# my betta's fins are looking burnt and black!!!!



## plants beauty (Jun 10, 2010)

hi everyone

can anybody please let me know what's going on with my dark blue betta

its fins are looking black and burnt from the end,, its front fins, the ones that should be red look eaten and pale(white)

plus i have one more thing, i have 3 male guppies and one female, the thing is the female always race to the food and eats it all, it's hard for the other fish including the tetras to grab some

i have one betta
2 neon tetras(going to add 3 more)
4 guppies
and i have about 40 liters in my aquarium
my PH level is 8.5 to 9
my ammonia, nitrate, nitrite all are stable and harmless


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## Gordon C. Snelling (Jun 20, 2007)

One issue I see right away is your PH is on the high side for both the betta and the neons. Both of these fish prefer water a bit more acidic. The guppies could be doing a bit of fin nipping.


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## plants beauty (Jun 10, 2010)

thanks
but it's not fin nipping, they look black like they are burnt!!!!!!


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## Gordon C. Snelling (Jun 20, 2007)

It was just a thought, I would definitely work on bringing that P.H. down some though.


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## plants beauty (Jun 10, 2010)

do u think that if i lowered my PH, the betta would be better, because now it has some holes in the fins as well!!!!!!
as for PH, the think is that my tap water in 8.5-9, and using chemicals to lower the PH every time i change the water is not cheap!! not to mention the inconsistency of the PH level in my aquarium due to this!! do u have a way i can keep my 
PH level steady before and after the water change


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## mthom211 (Sep 3, 2010)

Try indian almond leaves, they work wonders for bettas. or filter the water through peat.


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## Gordon C. Snelling (Jun 20, 2007)

I use R/O water and oak leaves.


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## plants beauty (Jun 10, 2010)

thanks guys
will peat affect the other fish in a negative way?


BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY my betta is still not fine, and this odd black color spread to another tail( branch or whatever it's called) plus the hole in the fin!!!!!!!!!

what's the problem?!


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## Newt (Apr 1, 2004)

I looked thru a fish disease chart and saw nothing about darkening fins. My only guess (not having seen the fish) is bacterial fin rot. I find MelaFix works well for this. However, as others have said lower your pH. A pH of 7 is neutral and all of your fish should do OK with that. The peat will help lower the pH by reducing the KH of the water. It will darken the water with tannins which will not harm your fish. Carbon will remove this color if it bothers you.


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## Franco (Jun 25, 2010)

I always associated the whitish coloration with new fin growth so I think that is fine. Are you sure the black color isn't normal?
If you want to lower the pH a little, fill a media bag or nylon stocking with peat and put it in the filter.


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## jinsei888 (Apr 20, 2009)

Not sure what could be causing this, but 8.5-9pH is a bit higher than preferred conditions for the betta and neons, as mentioned in above posts from other fellow members. I do recall that fish fin health can be affected by the water condition, but that doesn't officially remedy the problem for your betta. Still might be something to consider in the equation.


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## plants beauty (Jun 10, 2010)

thanks Newt, i don't know if it's fin rot, i too looked through a a little book i have, and seen nothing! but now the fish has holes in the fins!!!!

PLUS, one of my neon tetras are melting away!!
the flesh is gradually melting starting from the anal fin!! is this the neon tetra disease?!!

yesterday i used Sera Oktopur, we'll see if it work with this!!!

thanks Franco, yes it's not normal BECAUSE it just started days ago AND then it went but IT LEFT THE FINS LOOKING LIKE A THREAD, and the whitish is been for a time now and no fin started to grow, in fact after i used the Oktopur, my betta started growing some fins in the bottom of its body, i want to wait more and see if they will fully develop


any more ideas guys!!

thank you, really!


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## Newt (Apr 1, 2004)

Not NTD IMO.

Lower the pH and try Melafix


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## plants beauty (Jun 10, 2010)

it looks like NTD stands for neon tetra disease but what is IMO New?!!

i don't have MelaFix here, of the famous brand i can get Sera and Aqua Medic

thanks Newt


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## plants beauty (Jun 10, 2010)

it looks like NTD stands for neon tetra disease but what is IMO New?!!

i don't have MelaFix here, of the famous brand i can get Sera and Aqua Medic

thanks Newt


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## plants beauty (Jun 10, 2010)

and oh, i lowered the PH, but i didn't measure it bcoz Sera Oktopur made my water green, so i figured that this will ruin the test( mine depends on the water's color)


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## Newt (Apr 1, 2004)

IMO = In My Opinion

I think there is a list of acronyms in the Library for this website.


