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Freshwater Aquarium/Questions Answered by Expert S. Nicole
| Subject | Date Asked |
| Betta companion and cycling | 2/25/2009 |
| Q: I have a male betta, approxamately 1.5 inches (not including the tail) in a 1 gallon tank for about ... A: First off, I'm so sorry it took me a while to get back to you. My email was out of order temporarily ... | |
| Betta | 2/24/2009 |
| Q: I have a male Betta that I put in a 1 gal bowl with fake plants & rocks. He's been doing great, but ... A: Your betta is fine I assure you! This is a bubble nest and is very normal. In fact it can be a sign ... | |
| Sick Betta, please help | 2/23/2009 |
| Q: I have a sick male betta, who i found out today is suffering from some sort of fungus. He darts ... A: I am so sorry it has taken me this long to get back to you. My email was temporarily out of service. ... | |
| I think my betta may be dying | 2/21/2009 |
| Q: My crownatail betta was in way too small of a tank (like maybe a half gallon?) that I bought cheap ... A: First I want to apologize for getting back to you so late. My email was temporarily out of service ... | |
| Rams | 1/26/2009 |
| Q: We have a 240L tank, which is 3 months old. The ammonia, ph, nitrite and nitrate levels are in the ... A: This is completely normal. Same sex rams are definitely going to squabble. As for separating them, ... | |
| Silver Dollar Eye Pop/Fluke | 1/8/2009 |
| Q: We have a Silver Dollar (approx. 5 y/O) living in a 30 gal tank with numerous guppies (25) just ... A: I'm sure you are dealing with a case of velvet which I dont have a great recommendation for as far ... | |
| popeye and fin rot? | 1/7/2009 |
| Q: I've had my beta for about 6 months now and recently I went out of town for a couple of weeks. When ... A: Sorry your betta wasn't taken care of properly :( The good news is the same meds will treat pop ... | |
| sick betta fish | 1/6/2009 |
| Q: I have one Beta alone in a 5 gallon cycled tank. About month ago noticed small white spot on his ... A: The yellow tinge is from the meds. Okay this is very important so I'll start with this.... The ... | |
| new Mollie not swimming | 1/6/2009 |
| Q: My son just got a 1.5 gallon tank for Christmas. We set it up and let the filter run for 24 hours ... A: I'm afraid a 1.5 gallon tank isn't very suitable for two mollies. At best maybe one betta as they do ... | |
| Nitrite levels high | 1/4/2009 |
| Q: I have had my fish for about 6 weeks now. When we had them we had the tank setup running with ... A: It is still cycling if their is ammonia or nitrite present at all. It has only finished when these ... | |
| Sunburst Fish problem | 1/4/2009 |
| Q: Yesturday I set up a tank with the help of my cousin who is a little more experienced then me. It is ... A: Sorry it took me a couple of days to get back to you. I have been all booked up:) Okay, the ... | |
| Betta fish | 1/4/2009 |
| Q: I just got a new betta fish. I wanted to get him a filter and heater, but my parents refused, so we ... A: I find that in a one gallon bowl a water change every five days is necessary to keep ammonia down. ... | |
| Nitrite levels high | 1/3/2009 |
| Q: I have had my fish for about 6 weeks now. When we had them we had the tank setup running with ... A: you are doing a great thing by water changing them down to a decent level. I'm not sure how familiar ... | |
| betta's and tiger barbs | 1/2/2009 |
| Q: My tank is 11 gallons and I do not test the ammonia, nitrate or ph levels. I already have a male ... A: I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad new but there is just no way you can keep your Betta with tiger ... | |
| Mollies | 1/1/2009 |
| Q: I have a 40litre tank. It is cycled and it contains 3 round banded barbs, 5 golden barbs, 2 mollies, ... A: It is a bit hard to diagnose without ammonia readings nitrite nitrate etc. You may be dealing with a ... | |
| Betta | 1/1/2009 |
| Q: Our betta fish is not doing so well, he has not eaten in about a week and half. Lays on the bottom ... A: Sorry to hear that :( I hope you have better luck next time. I'm here if you need me. Hi ... | |
| betta not building bubble nest | 12/31/2008 |
| Q: I have set up my 5 1/2 gallon tank with plants and sponge filter and heater in corner. I have half ... A: Are you sure there isn't something happening with the filter getting to the bubble nest even under ... | |
| sick betta fish | 12/30/2008 |
| Q: I have one Beta alone in a 5 gallon cycled tank. About month ago noticed small white spot on his ... A: Dont apologize, I have been there and done the tank ignorance thing. LOL Well let me start off by ... | |
