Newbie questions re. Giant HMPK Bettas, Planted Tanks, etc

[jruddock]

Hello All!

My wife and I are new members of the OVAS.

We currently have 10 tanks – mostly “nano” tanks:

4 – Eheim 24L each with Thai half-moon plakat Bettas (2 are Giants: 3”+) – Stock 7w LEDs, some get sun, some don’t
2 – Fluval Spec V (5 gal) each with Thai half-moon plakat Bettas (1 is a Giant) – Archaea (ADA) 30 cm LEDs – Low light, but gets sun 3-5 hrs/day
1 – Innovative Marine Nano16 (16 gal) running a planted freshwater platy tank with CO2, amano shrimp, nerite snails (custom pumps, etc.) – 28w (2 Eheim 7w and 2 Innovative Marine 14k 6w)
1 – 10 gal rimless planted freshwater platy tank with CO2, cherry shrimp, zebra snails (glass intake/outake) – 19w (1 Eheim 7w and 2 Innovative Marine 14k 6w)
1 – Fluval Edge platy tank with a little bristlenose pleco, anubias, and windelov java fern.
1 – 5.5 gal hospital/fry tank – all the plants we can’t place yet, WAY too many platy fry, everything else we don’t know what to do with – a “dayglo” mini-flourescent bulb we put in the stock hood

All have Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate readings of 0. PH is generally 6.6-7.0. GH and KH are low (1-2), but I’ve added coral to the CO2 tanks and they now have KH 3-5. All have plants, driftwood and stone. Some have substrate, others have custom-made planters (e.g the hospital tank).

My questions:

1)   Two of the Thai Bettas I recently received are flashing. There are no noticeable external problems, other than a torn fin and a loose scale from the flashing. I suspect that they may have internal parasites (they both came from the same breeder). I have given them Indian Almond Leaf, done water changes, checked their water parameters (0-0-0), etc. I haven’t been able to find anything that effectively treats internal parasites in our area. Any suggestions?

2)   Our 10g and 16g have both experienced outbreaks of staghorn algae – we do not really fertilize yet, so this may be the problem. What causes staghorn? What can we do to stop it? Should we be adding ferts? Help?

3)   We have a whole bunch of plants and platties that we do not know what to do with – the platties are in many different colours, they are at least 1-4+ months old, and their size varies widely (<1-2cm, a few larger); the plants include java fern, undetermined “thyme-like” stems, pineapple sword, other sword, etc.

We would really appreciate any suggestions you may have. Thanks for all your help.

Regards,

James

[exv152]

Welcome to the forum. Looks like you're already neck deep into the hobby.

[Shawn84]

Welcome e to the club James. First thing when did you get your betta? Was it directly imported from Thailand? I have experience in Betta can you take a pic of them and posted it up.

[bergenm]

You can sell the excess plants and fish at the giant auction in a couple of weeks.

[jruddock]

The two bettas experiencing issues arrived on Feb 20 (about 2 weeks ago) from Thailand. One is a small triband HMPK (Blue & red with white), the other is a giant HMPK mustard (copper with green & black - 3"++). general pics are attached, I will give closeups in the am.

[jruddock]

Here are pics of all our boys:

[Shawn84]

Nice collection of Betta. I had some of the same one you had before. Check there belly. Do you see anything sticking out of there anus? Are they still eating normally?

[jruddock]

They are eating fine, I have watched them carefully and have not seen any visible parasites - I may not have seen them when they've come out, but I haven't noticed anything. They are flashing fairly vigorously - to the point of scratching scales and fins.

[Shawn84]

Did the flashing occur after you done water change?

[jruddock]

The little one started flashing as soon at we got him. The giant started about a week ago. I haven't noticed a connection with water changes, but I plan on doing one tomorrow so I will watch and see.

[Stussi613]

My wife says you can drop off Fed and Brutus anytime you're in the Kanata area!  Beautiful fish!!

[Shawn84]

The reason I ask about water change is that since the fish come from Thailand the water that they grow up in have less chemical and metal in the water. So when they come over here they can have flashing issues but that's just there way of getting used to the water chemistry here in Ottawa. Keep an eye on them and c if anything changes. Also keep an eye on the color of the fish. See if that change. 

[jruddock]

Thanks for your kind advice. I'll watch and see if they settle in.