Who Gives A Fish Forums

You gotta take her out or let them breed, those are your only two options.

I recently picked up a 55 gallon tank and stand for $100 - what a steal. I'm currently cycling it and I've had my heart set on Mbuna/African cichlids. Given their reputation for being overstocked to reduce aggression, I've invested in a filter with a 10x turnover - about 2000 l/h - to handle the ...

I'd suggest sunnygolds for your tank, 3-5 in total. Protection is key, so create as many caves as you can. I'm not a fan of water buffers - I prefer to buffer the water naturally. I use a lime chip base, it provides the necessary hardness and pH. For maintenance, I do 25% water changes weekly. Aim ...

A pH of 8 is quite high for betta fish - I'd recommend trying to get it back down to around 7, that's more suitable for them.

If you keep a fish in a tank with a high pH and it's not suited for that pH, it's just gonna suffer. The fish will get stressed, its immune system will weaken, and it'll be more prone to disease. That's what's happening to your betta - it's not a sudden thing, it's a slow decline.

Freshwater fish aren't too fond of a pH of 8.something. Most of 'em prefer it 7 or lower.

That's how Java ferns usually look, pretty normal.

Have you treated the tank with any medication recently or added something new that might be affecting your betta?

I'm curious about the ammonia reading in your tank. Overfeeding might be the culprit. With a well-established tank like yours, it's unusual to see ammonia levels. Are you feeding your fish too frequently or giving them too much food?

Instead of relying on others, you should've done your own research before posting all these questions. We've already discussed this stuff in other threads, so it's not like the info's hard to find.