| snails | 12/29/2008 |
| Q: I maintain a 75 gallon fresh water tank for a local business. About a year ago, I apparently ... A: You are very right about the catfish in the tank being sensitive to copper containing snail killing ... | |
| Guppies Keep Dying | 12/29/2008 |
| Q: Good Day! This is Ram from Concord, CA. I recently bought a 10 Gallon (about 3 Weeks Old) and ... A: If you have ammonia in the tank it means that you haven't completed the nitrogen cycle. WAter ... | |
| fungal spots and blindness or sense of smell loss in my betta | 12/27/2008 |
| Q: I adopted my betta from my friend who didn't want him anymore and didn't really know how to take ... A: Keep treating the fungal infection until you see that it is gone. If it takes more than one round ... | |
| sick betta fish | 12/27/2008 |
| Q: I have one Beta alone in a 5 gallon cycled tank. About month ago noticed small white spot on his ... A: If you have never checked your water then there is no way of knowing if it is cycled. Check out the ... | |
| bettas | 12/25/2008 |
| Q: is it ok to put bettas with six mollies because im worried if it will attack them A: Normally bettas are quite peaceful with a lot of species other than bettas. Some things you need to ... | |
| Fish death when there is a water change | 12/24/2008 |
| Q: I do a 25% water change every week because the tank is new but everytime i do a water change i loose ... A: Well of course I was going to say PH swings but if your testing the new waters ph and it matches ... | |
| betta breeding | 12/23/2008 |
| Q: the site is great, i want to ask you a couple of answerable questions,1) is there any kind of fry ... A: The females have these bars because they are stressed not because they are ready to breed. Sounds as ... | |
| cloudy tank | 12/23/2008 |
| Q: I washed it with just hot water along with the gravel and plants. i filled it let it set for a day ... A: Don't add PH corrector. 7.6 is fine for bettas in fact my ph is 7.4 They can adapt to that just ... | |
| guppy breeding | 12/23/2008 |
| Q: i just replaced my tropical fish (not counting 2 original guppies), with 10 new guppies(3 females,9 ... A: Well if you dont care who gets her pregnant than I would add two males to the tank with the females ... | |
| Guppies Keep Dying | 12/23/2008 |
| Q: Good Day! This is Ram from Concord, CA. I recently bought a 10 Gallon (about 3 Weeks Old) and ... A: If you have any ammonia in the tank, this means your tank is not cycled. One problem I am seeing is ... | |
| Damaged Betta | 12/22/2008 |
| Q: Upon suggestion by a friend I bought a female betta to add with my male betta. I spoke to the pet ... A: Please, please never put male and female together. It is a common misconception that this is okay. ... | |
| molly and betta | 12/22/2008 |
| Q: i have 20 gal tank with 2f and 1 m balloon mollies both of fem gave birth to fries how can i ... A: Usually balloon mollies are to slow to catch the fry anyway, but you can add some plants and hiding ... | |
| moving my fish to new bigger tank 10gal to 20 | 12/21/2008 |
| Q: Nicole. I have had an established tank for almost a yr and all my fishes are doing well but the 10 ... A: In my opinion, I would have just left them in the established tank while you were gone. That many ... | |
| can i have a betta with my fish | 12/21/2008 |
| Q: i've got a 50us gal tank i've been running it for 2years now. My current stocking is, 5 mollys, 2 ... A: I see one thing that would be a bit up in the air. Which is the black widow tetras. They can get a ... | |
| moving my fish to new bigger tank 10gal to 20 | 12/21/2008 |
| Q: Nicole. I have had an established tank for almost a yr and all my fishes are doing well but the 10 ... A: It is good to see someone who knows about cycle and all! Well, I am sorry that I am a bit confused. ... | |
| platys | 12/20/2008 |
| Q: hi could you show me a picture of a pregnant platy and how long should i wait before putting her ... A: I do not advise you to put her in a breeding trap. It is a lot less stressful to let her give birth ... | |
| in4mation | 12/20/2008 |
| Q: how can i know which of fem did it. the one which is looking fat or one which just turned slim. i ... A: Probably the one that looks slim is the one that gave birth. I would give the fry lots of hiding ... | |
| guppies | 12/20/2008 |
| Q: ok i got every thing i have from yuba city geisers pets my aquarium and fish. the person gave us a ... A: ! Okay, the fish we are speaking of only do well in tropical conditions. So if a tank is getting ... | |
| HELP!!! | 12/19/2008 |
