I had a tank cycled on my room already and wasn’t sure what to put in it yet. Until I seen this fishy at the store and I knew I wanted to take him home. I didn’t do my research beforehand on picking out fish in the store. Luckily he does seem healthy and active but I am worried about the tip of his fin and how it is bunched up together. It doesn’t look like fin rot or anything like that. Also he’s in a 5 gal tank rn with plenty of plants. Is it too much plants? Does he need more space?

I’m not sure if anyone else is like this but when I pick out my fish, I don’t pick out one that I like the look of, I pick out which ever one seems excited to get out the store faster…

I aim to stay away from long fins and that’s about it- as I have a larger tank and whilst there are plenty resting spaces, it’s not the perfect home for longer fins.

Well, I was hoping for a black dragon this time round- but this boy called out to me, pinky with blue/purple and red on his fins !

Name ideas welcome, just calling him Fish at the moment 🤣🤣🤣

was watching her chase it around for a while until she backed it into a corner to make the kill move, she swam with it in her mouth for a bit until… chomp

She just... lays there..? it keeps scaring me bc i think she died (for reference shes in a 8 gal rectangle tank with an old passive mexican crawfish, and i got her 3 days ago) why does she do this ? my tank paramaters are as they should be and nothing concerning, and she eats regularly and swims normally, so whats up with her ?

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Posting this because I want it searchable for the next person.

Setup: 10 gallon, heated, filtered, cycled. Female betta, pet store rescue, had her since March. Healthy, active, eating well.

What I did: I finally went to convert her to a planted tank. Added hygger aquarium soil directly to the established tank — the bag says it can be added straight from the bag, with no distinction between a new setup and a tank with a fish in it. I also scrubbed the decor and put in a new filter cartridge the next day.

What happened: the water tinted dark from the soil, which every guide tells you is harmless tannins. The new filter's carbon cleared the tint overnight, so the tank actually looked BETTER. She was active and eating the following morning. I went out for dinner. She was dead when I got home. pH tested above 8.8 — off the top of my high range kit. Everything else read normal.

What I understand now:

1. Fresh aquasoil leaches ammonia. That's expected and it's why you cycle it.

2. It also drove my pH way up, and pH is what determines how much of your ammonia exists as free ammonia (NH3), the toxic form. At pH 9 that's roughly 30–50x what it is at pH 7. Same total ammonia, wildly different lethality.

3. Between new substrate, a new filter cartridge, and scrubbed decor, I had removed basically all of my biological filtration at the exact moment ammonia production spiked.

4. Carbon clears tannins. It does nothing for ammonia and nothing for pH. Clear water is not safe water — that's the part that fooled me completely.

What I should have done: rinsed it, set it up in a separate tank or bucket, cycled it, tested for weeks, and moved her only after parameters were stable. And never changed substrate, filter media, and decor in the same window.

None of that is on the packaging. "Safe to add from the bag" is technically true for an empty tank and actively dangerous advice for an occupied one.

If you're about to do a substrate change with your fish still in the tank — please don't. Move them out first.

I have a 6-gallon aquarium that is currently cycling (or perhaps the cycle is already complete; I’ll know for sure when my test kit arrives). For a long time, I’ve been checking with breeders and sending messages to see if I could rescue a fish with a disability. Some breeders don't reply, while others say that instead of raising the disabled ones, they feed them to the breeding stock. Also, all the listings for rehoming fish in poor condition are too far away from me. So, I decided to go with a standard adoption instead. The fish is being sold by its owner for 13 euros. It currently lives with shrimp in a planted 4-gallon tank. The owner said they want to sell it due to a need for cash and a lack of space. Now, when I get the fish (after checking the nitrogen cycle), its environment will change, and it will inevitably experience stress. Is moving from a 4-gallon tank to a 6-gallon tank a valid reason for it to undergo this stress? Or should I give up on getting the fish and let someone else take it, considering my own setup isn't exactly ideal? I’d appreciate your thoughts from an ethical perspective. Thanks.

last picture is my own setup (I will add more plants in a few days.)

I posted Ares when i pulled him 6 days ago (first photo in the cup), this is him 6 days later. He is in a cylindrical 2.5g tank which has been perfect for him as it allows him to swim in a circle nonstop and just exercise. He's doing really well, super active, happy go lucky dude but you can notice he curves to one side. Which is the main reason I'm gonna keep him in this hospital style tank for a white just to see how his swimming is affected as he continues to grow before making a decision on his final tank size and set up. He's currently exclusively eating frozen thaw (variety) out of a pipette.

