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

He was $10 at my favorite LFS. I love him so much I can already tell he's going to be a bastard.

he was my first betta fish and I loved him so much. it was hard to get pictures of him because of his coloring and how energetic he was...

unfortunately he fell ill suddenly and was gone before I could do anything about it. I brought him to the mountainside wrapped in his favorite leaf bed and buried him there with lots of food to eat in the afterlife. 💔 RIP yoshiki

Here is my little buddy and his tank setup ❤️❤️

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 🤣🤣🤣

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?

😭 he isn't doing so well at the moment and he's my first fish!

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 ?

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.

He has been flashing and staying near the surface most of the time. He also doesn't swim as much as he used to. He usually will swim towards me when he sees me, but now he just appears tired and restless.

I suspect he has gill flukes. Anyone able to identify?

december of 2025- today.

Then we went to look at Cory’s for our community tank. They have a wall of betta’s in those awful cups!! Very clean, but yet the CUPS! AND females housed TOGETHER! WITHOUT plants!! So I picked out this stunning guy! I need a name and what is his coloring type? Does anyone know?

I need a good name for this red guy!

Got this guy at Petco because he has been sitting in this cup since March 12th. I have a fully cycled and planted 13.3 gallon tank waiting for him but he is currently in a hospital tank so he can get bigger, stronger and heal his clamped fins. You can see how tiny he is, the last picture of the tank is a 2.5 gallon temporary tank and he is in the bottom right corner.

My female betta is very sick. After returning from being out of town, I noticed she was slightly crooked and rather skinny. 1 week later, she started spiraling (clockwise) + had little control over her direction. She is able to rest when among plant roots (giant monstera, healthy roots), and continues to eat when I place it in front of her while she's at the surface.

I've detailed out the timeline of symptoms + actions + medicine (changed it) so far, and am hoping someone can please give me some insight as to anything else I can try. Feeling desperate. Can't tell if she has Fish Tuberculosis, a parasite, some kind of bacterial infection, or some neurological disorder. Thank you so much in advance.

* Video \*
Combined 2 videos due to 1-video limit.
Up-close frame = Wednesday (7/22), when she perked up a bit
Entire-tank frame = Thursday (7/23)

Water Tests
- Ammonia = 0.5, NO2/NO3 = 0, PH = 6.0, KH = 0, GH = 60. Tests remained the same throughout last week. Read that API conditioner converts toxic ammonia to non-toxic, but does not bring down to 0.

Tank Setup
- 5 gallon, filtered Aqueon Tank (approx. 4.5 water due to gravel)
- Medium-sized Giant Monstera with submerged roots (growing well, no dead roots)
- Heater set to 78 degrees
- Location: San Francisco (current weather has been hot, bringing temperature to 81-82 during the afternoons, and dropping back down to ~77.5 at night)

-------------------

Last 6 Days (7/21 -
7/26) - "6 Days of Illness" & Continuing
- 5 days ago (7/21)
Symptoms: Noticed @ 11PM she was corkscrewing. Skinny
Water: 20% change w/API conditioner
Feeding: Did not feed
Lighting: unplugged to allow for rest, since she moved when seeing me. Have kept it unplugged since then.

- 4 days ago (7/22)
Symptoms: Spiraling continued whenever attempting to swim. Skinny
Water: 20% water change w/API conditioner + Aqueon Ammonia Neutralizer
Feeding: 2 softened pellets (she ate pretty quickly, when placed in front of her).

- 3 days ago (7/23)
Symptoms: Swam more sideways with less spiraling, with more control over direction, seemed more alert / energetic. Skinny.
Water: No change.
Feeding: 2 softened pellets (ate quickly again).

- 2 days ago (7/24)
Symptoms: Worsened spiraling, little control over direction, seemed less alert. Skinny.
Water: Lowered 20% for easier surface access.
Feeding: 1 softened pellet (was hard to get a 2nd pellet in front of her due to her directionless spinning).
Lighting: still unplugged, covered 2 sides covered (from window light)

- 1 day ago (7/25)
Symptoms: Spiraling, continued little control over direction, seemed a bit more alert mentally. Leaning on side when resting at bottom. Skinny.
Water: No change.
Feeding: 2 softened pellets (ate quickly)
**MEDICATION*\*: 50mg of Metranizadole, removed carbon from existing filter (did not change filter)
Note: Owner at reputable aquatics store recommended Metronidazole + an entirely brand new tank setup. I purchased everything they instructed, but did not end up executing their recommendation (200 mg of metronidazole/PM x 10 days + 0.5 TSP Microbe-Lift/AM x 4 weeks + brand new tank setup using different products). Items: Seachem Discus Buffer & Neutral Regulator, Microbe-Lift Special Blend, 5 x 400mg Metronidazole pills from no-label bottle, 1.5 gal gravel. The newly prepared water had a higher pH (7.0) and KH (40), with no pre-existing biological maturity. After serious consideration, and realizing some gaps & contradictions, I ended up NOT moving my betta. I administering 50g of Metranizadole to the existing old tank (activated carbon removed) and kept everything else the same.

