Harley

Just bought a betta the other day. The tank was partly cycled when I added him, I did a water change today and tested what I could for water conditions. everything showed to be normal all I added was declorinater to the new water, now the surface of the water is turning to a gel!! The declorinater is the same as I use in my other tank. I also found the water doesnt gel up when the filter is tured right up, but the betta changes colour and hides when the filter is on full. So I turned it down and the water regelled!?!? I was reading a post by chickadee and she said that meltafix creates a film on the water, The gravel in the tank was used in a tank were meltafix was used. Did the gravel cary this with it? will the carbon in the filter remove it? Looking for answers!!

sirdarksol

Bettas don't like water flow at all.
Many betta owners use sponge filters instead of HOB filters.
It's probably the current that is scaring the little guy.

Harley

I tuned the filter down so it hardly had a flow, the water gelled and the betta was nolonger bothered by the flow!

sirdarksol

Some water changes might help with the surface of the water. Not immediately, but in the long run. You could also try skimming it off with a net (be sure to rinse the net in hot water afterward)

Harley

I tryed the net!! but it broke up into really fine bits went through the net and it took the filter forever to clean it up cause of the slow flow!! Ill do daily water changes and try to see if the used gravel has meltafix on it!!

chickadee

Melafix would have floated on top of the water and would be removed at least mostly by the carbon in the filter so if you want to hurry the removal along add a new carbon to the filter. What type of filter are you using by the way?

The Melafix is an oily type of substance not a gel but did you rinse the tank out with any water or anything before you used it on a new fish? It would have been nice to have at least given it a rinse if you were medicating some other fish for something they must have been sick with something. We do not normally put a new fish in an aquarium where sick fish have been especially where they have died without cleaning it up first. What did the other fish have or where did they go to? What other fish were there in the tank? How long have you had the tank? How far along is the cycle? What is the temperature of the tank? What are the test results for ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite?

Your fish is probably only reacting to a new situation and remember that he is just now getting used to being in a filtered situation from the cup if you have just got him. So give him time to settle in before getting too upset. But do not hesitate to do water changes if that tank is not cycled or if you did not clean it up between fish. It is going to need to be cleaned up. You may want to put some clean water in the container that the betta came in and put him back in there for a few minutes while you clean the water out of the tank and get new water and put in that is the same temperature as the tank and then refloat him to get him used to the temperature after you clean the tank out of any old water and rinse the gravel a bit to get any traces of the old fish out of the tank. If you cannot put him back in the old cup or if he is not able to be moved then just do the best you can tomorrow to get the water out of the tank and clean the walls of the tank on the inside and put in some new filter media and do what you can to clean the tank with him in there and then refill it. Then please do keep us informed of his progress. We are interested and want him to be safe. We know that you love him and we want to help if we can. It is not the end of the world just a little work.

Rose

Harley

Its a HOB filter made by tetra with flow adjustment. I did clean the tank and made sure I did a really good job on the gravel thats the part I dont get! The tank is pritty much done cycling the temp is at about 80. I can't get a reading on the nitrate and nitrite because I ran out of test things but there is very little ammonia and the ph is about 7 or 8. He seems to be eating and breathing fine. He might be a little constipated but ill take care of that! Ill do 25% daily water changes add an airpump and airstone some time next week! Ill post picks if I can!!

Harley

I got some pics of my little guy, I'm still looking for names too!!

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MissMTS

OMG! He's beautiful! Congrats!

pamd

He seems like a "Flame," but if it's too common (because it IS such a great name) for a red-finned firey guy, he also reminds me of spectacular fireworks. One idea is to call him Pyro, short for Pyrotechnics.

AggieYen

I had an issue with the gel on top of the water too - although mine was a little bit more like a film along the top of the water. Read through the posts on here, and decided it could be because there's too little water agitation (I have my filter flow down low as well). Got an airpump and a bubble wall, and it's fixed it right up.

Harley

K ill try the air pump too thnx!! And Pyro thats kool!!

COBettaCouple

The adjustable flow for the filter will be good. You can turn it up over time as he gets used to it and stronger, he'll swim into the flow at times for exercise and all of our Bettas enjoy the current ride. They love the air bubbles too and a bubble wand is what we like to use for them.