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## Red_Rose (Mar 18, 2007)

I'd read this link before you go to add Melafix/Bettafix to the tank. Ever since I read what has happened to people who have treated their bettas with this, I flat out refuse to use it.

I know that 8.5 and especially 9 is quite high for bettas, especially for neons but I've spoken to a woman who has kept bettas since she was very young and where she lives now, the water in her tanks are in the 8.5 range and she's never had any problems with their fins. The water in my Max's home is at 8.2 and he's fine.

From the sounds of it, he could very well have finrot which could be caused my many things aside from the pH. Have you tried putting him into a hospital tank and treated him for it?


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## Newt (Apr 1, 2004)

Unfortunately the article isnt accessible. 

I have a Betta in my tank and the few times Ive used Mela & Pima Fix I havent had any issues. I would like to read the article and recommend not using the product until more is known.


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## Skizhx (Oct 12, 2010)

Not that I'm trying to be disrespectful or question your knowledge or experience, so please don't interpret it in such a way.

But a lot of the times when someone says that their ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates are within safe limits, but don't actually list their readings, their ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates aren't actually within safe limits, and that's exactly what's causing the problem.

So if you could actually tell us your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate readings, and tell us what sort of test you're using, it would just eliminate any question or possibility.


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## plants beauty (Jun 10, 2010)

no problem Skizhx, i understand  
today's measures are:
ammonia: between 0 to 0.5 mg/l
nitrite: between 0.5 to 1 mg/l
i didn't take a nitrate measure today bcoz i i saw that ammonia and nitrite are not bad

i use sera tests, i use them as follow:
i put water in the vial, add the chemical then measure the color according to the included chart

thanks Skizhx


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## OVT (Aug 26, 2010)

It looks like your tank is still cycling. How long has it been running? If you have access to Prime, add recommended dosage x2, if not, add some water conditioner to your tank that removes ammonia and nitrites.

I would move your betta to a glass jar with the biggest opening you can find. Use new tap water with a good water conditioner. Do not put anything else in the jar with your big guy: no sand, no decorations, no nothing. Add 1/2 of the recommended dose of Melafix. Put the jar in a quiet place. Change 1/2 of the water everyday. I hope he gets well soon.


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## plants beauty (Jun 10, 2010)

hi OVT
i'm kind of surprised by your answer, are the above measurements considered high!!!!!!

my tank has been running for 2-3 months

and would you please explain to me why a bowl is better than my aquarium

P.S. what's Prime, i mean who manufactures it?! i can easily get sera and then aqua medic products, and maybe Prodac
i don't live in the USA!!!


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## Skizhx (Oct 12, 2010)

Any readings of ammonia or nitrite is too much and indicates that your bacteria cannot keep up with the nitrogen output of your fish and their waste.

This could be due to something dying in the tank and going ignored, rotting food, adding new fish too quickly, lack of substrate cleaning (plenty of people with planted tanks don't clean the substrate and it's not a problem, but it's just one possible source), etc.

It's a good sign that you haven't have a bacterial bloom though (your water would be cloudy and you'd know something wasn't right).

Both ammonia and nitrites however should be at 0, and should always be at 0.

Also consider that at your PH any levels of ammonia will be more toxic than it would be in most other aquariums that have lower PH.

If you have any other aquariums that have been running for awhile with no problems, that don't have any ammonia or nitrite, you could try taking some decor out and putting it in this other tank, or perhaps mixing the filter media in with your new filter a little just to speed things up.

Otherwise, plants will use these up and remove them from the water. So personally my first piece of advice is either increase the amount of beneficial bacteria in your system by introducing colonized objects from another established tank, or add more live plants and get them growing.

You could remove the betta, but personally I think a jar is going to get ammonia problems anyways. I'm certain someone with more experience would know better than me on that though. Basically I've never kept bettas in jars or bowls.

Finally, I think more frequent water changes until your ammonia and nitrites stabilize at 0 would be a good idea. It's never a bad idea to test your tap water too, just to be aware of what's in it when you're putting it into your aquarium. It's not uncommon to find small levels of nitrates or ammonia in tap water (I believe the ammonia is often a misreading due to the chloramine used in some cities though).

As to your question... Prime is a water conditioner made by Seachem. It has a very concentrated formula, making it very cost-effective. One aspect that makes Prime stand out though is that it chelates toxic metals and ionizes toxic ammonia into harmless ammonium. Many water conditioners do one of these, but I haven't found any others that do both, and Prime is still the most economical brand I've found locally in my area.


