was initially. All of that's just his colour changing, I'm sure. 

Also, that driftwood totally looks like a face and now you can't un-see it.


----------



## kanped (Jul 4, 2016)

Went in to finish off deep-cleaning the 5g tank to get rid of the last of the BBA. Turns out it was a lot worse than I thought; there was still *lots* of it and a lot of what I'd previously dislodged had settled all over the tank. Total mess. It had also gotten to the roots of most of my microswords, which disintegrated when I tried to take them out to clean them. I've had a really bad time with microswords so far and I'm not planning on replacing them. Java moss isn't looking great but it's not bad enough to get rid of; I think it could still bounce back. All my Vallis is doing really well, so that's good. Ugh. Was planning on going fish shopping tomorrow since the water's good but I guess I'll wait and see. I did a very thorough clean and in fairness, I don't think any of this was new growth but it sucks to have to do a big breakdown and lose a bunch of plants. 

Other tank's great, though, so that's good.


----------



## kanped (Jul 4, 2016)

Got a new fish for the 5g. Figured it was time; cleaned out the algae, removed the dead/dying plants. I'll introduce him properly in another thread and link it when I get some pictures but so far, he seems to be loving it. I acclimated him in the fish bag, adding my tank water. He was actually biting at the inside of the bag trying to get out the whole time. I thought TP was feisty! He's also been attacking the heater, outflow pipe and thermometer so far. Looks like he's claiming his new territory pretty quickly. Still hasn't explored everywhere but he's working his way round the tanks. No shyness or listlessness from him at all; expecting he should be easy to feed tonight but we'll see. So, yeah, stay tuned, pics soon.


----------



## kanped (Jul 4, 2016)

Sagat's intro here; http://www.bettafish.com/100-betta-pictures/710402-sagat.html

He ate a bloodworm just now but wouldn't take anything more than that; he's still small, I'm sure it's enough. Maybe a mistake to feed him the treat food as his first meal but I was giving some to TP anyway and 1/3 of a cube is still a lot more than he could reasonably eat himself. Either way, he's settled, he looks great and he's eating. Good stuff all round.


----------



## kanped (Jul 4, 2016)

They tell you, don't they? Don't put the LFS water into your tank. Ugh. He was really fidgety in the bag and I couldn't net him. Now these mite things are in the tank. They look like daphnia, collembola or cyclops, so not harmful but damn. Every day something new, right?


----------



## kanped (Jul 4, 2016)

Well, there's significantly fewer of those white fellas left. Dunno if Sagat's been at them but it seems likely. Saw him biting at some bits and pieces, anyway. He's been eating pellets today, too, which is great. Not very many and he seems to take them, chew a bit, spit them, chase them, bite them, chew, spit etc. for a while but he'll get used to it. Only takes about 2 to see his belly round off, so he's getting the right amount. TP takes a lot more but he's a *lot* bigger at this stage. Everyone's still being happy, water's still reading good things. It's great to just kick back and watch them swim around. Very happy fishkeeper right here.


----------



## kanped (Jul 4, 2016)

Sagat's starting to get a greed on him now. Coming up to the top of the tank more readily and eating well. Not really much to say but here's a little video of the guys; https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-6Krh8_3VSHZ0NWQTdKMVd3NFU/view?usp=sharing


----------



## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

I guess he's happy to eat up the live food from the lfs water  I'm glad he's settling in!


----------



## kanped (Jul 4, 2016)

Lol, yeah, he was snacking on them and I removed some with a paper towel but I get the feeling a lot of them died from natural causes and was worried about them fouling the water, so I did a water change. Think they're all either eaten or down the drain now.


----------



## kanped (Jul 4, 2016)

He's made a bubble nest today. Wow... TP didn't make one for over 2 months. This guy's taken 4 days. It'll be interesting, actually because TP went through a fish-in cycle and Sagat went in after an extensive fishless cycle. I do wonder if there's any long-term effects of that? TP's colour has changed pretty dramatically since I got him; the only red left on him is his lateral line and ventral fins, and it's a blood red rather than the orangey red he once was. His other fins are more silver and black now (the edges of his fins are perfect and I test regularly; he's not sick or suffering at all). Doesn't seem unreasonable to assume that even relatively mild exposure to ammonia could have some effect on them. Happy and healthy is the main thing, though and they've both certainly got that in spades.