| Q: my friend currently has a 14 gallon aquarium with 4 dalmation mollies and wants to get more fish, i ... A: I have an online friend who breeds gouramis who I have ask for some advise for this question. No, ... | |
| betta breeding | 12/19/2008 |
| Q: the site is great, i want to ask you a couple of answerable questions,1) is there any kind of fry ... A: ! Okay lets start slow. I will answer all of your questions but it may take a few follow ups ... | |
| Bettas compatibility, platies, red-eyed tetras | 12/19/2008 |
| Q: hey, i have a tank(all i know is its "24") and i have a red-tailed black shark, three zebrafish, ... A: ! Sorry it took me a day to get back to you. The holidays have me all booked up :) Okay, so what ... | |
| HELP!!! | 12/18/2008 |
| Q: my friend currently has a 14 gallon aquarium with 4 dalmation mollies and wants to get more fish, i ... A: Well does she have the Internet? You could tell her that you have been interested in getting a fish ... | |
| Bettas compatibility, platies, red-eyed tetras | 12/18/2008 |
| Q: hey, i have a tank(all i know is its "24") and i have a red-tailed black shark, three zebrafish, ... A: When you say zebra fish I assume we are talking about zebra danios. They have a high chance at ... | |
| Pregnant Balloon Mollie | 12/18/2008 |
| Q: I have two questions. The first question is that I had 4 balloon mollies, one male and three ... A: I'm sorry to hear about your loss. In my experience, the females do better when you just let ... | |
| Sick Betta | 12/16/2008 |
| Q: I don't if you can help me but I have a beta for about more then a year and a month ago he started ... A: White stringy poop is a sign of internal parasites. But he definitely has something ailing him ... | |
| Sick Betta | 12/16/2008 |
| Q: I don't if you can help me but I have a beta for about more then a year and a month ago he started ... A: Some diseases get treated with gram positive drugs. Some with gram negative. It just depends on the ... | |
| genetics | 12/15/2008 |
| Q: Do you know anything about guppy genetics? Like colors, or fin shapes? Dominate and recessive genes? ... A: I really don't know much about dominant and recessive genes. I'm not sure that you will be able to ... | |
| guppies | 12/14/2008 |
| Q: ok i got every thing i have from yuba city geisers pets my aquarium and fish. the person gave us a ... A: First off, you need to cycle the tank in order to successfully keep fish. This can be quite a long ... | |
| platy | 12/13/2008 |
| Q: hi well my platie is pregnant but I'm worried will she have babies soon she is super huge like it ... A: It sounds as though she will. Getting lazy is not always necessarily a sign that the babies are ... | |
| Sick Betta | 12/10/2008 |
| Q: I don't if you can help me but I have a beta for about more then a year and a month ago he started ... A: I'm not sure about the big white bump. I have never heard of that. You dont need to use bottled ... | |
| Betta Constipation and Depression | 12/8/2008 |
| Q: I currently care for 5 betta splendens. One of them has constipation problems and possibly even ... A: Sounds like you are taking great care of your bettas and care for them. Constipation could very well ... | |
| Fish and turtle | 11/30/2008 |
| Q: I currently have an aquarium with just a couple of mollies in it. I was thinking of buying 2 turtles ... A: Not really. The red eared sliders get extremely big. Up to a foot long. And they need a massive ... | |
| beta crown fish | 11/29/2008 |
| Q: I have had lightningbolt for 1 1/2 yrs. He looks swollen. Fins and tail are broken and ragged. Had a ... A: Sounds like your guy has fin rot. And as for the prickly appearance, it seems like you might be ... | |
Freshwater Aquarium
Answers by Expert:
S. Nicole
Top Expert on this page
Expertise
Bettas are my expertise. I am well qualified to answer questions on Betta behavior, disease, medication, food, water conditions, tank mates etc. I am also well qualified to answer questions about livebearers such as guppies, platies, and mollies. I can answer questions about most community freshwater species and some semi aggressive. I can not answer salt water questions and do not know much about extremely aggressive species such as Oscars. I do not know much about goldfish or other cool water species.
Experience
I have kept fish since I was a kid. Bettas are the fish I am the most experienced and well versed with. I have worked in a local fish store in the freshwater department. I have kept many freshwater species and tanks. I breed bettas as well as keep some for fun and have done my fair share in rescuing some. I currently have four tanks not including my betta tanks.
Education/Credentials
NA
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