Stuff floating in tank, help!

So I know the answer to this is going to be "Move Python to a bigger tank, do a fish-in cycle" but I no longer have that bigger tank(filter malfunction during fishless cycling) and I don't have the money to buy a big tank yet. I feel like the worst fish owner ever.

Python is in a 0.7 gallon tank. I do twice daily water changes (about 25% each I think). I use Prime. Everything is at a safe level. (I don't have time to test right now but when I checked using the API master kit a few days ago everything was normal.)

The first thing I noticed was something attached to Python. I immediately panicked and grabbed my camera. However she swam around and whatever it was floated off. But then I noticed all the... stuff. What is this?
I sucked out all the big/long pieces I saw and did a water change.

I just put a mesh cover over the top of tank in case somehow cat hair has been floating in.

I just took out 2 plastic plants in the past week as I suspected they were the culprits. The other plant I threw away but this one I kept The edges seem to be fraying. 2 different plants, 2 different brands from 2 different stores.

This is really long now but can anyone tell me what's in the tank?!

 

I'm not sure exactly what I'm suppose to be looking at.. I'm sorry it must be super tiny?

I just wanted to say.. if you can't afford a bigger tank, why not use a food grade tote? You can get amuch bigger than .7g for a super cheap price. Matter fact, you probably have something around the house you could use (but thatd be risky unless you knew exactly what it was used for)
Just transfer all of your media to it and Python will be much happier.

Also what is "normal" when you mention your parameters?

 

no filter so no media. what do you mean by food grade tote? and by normal I mean all at or very close to 0.

It was hard to photograph but there's long strings and specks of what looks to be dust or something

 

Could it be cat hair after all? That stuff goes everywhere!

As for the old tank, why can't you use it? If it was just a filter problem surely that's an easy fix!

 

Yeah my eyes are shot apparently cause I can't see it. I'm also on mobile so that doesn't help lol

You can't have a healthy tank without a filter..
By food grade tote I mean a storage tote. But I don't think id suggest doing this until you have cycled media..
When can you get a filter?

 

Tank had the filter practically built in. Filter made a really loud noise and nothing I tried fixed it. So it's been returned.

I'm actually going to Petco and hopefully Petsmart to return some stuff. So I should get some store credit. What filters do you recommend? Can I cycle a plastic tote?

 

For a Betta? You can't go wrong with a sponge filter! Best of all, they're really cheap. Just need an air pump to drive it.

And yes, you can cycle any volume of water

 

I haven't seen sponge filters in store.

Just left Petco, got 2 silk plants. looked at their glass tanks since they had their $1 per gallon sale. The tanks had insane amounts of glue gobbed on and one had a huge crack down the back! I looked at the filters but they're cheaper at Petsmart I think

 

I've never seen sponge filters in large chain stores, only small shops. I always end up ordering mine through eBay, very cheap that way

 

only chain stores around where I live I don't know anyone with an Amazon account but I've been considering it more and more.

Besides sponge filters, what other filters are good? And can be found at Petsmart? I'm thinking about getting a 5-10 gallon tank

 

Any HOB, especially AquaClear, but they're expensive. Can you get one secondhand maybe? What about making your own?

 

I don't know anyone with a fish tank. Making one? What would that involve? I already have airline tubing(was going to make a DIY siphon but I found a small one that works instead)

What about the Whisper 3i?

 

I don't know anything about the Whisper line. I think they're OK? Making a filter is easy. Look up moving bed filters by Pondguru on YouTube

Here's one: https://youtu.be/DbGWp37djZQ

 

what about this?

Seems easy enough. Would it actually work? I still have $14 store credit at Petco, might have to go back and get some of this stuff.

 

Yep, that would work! I'm partial to the moving bed filters myself but I wouldn't use the expensive media suggested in the video. I'd probably use expanded clay hydroponic substrate because it's a lot cheaper.

 

So with the little vase filter, how often do you think the fiber/cotton should be changed? She said to change the carbon monthly but didn't say anything about the fiber. Also, would the type of air pump matter? Or the type of air stone? And I would assume the color of airline tubing wouldn't matter

 

When it gets dirty just pull it out and rinse it in old tank water, then put it back in. There will be bacteria growing on it as well as on the gravel.

Air pump only has to be strong enough for your tank size so just a small one should suffice.

Type of air stone and colour of tubing won't matter

 

So a turtle or flower shaped one would work the same as any other shape? (the cute shapes tend to be cheaper, no clue why)
Petco has an air pump kit with tubing, airstone, and a connector for $10. Cheapest I've seen! Will also look at Walmart.

I know it's always "the bigger the better" but 10 gallon seems huge, especially for a classroom pet. What about a 2.5 glass aquarium? It looks pretty long so I think Python would have plenty of room. Also half the price of a 10 gallon. I think Petsmart has a 5.5 gallon so maybe that would work?

How important are lights? If I were to get a tank without a hood and make my own hood, are lights absolutely necessary?

 

That's weird! Maybe price has something to do with the quality? It shouldn't matter what shape you use, just be sure that whichever container you choose the airstone can fit through the opening

Look at the different tanks. Where I am, 10's are the cheapest! Another thing to consider is that the larger the tank the easier it will be to maintain stable parameters (including temperature) and the more forgiving if something goes wrong. If you have snails for example and some die then the resulting ammonia spike will be diluted by the higher volume of water. This could be important for a classroom pet who will be left alone on weekends when no one is there to help.

If you don't have live plants then ambient light will be plenty and no need for an aquarium hood. I would choose to get a class top for it though, partly to prevent excess evaporation and also to prevent the betta jumping out. Having a glass top will also allow more light to get in.

 

Good news!! Got everything I need to make the vase filter and Walmart had a great price on a 10 gallon with an LED hood! (it came with a Whisper filter which I won't be using but I guess it's good to have a backup!)

 

I don't know anything about the Whisper line. I think they're OK? Making a filter is easy. Look up moving bed filters by Pondguru on YouTube

Here's one: https://youtu.be/DbGWp37djZQ

So good to finally see someone mention this!