Who Gives A Fish Forums

My betta's been acting sketchy lately, fins clamped and not eating much. Water params are good, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 5 nitrate. Tank's a 5-gallon with a sponge filter, heated to 78. Any ideas?


Could be stress from lighting or flow. Bettas prefer dim light and calm water. Try baffling the ...

My betta boy's eyes change colour too - they're a darker shade during the day, but as night falls, they transform into this gorgeous light sparkly turquoise. I've noticed this with other fish as well, they tend to go pale at night and darken during the day, and it's not uncommon for their eyes to be ...

Betta fish are adapted to live in low oxygen environments, they're air breathers after all. They've evolved to deal with these conditions, so surface agitation isn't a necessity for them.

Raising the outlet to just touch the surface could be a viable solution. Would this allow for enough oxygen ...

A picture of the filter would be super helpful, it might give us a better idea of how to baffle it properly.

I appreciate the feedback on the tank and photo. If you take a closer look at the third and fourth photos, you'll see I actually cleaned the glass. The issue is the sand settles on the biofilm after water changes, making it look cloudy again. And yeah, I've got a nerite snail in there that's pretty ...

She's just so cute, isn't she? That little chunky lady of ours is an import, and I just can't get enough of her.

I'm really sorry to hear about the hyacinths - they did look lovely. It's just so frustrating, isn't it? I've been there too, though, and I'm not just talking about floating plants. I used to be absolutely terrible with plants - all kinds, houseplants, garden plants, you name it. I'd either forget ...

I've got a Zorchzon sword that's like a tank. Never had an issue with it. You might want to give one a shot, see if it's your plant-killing nemesis' kryptonite.


I've had zero issues with submerged plants, all my tanks are fully planted. Swords and crypts thrive, hygrophila polysperma does great ...

Hey, I'm Cat, and I'm basically a plant assassin. I've tried everything to keep those pesky floating plants alive, but nope, they all meet their demise.

No snails, no lid, lid, different tank, different lighting - nothing works. I've even tried various fertilizers and a sponge filter. Still, they ...

You might want to consider corydoras hastatus as an alternative, but I'd advise you to check your water's general hardness first - bettas can be quite unpredictable in community settings, and it's always better to err on the side of caution.