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## OVT (Aug 26, 2010)

I agree with Skizhx's answers. Plants_beauty, I cannot see your tank and, therefore, cannot identify what else might be going on there. I am assuming that you like your betta. I also know you do not have a med tank. That's why I recommended that you move your guy out of unknown to me (but harmful) environment into something that you can control.

Your decorations might be leaking toxic chemicals, your substrate might be from you back yard, you might have dropped your ink pen into the tank, I just don't know. So, logically, get your betta out of there before you figure things out. No disrespect intended. Just trying to help out.

And no, I do not advocate keeping bettas in jars.

I do not know your situation, you might not be able to run out and buy a med tank right away. But you might have a nice, clean jar right in front of you.

Best of luck and let us know how it goes.


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## majerah1 (Feb 11, 2008)

I have raised bettas for the past four years.Melafix,Pimafix and bettafix(which is a diluted version of melafix...)will burn the bettas gills.Smell it,its strong.It somehow affects the labrynth organ causing them more breathing issues.The black edges are fin rot.I used to get it with my white platinums all the time(they are super sensative to water for some reason.You need to place the betta in a gallon of dechlored water,with a medicinal dose of salt.Keep the temp at 86 as this will speed healing,but raise it slowly.Give him daily waterchanges until you see no more blackening and clear edging(sign of regrowth).The PH is not an issue.My water was ph 8.5 to 9.0 and i bred halfmoons in this.The fins are stronger on the fish raised in this water,as they were raised in it.Good luck with him.


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## OVT (Aug 26, 2010)

I am happy there are people on this forum with more experience with bettas then I am. Thank you, majerah1, as your advice will also help me as I am falling in love with bettas and now have 1 in each of my tanks.


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## plants beauty (Jun 10, 2010)

THANK YOU SO MUCH GUYS....
Skizhx: i did had a bacterial bloom two weeks ago, but i treated it and now it's gone

i don't have any other aquariums, i just have this 36 L tank that i try to enjoy

the problem is that aquarium products are kind of expensive in my area, i was thinking of buying another medicine so i can make a wide spectrum treatment, and also get some commercially sold bacteria so i can speed things up and set a healthy environment!!! but man they will cost me!!! and i don't have much these days!!!! they will cost around 20$ which is a lot to me!!

but as for salt majerah1: will it affect the other fish, i have 4 neon tetras and four guppies, and what kind of salt and how much?!! remember that i can mostly get Sera products

the blackening went away days ago, but of course left behind it an eaten fin.

the good thing is that my dark blue beta (which is my spoiled fish OVT ) is recovering, its red fins are growing back again!! 

thank u guys, each one of you


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## Skizhx (Oct 12, 2010)

The thing is that you can't really 'treat' bacterial blooms. You can only make the water clear up at best, which doesn't really address the root of the problem.

Bacterial blooms occur because of an incomplete nitrogen cycle. They're a normal part of cycling your tank.

One problem though is that people buy these "bacteria in a bottle" products which honestly, nobody knows how well they work or how much live bacteria is actually in them...

There's a lot of discussion about these products, and some of the main issues are "how can you guarantee the living bacterial contents of a bottle that's probably been sitting on the shelf for weeks to months, when this bacteria requires nitrogen and oxygen to survive and wont last long without it"? There are other discussions and arguments about these products too.

Mind you, some people swear by them. But I think the fact that you've used them, and your ammonia and nitrite are still too high indicates that maybe they aren't addressing the cause of the problem in your case.

The solution is patience, water changes, and monitoring. Change water frequently (10-25% daily would be good, mind you I'm speaking purely for your fish, I don't know about your plants) to manually remove some of the ammonia and nitrites and keep them dilluted in the tank. Test regularly for ammonia and nitrite so you know when they've reached 0.

Prime, as mentioned, will also detoxify all of/a lot of what ammonia remains. There are other ammonia neutralizing products out there if Prime is not available to you.

The thing is though that there must have been a cause for the bacterial bloom... It's possible your tank just wasn't finished cycling when you put fish in. Although you should also be aware that adding too many fish to a tank all at once will also cause a bacterial bloom, an accumulation of waste or food in the substrate will cause a bacterial bloom, or a dead fish could also potentially cause a bacterial bloom.