----------



## kanped (Jul 4, 2016)

TP got super freaked out by something this morning. Saw him zip away from the front of the tank super fast. Went to feed him about 5 mins later and he was hiding under the heater at the bottom of the tank. He eventually came up to the top, but not at the front like usual; he poked his head out through the top of the middle of the water sprite and ate from there. It was adorable but I do wonder what spooked him. Seems fine now. Sagat's been eating and swimming and generally chilling out; no news is good news. The BBA is starting to make a comeback in his tank a wee bit; even developed into almost a film on the top of his tank because I'd been scraping it free from the glass. Paper towels sorted out most of it. Just keeping on top of it and hopefully it'll die off as the tank matures.


----------



## kanped (Jul 4, 2016)

Broke out the daphnia there. TP's gotten better with it since the last time but it still does sink a lot then he'll hoover it up later. Sagat, on the other hand... well, the current is a lot stronger in his tank, so the pieces all started zipping in different directions. He chased them down. It was awesome, kept changing directions and grabbing little bits as they were zipping by. Great stuff; will definitely be doing that again.


----------



## kanped (Jul 4, 2016)

Seeing as the plants weren't doing great in Sagat's tank, I decided to upgrade the light. This MingDak thing cost about 1/3 of an equivalent named brand product and was reviewed very well on Amazon. Looks good to me; you can tell where the savings were made and it's not in anything important. It seems great to me; very happy. Also has a blue-light mode which looks fantastic and photographs terribly. 
I noticed Sagat's colour has changed, just a little bit; bright neon blue markings in his rays, pectorals and down his side. Just beautiful, IMO and they really glow with the new light. Also added a little driftwood java fern thing. Looking good. The BBA is still a bit of an issue but really, I don't mind it so much and I'm interested to see if the brighter lights have any effect on it; maybe help the plants to compete.

TP's water sprite is getting gigantic; roots all through the tank, top half of the whole tank is basically leaves now. Anubias and vallis still going strong in there, too. TP was chilling out at the back of the tank under the driftwood when I was snapping these. I had my phone on vibrate and left it next to the tank; think it freaked him out.


----------



## kanped (Jul 4, 2016)

Being Saturday, this is my first full day sitting next to the fish for most of the day in a good while. Once or twice, I'd heard a water trickling noise, like the filter was spitting or something like that. Just saw the cause. TP's water level's a little low and he's jumping. Now, there's a heavy glass lid but he's not hitting it; just pushing himself up and out and lying on top of the water sprite, sideways; maybe even a little out of the water. I thought something was really wrong with him but when I lifted the lid, he just swam off. I guess he just likes lying up there? Anyone heard of anything like this before? It's a bit unusual to have a single floating plant taking up 100% of the water surface and easily supporting their weight, maybe. Just more TP doing weird stuff and scaring the crap outta me. Tested his water and it's all 0-0-0 so I know that's OK and I was gonna do a change tomorrow anyway. I think I'll top it well up; he could probably hurt himself with that nonsense.


----------



## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

Some of my fish beach themselves on floating plants, too.


----------



## kanped (Jul 4, 2016)

Couple of recent snaps; guys have just been hanging out, eating. Been really easy going.


----------



## kanped (Jul 4, 2016)

I was in Copenhagen for a few days (excellent public transport and aquarium, otherwise very similar to any other big European city and very pleasant). Came home and found I had amassed a quite incredible hair algae collection on the roots of Sagat's water sprite. I actually kinda like it 

Mentioned a few times that TP's fins are getting ripped up. Don't think it's actually gotten any worse in a good few weeks now but it's a little disconcerting. He doesn't seem bothered by it at all and I can only presume it's his own nature; he burrows, he jumps, he squeezes behind and through things. I guess it's not doing him any real harm and it certainly doesn't affect his swimming at all. I can't imagine he'd be happier in a more bare tank and he'd just bust himself up on the heater and filter anyway, I'm sure. I can live with it, just hope he's alright. He seems to be.


