Through a quick google search I see that your tank has a compact fluorescent light in the hood, is that right?
I would think that you could grow some low light plants such as crypts and moss. I have some bronze crypts, crypt wendtii, and crypt lutea growing slowly but surely under a factory...
RO water has all things that are needed removed. It's best to stick with just spring water, or water from a different source that has a lower nitrATE reading. Also, you may want to verify your nitrATE reading from your water as those tests can be very temperamental if the instructions aren't...
Just spring water from your grocery store will be fine. I'm not a fan of using nitrates absorbing material simply because i like to add the least possible stuff to my tank. Others can comment on that.
He's been through a lot. Recovering from the poor conditions and the addition of antibiotics have probably left him a bit twitchy. Since his fins aren't in proper health, his twitching could very well be due to him trying to maintain balance.
There is no need to do a high range ph and a reg ph test unless the reg ph test maxes out at the highest number. I would not use anything "off the shelf" to chemically buffer your ph to a lower level. Your betta will be fine in the ph you are showing. If you want to lower you PH you can do so...
I use them. Never had a prob with glass being scratched. A note worth mentioning, I have Flourite and Flora Max in my tanks. The magnet will attract pieces from time to time if I get to close to the substrate. I'm just really careful when using it.
No. From doing a bit of research it appears that one of the chemicals in the PH test solution is bromothymol blue.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bromothymol_blue
Blue
I keep my guppy tank at 76-78, which is room temp. for me. I will turn the heater on when it starts to get cold outside. I just had a guppy that was holding fry so long (40 plus days) she pineconed, she started having her fry last night and thankfully her scales have gone down. Guppies are...
What Rbishop said about the columnaris. I just lost a battle with it with guppies. 90 percent death loss. This was after dosing Kanaplex and Furan 2 in conjunction. After the spot developed, the fish went down hill fast. From what I understand this bacteria eventually paralyzes the fish leading...
When doing water changes are you treating the water before you add it to the tank? Are you treating it as you add it to the tank- if so how much water conditioner are you using?
When testing your water from the tap are you doing so before or after you treat with Prime? To get a true ammonia...