I can't tell you what caused this to happen, obviously, but I think you should be able to figure out the probably causes. My best guess is you thought your tank was finished cycling when it wasn't. This way you'll learn and wont make the same mistake again 

As for the salt treatment, I've never dealt with fin rot, or really any diseases except in fish I got diseased from the store. In which case I've always used melafix and pimafix, but I'll have to reconsider these now given these arguments.

I can say that for the salt treatment I believe he's telling you to isolate the betta in a jar of sorts in order to treat him without affecting your other fish. I know for ich some people use marine water dips of about 5-10 minutes long. This is for treating ich though, and not fin-rot. I'm assuming for fin rot he's referring to something like the API aquarium salt which is more intended for disease treatment. Can't provide much other info on that though, sorry.


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## majerah1 (Feb 11, 2008)

The isolation is just to make 100%changes easier.I dont think finrot is contagious.Its a water quality issue.The salt is just to soothe the wounds,the real treatment for finrot is pristine,warm water.Melafix and all that,dont get me wrong,is great for other fish.Its just not good for labrynth breathers,as copper is not good for inverts and methylene blue is not good for scaleless fish.And yes its the API salt,sorry for not clarifying this before.

I am happy to help with bettas as much as i can,they are a passion for me!


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## OVT (Aug 26, 2010)

Any pond or aquarium salt will do (do NOT use table salt). The "isolation bowl" is also because not many fishes or plants can survive 86F + salinity, IME.


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## mfgann (Nov 10, 2010)

I haven't used salt much before, so I'm curious, is kosher salt okay?

I keep RCS, so salt is not something I want to use a lot, but it would help when I need to put someone in the hospital tank.


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## plants beauty (Jun 10, 2010)

i see Skizhx !

but i NEVER used bottled bacteria!! i was thinking of doing it now for the tank

ok guys, here's the full story:

i've been wanting to get a tank for a year and a half, i wanted bug 250L tank!!! but it was soooo expensive for me that's why 4 months ago, i got 3 neon tewtras and put then in a jar as a way of fulfiling my dream!!!)

of course some fish died

a week after, the bowl broke, so now i have to either but a new bowl or get a mini aquarium, of course i didn't want to dispose the fish, coz i liked these tiny creatures,

so i got this 74.5$/36L tank and put my fish 2$ in it, such an economics decision, ha?!! 
so now i got 36L tank with two neon tetra in it!!!!!!!!!

just that, it didn't has decorations, substrate or plants

since i want to add plants, i didn't add the substrate or the gravel immediately, bcoz i wanted my aquarium books to arrive!!! i said why mess up the tank twice, let me get the books, know what i'm doing and do it right the first time

anyway, problems arose and i still didn't get my books!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! they'll hopefully arrive on 22th of the coming January

now we return to the tank, the tank with the 2 neons looked so empty, so i got one betta, after a month maybe, i got some neons, only one survived, so we had 3 neons and one betta

now, after a month i got 4 guppies, then after about two weeks i got more neons, i took one out and 4 was left...

that's why i now have : one betta, 4 tetras, and 4 guppies with no plants, no gravel, no nothing
!!!!!!!!!!!

just these poor fish and me trying to make it till the books arrive and the money is available to get this thing done!!!!!!!!


and now we have this sickness issue!!


got the picture!!! it's kind of a "fishy epic story" 


mainly i use Sera products:

one for chlorine detoxification,
one for ammonai detoxification(IT WORKS)
one for reducing the PH
and i have one for giving the water a dark tint(i don't use it a lot) i like the look of "crystal clear" water

can i use marine saltwater?!! and how much?!! can i put in the tank, i don't want to put the betta alone, it won't be healthy, plus i have to buy a bowl and won't have heating, so the tank is the best choice!! so i can i put salt in the tank?!! and is salt the only solution?!!


i don't know what to write else, so i'm just gonna stop for now  

but thanks a lot guys


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## plants beauty (Jun 10, 2010)

and oh, what about the holes in the fins? is it fin rot too?!!


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## mfgann (Nov 10, 2010)

Just out of curiousity, since I didn't see anything about it in the posts, what kind of filter to you have on this tank? Do you have a hang-on-back type? Also, are you saying you have no gravel and/or decorations? A lot bacteria will love in the gravel/sand of the tank floor.

Also, have you got the tank heated?

I don't mean to question you too much, but we all start out in this hobby knowing nearly nothing, and it is hard on here to know how much you've found on your own, and how much you may not have discovered yet.