----------



## kanped (Jul 4, 2016)

So, that hair algae I liked? Yeah, probably should have binned it. All my plants started melting shortly after that. It's gone now but I've lost most of my giant Vallis that was doing so well (had a few runners going). I've trimmed off all the dead stuff but now 's tiny; few little sproutlings. For their part, they aren't getting any worse and the roots look healthy but I haven't noticed any growth at all, either. The algae's starting to come back, too. Couple of potential causes here; I have carbon in my filter, it was at end of life; sudden influx of nutrients for algae, it out-competes the plants. Other issue is my light cycle; 7am-9am, 5pm-9pm. The break in between is too long; the algae can respirate, the plant's can't. So, now it's 2pm-5pm / 6pm-9pm and I've gotten some new carbon and I'll remember that it doesn't last forever from now on.

On the plus side, Lil mentioned in another thread about suction-cupping anubias to a wall, and since my tank had gotten kinda bare from the plant loss, I did this (Sagat's been swimming through it since it wen in, he seems to like it);


----------



## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

I've seen that at pet stores, too! I really like it.


----------



## kanped (Jul 4, 2016)

Got some more anubias. It's hardy but that first one I put in had started to melt a little bit. Got some API anti-algae at the LFS, carbon's out of the tank, so we'll see how it goes. New light cycle doesn't seem to be having too much of an effect but it's good practice, so it's staying. I brought a sample of both tanks to test for phosphates, since only one was having an issue. Sure enough, the problem tank's test goes blue; about 1.0ppm. OK... try the other one. Nothing. For a while. Then slowly, same shade of blue, then darker and darker. Over 3.0ppm. LFS guy explained that it was lower in the problem tank because the algae is using it and growing, whereas the good tank has the giant water sprite established and it's out-competing the algae. So, I bought a test and tested my tap water. See below; she's bad. I guess we'll see how this API product goes. LFS guy doesn't like Seachem for some reason, but they and others make filter media that absorbs phosphates too but he said not to use it yet because if it's combined with the API and it drains all the phosphates, it's bad for the plants. 

The good news is that none of this bothers the fish at all; they're doing good. The bad news is, if I don't fix this, my plants are going to keep dying. I'm rooting for API on this one right now.


----------



## kanped (Jul 4, 2016)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-6Krh8_3VSHS2ZXU2xGV1JCamM/view?usp=sharing

Badly losing the hair algae fight. The java moss that's been engulfed there will have to go in the bin, joining many other plants before it (including the first of that new anubias, the one that had started melting; rhizome completely rotted). 

One month on and the anti-algae additives haven't even slowed it down. Going to start using RO water. Going to pick up 5L tomorrow and do a 10L (50%) water change, so 75% tap, 25% RO. Same next week and well, I suppose every week. I'll periodically test my tap water and see if it gets any better in the meantime, and switch back to tap when I can. Desperate times call for desperate measures, I guess. Real pain to have to drive to the LFS every week to pick up 5L of water, but it's a lot better than doing the same to buy new plants.


----------



## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

:-( I never had luck with anti-algae additives, either. The one I bought said you still had to rub the algae off of everything and that the additive just killed it. I hope you win your battle!


----------



## kanped (Jul 4, 2016)

Well, no new plant problems, little bits of algae here and there but nothing too extreme. Personally, I think the tank's the best looking it's ever been right now. Running something like 1/3 RO currently. pH has dropped down to about 6.7 so I'm keeping an eye on that but otherwise, my anubias has little sprouts for the first time, the new additions are all surviving well and the vallis is really starting to make a comeback. I've starting dosing Easy-Carbo again as well and I haven't seen any of the hair algae really returning. All in all, the plan seems to be working and the tides are turning!


----------



## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

It's looking nice!


----------



## kanped (Jul 4, 2016)

Still losing plants, melting and wilting but the algae isn't nearly as bad as it was. Maybe my bio-load is too low to sustain all the plants?


----------



## kanped (Jul 4, 2016)

New little buddy hiding in that photo. ADF. No name yet.


----------



## kanped (Jul 4, 2016)

ADF didn't work out and went back to the store. Full details in this thread; http://www.bettafish.com/102-betta-...k-feeding-successes-anyone-3.html#post7747265


----------

