Sick Betta

Hi Everyone,
 
My girlfriend bought a yellow and white crown betta maybe two months ago, she did weekly water changes, kept feeding to a minimum once a day with only one or two pellets, she treated and conditioned the water before changing it. Despite proper care, about a month ago she began noticing the little guy wasn't acting normal, he was more lethargic, he wasn't eating and it looked like he had ich on his body. Thinking it was Ich she went out to buy medication to treat it. two weeks passed with no changes in his condition. He seems to be withering away still, and his fins are badly clamped, and his gills look almost blackish and it appeared for a while he was "breathing heavily". He was kept in a vase that was maybe 2 gallons. He had no heater and no filter.
 
She has now brought him to me today, to see if I can treat his ailment. I have him in an unfiltered bowl with a heater at the moment, as my hospital tank is currently in use. I am considering going out and buying a small filtered tank to use for him.
 
However,  I am having a hard time figuring out what he has. I thought it might have been velvet as he would scratch against the decorations and rocks when in her vase but I am not sure. He also has what looks like white patches on his body and his head doesn't matches his body colour. I have looked up other possible fish diseases and I am wondering if he could have advanced fin rot or something internal. I am currently treating him with Seachem Paraguard and I have mixed in API aquarium Salt to the bowl. He seems to be breathing o
 
I will post a few pictures shortly when I get home from work, for everyone to see. 
 
Thanks in advance!
 
 

Here are a few pictures of the betta. I have picked up a 7 Gallon tank that I will be moving the fish into shortly. 
 
Thanks again.
 
Vindi

Not to be mean, but "proper care" is not keeping a betta in an unheated, unfiltered vase. Most would say minimum of 2.5 gallons. (I have mine in 5 and hoping to upgrade to a 10). Bettas also need the temp to be around 80F. Otherwise they are very susceptible to multiple things. I don't know what kind of pellets you have, mine are omega one brand. They are fairly small and if I feed once a day I do 4-5. If I feed twice a day it's 3 at a time. (Their stomach is only as big as their eye, just fyi).
 
Anyway, I don't know how much water you have in the bowl...but ammonia can build up very fast in small areas especially with no proper filter. If you don't have an ammonia test kit I would get one. But if he's in a small amount of water I would do 100% water changes every day. It is very important to keep the water clean. Most of the time you can clear up a lot of stuff with just clean water.
 
I really hope you can fix this guy. But you may want to do a little research on the care of a betta. Most pet stores and ads and what not just show them in little tiny bowls...which is definitely not the way to keep a betta. They can survive harsh conditions mostly because they have a labyrinth organ so they actually go to the surface to breath air. But ammonia can still burn them just like any fish. (Oh, and ammonia is caused by the fish respiration as well as fish waste. You may know this already since you have fish.)
 
I'm glad you are going to get a good size tank for him! I'd just mostly keep the water clean and the temp at 80F and see how he does. I saw the pictures but to me he just sort of looks like a white betta with some color in his fins. Also, the head color being different could just be his coloring. (My betta has a blue body with red fins and a maroon color head). He may have a marble trait in him and if he does they are known to actually change colors. I'm not sure on the white patches though, I can't really see them. I would say though that it is NOT advanced fin rot. If it was he wouldn't have any left. I'd say he could have just been stressed in the conditions he was being kept in. See if he perks up with clean water and proper heat and filtration. I don't know about continuing the paraguard. I know some medicines can be harmful to bettas(mostly melafix/pimafix/bettafix). So wouldn't hurt to look into that to make sure. I don't think I'd do aquarium salt either right now. It may just stress him out more. Make sure any decor in the tank is nice and smooth and the plants are silk and not plastic. They can be fragile fish especially with the longer fins.

 
But if he's in a small amount of water I would do 100% water changes every day.

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This stresses the fish too much and doing this you need to re acclimatise the fish to its tank.
 

 
he would scratch against the decorations and rocks when in her vase but I am not sure.

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How are you de chloranating the water?
 

 
I am currently treating him with Seachem Paraguard

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Treating a fish with medication when you dont know what you are treating is dangerous.

NickAu said:

 
But if he's in a small amount of water I would do 100% water changes every day.

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This stresses the fish too much and doing this you need to re acclimatise the fish to its tank.

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Maybe not 100% then but wouldn't you change a lot of water if in a small amount and it's not filtered at all? Though the OP says he got a 7 gallon for it now so the huge water change may not be needed like that. But definitely clean water for sure.
 

 
Maybe not 100% then but wouldn't you change a lot of water if in a small amount and it's not filtered at all?

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I would do more water changes with heated treated water. Even if that means 50% a day.

Ah, I see. Thanks Nick!

cowgirluntamed said:

Not to be mean, but "proper care" is not keeping a betta in an unheated, unfiltered vase. Most would say minimum of 2.5 gallons. (I have mine in 5 and hoping to upgrade to a 10). Bettas also need the temp to be around 80F. Otherwise they are very susceptible to multiple things. I don't know what kind of pellets you have, mine are omega one brand. They are fairly small and if I feed once a day I do 4-5. If I feed twice a day it's 3 at a time. (Their stomach is only as big as their eye, just fyi).
 
