#vcki

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Vogner Charking Imperial (CK): 11/17/19 - 12/9/20

CK developed dropsy, so this morning I euthanized him. He was the most aggressive betta I’ve ever had, and seeing him so sick and battered was really heart wrenching. I buried him beside Oberon with a cube of bloodworms.

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CK is MAD today. And you know what? Mood.

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I went to visit my aunt in Montana for a week and ended up staying for two months. My dad card for CK while I was gone, but I had doubts when he insisted he was doing fine and looked well.

Well, just got home the the tanks a mess. Huge plant die off, green algae on all surfaces, and CK is clamped and pale. Going to do a water test followed by a 50% water change and see what’s going on.

My mother told me a few days ago he changed the water and my dad sheepishly admitted he seemed to become listless right about then. So, I’m not sure what happened. Fingers crossed.

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Columnaris?

I think CK has columnaris. I came upstairs this morning to find he has a wooly growth on his ventral fin, and he’s flashing a bit. Along with his lethargy, dull colors, and lack of appetit, I think it’s an appropriate diagnosis. Before I left for my trip, I did add new plants to the tank, so the bacteria could have hitched a ride that way, which would explain his illness despite a lack of poor water quality.

I have some leftover kanaplex that I’m planning on dosing him with. Unfortunately, I don’t have a place to quarantine him and will have to does the whole tank. I seem to recall the plants being find the last time, but I do have snails and some shrimp that I’m worried about.

^the pictures from two days ago, when he seemed to be doing a little better. Since I’ve been back he would sort of peak and valley in terms of recovery. I even started to wonder if he was just getting old and I was over reacting. I recently looked at his old picture and his raggedness and skeletal frame are much more apparent.

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No human, no snail allowed!!!

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The tank is FINALLY clearing up. Got some fertilizer tablets along with twice a week dosing and CO2 up and running. Had the lights off entirely for a few days, then limited hours. I’m going to try putting them back on the normal cycle.

CK is loving the big tank though, algae bloom or not. He’s become even more aggressive and is flaring nonstop. Unfortunately it’s cost me $10 in shrimp. I think I should stick to snails.

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I wanted to include some pictures of CK, but the smoke made it too dark inside to get him :(

Some changes I made to the tank: I added a plastic mesh covering to the window facing glass. I found early in the morning it gets hit with direct light which is causing algae blooms. I finally created a insertable planter basket to sit in the filter. Now I can lift up the basket and trim roots that grow too big. Inconsequential to the tank, I’ve added some plants to the surrounding area. I hope to place even more around the tank.

I also raised the LED a few more inches. The tank’s still getting way too much light and causing algae blooms where the floating plants are pushed away from the filter. I never realized how much light the maidenhair ate up...

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A 48 hour blackout killed the algae, so I’m starting at 4 hours to phase the lights back in. Going to try and hit up the LFS to see about some new plants to fill in the back left orner, and see about a couple of nitrite snails.

I’m back to using the filter for propagation. Got a ficus and mint clipping I hope will take soon.