Hello, I have a Betta fish and he is sick now. At least not as good as he used to be. The bowl was in a room not heated at night. I checked the lowest temperature and it was 14 celcius degree. in day time it is 23 degree. I have been reading for two days about betta diseases but I couldn't diagnose this. He wants to eat but he chews and then spits out. My other betta likes the same food. I give very tiny particles so the size is not a problem. I gave pea, but didn't taste at all. He stays still. Sometimes hides in a dark place under shell. There is an abnormal appearance like bump near "caudal peduncle". I attached the picture. Is it dangerous if he tastes banana fruit by the way? I will add some aquarium salt now. I need some advice to heal this young boy.
My Sick Betta Needs Your Help
- Thread starter luya
- Start date
it needs to be heated at night! the most both my tanks varry is 24.8-26.6 including water changes! 14 is way too cold!
what are the water stats if you no ? (e.g. ammonia,nitrite,nitrate)
size of bowl and is it filtered? how often do you change the water?
what are the water stats if you no ? (e.g. ammonia,nitrite,nitrate)
size of bowl and is it filtered? how often do you change the water?
I am not so equipped. There is no filtration. Now the water level is too low to ease him going up. Just spring water. There were waste food so I had to change all. I only added two drops methylene blue. I don't have anything else. But so far I didn't have problem not using water conditioner or anything else. uhm i am confused. His food is sera's bettagram by the way. Did you see anything wrong in those pictures? Fungus? Maybe depression.. He stayed in dark at weekend because I covered the bowl with my woolen pullover to keep warm. Now he is not at work anymore, I brought him home.
from the pics he looks very pale
why buy fish if you can not house them
i suggest putting him in a warmer place at night ! and water changes everyday or 2 !
some idiot people knows i love betta and buys me as a gift. my philosophy is never buying any kind of animal. it makes me sick when i think of them in their natural habitat ! let me ask you, why do you house betta, if you do? because they are beautiful, charming aren't they?
Hi there =)
Sorry to hear about you boy. Those lumps are actually fairly normal but perhaps your boy is a little underweight if they are showing up so much. However, his behaviour is worrying. Bettas are by their nature curious, fairly active little fish. They like to watch what is going on around them and follow movement. They tend to be very greedy and love food. While they do like to rest and sleep, they shouldn't be hiding away a lot of the time.
I am sorry to say, but he does need a better environment. Bettas often get sick or behave strangely when the environment they are in is not ideal. This is because toxic water (from no filter and/or too few water changes) and low temperatures take a toll on their bodies, making them stressed and sick. They also need plants to play in and places to hide. These make them more secure and improve their behaviour.
Bettas should have enough space to give them different places to explore. While upgrading from a bowl is not the most immediate problem, you really should consider it. Bowls are difficult to heat and filter and they generally do not provide enough space for the bettas to stay fit and healthy. Bettas can actually die from a condition called "fatty liver" if they do not get enough exercise.
Bettas also need warm temperatures of arounf 25-27 celcius (77-81F) that stay stable. In a unheated bowl, the temperature would swing by several degrees during the day and night. which is stressful for the fish and bad for it's health. They, like all fish, also need filtration to naturally keep the toxins in the water down (using special bacteria that can be grown to live in the filter) or they will need daily water changes if kept in a bowl as the waste they produce (jn their poo and wee) is very dangerous for them.
Unless you change these things, your better doesn't have much chance of getting properly well and behaving naturally.
There is a lot of great information here on how to set-up, cycle and maintain a tank.
Sorry to hear about you boy. Those lumps are actually fairly normal but perhaps your boy is a little underweight if they are showing up so much. However, his behaviour is worrying. Bettas are by their nature curious, fairly active little fish. They like to watch what is going on around them and follow movement. They tend to be very greedy and love food. While they do like to rest and sleep, they shouldn't be hiding away a lot of the time.
I am sorry to say, but he does need a better environment. Bettas often get sick or behave strangely when the environment they are in is not ideal. This is because toxic water (from no filter and/or too few water changes) and low temperatures take a toll on their bodies, making them stressed and sick. They also need plants to play in and places to hide. These make them more secure and improve their behaviour.
Bettas should have enough space to give them different places to explore. While upgrading from a bowl is not the most immediate problem, you really should consider it. Bowls are difficult to heat and filter and they generally do not provide enough space for the bettas to stay fit and healthy. Bettas can actually die from a condition called "fatty liver" if they do not get enough exercise.