Anyway, I don't know how much water you have in the bowl...but ammonia can build up very fast in small areas especially with no proper filter. If you don't have an ammonia test kit I would get one. But if he's in a small amount of water I would do 100% water changes every day. It is very important to keep the water clean. Most of the time you can clear up a lot of stuff with just clean water.
 
I really hope you can fix this guy. But you may want to do a little research on the care of a betta. Most pet stores and ads and what not just show them in little tiny bowls...which is definitely not the way to keep a betta. They can survive harsh conditions mostly because they have a labyrinth organ so they actually go to the surface to breath air. But ammonia can still burn them just like any fish. (Oh, and ammonia is caused by the fish respiration as well as fish waste. You may know this already since you have fish.)
 
I'm glad you are going to get a good size tank for him! I'd just mostly keep the water clean and the temp at 80F and see how he does. I saw the pictures but to me he just sort of looks like a white betta with some color in his fins. Also, the head color being different could just be his coloring. (My betta has a blue body with red fins and a maroon color head). He may have a marble trait in him and if he does they are known to actually change colors. I'm not sure on the white patches though, I can't really see them. I would say though that it is NOT advanced fin rot. If it was he wouldn't have any left. I'd say he could have just been stressed in the conditions he was being kept in. See if he perks up with clean water and proper heat and filtration. I don't know about continuing the paraguard. I know some medicines can be harmful to bettas(mostly melafix/pimafix/bettafix). So wouldn't hurt to look into that to make sure. I don't think I'd do aquarium salt either right now. It may just stress him out more. Make sure any decor in the tank is nice and smooth and the plants are silk and not plastic. They can be fragile fish especially with the longer fins.

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To be honest, my girlfriend has kept and raised bettas in these conditions for a long time and all of them have lived for several years. This is the only betta she has ever owned, where she has run into problems  that she hasn't been able to solve. All that aside, this guy is now in a 7 gallon heated tank. I have set the temperature to 84 degrees, which should be warm enough to detach any parasites from the fishes body. After 3 days of being in this tank I have already noticed his anal and caudal fins opening up more compared to the pictures I posted above. I am also seeing more activity out of him and a return in appetite. I haven't added any medication to the tank yet, and probably wont unless I see his conditions worsen again. 
 
I wouldn't do a  100% water change, as that would not only stress the fish out more but also kill of and reset the nitrogen cycle in the tank. My philosophy is 3 20% water changes each week for my smaller tanks and 1 25% water change on my large tanks and a 50-60% water change at the end of every month (assuming the tanks are cycled) If they aren't cycled then I increase the frequency of water changes and amount of water removed. I use seachem prime to condition the water of all my tanks and add TSS+ to boost my bacteria colonies in my tanks, so normally ammonia and nitrite aren't out of control in my tanks.  I also keep a journal of all the water quality results and things I add or do to each tank so I know whats going on in each tank at all times.So rest assured he is in good hands. 
 
Regarding Paraguard, I have put a lot of time into researching good aquarium medications which are safe for fish and more importantly invertebrates as I have them in my tanks. I have looked into melafix, pimafix and bettafix (which is a diluted version of melafix) however, I have found it to be a bit of a flip of a coin on what bacteria it can treat and the reviews are a bit inconsistent when it comes to its effectiveness, I nevertheless still own a bottle of each and keep them in my first aid kit along with other more specialized products. However, I have found Paraguard to be my go to medication for dealing with just about anything external on a fish or when I am running my quarantine/ hospital tanks. I also tend to turn to it more when I am unsure about the external disease the fish may have as it doesn't contain formaldehyde and its effects only last for 24 hours, so more forgiving then other medications that are on the market. Anyways, with this little guy I haven't added any to the new tank as I want to see how the change in environment affects him first. Since I am already seeing an improvement I may not need to add any. 

 
I have set the temperature to 84 degrees, which should be warm enough to detach any parasites

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Nope 86 is the minimum, This speeds up the ICH life cycle and stops it reproducing.
 

 
I have looked into melafix, pimafix and bettafix (which is a diluted version of melafix) however, I have found it to be a bit of a flip of a coin on what bacteria

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infections need something to kill the bacteria. There can be really simple solutions to curing the infection such as heat, salt, and of course, antibiotic medicines. Tea Tree oil/ melaleuca oil does not inhibit the growth or kill off bacteria.

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NickAu said:

 

 
I have set the temperature to 84 degrees, which should be warm enough to detach any parasites

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Nope 86 is the minimum, This speeds up the ICH life cycle and stops it reproducing.
 

 
I have looked into melafix, pimafix and bettafix (which is a diluted version of melafix) however, I have found it to be a bit of a flip of a coin on what bacteria

Click to expand...

 
infections need something to kill the bacteria. There can be really simple solutions to curing the infection such as heat, salt, and of course, antibiotic medicines. Tea Tree oil/ melaleuca oil does not inhibit the growth or kill off bacteria.

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Thanks for clarifying on the temperature,  Would bumping the temperature up to 86 be okay even if it isn't necessarily Ich that is affecting the little guy? Regarding salt treatment, which I have given some thought about trying, would it be better to do a salt dip or adding X amount of salt to the tank for a duration of a few days? I am not going to try this yet, as he seems to be showing signs of improvement in the filtered and heated tank, however, it will be an option I would prefer to try before I turn to any medication/ antibiotics.