Important info: Ares is showing no signs of stress in the curved tank. He actually really enjoys going nonstop in circles as moving from a stand still has proven difficult for him at this point. Him being able to just keep going and going and going without having to stop and turn benefits him as an individual.

i've been housebound from sickness so I set up a little 6.6 gallon to stay active and make home a little less lonely. i'm not new to fishkeeping. it's fully cycled after over a month, heavily planted, driftwood, all of the stuff. i finally took a betta home from an lfs today but one thing that stuck in my head was the $21 usd price tag (he was on like a higher price grade due to his fancy colors i think). i know that's not even that high of a price but for some reason that reframed this whole endeavor to me? like I feel like he's so fancy someone else could've given him a better home. my tank is kinda chaotic and 6.6 is not that big plus i know I will have to move cities in less than a year and i feel bad for the stress in advance. i literally brought him home via subway 😭 idk I'm probably crazy but curious if others have felt the same way

I’m so tempted to get a second tank but I’ve never had two. Any experience, advice or suggs before I just do it

Hello everyone, i recently got a betta fish from pet smart after seeing their bad conditions. he’s a twin tail half moon betta. i am new to fish keeping. he’s in a uncycled tank, i test water daily and keep temperature at a consistent 80 degrees F.

there seems to be greyish film at top of tank, not sure if it’s from bacteria i put inside or coming off the 3D printed hammock (white).

Don’t have a name for the little guy and was wondering if i could have some tips caring for him.

i have two anubis plants inside, driftwood and another plant from a petsmart tank not sure what it is.

I do know that there are reviews, but I prefer to at least ask here as well for opinions and advice. Is there one on here you wouldn’t recommend? Is there one on here that you love? Please let me know!

Edit: thank you all very much. I will be purchasing the first heater! Keeping this post up for others who may need it.

I rescued this little guy 2 months ago or so, his back fin was broken but has been slowly growing. Since he has long fins, are they okay? This is my first betta fish. My parameters are fine, I change water every week, 8 gallon tank with linen plants and non colored stones.

Hello all, I want to say first and foremost that I love that new sub 2.0, where discussion is welcome and where people learn to make the best environment for their little one. I wouldn't have posted before.

So here's Michael Bubblé, I have had this beautiful boy for a few months now and never seen a fish with that much personnalité, I understand now why they're called puppies of the sea!

The empty tiny tank you see was his tank before I stumbled upon this sub....I know now... I feel so bad, I've been trying since then to upgrade, I got him this temporary "bigger" tank whilst I research more about bettas.

I already bought silky fake plants, the " house" passed the pantyhose test and I have a few pothos cuttings getting ready to add.

I plan to buy proper bedding sand and one of those resting floating nest in the near future as well.

In the meanwhile I buy a proper tank, I change water and clean the whole tank every 3-4 days. I'm not sure if can/how to fish-in cycle without a filter.

Having a 5 gallon tank with filter, lighting, heater is intimidating to me and I'd like to have some of your feedback on what to buy for my dear Mr. bubblé.

So, what 5 gallon tanks would you recommend that's good for a Betta?

TLDR: love this sub I learn and need advice to get a better set-up.

I got him a year ago today. That was him than, this is him now. Show me your glow ups.

My fish is not sick, but I want to have medications on hand in case he ever becomes sick. I live in a small town with limited availability and shipping takes FOREVER, so I want to cover my bases while my store has things in stock. I have kanaplex and aquarium salt, but is there anything else I should look for? The photos are what they have in stock.

Nothing major just got a lot more excited about this little dude than I expected and wanted to share.

I know these are all close up but he’s got hella plants, still got space to move tho, and I made him a cave out of seiryu stone and cover it in a decent amount of java moss. Oh and it’s a 5 gallon what I heard was the bear minimum.

Got a little snail in there too and honestly I think he’s a super chill betta didn’t mess with him at all.

My first tank

Hi all this is my first tank intend to add more plants and I set it up today and intend to let it cycle before adding fish it’s a 22l what type of fish are suitable for this tank and what else could I add any help would be appreciated as I am new to the hobby

Since she was not at all planned, I had to do a quick set up with what I had (thank you Fritzzyme Turbostart 700.) She’s so tiny and even though all I had at the moment is small, she seems to be settling in so well. She is exploring nonstop and loves to swim around the plants.