MinxMermaid

crystal, check your message notifications

Devon

Welcome to FishLore!! So glad that you came here and are taking the extra time to do your research and find out how to do right by the little fish whose life depends on you. So many people don't know any better, and keep sad fish. So... kudos to you!

Laars looks like a lovely boy! Kind of a copper colour? I like the glass rocks you have in his tank, too.

One cure-all for most fish illnesses is garlic. My boys HATE garlic by itself (seems most people's bettas like it... go figure.) So, I soak their blood worms in a little garlic juice and water once a week. They only need it as a supplement unless they're sick, at which point it's best to feed them a little garlic each day.
I haven't heard of white spots on a betta's eye, but it is possible that he has ICH and you can only see the spots there because of his colouring... just a wild guess. Ich is a parasite with three life stages, and is best treated with garlic supplement, a water temp. of 83-84F, daily 50% water changes w/ gravel vacuuming each time, and low light. The increased temperature speeds up the parasite's life cycle, getting the cysts off your fish and into the water, gravel, and plants faster, where it will propagate if left alone. The purpose of cleaning the gravel and changing the water is to remove the parasites before they have a chance to return to your fish and spawn again (a highly simplified explanation, but really all you need.)
You should see vast improvements in just a week with this treatment. Even if it isn't ich... none of these things will harm your fish, which is why I recommend treating naturally rather than running out and buying one of those yucky chemical treatments.

Good luck!

jdhef

It's a great idea to read up on the nitrogen cycle.

But, here's what I think your choices are going to come down to.

Method 1. Daily 50% water changes until your tank cycles. Use Prime or Stress Coat or some other water conditioner before adding the new water every day. Also, when adding water, use water at about the same temp as the tank water, which normally should be 80 degrees. This could take up to six weeks to get the tank cycled. After cycling weekly 50% water changes should suffice.

Method 2 Buy either BioSpira or Tetra Safe Start. (Safe Start is a newer form of BioSpira that doesn't require refrigeration). They way you use either of these products is to have your tank filled with dechlorinated water (be careful which water conditioner you use, since products like Prime which "lock up" ammonia will cause the BioSpira or Safe Start to not work). Next you add the product, then you immediately add your fish (though in your case your fish may already be in the tank, so just add the product).

Good luck and if you have anymore questions feel free to ask. We love answering questions around here.

jdhef

Oh and one more thing, (just because I'm sure your head hasn't exploded yet), most people here take the carbon out of their filter cartridge. The reason being that the carbon stops absorbing impurities after about 4 weeks and starts spitting impurities back into your tank.

Now if you are saying to yourself, "what's he talking about?" you obviously made the mistake of reading the instructions that came with your filter. (One of the few advantages men have over women is us men open the box and immediately throw the instructions away...anyway I digress).

What you really want to do is just take the cartridge with the carbon already removed and swish it in used tank water every week when doing your water change. The reason is that since the filter media contains the bulk of the beneficial bacteria, you don't want to replace it until it is totally falling apart, because if you do, you will go into a mini cycle, which means daily 50% water changes.

Devon

LOL... You have it backwards... on who has the advantage, at least..

COBettaCouple

Welcome to Fishlore.

How are those spots looking now?

We have flat glass marbles for our bettas and what I do when I clean a tank is to take some water out and put it in one of these 15qt rubbermaid tubs. Then I move the decor and marbles into there. Just be sure the water covers the stuff. Then I can clean the bottom with a turkey baster and put the marbles back in, followed by the decor (which I rearrange weekly).

For water conditioner, I recommend using Prime AND Fish Protector, but at least Prime (1-2 drops of each per gallon). 50% water changes daily is good advice while the tank is cycling and weekly 25-40% water changes after it's cycled.

For food, Ocean Nutrition makes good Betta Pellets and Hikari has good bloodworms products. We use the frozen ones, thawed but you can also feed them the dried worms after soaking them in tank water, Garlic Guard or Vita-Chem to plump them up.

Crystal

Hi all.

I've been busy with work and life, sorry I haven't given an update yet.

Well I got his heater replaced and added Stress Zyme to his water, and within two days his eyes cleared up perfectly. I also purchased some stress salt, which I added to the tank. Now I'm monitoring the levels of his water but I'm having a bit of a time figuring that out. Here's the readings I'm getting...


8/1/08
nitrate: 0-20
nitrite: 5.0-10.0
Hardness: 75-150
chlorine: 0
alkalinity: 80
pH: 7.2

8/4/08
Nitrate: 0-20
Nitrite: 5.0-10.0
Hardness: 150
Chlorine: 0
Alkalinity: 80
pH: 7.2

8/5/08
Nitrate: 0-20
Nitrite: 1.0-3.0
Hardness: 75-150
Chlorine: 0
Alkalinity: 80
pH: 7.2

Lucy

I'm really glad Laars is feeling better!

Your nitrites are dropping and you have nitrates showing, so thats good, what's your ammonia reading?
Are you doing daily water changes?

Crystal

How do I go about testing ammonia?

And yes, we've been doing the 50% water changes.

jdhef

You need to get a test kit. Most people here would recommend the API Master Freshwater Test Kit. It will test for Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrates and Ph.

It is far more accurate than the test strips. It is also much cheaper in the long run, since you will get something like 800 tests out if it.

Devon

You'll want to purchase a liquid test that can do ammonia. They are the most accurate; the API Master Kit is a favourite amongst FishLorians as it tests for everything and gives very accurate readings. If you have any difficulty testing for ammonia just start a thread here and I am sure you'll get fast help.

Glad that your boy is feeling better! Just keep up on those water changes until you get 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and some nitrates.