u/Ok_Being6104

I just had to share this.

Yesterday I bought some beautiful Amazon frogbit off of Facebook marketplace and then I headed to Petco because it was buy three get one free on plants and I figured I wanted to fill out my 10 gallon betta tank a bit more.

When I got home, I didn’t immediately rush to put the plants in the tank because I have a two year-old and obviously life can get a little hectic. And I’ve never had a problem waiting a bit to put the plants in my tank.

An hour or two later I got to the plants..I rinsed them in the sink in warm water and planted them and all seemed well.

WELLLLLL later that evening when I was cleaning up after dinner and doing the dishes, I ran the garbage disposal in my sink, and it sounded like something was stuck in it. I reached my hand in there and pulled out a freaking dead African dwarf frog 😩 I literally screamed.

The frogbit was wrapped in damp paper towels, but the plants from Petco were in large plastic bags without water. So the frog must have been on one of the plants and I’m thinking the little guy was probably already dead from lack of water when he went down the drain.

I just feel so guilty, but I wasn’t buying any live fish so I didn’t really inspect the plants or even think to. I’d never leave a live fish or shrimp in the bag like that, I’d start acclimating immediately.

TL;DR check your plants for any living creatures when buying from PETCO, or don’t buy from them at all because they’re garbage anyway

Video of my tank included in tribute to my little frog-hoping the crew enjoy the new plants in honor of his sacrifice 😩🪦

Everyone, meet Goki, or mister Gokes. I got him in March and I’ve been really trying to make his tank enriching and to give him the best life and care I can. I even moved my 2 yr old daughter’s playroom to the room he’s in so he has more foot traffic and sees us more. He does perk up when he sees us - and he’s always eaten normally and still is - he’s had perfect water testing parameters since cycling his tank, and aside from like two tests with high alkaline over the last 5 months, nothing else else has ever been out of range, including temperature, which I check manually with a thermometer as well. I just did a partial water change and moved his landscape around a bit.

But lately he just seems freaking bored - he has a handful of cherry shrimp he enjoys watching (they don’t attack each other at all) and a small netrite snail (steve)

But lately I’ve noticed him hanging at the bottom of his tank more, and he’s always been fond of resting on his heater or a leaf. I catch him just staring at the gravel and drift wood frequently now. and he seem to have constant RBF 😭

I guess I’m just wondering

1. Are you seeing any flags in his tank condition or care
2. I tried adding a black background to the back of his tank today and he did swim around a lot, but is that good for him or just for aesthetics? Right now can’t tell if he likes it or hates, but he’s not flaring and rarely does - honestly if he were human I’d be worried he’s depressed. Thoughts on backgrounds in terms of if they’re good for your fish?

I just want him to be comfortable and happy - any input/advice or reassurance would be greatly appreciated, even if it’s more of a critique.