Hello, I'm new to posting here but have found much help over the past year of having our beautiful blue betta.
Our betta is roughly one year old. He's alone in a filtered 2.5 gallon tank. Weekly partial (20%) water changes; temp consistently 72-78 degrees (depending on season / ambient room temp).
He was healthy and active, ate a steady diet of Ocean Nutrition Betta pellets. About 6 weeks ago he stopped eating and grew very lethargic. Over the course of a week he stayed hidden and would not come out when we approached or fed him. At first we thought we may have been overfeeding him, so we tried fasting for a few days. His appetite never returned (we have not seen him eat since).
Water quality has been consistent: ph=7; ammonia, nitrites and nirates=0. We tried the peeled pea in case it was constipation; offering blood worms and other pellets. We were always sure to remove uneaten food.
Since this started 6 weeks ago he still shows no interest in food, no matter what we try. He has remained extremely lethargic. Based on his symptoms we have tried various treatments over the past 6 weeks, including a course of Betta Revive and later, API General Cure. Just when we think he will not make it through the night, the poor guys hangs on. But he has not improved. His fins have been deteriorating too, we thought as a result of his weakend immune system.
Over the past few weeks he has had a long stringy film coming from his underside (pic attached). It's broken off a few times, then more emerges. Thinking this may be evidence of a parastic disease, we tried a course of Prazipro. No improvement, but he's still hanging on.
All the treatments have happened in his tank, with carbon filter removed and aeration added. At this point he is at the top of his tank, in a corner, and seems to be gulping for air (and emitting an occassional bubble). He's been there for a few days now, and is starting to lose his color. We continue to add / remove food but still have not seen him actually eat in 6 weeks.
At this point I'm not sure what else to try. Maybe we did something wrong along the way, but I'm not sure what. I've had aquariums my whole life and obviously many fish have come and gone; I've never had one that lingered for this long, slowly deteriorating. The poor guy must be suffering. My young daughter just wants to see her fish swim again (he's her first pet)...
Any advice or guidance would be greatly appreciated. Happy to provide any other specifics. Thanks for taking the time to read this.
Our betta is roughly one year old. He's alone in a filtered 2.5 gallon tank. Weekly partial (20%) water changes; temp consistently 72-78 degrees (depending on season / ambient room temp).
He was healthy and active, ate a steady diet of Ocean Nutrition Betta pellets. About 6 weeks ago he stopped eating and grew very lethargic. Over the course of a week he stayed hidden and would not come out when we approached or fed him. At first we thought we may have been overfeeding him, so we tried fasting for a few days. His appetite never returned (we have not seen him eat since).
Water quality has been consistent: ph=7; ammonia, nitrites and nirates=0. We tried the peeled pea in case it was constipation; offering blood worms and other pellets. We were always sure to remove uneaten food.
Since this started 6 weeks ago he still shows no interest in food, no matter what we try. He has remained extremely lethargic. Based on his symptoms we have tried various treatments over the past 6 weeks, including a course of Betta Revive and later, API General Cure. Just when we think he will not make it through the night, the poor guys hangs on. But he has not improved. His fins have been deteriorating too, we thought as a result of his weakend immune system.
Over the past few weeks he has had a long stringy film coming from his underside (pic attached). It's broken off a few times, then more emerges. Thinking this may be evidence of a parastic disease, we tried a course of Prazipro. No improvement, but he's still hanging on.
All the treatments have happened in his tank, with carbon filter removed and aeration added. At this point he is at the top of his tank, in a corner, and seems to be gulping for air (and emitting an occassional bubble). He's been there for a few days now, and is starting to lose his color. We continue to add / remove food but still have not seen him actually eat in 6 weeks.
At this point I'm not sure what else to try. Maybe we did something wrong along the way, but I'm not sure what. I've had aquariums my whole life and obviously many fish have come and gone; I've never had one that lingered for this long, slowly deteriorating. The poor guy must be suffering. My young daughter just wants to see her fish swim again (he's her first pet)...
Any advice or guidance would be greatly appreciated. Happy to provide any other specifics. Thanks for taking the time to read this.