Bettas also need warm temperatures of arounf 25-27 celcius (77-81F) that stay stable. In a unheated bowl, the temperature would swing by several degrees during the day and night. which is stressful for the fish and bad for it's health. They, like all fish, also need filtration to naturally keep the toxins in the water down (using special bacteria that can be grown to live in the filter) or they will need daily water changes if kept in a bowl as the waste they produce (jn their poo and wee) is very dangerous for them.
Unless you change these things, your better doesn't have much chance of getting properly well and behaving naturally.
There is a lot of great information here on how to set-up, cycle and maintain a tank.
spitting food is usually a symptom of a parasite. most likely internal. they sell meds for that (but truthfully they have to eat the medicated food-so get creative with what you feed him to tempt him to eat the meds. bloodworms work wonders usually)
as for temp i agree he needs higher temp constantly. a small desk lamp placed at an appropriate distance and switched off at night would do. aim for 18-20 c. keep water condition good with 50% waterchanges every other day. also keep feeding to minimum and promptly remove any uneaten food.
from the pic its difficult to say whats wrong. almost looks like a misplaced scale. or anchor worm. is it coloured the same as his scales? or does it look like a whitish forked tail comming out between the scales? if the latter, get anti parasite water treatement. can also try pulling it out with tweezers (wrap the fish in a tank water soaked clean cloth first).
he does appear a bit on the skinny side, but also could be from parasites. have you seen him poo? what does it look like? try some flakes as are more easily eaten than pellets.
keep us updated.
cheers
as for temp i agree he needs higher temp constantly. a small desk lamp placed at an appropriate distance and switched off at night would do. aim for 18-20 c. keep water condition good with 50% waterchanges every other day. also keep feeding to minimum and promptly remove any uneaten food.
from the pic its difficult to say whats wrong. almost looks like a misplaced scale. or anchor worm. is it coloured the same as his scales? or does it look like a whitish forked tail comming out between the scales? if the latter, get anti parasite water treatement. can also try pulling it out with tweezers (wrap the fish in a tank water soaked clean cloth first).
he does appear a bit on the skinny side, but also could be from parasites. have you seen him poo? what does it look like? try some flakes as are more easily eaten than pellets.
keep us updated.
cheers
Night61
Fish Herder
the others are right the tank is way to cold especially at night, and he is underweight, i would buy a small heater the 23 degree celsius during the day is find higher would be better. i think you will find once his tank has consistantly warmer tempatures he will become more active. also i would increase the numbers of pellets you are giving him just for a little while.
good luck with your betta.
good luck with your betta.
thank you all for helping.
this is new condition. I placed the bowl in aquarium and the water in aquarium is heated to 26 celcius degrees.
the water level in bowl is still low. i placed a plant(peace lilly) which I borrowed from my pot. it is fine isn't it? if I am not wrong, he ate this morning. but in the evening i waited for longer and i saw he spitted out again.
re:loraxchick, I haven't seen poo but i placed gravel so I can't see. Should I remove it? my English is poor that I can't understand what you mean by whitish, scales etc.
re: Assaye, Male Bettas hate the water flow so I don't use filtration anymore. For this size of aquarium, I couldn't find an appropriate system.
this is new condition. I placed the bowl in aquarium and the water in aquarium is heated to 26 celcius degrees.
the water level in bowl is still low. i placed a plant(peace lilly) which I borrowed from my pot. it is fine isn't it? if I am not wrong, he ate this morning. but in the evening i waited for longer and i saw he spitted out again.
re:loraxchick, I haven't seen poo but i placed gravel so I can't see. Should I remove it? my English is poor that I can't understand what you mean by whitish, scales etc.
re: Assaye, Male Bettas hate the water flow so I don't use filtration anymore. For this size of aquarium, I couldn't find an appropriate system.
Also, I went to a pet shop to buy something for him but I couldn't. Because I started to argue with the owner of the pet shop. There were 20 Bettas for sale and they all were sick (the white spots..) I couldn't convince her. There should be some regulation for both consumers (they are given sick animals) and for pets. I will be following
As long as he's getting daily water changes in his bowl. If you've got a larger tank, he'd be so much better off there as you could heat it and get a gentle sponge filter. I run mini power filters in all my tanks (all 28 litres +) and the bettas have no problems.
