Need help diagnosing my betta

I have notice for a week her gills have changed color from blue to silver. Her lower fin has a red hue to it. Her eyes a puffy and she is hiding on the bottom of the tank. She is eating. Clean conditioned water has been in a 2.5 bare bottom hospital tank for 2 days. No filter media running, just circulating. I have a heater set to 80. Please look at her pictures. I have API EM ERYTHROMYCIN. Or, should I treat the whole 10 GAL. planted tank with the ERYTHROMYCIN. I have 3 albino corys, 3 ghost shrimp, 1 Otto and my sick female Betta. Her normal body color is blue and now a shade of red is in her lower fin, her 2 bottom arms (Don't know what they are called),
please see pictures. Thank you.

I would treat your betta in the 2.5 gallon, and not treat the whole ten gallon, if all the other fish/shrimp seem healthy.

Don't forget you might need to change the water and redose your medication, with your fish in a tank with no cycled media; you don't want any ammonia affecting the fish while it's already poorly.

(Pectoral fins, btw, is the proper name for those 'arms'; all fish have them, but some have more modified ones; most species of gouramis have thread like ones that they can move independently like fingers )

She looks fine to me. You will rarely see a blue betta that does not have red in their pelvic fins. My old blue VT had the exact same coloration, even the the bit of red in the anal fin where the fin meets body.

If you are referring to the grey stripes on the gill plate, that's pretty normal too. As for her eyes, they also look normal but lethargy might be a sign of dropsy. I'd just keep a close eye on her for the next week or so, make sure her scales stay flat and her body doesn't show signs of being swollen. If she stops eating then that's a sure sign of illness. Don't treat for something until you have an idea as to what it could be.

Demeter32 said:

She looks fine to me. You will rarely see a blue betta that does not have red in their pelvic fins. My old blue VT had the exact same coloration, even the the bit of red in the anal fin where the fin meets body.

If you are referring to the grey stripes on the gill plate, that's pretty normal too. As for her eyes, they also look normal but lethargy might be a sign of dropsy. I'd just keep a close eye on her for the next week or so, make sure her scales stay flat and her body doesn't show signs of being swollen. If she stops eating then that's a sure sign of illness. Don't treat for something until you have an idea as to what it could be.

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Thank you!

I didn't look at the pictures close up, as my internet's running so slowly they wouldn't load, so thanks for pointing that out!

fluttermoth said:

I would treat your betta in the 2.5 gallon, and not treat the whole ten gallon, if all the other fish/shrimp seem healthy.

Don't forget you might need to change the water and redose your medication, with your fish in a tank with no cycled media; you don't want any ammonia affecting the fish while it's already poorly.

(Pectoral fins, btw, is the proper name for those 'arms'; all fish have them, but some have more modified ones; most species of gouramis have thread like ones that they can move independently like fingers )

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thank you. what do you think she has? Can I use the API E.M. ERYTHROMICIN?

Demeter32 said:

She looks fine to me. You will rarely see a blue betta that does not have red in their pelvic fins. My old blue VT had the exact same coloration, even the the bit of red in the anal fin where the fin meets body.

If you are referring to the grey stripes on the gill plate, that's pretty normal too. As for her eyes, they also look normal but lethargy might be a sign of dropsy. I'd just keep a close eye on her for the next week or so, make sure her scales stay flat and her body doesn't show signs of being swollen. If she stops eating then that's a sure sign of illness. Don't treat for something until you have an idea as to what it could be.

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She never looked the this before, or hide in dark corners. Her eyes where close to her head not puffy. She truly is deep blue throughout her body and face. no silver colorization on her gills. No red at all. I know she is not herself. Shes usually is more alert. Her eyes shouldn't be puffy. She is slowing down, not her energetic self. This pictures was taken months ago.
Thank you also for your suggestions. What is dropsy? How is it treated?

Dropsy is a symptom of several diseases, and is the result of the fish's kidneys staring to fail so that its body retains water. This causes the body to swell, and the swelling pushes the scales out like a pine cone. The problem is knowing what the underlying illness is. If it is viral, then antibiotics are of no use as they only treat bacterial infections.

Bettas will change color over time and as they age, how long have you had her? From my experience bettas will show more red as they age, even if they never had red in them when they were young.

I will also note that I've noticed my females' eyes "bulge" with age. Not like pop eye or anything but they definitely seem more protruding than when they were in their prime. But bulging eyes are also a sign of dropsy, as is a swollen body and pine coned scales.

If she's not acting as herself then as stated before, it could be the early signs of dropsy. essjay pretty much summed up what dropsy is, often times it is the result of a hard to treat gram negative bacteria but there are many other causes for it. Rarely does a fish recover from dropsy and if they do they often relapse later down the road and die despite the best efforts.

Just keep an eye on her, what her scales and eating habits as well as the water quality. Keeping the water quality stable will be a bit harder in the 2.5gal as it is not cycled.

From the pictures alone it just looks like your girl is aging. Both the before and after pictures show a very healthy fish IMO.

I don't think there is anything wrong with the fish so you do not need to use the medication. Erythromycin is an anti-biotic that only treats bacterial infections and your fish does not have a bacterial infection.

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How old is the fish?

If you have a look under the belly before the anal fin there might be a small white or black lump sticking out from the belly. If it's white then the fish is female, if the small lump is dark then it's male. The fins make the fish look like a young male or a short fin male Betta splendens. However, if it's female then it is probably full of eggs. Without a male to court her and breed with she will have no way of getting rid of the eggs and will remain fat.

