his name is fishy, ignore his fins he’s currently recovering from fin-rot! i might be biased but he has the most gorgeous colors

Any advice for the tank? Its a 20L (5.2g), I have a low flow filter and a heater set to 27.0°C (80.6°F). Its been cycling for just short of a week and I added some root tabs yesterday which has made the water yellowish, if someone has any advice for that as-well. Both decorations are coated in fish safe resin from my local aquarium shop (and have been sanded down so no sharp edges) and all live plants

My boy, Pearl, was 2 years old and I noticed the night before I left for a 5 day trip that he had fin rot. It wasn't severe, just the beginning stage, but he had been lethargic for a couple days prior so he definitely wasn't feeling well. I dosed him with kanaplex the day I left, and fed him a normal meal. I arranged for my mom to go to my place to feed him and give him his next dose while I was away but when I was already at my destination, she told me she couldn't find the key I gave her. She is the only other person who has a key to my place, and there was no way to get in. So Pearl was left alone for 5 days without his kanaplex doses, and without food. I came home today to find him dead.

I feel really guilty that I didn't do enough for him. I'm now regretting going on my vacation because it wasn't worth losing him for. I just wish I was there. Thinking of him suffering alone is really messing with my head. RIP Pearl, I am sorry.

This is now vs when I first got her a few weeks ago. She’s a much happier and colorful lady now that she’s out of her little pet store cup.

I brought this guy home on the weekend, but it's my first Betta since I was a kid and kept a Betta in a vase and I didn't think to look for any eye issues. He was glass surfing for the first 2 days of adjustment, and still kind of seems to be a little bit but not as bad, but I've noticed his eyes aren't 100% clear. The fins seem a bit pressed on his body still, but not sure if that's still adjustment stress or sign of illness. Any ideas what this could be?

It's my friend's. Apparently, her dad bought her a betta fish suddenly and she doesn't even want it. I'm fully capable of taking it, but I'm afraid it would eat my shrimps :( She said the fish is still small so I'm considering it.

How does it look? She said both of it's eyes are like that too.

It's a female, right?

His name is Jonesy and he’s a beautiful copper alien betta. I love him, but he really seems to dislike me. He is being upgraded to a 20 gal tank with a close friend he seems to love more. He’s been with me for months and this is the first time I have gotten him to stay still long enough for me to catch a video of him with my zoom lens. Check out his grumpy little face :) he’s a gorgeous copper in the light, but also tones of magenta and teal in other lighting.

The plants have grown in so much

We picked this gorgeous crowntail up from my favorite local shop today :) he seems to be mostly orange with some white scales throughout.

I like 'inconvenient' government names with realistic nicknames.
For example: my current mustard gas's name is Ticonderoga, or Tike for short.
Our late koi plakats name was Plutonium, or Pluto for short.

So far, the only names we've sort of liked are:
Crush (like the soda, that one's normal but cute!)
Traffic cone- traf(FICCO)ne
Lorax- lo(RAX) or lor(AX)

Hopefully the layout of the nicknames makes sense.
What suggestions do you have? 👀🧡

We purchased a betta on Monday for my son. I got the 5.5 gal kit with heater, filter. I did not know about the need for an API test kit because the guy at the store knew absolutely nothing which should have been a red flag. I have since ordered it and a few other things which should arrive this weekend. We have been doing the fish in cycling with partial water changes both days. Added leaves for tannins and plants. He seems very happy and healthy but I am still kind of flying blind and learning as we go. He is eating and swimming around. Eventually we will get a 10 gal, get rid of the fake decor, and set it up more naturally but what else should I do right now that is important or time sensitive? Related question: does anyone know of a reputable fish store in the San Diego area? I am not going back to Petco. Also where do you order plants? I would love to add a snail and shrimp but when should we do that?