As far as what to use in the bottom, I think asking that in a different post in the "New to Planted Aquariums" forum would be best.. at least read the stickies here. I'm pretty new to planted tanks too, and what I've found is that there are a lot of different approaches, all of which seem to work well. A book is likely just to give you one approach. The people on here can probably help you at least as much as the book will. For the absolute easiest approach, you might look into the "el natural" forum and buy Diana Walstad's book. I've got a tank set up similar to it, and there is nearly no effort involved. Figuring out what style tank you're wanting can be hard, and is important.. just don't want to let the fishies suffer too long.


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## plants beauty (Jun 10, 2010)

don't worry mfgann, thank you
i have an internal filter that hangs on the tank's wall, and i have a heater set on 22, but i raised it to 244 then 26 for treatment purposes

and yes i don't have any gravel or decorations!!! and frankly now i don't even have the enough money to buy them!! i have more important things to spend what's left on


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## Skizhx (Oct 12, 2010)

I second Walstad's "Ecology of the Planted Aquarium". Especially since aquarium products seem to be so expensive and hard to obtain where you live.

As far as putting the betta alone. Bettas are perfectly fine living solitary lives. Mind you, in my experience the mental stimulation of a community setting really does them good, so in no way am I saying it's pointless to give a betta tank mates.

I'm just pointing out that for purposes of treating your fish, it's best to isolate the sick fish and treat them separately, and your betta wont suffer from being alone for a bit.

Aquarium treatments are stressful for fish, and may harm or kill some fish (sensitive or scale-less fish) at recommended doses. So it's better to spare your other fish the treatment, and only treat those which are affected, in separate isolation.

Now, as far as this fin rot goes... Personally I'm when I've seen fin rot, it starts at the tips and works its way down towards the body. You don't just get holes forming in the fins and tail. My best guess with what little experience I have treating diseases, and based on what reading material I have available to me, would be that the fins are being damaged simply due to poor general health, probably caused by the ammonia and nitrites in your water. Perhaps poor diet is a factor as well.

If you can get a picture of it, that would probably help us. Also, if you search google, etc, there is no shortage of pictures of fish with fin rot, articles on fin rot and what causes it, and solutions on how to cure fin rot.

Getting books is a good thing. Something I think far more people should do. And I think once you've read a couple good books you'll have WAY more confidence and understanding with this hobby.

I recommend:
- _Ecology of the Planted Aquarium_ by Diana Walstad
- _Baensch Aquarium Atlas (Volume 1)_ (this is a 4 volume series, but for beginner's purposes, just the first volume is fine)
- _Encyclopedia of Aquarium Plants_ by Peter Hiscock (great book for its price)

There's many other great books out there, but these are the ones I started with, and the ones I would recommend to anyone else getting started. Especially the first two on that list.


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## plants beauty (Jun 10, 2010)

i tried to photograph the fish, but it wasn't good, do u have some suggestions about taking aquarium pics?!!
i want to do that bcoz i have this female guppy that i started to doubt that she's not ok too!!

she has a big belly, i thought she was pregnant, but it's been pregnant for a month!!!!! is it really bearing eggs????!! and just tonight i noticed this red color behind the belly, between the belly and the tail, it's like a red semi-circle...man when these fish get sick!!!! aahhh 
so maybe if i got good pics, i'll finally show them to you guys


Encyclopedia of Aquarium Plants by Peter Hiscock, is one of the books i ordered, nice to know it's good!!

the thing is, i don't have another tank, i can't separate the fish, and i already put medicine in the whole tank!!

as for the diet, i feed my fish 3 different types of food! one is specially prepared for bettas, it's called "tetra Betta" or something, but for some reason my fish doesn't really like it, he only likes "Sera Vipagran"


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## majerah1 (Feb 11, 2008)

Sorry for the delay.You can look up the type of salt you have,but i dont think marine salt will do.Salt is not a must have,it just soothes the wounds.If you keep him warm and do the daily changes he will be fine,just may take about two weeks before you see regrowth.Out of curiosity,can you get any dried oak leaves?If so,take some dried oak leaves and boil them,until the water turns like tea.Add this(after it cools,of course)to the bettas water after the change.Do this every day.You want the water a dark yellow color.The darkness will keep him calmed,and the leaves will provide some antibacterial properties to the water.The neons will also appreciate this.On food for him,is it pellets or flakes?You can soak pellets in some garlic juice and he will love it,and this will also keep internal parasites away.If possible,ask your local pet store for a handfull of gravel from an established tank.Put the gravel in a pantyhose,and place in the tank.This will add bacteria for the tank to hopefully establish a little.if you have an old coffee cup,place it on its side and the fish will use this as a cave.


