Can’t Keep Fish Alive?
Might have something to do with the online articles you read, let’s save your fish and not kill them
Let’s talk about having bettas, snails, plecos, moss balls, and neon tetras in freshwater
After having dead fish from following online articles, I’ve learned a few things. Some things from experienced friends. The following images are what you need before buying fish.
https://apifishcare.com/. The difference between the two are simple. The box is for 800 tests — probably more like 500. The strip box has 100 easy-test strips in it.
I bought mine from Petco.
Some bettas enjoy the pellets more. Flakes float longer, thus allowing nibbling fish, such as tetras and other school fish to nibble longer before waiting for more food to fall/sink. Feed as much as they can eat in 2-minutes. If they are not eating, you are feeding them too much or they are sick.
Bettas enjoy to sit on leaves or other surfaces that you put in your tank. I haven’t seen it yet, but my friends and resources have.
There are many types of ways to clean and change out water. These are what I use. I may not use the gloves, but if you notice your fish are sick, there might be a virus or illness in your tank, such as “Ick”. So, have your gloves ready and your net or cup ready and be prepared for some dead fish.
My first school of fish ALL died in 3 days from Ick — Ichthyophthirius multifiliis, often termed “ICH”. That was before I knew anything about Ick. Ick will make your fish itch. Why did I not know about Ick?
- Because the shops aren’t going to tell you or you might not buy fish
- “professional” online articles are sh*t (says a lot about the authors)
Ick is when you see small particles “sticking” to the fish. This can kill your pleco’s and bettas too. Essentially, it will kill everything.
Ichthyophthirius multifiliis, often termed “ICH”, is a parasitic ciliate described by the French parasitologist Fouquet in 1876. Only one species is found in the genus which also gave name to the family. The parasite can infect most freshwater fish species and, in contrast to many other parasites, shows very low host specificity. It penetrates gill epithelia, skin and fins of the fish host and resides as a feeding stage (the trophont) inside the epidermis. It is visible as a white spot on the surface of the fish but, due to its internal microhabitat, it is a true endoparasite and not an ectoparasite.[1]
It causes a disease commonly referred to as white spot disease due to the macroscopically visible trophonts (up to 1 mm in diameter) in the skin and fins. The trophont, continuously rotating, is surrounded by host cells (epidermal cells and leukocytes), producing a minute elevation of the skin. These light-reflecting nodules are recognized as white spots.[2][3]
If strict bio-security rules are violated, the parasite may be introduced into a fish rearing unit by transfer of fish or equipment from infected systems. When the organism gets into a large fish culture facility, it is difficult to control due to its fast-reproductive cycle. If not controlled, the infection may lead to 100% mortality in the tank.
When you notice your school not being school-like and you have some fish wandering off, your school separating, or your school not acting normal, they are probably sick. School fish will not live without a school. A school is 3 or more fish.
How can school fish die?
- From swimming into your water filter and getting stuck
- From getting sick and not being treated quick enough
- From bettas
So, have more than 3 school fish at all times.
Some bettas cannot live with any other fish. Bettas are very aggressive, they are fighting fish. The betta I have in the larger tank has never nipped at any school fish. They live very well together! Bettas are attracted to longer fins. Each betta is different. And yes, “betta” is the correct spelling, not “beta”.
I laid out my tank before putting the items in the tank. Fish need a lot of grass and stuff. Bettas need some dark spaces with hiding spaces, hence why people use sunken ships and stuff.
What my fish tanks look like
With the lights on in both tanks. Smaller tank did not have rock yet. I use rock and not sand because rock is easier to clean and does not get sucked up my cleaning tube. The larger tank is 29 gallons. The smaller tank is 5 gallons.
The black light is used for GloFish. Fish are not GloFish unless they have GloFish in their name, naturally.
I turn my lights off at night. I feed my fish 1 hour after turning the light on. Fish do sleep and I don’t like to feed the fish when they just wake up.
In my larger tank I have 3 snails (forgot the type), 1 small cute Plecostomus, 10 neon tetras, and 1 betta. This is NOT a crowded tank. Without a betta I could have more variety of school fish. 20 small fish would be good. The number of fish depends on how often you test/clean the tank.
Things to keep in mind:
- Many snails reproduce fast
- Snails and plecos don’t clean much
- Plecos are usually for tanks larger than 29–50 gallons, find the small ones
The black-and-blue betta enjoys coming up to meet you. The blue-and-white betta doesn’t care about you.
Use this type of treatment when parasites like ICH get in the tank. 1 drop per 5 gallons, for this brand.
Your tank filter will stop this treatment when it is sucked up, so take out the filter if possible. If not, prepare to add more treatment.
All tanks over 5 gallons should have a water system. Bettas can breath by swimming to the surface; school fish do not.
Before adding fish, you will need to prep your tank for fish to live. This is called “treating fish tanks”.
Getting fish from fairs and other places where they just put fish in a bag is why your fish dies fast. That kills fish. Fish need treated water, food, oxygen, and a tank for their species. I think it should be animal abuse if these specs are not met.
All together I probably paid over $150 for everything I have, including fish.
Lastly
Even if it’s ICH, get the dead fish as soon as possible. Water, naturally, breaks down most things quickly. In just 3–4 days, small fish like neons can be broken down to mere bones.