New tank problems already!

F

Finzzup

AC Members
Dec 1, 2002
82
0
0
NW Iowa
Visit site
After 3 days of normal readings, I did a huge water change, checked readings again, waited 5 hours for all the water to get to the right temp and then added a Betta and 2 Neons and 2 White Clouds (they sure are prettier than I originally thought!).

Today, readings are all still normal. I have not yet fed them. But my Betta seems to have a cloudy eye now and the other four fish are all huddled in the corner at the bottom of the tank underneath the heater! The temp seems to be steady at 78 degrees and my thermometer is at the opposite end of the heater.

Do they just take awhile to adjust to their new surroundings? Could I have a faulty thermometer???
I hate to dump in any medications (and I wouldn't know where to start yet) at this point for the Betta's cloudy eye...

Any help is appreciated! This is a small 6G Eclipse tank. Thanks!
 
bro,
why would you put any other fish in a small 6 gallon tank with a betta(siamese FIGHTING fish)??!!!sometimes it works but in most cases it doesn't.What probaly happenned is when the lights went out the betta immediatley went after the fish....so that explains the fish huddling in one corner......also maybe the fish tried to fight back and injured the bettas eye or maybe the betta is getting popeye(maybe before you bought him he was already infected but no signs occurred.....ive seen it happen)all i know is, if you can get another 1 or 2 gallon tank put your betta in that one and let your other fish live happily......i mean all your fish are so stressed that you dont know what will happen next....keep us all posted friend........good luck!:)
 
Sorry Arctic_Fishery but you need to keep up on the threads. This person added these fish on everybodies advice here. Betta's are not violent fish and will not attack other fish except for male bettas. You may be right about the betta if it is a new one and not the one she has had for some time. Finzzup, what if any do you have in the way of decorations in your tank? If the heater is the only item in the tank they are feeling insecure and are hiding around the only structure availible to them. If there are no plants or anything in the tank consider adding some. The more places to hide the more secure the fish will feel. Otherwise allow them a few days to acclimate to your tank. If the bettas eye gets worse move him to your old tank to treat him instead of treating the whole tank. Lets see what happens to him in the next day. Yes white clouds are very nice fish. That is why they are called the poor mans neon.
 
I have several tanks with bettas, corydoras and small tetras coexisting peacefully.

I agree that if there aren't any places to hide, the fish may feel insecure which could be stressful. What is the filtration on this tank? I assume some sort of HOB, does it have an adjustable flow? bettas don't apprecieate too much current, so if you could lower the flow, he would appreciate it (you could also use a sponge to ease the flow). I'm gathering that you've had the betta for a while, and he's been healthy, but are the neons and WCM new? they may have introduced a pathogen which could be leading to the cloudy eye, is it also bulging outward? in the future, when your tank has been established, it's a good practice to quarentine your fish to prevent indroducing anything unwanted to your tank.

I'm catching up to this situation, sorry if you've been through this over and over. I also assume that the tank is cycled, (fishless?)
 
to darkangel:
yea well i didnt know of any previous posts(and i havent seen none regarding this thread since i registered, which was only 5 days ago) so theres nothing i can do about that....i didnt even know it was a female betta i assumed it was a male...i wasnt trying to come down on finzzup i was simply in a hurry to tell what might be wrong cuz it was posted in the newbie forum........i'm at no fault here.......

to finzzup:
sorry for sounding blunt and rude.......i was just getting hyper-active.......my bad.
 
Deep breaths people...

First off, Darkangel- actually, not everyone suggested adding those fish with a male betta. I was one of the people that said that whether the fish got along would depend on the personality of the individual betta. Saying that bettas will not attack other fish, except for another male betta, is simply not true. I've seen it happen. And it wasn't in an overly crowded tank. It simply depends on the personality of the individual betta as to whether or not he'll tolerate companions.

That said...
Finzz- Don't get discouraged yet. This doesn't mean your betta is a demon that can't get along. You'll have to wait and see. I would agree that you should try to increase hiding places if at all possible. This will help the lil guys feel more secure. You said your readings are normal. What's "normal"? I'm assuming that you're meaning ammo 0, nitrite 0 and pH in an acceptable range. If so, that's great. I'm having trouble finding your original posts... Were you the one that did a fishless cycle? Sorry for all the questions that you've probably already answered...
Fill us in on cycling, water conditions, etc. And keep an eye on that eye! :)
 
Cuddlebug910, I stand by what I said. Because a betta may chase another fish does not mean it is attacking it. You say you have seen it happen, I have had fish for 20 years and never seen it happen. Arctic_Fishery it is a male betta. I never said anything about you, just the post you left. The words you choose and the statements you made were wrong. Having said all that I believe the fish are acting this way due to new tank jitters for lack of a better term.
 
I guess that would depend on your definition of attacking... I consider removing an eye to be 'attacking'. ;)
 
I apologize folks! I posted this morning and then my new computer arrived and I couldn't log back on until just now!

Originally posted by Darkangel
Finzzup, what if any do you have in the way of decorations in your tank?
Click to expand...
Darkangel - I really don't have all that much yet. I put in two rocks that each have a hole in the middle and I put in some very short, silk plants towards the front of the tank...

So they really don't have anywhere to hide -- I've been trying to do everything at a minimum for fear of overdoing it as I have read so many beginners do! :)

Originally posted by rjl420
What is the filtration on this tank? I assume some sort of HOB, does it have an adjustable flow? bettas don't apprecieate too much current, so if you could lower the flow, he would appreciate it (you could also use a sponge to ease the flow). I'm gathering that you've had the betta for a while, and he's been healthy, but are the neons and WCM new?
Click to expand...
It's an Eclipse tank and I am not really sure how to answer that! It has a Bio-Wheel and I cannot adjust the flow -- however, it's not a fast current where the water is moving a lot at the top. I've had my Betta for about 18 months and he's always been in a jar. And yes, the neons and WCM are new. I did put them in all at the same time -- not sure fish would have an 'order' about them as to who was there first, so I figured this would start them all together equally!

Originally posted by Cuddlebug910
What's "normal"? I'm assuming that you're meaning ammo 0, nitrite 0 and pH in an acceptable range. If so, that's great. I'm having trouble finding your original posts... Were you the one that did a fishless cycle?
Click to expand...
Yes, to all of the above! :)

Originally posted by Darkangel
I believe the fish are acting this way due to new tank jitters for lack of a better term
Click to expand...
I believe you are right -- by the end of the day, they were not all huddled down at the bottom anymore, although they DO prefer to hang around the heater. I have had absolutely NO problems with the fish not getting along -- the Betta has totally ignored the others and vice versa, so I am very glad of that! I was prepared to take the Betta out immediately if I thought it was not going to work out.

The other thing I tried was to turn up the heat a tiny bit -- but the thermometer registered at 80/82, so I turned it back and am bringing another thermometer with me tomorrow to double-check the first one.

The Betta's eye has not gotten worse and it still looks about the same... for awhile there, I thought that side of his face (I guess it's his face? :p ) looked a little whitened, too, but it no longer does.

He also freaked out a bit the day before when I gave him freeze dried bloodworms to eat -- apparently he made a pig of himself and paid the price for awhile but totally recovered. I probably should've given him one more day...

I hope it's not pop eye -- I tried searching for info and this came up repeatedly. Most of the remedies I found for this was to do a total water change immediately -- should I try this so soon?

Thank you all for the helpful messages! I am really glad I found this site because without it I'd be lost!!!!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom