what is this??

[akestler]

There's a lot of white strings of stuff floating around in my tank all of a sudden. They sort of resemble cobwebs, but they're just long white strings. They're attached to the gravel and to the plant, and they just kind of wave around in the current. They're only in one side of the tank. (I have a divided tank) There's also chunks floating around in the water. They just kind of appeared all within the last day. Is it poop? I have no idea what it is or if I should do a water change to remove it. I'm not due for a water change until Monday. There's quite a lot of it. The betta that's in the side of the tank with this stuff has recently developed a bulge in his stomach area, and it bulges out to the sides. I think it may be due to overfeeding. Just thought I would mention that in case it might have something to do with the white stringy things. Any ideas?

[Minaku]

Is it possible to take a picture? "White strings" can be different things.

[akestler]

Here's the best picture I could get. It's only of one of the stringy things, it's one that's attached to the wire of the thermometer. I tried to get a picture of all of them, but it was too far away to see them. There are several more attached to the leaves and stems of the plant, the gravel, the divider, pretty much anything there is to attach to! They're kind of difficult to see in a picture because they're not moving like they do in real life. (does that make any sense?) Well anyway, here's the picture. There's a little yellow arrow pointing to what I'm talking about. The bright things in the picture are not what I'm talking about. I don't know what they are, probably reflections.



Again, I know it's difficult to see, but it's the best one I could get.

[starlight]

I'm not due for a water change until Monday

I'd clean out that tank asap, nuke everything, gravel plants and isolate the sick betta, preferably in a barebottom tank. This problem is a function of poor water quality. It's stressing your fish.

So there's no misunderstanding...that betta should go into 100% fresh water immediately...if not sooner.

[akestler]

Thank you very much for your response. I emptied the tank, put the plant and the gravel in the microwave for 30 seconds, rinsed everything off, then refilled it. The only problem is, I really can't isolate the betta. I have a 2-gallon tank at home, but "home" is an hour and a half away from where I am! (at college) Right now, he is still in his cup that I put him in during water changes. The "bulge" I spoke of is still there, but it has gone down considerably. Do you think it would be safe to put him back in the tank, or maybe keep him in the cup to see if the bulge goes away by tomorrow? I know neither one of these is an ideal option, but unfortunately, since I didn't think ahead to a situation such as this, they're the only ones I have.

EDIT: Question #2: If this happened because of poor water quality, wouldn't it be in both sides of the tank? And would fresh water really help since it would be the same water from the same source?

[starlight]

What size tank is he in? I know that you said divider. I guess you're saying they share the same water. I've seen this before a long time ago. There kinda like white floaty things. Sometimes they get tangled up in a bettas fins. Best guess is that its some sort of bacterial bloom. Did you check the ammo level in the floaty water? Do you have a filter in that tank?

[akestler]

I have 2 bettas, and they are in a divided 5 gallon tank. It's an Eclipse tank, so yes, it is filtered, with whatever filtering system comes with the Eclipse tanks. I do 50% water changes once a week. I don't have a water testing kit, so I don't know about the ammonia levels. I know I really should have one, but all the ones I've seen that test everything are pretty expensive and I am VERY short on cash. Just a poor college student tryin to survive on the basics! LoL I know there are testing kits that test just pH, just ammonia, etc. that aren't very expensive, but I just don't know what is the most important thing to test so I don't know which one to get. I just keep hoping that between the filter and regular water changes, everything turns out OK!

[starlight]

akestler said:

I have 2 bettas, and they are in a divided 5 gallon tank. It's an Eclipse tank, so yes, it is filtered, with whatever filtering system comes with the Eclipse tanks. I do 50% water changes once a week. I don't have a water testing kit, so I don't know about the ammonia levels. I know I really should have one, but all the ones I've seen that test everything are pretty expensive and I am VERY short on cash. Just a poor college student tryin to survive on the basics! LoL I know there are testing kits that test just pH, just ammonia, etc. that aren't very expensive, but I just don't know what is the most important thing to test so I don't know which one to get. I just keep hoping that between the filter and regular water changes, everything turns out OK!

Ok don't worry. They're in a 5, that's good. When I saw this before it was in a smaller tank. It looks worse than it is but stresses the fish (bloating) Did you make any changes to the filter recently? Can you put new carbon in the filter? The side of the tank that had it, was it getting sufficient filter water flow. (are both sides filtered equally?)

[akestler]

Well, the intake tube is on one side of the tank, and the filtered water comes out on the other side of the tank. The side with all the stringy things and the betta with the "bulge" is on the side that the filtered water comes into. The divider has rows of little holes "to allow for even filtration and heating", according to the package. The carbon is supposed to be good for 2-4 weeks, and the one that's in there has been there for about 2 weeks, so it could be time to get a new one. The betta's bulge is hardly there at all now, so that's good. I'm going to get a new carbon filter pad and hopefully the stuff will not come back. There's still some hanging onto the walls and the divider and the gravel, even after the water change. Definitely not near as much as before though. It does not go away easily!

[starlight]

EDIT: Question #2: If this happened because of poor water quality, wouldn't it be in both sides of the tank?

from your last post the betta in one side is getting fresh water that's been oxygenated. There is some water flow between dividers but it restricts flow just the same. W/O the divider the floaties would be taken in by the intake on the other side. They are "filtered" by the divider and stay on one side. They were stressing your betta. It sounds like he is improving.

That's my guess