excessive foam in my betta aquarium

[floralux]

Foam started showing up after the filter was unplugged and then plugged back in again. I cleaned the filter, thinking that might be the issue, but that didn't work. So I went ahead and changed it. The foam disappeared when I changed the water, but it came back a day later. I've noticed that when the lid is on the tank, the foam just keeps growing. I'm still trying to figure out what's going on here.

[fairbrook]

I think using carbon might help with the foam issue. It's worth a shot, at least.

[coltin]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

I think a picture of the foam would really help us figure out what's going on. If your camera's resolution is too high, try lowering it to take some smaller pics that'll fit on this site. Then just pick a couple of clear ones that show the problem and post them here. Just remember to turn your camera's resolution back up afterwards so all your pics aren't tiny.

One possibility is that your Betta's building a bubblenest, which can look like white foam on the surface. If you use plant fertiliser, some of them can cause white foamy bubbles to appear.

What kind of filter do you have, by the way? You mentioned changing the filter - what exactly did you do? If you have a filter with cartridges or pads, it's generally best not to replace them unless they're falling apart. The pads get colonies of beneficial bacteria that help keep ammonia and nitrite levels at zero.

Ammonia's caused by anything that breaks down in the water, like fish food or waste. If you have an established biological filter, the beneficial bacteria eat the ammonia and convert it into nitrite, which is then eaten by more good bacteria and converted into nitrate. You get rid of nitrates with regular big water changes.

If you do change the filter pads, you'll get rid of the good bacteria and the tank will start cycling again. This can be avoided if you have a filter with pads or cartridges - you can buy sponges for different brands and cut them to fit inside your filter. Leave the sponge and filter pads together for at least 6-8 weeks, then you can remove the pads and throw them away. Replace them with more sponge and you're good to go.

You can also get round or cylindrical sponges for internal power filters. These have a hole in the centre and fit over the intake strainer, helping to hold more good bacteria and stopping small fish and plants from getting drawn in. Sponges can last for years and only need replacing if they start to break down.

Just squeeze them out in a bucket of tank water every 2-4 weeks and re-use them. Don't clean new sponges until they're 6-8 weeks old, or you might remove the good bacteria. After that, you can clean them every couple of weeks.

If you did replace the filter media, you should keep an eye on the ammonia and nitrite levels for the next month. If you get any readings above zero, do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate. Make sure any new water is free of chlorine or chloramine before adding it to the tank.

[floralux]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

I think a picture of the foam would really help us figure out what's going on. If your camera's resolution is too high, try lowering it to take some smaller pics that'll fit on this site. Then just pick a couple of clear ones that show the problem and post them here. Just remember to turn your camera's resolution back up afterwards so all your pics aren't tiny.

One possibility is that your Betta's building a bubblenest, which can look like white foam on the surface. If you use plant fertiliser, some of them can cause white foamy bubbles to appear.

What kind of filter do you have, by the way? You mentioned changing the filter - what exactly did you do? If you have a filter with cartridges or pads, it's generally best not to replace them unless they're falling apart. The pads get colonies of beneficial bacteria that help keep ammonia and nitrite levels at zero.

Ammonia's caused by anything that breaks down in the water, like fish food or waste. If you have an established biological filter, the beneficial bacteria eat the ammonia and convert it into nitrite, which is then eaten by more good bacteria and converted into nitrate. You get rid of nitrates with regular big water changes.

If you do change the filter pads, you'll get rid of the good bacteria and the tank will start cycling again. This can be avoided if you have a filter with pads or cartridges - you can buy sponges for different brands and cut them to fit inside your filter. Leave the sponge and filter pads together for at least 6-8 weeks, then you can remove the pads and throw them away. Replace them with more sponge and you're good to go.

You can also get round or cylindrical sponges for internal power filters. These have a hole in the centre and fit over the intake strainer, helping to hold more good bacteria and stopping small fish and plants from getting drawn in. Sponges can last for years and only need replacing if they start to break down.

Just squeeze them out in a bucket of tank water every 2-4 weeks and re-use them. Don't clean new sponges until they're 6-8 weeks old, or you might remove the good bacteria. After that, you can clean them every couple of weeks.

If you did replace the filter media, you should keep an eye on the ammonia and nitrite levels for the next month. If you get any readings above zero, do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate. Make sure any new water is free of chlorine or chloramine before adding it to the tank.

Hi and welcome to the forum.

Any chance of a picture of the foam? If the pics are too big, try setting your camera to a lower resolution, that way they'll be smaller and should fit on this site. Check the pics on your pc, find a couple that are clear and show the problem, and post them here. Don't forget to turn the camera's resolution back up after you've taken the pics.

The Betta might be building a bubblenest, which can look like white foam on the surface. If you use plant fertiliser, some of them can cause white foamy bubbles to appear.

What kind of filter do you have? You mentioned changing the filter - what did you do? If you've got a filter with cartridges or pads, you shouldn't replace the pads unless they start to fall apart. These pads get colonies of beneficial bacteria that help keep ammonia and nitrite levels at 0.

Ammonia's caused by anything that breaks down in the water - fish food, waste, dead fish or plants. If you've got an established biological filter, the beneficial bacteria eat the ammonia and convert it into nitrite. Then more good bacteria eat the nitrite and convert it into nitrate. You get rid of nitrates by doing big regular water changes.

If you change the filter pads, you'll get rid of the good bacteria and the tank will start to cycle again. A cycle's where the filters develop the beneficial bacteria that break down ammonia and nitrite.

If you've got a filter with pads or cartridges, you can buy sponges for different brands of filter and cut them to fit inside your filter. Leave the sponge and filter pads together for at least 6-8 weeks, then you can remove the pads and throw them away. Add some more sponge to replace the pads and you're good to go.

You can also get round sponges for some brands of internal power filter. These round sponges have a hole through the centre and fit over the intake strainer of most external power filters. They help by holding more good bacteria and stop small fish and bits of plant from being drawn into the filter.

Sponges will last for years - most people get 10+ years from filter sponges - and only need replacing if they start to break down. Sponges get squeezed out in a bucket of tank water every 2-4 weeks and re-used. But don't clean new sponges until they're 6-8 weeks old, otherwise you'll remove the good bacteria. After 6-8 weeks, the bacteria will be well attached and you can clean them every couple of weeks.

If you did replace the filter media, you should monitor the ammonia and nitrite levels over the next month. Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate any day you have an ammonia or nitrite reading above 0. Make sure any new water is free of chlorine or chloramine before adding it to the tank.

[coltin]

I'm not convinced it's a bubblenest. There's something in the water causing these excess bubbles. The filter outlet is partially to blame, with the water dropping a few inches before hitting the tank, but that's not the whole story.

Do you add any plant fertilizers or other chemicals to the tank? And did you rinse the gravel in fresh water before adding it to the tank?

Increasing the water level by a couple of inches might help reduce the bubbles, since the water wouldn't drop as far before entering the tank.

If your fish seem fine, eating and swimming normally, I wouldn't stress too much about it.

[SeaBidder]

Mine does it too sometimes. Just the filter.