Smart To Clean Tank?

Hey all-

I have a 5 gallon fluval spec tank with a betta fish. Been up and running for 6 months. I cycled fishless before I got the fish. No ammonia, no nitrite, low nitrate. Temp 80. Ph. 6.2-6.4

I have been having issues with the fish for a while. His fins started to curl a few months ago.. which I think was due to me trying to raise the PH with a chemical bc I thought it was too low and unstable. I have since stopped and don't try to alter it. But the fish's fins have really been deteriorating.

I clean the tank weekly... change about 1/3 water.

I can't for the life of me figure out what is wrong with him. He also has has a stress stripe. He's been like this for a while. Although he acts and eats fine.

Around the time this started happening.. I noticed small bugs in the tank.. like little white thingies on the glass. I researched it and wrote a post on here and was convinced they were not problem bugs... but maybe even beneficial. So I left it alone... the amount has gone down but they are still here. They are extremely tiny... mainly on the glass... but some floating too. I believe they came in with a plant I bought.

Sometimes I see the fish picking at things in the tank.. and spitting something out.. I wonder if this is the bugs.

I have been thinking recently.. do you think it is smart to break down the tank. Move the fish for the day.... and clean it thoroughly... put fresh new substrate.. clean the driftwood in hot water. Clean the plants as much as possible.. and the filter sponge. I wouldn't clean the filter media because I don't want to ruin the cycle.

What is the best way to thoroughly clean a tank to try and get rid of these bugs? Also.. what is the best way to clean the plants without killing them? Do you think the 100% water change is too much for the fish? I feel like something in this tank is not right. Either that or he is fin biting.

Also... I used to have an issue with fungus on an old piece of driftwood I had in there... I have since change the driftwood and don't have any problems.. but I do notice a slime coat on the plants when I take them out to clean them... as though there is still a fungus perhaps.

What should I do? I feel like I need to thoroughly clean it to eradicate whatever it is.. but I worry about doing that. But I've seen some trusted youtube fish keepers do a thorough cleaning of their tank once every 6 months.

What about the filter sponge? I usually rinse that out in old tank water... but if I want to get the bugs out of that.. I Dunno.

Any suggestions?

 

First of all do you have a test kit and what are your numbers for the levels. What was your ph that you thought was to low? Are you doing regular water changes? Can you post a Picture of the curled fins so we can take a look.

I would not to a tank break down and rebuild. My gut is telling me that the little worms were more than likely detritus worms which is a sign of a dirty tank. which leads me to think that one of two or both may be happening; lack of water change and vacuuming or over feeding. Next question are fimilaur with tank cycling? most people would know that breaking down your tank will rune any tank cycle.

If you have a test kit knowing the numbers may help us in trying to figure out what is going on.

 

I stated all the answers to the questions you have above.

Also I am veryyy aware about ruining the cycle...That is why I was afraid to do this. I clean the tank very regularly without fail. Weekly 1/3 water change with vacuuming and cleaning off plants and driftwood in old water. PH is 6.4 .... no ammonia. no nitrite. less than 5ppm nitrate always.

I am like a **** about all this... testing and being as thorough as possible always. Very OCD over here.

The only problem I could have is low oxygen maybe? I buffer the filter output with a sponge because it would be wayyy too strong for a betta. So the water surface does not break.. but a lot of people say bettas prefer it that way and they can breathe at the surface. Though I do have live plants which would bring oxygen into the water I believe.

I will try to get a pic. Honestly.. his fins just look short now.. but a drastic change from what they were.

I really think issue is with these bugs... which came in with a plant. I distinctly remember when they started to appear. I see them at the surface too... so when he goes up to breathe.... he take a gulp and spits something out.

I can't imagine how the tank is dirty given the amount of cleaning I do. I have even been doing more small water changes... 1/2 gallon during the week!

Here is his pic.... Look at his old pic though in my profile pic. What a drastic change!

 

hey.... anybody advice? I've had these tiny little worms/bugs for months... it seemed like the population went down for a while and I hardly noticed them. But not I see them on the surface of the water.

I honestly cannot find anything like them in pics... they are soooo extremely tiny I can hardly take a pic. I really want to get them out of the tank once and for all.. but don't want to ruin the cycle.

 

You could always remove the filter and the fish and nuke the tank with hydrogen peroxide. About 6-8 ounces will do. In 24 hours it will have broken down into harmless compounds. I still would do a large water change before putting the fish back in.

