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3.5 gallon
Filtered freshwater
Kept heated to 78 degrees.
One small live plant and everything else is fake.
Appropriately cycled although I was experiencing some mild brown algae that I was handling via natural methods (changing light frequency and less food for the fish).
Up until Saturday morning we had a male betta and a mystery snail in the tank, and all water parameters were normal. 10% partial water change had been done on Thursday evening with no issues.
Betta was fine late Friday night when I went to bed (we'd had him about 8 months) - healthy appetite, making bubble nests, greeting me when I came in the room and approached the tank, ignoring the mystery snail for the most part.
On Saturday morning I came into the room and found him dead at the bottom of the tank. I was shocked because Friday night when I went to bed I watched the tank for a while and he was acting normally - no visible signs of distress or injury at all. He was probably dead in the tank no more than 4-5 hours. I quickly scooped him out and checked on the snail, who was still alive.
It's now Tuesday and I've mostly left the tank alone. Snail is still actively moving around the tank and showing no signs of distress.
Is it too late to go out tonight and get a new fish? I fear by not having a fish in there for 3-4 days that the cycle has been upset and I may have lost vital bacteria. I have not stopped the filter at all, so theoretically it's still moving about, but no NEW bacteria has been introduced since Friday night. Our schedule did not allow for us to get a new Betta, but we hope to get one tonight - is it too late? Will I have to remove the snail and start a brand new cycle?
We went out last night and bought a new veiltail male betta. I did a small water change in order to vacuum the rocks a bit, and after letting his water acclimate to the aquarium, I put him in. I don't think he knew what to do with all that space compared to the small cup he had been in at PetSmart.
The new fish is smaller than our last one, and less "showy" (but I know that'll change as he gets used to us peering in the tank). His coloring is fascinating - his face is almost white and then heading toward his back fin he has red spots which become solid bright red on his tail.
In a bit of good news, he left the snail alone (I was worried he may nip at it) when I kept an eye on the new fish after I put him in the tank. This morning I confirmed that the snail was still doing well, and he was already enjoying his morning constitution around the tank.
I'll keep an eye on the water parameters to see if I end up being in the middle of another cycling after the first fish died - hoping I won't.
Fish seems to be doing well - really active and yesterday when I got home from work I found two HUGE bubble nests that he had built throughout the day. That's a good sign. He also swam right up to the front of the tank to look at me when I was checking everything, and flared at me a couple times.
He also seems to be ignoring the snail, which I'm happy about. Every time I check, the snail is in a new spot and on the move.
Yes, I'm faithful to monitor the water to make sure everything is running tip top. I checked on Saturday and nitrites/nitrates were still at zero, and ph at a solid 7.0. Water heater is working well and all weekend thermometer showed 78*. The water is still on the hard side, but neither seem bothered by it so I'm not inclined to soften it at all.
My only concern is that the brown algae is coming back (likely because of the hard water - although we only JUST started having this problem last month despite the aquarium being in operation for a year), so I know I need to treat that more aggressively than via light changes and less food.
My only concern is that the brown algae is coming back (likely because of the hard water - although we only JUST started having this problem last month despite the aquarium being in operation for a year), so I know I need to treat that more aggressively than via light changes and less food.
You could add a fish that eats that algea, something like a mini plecostimus,or whatever your aquarium guy recommends.
You could add a fish that eats that algea, something like a mini plecostimus,or whatever your aquarium guy recommends.
I did consider getting a pleco but worried about whether the betta would tolerate it, and also opted against it because my only fear is that it's a 3.5 gallon tank and I know those require bigger tank in the long run (something we don't want).
A month late, but a pleco will not eat your brown algae but would cause more of it. Plecos are messy! brown algae is an indication of high nitrates.
I've been testing the water when doing partial water changes and my nitrites and ammonia are both testing at zero very faithfully. When doing the PWCs I've made sure the vacuum is really getting down into the rocks to clear out waste and decayed food.
A couple weeks ago I did a major cleaning of the one decoration that had a lot of algae on it. Combine that with adjusting the light time and the food I was giving the fish, and it appears I've "starved" any remaining diatoms since then no new algae has appeared in the past 2 weeks.
Fish and snail continue to do well, which makes me happy.
Ever consider getting a larger tank? Is there something about Betta fish that you enjoy?
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