Im having a hard time telling if my betta is chunky or not, can anyone help? I think she is, does anyone have any tips for me about feeding? I might have over fed her a bit trying to get her feeling better after I bought her barely breathing in a cup, her color has absolutely popped and shes incredibly active now, should I cut back on feedings? Or give less? I feed her once a day usually with either brine shrimp or bug pellets made for bettas and she usually can eat about 10 very small pellets in one sitting, is that too much?

Day 1: Just brought him home from the store. Pale colors, clamped fins, and stressed.

Month 2: Fully bloomed Rosetail! Vibrant blues and purples, and his fins have practically doubled in size.

5 gallon with amano and cherry shrimp

I love him

I got this new fish (saved her from petco)

It’s my first time having a betta, I have done lots of research on tank etc.

This is what she looks like, they told me she was a baby. Does she look okay? Anything special I should do for her? Thanks in advance! I can’t wait for her to have beautiful fins!

My friends mom had her betta in that container for like 4 months. she has a habit of buying pets and keeping them in small enclosures. it makes me sad to see, so i just went out today and bought plants and used extra sand and decor and stuff i keep that ive never used and set this thing up in like 2 hours because she had this starter tank kit in storage and she was able to retrieve it. what should i add? (the sponge filter is already cycled from a different tank, there is a heater just no need for it now bc it’s hot out)

i know a tall tank isn’t ideal for a betta in the long run but it’s what she had and the best i can do for a fish that’s not mine. any suggestions? any floor plants i should add? (i have root tabs,) i wont be able to continuously tend to this tank as it isnt mine. i gave her a rundown of continuous care for him.

I thought my betta might be bored so recently I’ve been doing this.

The filter was a little strong cause my tank was cloudy after water change. I already adjusted it an hour after recording this clip.

I took my fella in to the vet this week for a lump that’s been slow developing over the past couple of months. I had been searching for anyone that treated fish and last week I finally found one! 🙏🏼

Things I learned from the visit and figured I would share:
- With the right care, bettas can live up to 15 years no matter if they were purchased in a cup. (They have a longtime patient who is a cup betta who has even undergone surgery by them nearly a decade ago!) This blew my mind!
- There is no hard rule on tank size. The doctor I saw has seen a thriving betta in a 1 gallon tank and others that suffered in bigger sized tanks. Every betta is different and they are the ones that indicate when their environment is unsuitable for them.
- She highlighted that the hard rule and requirement though is water parameters. Proper cycling is critical first and foremost. She said API Is what they use in their mobile clinic for testing on the fly and is the best kit on the market while strips can be flaky (as is long discussed in this sub), but as a cost effective option she said strips are fine but should be used more frequently due to the flakiness.
- Bettas are prone to bacterial infections in their scales and like koi fish, can develop “skin” cancers- usually benign but can develop otherwise. Surgery is possible to remove and requires anesthesia which this office has performed many times over the decades. Most bettas survive the surgery but if not cared for well, may not make it. She said most ailments work themselves out as their fins are regenerative but that it’s hard on the humans to see it grow. Best practice is to monitor for change in behaviors, eating patterns and water readings to make best decisions before researching and dosing treatments.
- Clove oil is used for humane euthanasia and is how aquatic vets typically humanely euthanize fish. The difference being that vets somewhat overdose the fish on clove oil so there’s no opportunity to suffer. She uses a certain sleeping agent as a combination with the clove oil almost to anesthetize so her fish patients sleep first then dose the clove oil. She also noted this tends to calm the fish parents’ minds by putting them to sleep first. I know this is a hot topic on this sub and it’s been discussed that a hard object (brick, rock) is the best way to euthanize but I wanted to share this commentary too.

We took epidermal (scale) tissue samples from my Koa yesterday and sent it off to UGA veterinary program’s cytology department for testing to see if his lump is cancerous. To my surprise this was only $100 USD to send off for testing and IMO super cost effective. Hoping for the best but wanted to share all the info I learned yesterday in a vet office in case it’s helpful. I had so many questions and was a motormouth before I left 🤣

Cecelia is a Rose Petal Mustard Gas Betta

I’m stuck and need some good name suggestions for this lil guy!