If the fish stops eating and the scales on the side of the body (around the belly) stand out sideways from the body, then it is time to worry. Dropsy is a common name given to internal problems in fish that cause the abdominal cavity to fill with fluid and the scales tend to stick out sideways. The fish usually dies shortly after these symptoms appear. There is no cure for dropsy when the scales stick out sideways from the body. It is often caused by an internal bacterial infection like Tuberculosis that causes internal organs to rupture or break down, and this causes fluid to build up inside and subsequent death.

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Fish can change colour depending on how they feel and time of day/ night. At night fish will normally go darker and during the day they become lighter. If a fish is sick or stressed they will usually go darker. If a fish is displaying to a rival male or a prospective mate, its colours will usually intensify and can become darker.

That fish is female and full of eggs.

essjay said:

Dropsy is a symptom of several diseases, and is the result of the fish's kidneys staring to fail so that its body retains water. This causes the body to swell, and the swelling pushes the scales out like a pine cone. The problem is knowing what the underlying illness is. If it is viral, then antibiotics are of no use as they only treat bacterial infections.

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Thank you for the explanation of the disease. Her underside near her belly is the same greyish color as on her gills. I just want to put that out there. I took her out to quarentine her for 4 days to watch her more closely.

Colin_T said:

I don't think there is anything wrong with the fish so you do not need to use the medication. Erythromycin is an anti-biotic that only treats bacterial infections and your fish does not have a bacterial infection.

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How old is the fish?

If you have a look under the belly before the anal fin there might be a small white or black lump sticking out from the belly. If it's white then the fish is female, if the small lump is dark then it's male. The fins make the fish look like a young male or a short fin male Betta splendens. However, if it's female then it is probably full of eggs. Without a male to court her and breed with she will have no way of getting rid of the eggs and will remain fat.

If the fish stops eating and the scales on the side of the body (around the belly) stand out sideways from the body, then it is time to worry. Dropsy is a common name given to internal problems in fish that cause the abdominal cavity to fill with fluid and the scales tend to stick out sideways. The fish usually dies shortly after these symptoms appear. There is no cure for dropsy when the scales stick out sideways from the body. It is often caused by an internal bacterial infection like Tuberculosis that causes internal organs to rupture or break down, and this causes fluid to build up inside and subsequent death.

---------------------
Fish can change colour depending on how they feel and time of day/ night. At night fish will normally go darker and during the day they become lighter. If a fish is sick or stressed they will usually go darker. If a fish is displaying to a rival male or a prospective mate, its colours will usually intensify and can become darker.

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Wow, thank you for the explanation in such detail. She is white under belly. She is pooping ok. Should I put her in with my male. He is blowing bubbles. See what happens between them?

NickAu said:

That fish is female and full of eggs.

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She is white under belly. I am asking everyone should i put her in with my msle and see watch them. If there is agression take her out and put her back in her community tank with her friends the Corys.
Why doesn't a female's body process the eggs, absorb them?

Demeter32 said:

Bettas will change color over time and as they age, how long have you had her? From my experience bettas will show more red as they age, even if they never had red in them when they were young.

I will also note that I've noticed my females' eyes "bulge" with age. Not like pop eye or anything but they definitely seem more protruding than when they were in their prime. But bulging eyes are also a sign of dropsy, as is a swollen body and pine coned scales.

If she's not acting as herself then as stated before, it could be the early signs of dropsy. essjay pretty much summed up what dropsy is, often times it is the result of a hard to treat gram negative bacteria but there are many other causes for it. Rarely does a fish recover from dropsy and if they do they often relapse later down the road and die despite the best efforts.

Just keep an eye on her, what her scales and eating habits as well as the water quality. Keeping the water quality stable will be a bit harder in the 2.5gal as it is not cycled.

From the pictures alone it just looks like your girl is aging. Both the before and after pictures show a very healthy fish IMO.

Click to expand...

Thank you. I got her young last year. She is full grown. However I am not sure of her age. The store only dated when the got her, I believe October of last year. The cup printed: female community egg layer

If you have a male that is blowing bubbles and has a bubble nest (group of bubbles stuck together on the surface) then put the female's bowl next to the males for a few days. He will see her and start displaying to her. In a couple of days you can put her in his tank and see how they go. Monitor them closely because some males will kill females.

If the male does not have a bubble nest then make sure you don't have too much surface turbulence in his tank. Male Bettas need fairly calm water for their nest to stay together.

If the male likes her and she is ready to breed, they will swim side by side and she will lay a few eggs at a time. The male will fertilise the eggs and then pick up each egg and coat it in a bubble, and then put the egg in his bubble nest. This continues until the female has expelled all her eggs and then the male will chase her away. You need to monitor them closely at this stage because males regularly kill females after breeding. When they have finished breeding the female will usually hide and you need to scoop her out and put her back in her own bowl.

The male will care for the eggs and fry during the first few weeks of their life.

If they do breed and the eggs hatch, you want to cover most of the tank with some sort of cover to increase humidity and keep the surface and air warm for the fry.

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The females have a white ovipositor (egg laying tube), which is a little tube that sticks out under her belly.

Female fish develop eggs when they are in good conditions, good water, correct temperature and lots of food. They don't re-absorb eggs because a male fish could come along any time to breed with. Unfortunately in an aquarium, female fish can become egg bound if a male is not available to breed with. This is common in Danios and tetras but does sometimes happen in Bettas, altho not nearly as often.