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## OVT (Aug 26, 2010)

No seawater. Kosher salt is usually OK, but make double sure whatever salt you are using is pure, no additives. Most table salt (and some kosher salt) contains iodide. I am not sure you would want it in your tank.



> Sodium chloride is sometimes used as a cheap and safe desiccant because it appears to have hygroscopic properties, making salting an effective method of food preservation historically; the salt draws water out of bacteria through osmotic pressure, keeping it from reproducing, a major source of food spoilage. Even though more effective desiccants are available, few are safe for humans to ingest.


 from Wiki


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## mfgann (Nov 10, 2010)

If you have any idea of what you want the top layer to look like (gravel, sand, and what color) you could go ahead and get that to put in there. Adding a soil or flourite layer will mean you have to empty the fish and water out of the tank anyway, so you'd just dump the rock out temporarily too. If money is an issue (and who is it not an issue for?) then the "el natural" forum and the natural planted tank (NPT) style is a good match for you, if you want lots of plants. One of the more common things to use in the bottom is Miracle Gro Organic Choice (though any cheap topsoil with no fertilizers added will work, just sift out big chunks). A lot of people also go out in their backyard and dig up some soil. The next layer would be small gravel or sand (either aquarium sand or play sand). Gravel will probably be the easiest to deal with IMHO. It can be whatever cheap inert gravel you can find, if it is smaller gravel. Then just add as many plants as you can afford. There are many cheap ones that are actually better for getting it started because they grow so fast and soak up ammonia/nitrates. You do need a good amount of light, but I've gotten by on spiral CFLs on my 10G and a home improvement store florescent strip that was cheap for the 30G.

I am by no means explaining all of it, so you definitely need to read the sticky on it. I am just trying to give you an idea of what you need to get an NPT style tank started. Lighting is probably the biggest hurdle.

I think the other posts on your bettas fins are spot-on. They do just fine alone, and are a little hard finding good tank-mates for since they're so aggressive to other showy fish. Very vain, eh?
I had to move the one I had to his own 2.5G which I did in an NPT style recently. He seems to be just fine in there, and it makes a nice little tank.


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## plants beauty (Jun 10, 2010)

thanks a lot mfgrann, 
i really can't afford any expenses at all this month, so i'm just gonna grab on with my fish till we get to safety land, hopefully soon!!

but guys, would you please tell me how to take a pic of my fish, i want to show u the betta, because tonight i saw a betta like mine, but mine looked pathetic in comparison, i mean, man, it looks like mine is really sick!!!

again mfgrann, i appreciate your efforts but sadly i can't apply any of them, so please don't feel like u've written all of this and of your older posts for nothing, same for you guys


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## OVT (Aug 26, 2010)

Plants_beauty: Ironically, I had to isolate my new male beta  Here is the post.


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## mfgann (Nov 10, 2010)

plants beauty said:


> thanks a lot mfgrann,
> i really can't afford any expenses at all this month, so i'm just gonna grab on with my fish till we get to safety land, hopefully soon!!
> 
> but guys, would you please tell me how to take a pic of my fish, i want to show u the betta, because tonight i saw a betta like mine, but mine looked pathetic in comparison, i mean, man, it looks like mine is really sick!!!
> ...


Don't worry about it. I have a budget and a spouse to keep me from buying new fishy gear every paycheck too 
What I wrote will still be true when you are in a position to do more. Just wanted to give you ideas for an inexpensive way to get the tank you'd like when you can do it. My betta isn't super showy either. He's just one the kids wanted (they named him Sushi. Hehe..). 
Good luck with your tank, and take it slow.. A lot of this hobby is being patient. That is one thing I'm terrible about. Just ask if you have any more questions.


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## Skizhx (Oct 12, 2010)

Taking pictures of fish has three main challenges...

Fish move... Fish usually don't look good under flash... And our aquariums usually have less than great lighting for photography.

This means for moving fish I use a wide aperture and fast shutter speed on a higher ISO.

For a point and shoot... Push the camera's lens flat against the tank as use that as a makeshift steady surface so your camera isn't shaking.

Then set your camera to macro mode.

Keep taking pictures until you get one where the fish wasn't moving when the picture was being taken.

Mind you my point and shoot is pretty old so newer models might not be as fussy.

Also I'm far from being a professional photographer.

That's just what I do *shrug*


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## plants beauty (Jun 10, 2010)

thanks skizhx


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