 

nuking with H2O2 would still kill the BB.... I learned the hard way treating hair algae. Well, this has me stumped, it seems you have the usual culprits nipped in the butt. Have you changed the food or started a new bottle? Or old food? His body looks like he is not suffering from worms but it a little bit hard to see the full body on that pic. whatever the bugs are I feel like if you can not id them form common paricite on the web it is probably just some sort of aquatic bug. The only other thing I other than the food that I could think of is mabey lower the heat a couple of degrees (might slow the reproduction of the bug down). The hotter the water generally the faster the fishes metalobisime works, cooler the slower it works. Also the hotter the water the faster they age as well. How old is the fish?

 

No matter what I did with my tank, I ALWAYS have those bugs and little worms. I've changed the entire scape, scrubbed things with hot water, didn't matter - they're always there. I think I may have gotten them from using hikarI blood worms because my Fluval Spec didn't have any until I moved my betta over and fed him some freeze dried blood worms.

 

interesting about the heat. The tank is generally pretty warm.... at 80. Sometimes at 82. He is only 6 months old. In the summer it was warm in the tank with no heater... just because of the summer heat.. like 84. Not I keep it between 80-82.. but I have been thinking of lowering it a bit.

Interesting about the worms. I am going to try and clean the tank as thoroughly as possible tomorrow without ruining the BB. I will clean the plants and driftwood in warm water... scrub the glass well... etc... and I was thinking to change the substrate ... I need to put new sand in anyway because its gotten so low. I will not disturb the filter media.... so I think I should be good on that.

Good to know I am not the only one with the worm issue. I read somewhere that these worms could just be regular worms that live in the substrate.. but tend to come up to the surface when oxygen levels are low..... like I said I have no surface agitation.... I bought a small air pump today... do you think this would be helpful? I can run it for just a couple of hours a day when I am home at night.

Going to put fishy to the side it a separate space while I clean.. I haven't done that in a while... him being in there really prevents me from cleaning well.... he's nosey. I am not going to change 100% of the water... I don't want to shock him...

My main thing is that I want to get under the substrate and clean bc previously I had a problem where a lot of my plants died off.... due to low GH. I want to make sure there aren't rotting plant pieces in the substrate.

 

Ok.... what's done is done. Cleaned out the whole tank very thoroughly. Put new substrate... cleaned the plants and driftwood. Did not touch the bio-media.

My fish is in a holding tank for a bit while I let it run and settle in. I will reacclimate him and put him in when I get home tonight.

I did not find anything particularly alarming during the clean out. The only thing I would say is as weird was that there were large crystal like pieces under the substrate.

Some time ago I had used baking soda to stabilize the PH. I didn't think it was a great idea after one use because I felt he acted different. So I did a water change and never used it again.

I'm wondering if something "crystallized" in the substrate and created a salt like substance? Betta fish are very sensitive to salt.... so maybe that's it??

 

Ok.... what's done is done. Cleaned out the whole tank very thoroughly. Put new substrate... cleaned the plants and driftwood. Did not touch the bio-media.

My fish is in a holding tank for a bit while I let it run and settle in. I will reacclimate him and put him in when I get home tonight.

I did not find anything particularly alarming during the clean out. The only thing I would say is as weird was that there were large crystal like pieces under the substrate.

Some time ago I had used baking soda to stabilize the PH. I didn't think it was a great idea after one use because I felt he acted different. So I did a water change and never used it again.

I'm wondering if something "crystallized" in the substrate and created a salt like substance? Betta fish are very sensitive to salt.... so maybe that's it??

 

Just a though, have you done any painting or something that releases some fumes into the air in the house? Maybe the water exorbed some chemicals?

 

Well... for not you should mention that. My brother vapes and will sometimes vape in the room. And the tank has an open portion in the top for the light.
I tell him not to vape around the fish tank and he thinks I am crazy! He has a fish tank though and vapes in his house

I meant.. funny that you mention that**

 

You might want to look at this website to help identify those tiny bugs you have!
I found it very useful. They way I got rid of mine was just by stocking my aquarium ( I didn’t have any fish before that ) the fish ate it all right up! Hope that helps

 

I’m pretty new, and have no valuable advice. I do know that warmer water holds less oxygen, so perhaps a bubbler or a little bit of surface agitation would help?
Then again, bettas are labyrinth breathers, so maybe not.

 

yes.. I worried about oxygen levels as well. When I broke down the tank this weekend I actually added a bubbler that I intended to put on for just a small about of time each day. The only thing is... I don't think the fishy likes it...lol. Or.. he's just confused when the bubbles come out.... he attacks the bubbles! I put it on low.. and he goes down by the little spout thingie and waits for the bubbles to come out and then tries to eat them!... he ends up getting big mouth fulls of sand! which I didnt think would be good.. or its just unpleasant for him lol... its really cute actually. He's a fiesty one. Maybe he just keeps time to learn what it is.. and he'll leave it alone.