Hi all,
I’m trying to keep this as brief as possible, but this is my first fish and, despite doing research on bettas for the last two years, I’m still having questions and so worried about messing this up.
I was unexpectedly given my little guy literally same day I got my tank this past week, and didn’t have time to actually cycle it beforehand. Meaning I’m doing fish-in cycling. This was not my ideal scenario but we’re working with what we have. He’s been in this 10 gallon setup since I got him on Wednesday.
I have some aquatic plants, a synthetic plant and a hammock for resting, and driftwood for tannins. I am using a heater and water stays at 79F.
In terms of what I’m using for the water, here’s that breakdown:
-Seachem Prime daily (dosed to tank)
-Seachem Stability daily (dosed to tank)
-API Stress Coat+ if I do a water change or am concerned about chemicals
My concern: I haven’t seen much change in the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels up until today. I am testing daily and continuing to add the things mentioned above after doing a lot of reading.
Today, it seemed like the ammonia had shifted closer to .25ppm, though it wasn’t a super clear match. Just enough that I noticed. Nitrites looked to be somewhere between 0ppm and .25ppm (I did not get a photo of either of these test results!)
I did a 10% water change, added Prime/Stability/Stress Coat+ and retested, and the images included are the ammonia levels after all of this. I’m just second guessing myself and don’t know if I can even tell a difference from before and after. Does that look ok? I photographed it from two different angles to give the best idea.
Otherwise, any other suggestions? Tank setup look ok for now? I’ve used a sponge and cut up water bottle to really slow and soften water flow. He does love his hammock and is eating well. Generally very curious when I come in the room or do any work with his tank.
Literally open to ANY input as I want this process to be the least stressful for him that it can be.