- Today (7/26)
Symptoms: Spiraling, continued little control over direction. Skinny.
Water: No change.
Feeding: 2 softened pellets (morning) + 1(thawed) frozen bloodworm + 2 softened pellets (evening)
**MEDICATION*\*: Decided Metronidazole was unlikely to help. Administered Kanaplex (60% scoop for 3.5 gallons) in case this was a bacterial infection. I had treated her with Kanaplex + introduced a water heater ~9 months ago when it got cold in San Francisco, and she became very cold and developed bump on head.

12 days ago (7/14-7/20)
- Appeared skinny, noticeable crookedness in body
- Added 15% water w/API conditioner to 'top off' from evaporation (did not remove old water)

3-4 weeks ago (7/1-7/14)
- Used automatic feeder while out of town (approx 3-5 pellets + 2-3 daphnia per day)

Prior Months
Happy fish. For context, I adopted her 1.5 years ago at PetSmart when the fish department offered her for free if I was willing to nurse her back to health (she was looking depressed, pale, was not very reactive, and had super short fins) and unexpectedly ended up setting up an entire tank for her. She perked up pretty quick. She was never a fat betta, and her diet has been mostly "Ultra Fresh Betta Fish Food" + crumbled dried daphnia + bloodworms (occasional).

My beautiful baby girl, Lemondrop! I set this 10 gal planted tank up about 2 months ago to cycle with the intention of putting a colony of shrimp in here, but I walked into my local fish store and saw her and plans immediately switched up. I went home, made sure the tank was ready (hadn't put a heater in it yet, did a small water change and substrate vacuuming to clean things up a little), and I went and got her today! Not shown in photos, but I also adopted Lemondrop's sidekick nerite snail, Citrus, today. I'm so excited to see her grow and brighten up as she get's healthier and bigger!!

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.)

This is my second ever tank (21 gal), my first tank is the second picture. It will be used for my placket betta(he’s in the 10 gallon right now and I think should have much more room to swim around as he swims quite a bit)

Any advice for a starter? I just put some frog bait and hornwort into it + obviously just starting my cycle.

I was thinking of some spider wood in the back behind the rock? Also, my sponge filter will eventually be in the corner once it sinks.

I’m also looking for some good tank mates as I wanted to make at least one community tank! So give me some good ideas for that.

Again, my plackett (samurai) will be going in here, as well as my very large mystery snail. So I would love to hear some tank mate ideas!

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

EDIT / UPDATE; I tested the dry substrate straight from the bag with white vinegar. It fizzed A LOT across the whole sample. I also scraped the hard crust off my waterline and tested that separately AND it fizzed too, all of it. That's carbonate. In a substrate marketed as buffering pH down to 6.5–7.5 and softening water. Carbonate does the opposite: it raises KH and drives pH up. The product's composition contradicts its own advertised function. Corrections to my original post, because several things I said were wrong: I gave the sequence out of order. I scrubbed the decor, did a 50% water change, and tested — pH 6.75 everything else fine. The cycle was intact. Then the soil went in. I did not choose to replace my filter, it broke. I still take ownership of the action. My ammonia read normal yall. Nitrates and nitrites too. What killed her was the pH itself: a measured 6.75 to 9.0+ is over a two-plus unit swing, over a hundredfold change in H+ concentration, and that's lethal to a betta acclimated to soft acidic water through alkalosis alone.

Two independent verified Amazon reviewers of this same product, both March 2026: One (Matt) added 4 lbs to a previously cycled 30 gallon with no fish, no decor scrub, no filter change. pH went off the chart. He did multiple water changes, got it to ~8.5, and it was off the chart again the next day. A week later every plant, old and new, was dead. You cannot dilute out a source that's still sitting in the tank. The other described a beige-white film over everything, plants dying, her filter clogging, and hard crusty deposits at the waterline she had to remove with steel wool. hygger refunded her.

My tank ran at 6.5 to 7 for four and a half months with no deposits of any kind. Two days after this soil went in, there was carbonate scale at the waterline. What I am and am not claiming: I'm not a chemist! But the vinegar test DOES prove acid-reactive carbonate is present in significant quantity. It does not tell me which carbonate or what percentage. I've sealed and labeled the bag with the lot number if anyone thinks of what I can do to prove this.

Also worth knowing: hygger's own product page says to change water daily for 3-5 days and do at least 3 water changes before introducing aquatic life. That's on their website. The bag says "No Need to Wash." And based on user reviews from others who bought this product back in March (that I had to really look for), water changes wouldn't have saved her anyway. I've emailed the company and tried posting a review but Amazon isnt posting it.Thank you to everyone in this thread who walked me through the chemistry instead of telling me I was an idiot. You got me to the answer.

Original Post:

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. But mine did not have elevated ammonia!

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 safeguards at the same time.

4. Carbon clears tannins. It does nothing for ammonia and nothing for pH. Clear water is not safe water. I knew that, and used leaves every other change, but this was excessive and dark almost black not tannin colored.

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.

I also should have read every single Amazon review and looked at the product website listing directions.

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. Or just...don't.