As I said before, clean water, space and warmth is always best for curing sickness. It's a fools errand to try to medicate a fish that in the end doesn't have enough water, stimulation and warmth on a regular basis.
keithp
Fishaholic
I'm confused, is the betta living in the bowl or aquarium? If you add some small aquatic plants to the aquarium that reach the water's surface the betta would love that. The reason is bettas love to sleep on live plant leaves at the surface at night, and if he is weak an open tank with no resting place may wear him out, but if you add plants that will be fine. 
Dont add plastic, they can rip his fins. I would get rid of the shells though they will trap bacteria inside the shells and its hard to scrub inside. Once the water is warm enough for him you can try feeding frozen bloodworms or brine shrimp, betta love those and it will help him put on weight.
If you dont use a slow moving filter you will have to do water changes at least every other week.
Dont add plastic, they can rip his fins. I would get rid of the shells though they will trap bacteria inside the shells and its hard to scrub inside. Once the water is warm enough for him you can try feeding frozen bloodworms or brine shrimp, betta love those and it will help him put on weight. If you dont use a slow moving filter you will have to do water changes at least every other week.
i fed freezed dried blood worms. i couldn't find frozen one. it seems hard to swallow for him but he could eat a small piece.
thanks to everyone. i will wait and see.
in the bowl
thanks to everyone. i will wait and see.
in the bowl
betta fish
Fish Herder
Looks like you have a perfectly good aquarium there, why not place him in that
what a great idea to float the bowl like that if you cant heat it any other way! i would definately take the gravel out. better to monitor his poo habits and clean up extra food more easily. also cuts the risk of bad bacteria/funguses etc. not to mention as much swimming space as possible.
as for doing water changes, if that tank it is sitting in has a filter in it, simply tip the bowl water out into the tank and replace with tank water-couldnt be easier! make sure you fill the bowl as much as you can while still making it float.
some advice on his poo and what to look for-i will try to make it more simple so you can more easily understand: watch for long poo that looks slimy, white, or like a long string. those are signs of parasites. if you notice this, dont do as directed above with water changes. could spread the parasites (healthy fish generally fight off bacteria, but to a parasite, every fish is at risk)
if you have the freezedried bloodworms, try to break them into tiny pieces and soak them until they are soft before feeding to the fish. maybe he spits his food out because he cant "chew" it (not that fish chew their food, but some dont like the hardness of pellets/freezedried if they werent raised on it).
hopefully now that his water is heated/stable you will see an improvement in his eating habits. just make sure you change the water in the bowl every other day or so (as frequently as able).
i think the OP has come up with a great solution for monitoring his health while he seems "sick". meanwhile, possibly thinking of a long-term solution as to housing. it is not always possible/feasible for everyone to simply "upgrade" on the spot for a variety of reasons. they obviously care about the fish's well-being. i can already see this topic as a debate about tank size-and this is not the thread for that.
good job with the current set up-it is a good short term solution to monitor him and his behavior.
keep us updated!
cheers!!
as for doing water changes, if that tank it is sitting in has a filter in it, simply tip the bowl water out into the tank and replace with tank water-couldnt be easier! make sure you fill the bowl as much as you can while still making it float.
some advice on his poo and what to look for-i will try to make it more simple so you can more easily understand: watch for long poo that looks slimy, white, or like a long string. those are signs of parasites. if you notice this, dont do as directed above with water changes. could spread the parasites (healthy fish generally fight off bacteria, but to a parasite, every fish is at risk)
if you have the freezedried bloodworms, try to break them into tiny pieces and soak them until they are soft before feeding to the fish. maybe he spits his food out because he cant "chew" it (not that fish chew their food, but some dont like the hardness of pellets/freezedried if they werent raised on it).
hopefully now that his water is heated/stable you will see an improvement in his eating habits. just make sure you change the water in the bowl every other day or so (as frequently as able).
i think the OP has come up with a great solution for monitoring his health while he seems "sick". meanwhile, possibly thinking of a long-term solution as to housing. it is not always possible/feasible for everyone to simply "upgrade" on the spot for a variety of reasons. they obviously care about the fish's well-being. i can already see this topic as a debate about tank size-and this is not the thread for that.
good job with the current set up-it is a good short term solution to monitor him and his behavior.
keep us updated!
cheers!!
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