Betta sick going on 2 months, please help! Updated

This is a repost from other forums that have not responded to my plight. Please help!!
Neptune has been sick for going on two months now. I have tried multiple treatments, all which have failed. I was going through a rough patch, and the aquarium was neglected for a couple of months. I cleaned it up, and did a 50% water change two weeks in a row. I have currently been doing 10% water changes weekly. He is currently in a hospital tank with a heater and air pump.
Housing:
How many gallons is your tank? 10
Does it have a filter?yes
Does it have a heater? yes
What temperature is your tank? 79-79
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? no
Does your Betta have tank mates? What kind? yes 4 Corydoras, 1 pleco

Food:
What food brand do you use? fluval betta buffet, bug bites
Do you feed flakes or pellets? pellets
Freeze-dried? occasionally bloodworms
How often do you feed your Betta? How much? daily, 2-3 pellets per day. Before this started, I was giving 5-6 per day.

Maintenance:
Before your Betta became ill how often did you perform a water change? 1x per 2 weeks. There was a period where I was having a (personal) rough time that I did neglect the aquarium, and this is when he became noticeably ill. I did a 50% water change two weeks in a row, and have been doing 10% since weekly.
What percentage of water did you change? 25%
What is the source of your water? Tap
Do you vacuum the substrate or just dip out water? dipped out water, with complete cleaning every couple of months.
What additives do you use other than conditioner? What brand of conditioner? Prime water conditioner

Water Parameters:
What are your water parameters? Please give exact numbers. If tested by pet store please get exact numbers. "Fine" or "Safe" won't help us help you. Important: Test your water before the regular water change; not after one.

Ammonia: .25ppm
Nitrite: .25ppm
Nitrate: 10ppm
pH: 6.8-7
Hardness (GH): ?
Alkalinity (KH):?

Symptoms and Treatment:
When did you first notice the symptoms? approx 2 months ago
How has your Betta’s appearance changed? fins more ragged, red spots along spine, bloated (changes sides and possibly both at the same time), spine curved
How has your Betta’s behavior changed? more lethargic, lies on side at top of aquarium
Is your Betta still eating? yes
Have you started treating your Betta? If so, how? yes, Ran a course of Maracyn-2, API General cure, Epsom salt bath, aquarium salt, vitamins, fasting, peas. All the treatments were done in a hospital tank except for API General cure, which may be why my water parameters are currently out of whack.
Does your Betta have any history of being ill? no
How long have you owned your Betta? 7 months
Was he or she ill or suffering some sort of damage when purchased? no










1 - 1 of 1 Posts

I am not good at the id of problems, but with something like measurable ammonia or nitrite, you will want to do water changes until there isn't any to measure. Any amount in the water will be very harmful to fish. Then do daily 70% water changes. @Colin_T can give better advice when he logs in.

Thats a lot of info.

First and foremost---------
Get Neptune a 5g (or larger) tank for himself! No bright lights he needs to be de-stressed.

Obviously follow rules for a new tank..de-chlorinate, use some seeded filter media, etc. If you are unsure about this just ask.

Keep the water clean. Put live plants in his tank. The one picture with pink fins is probably ammonia burn. He has also most likely been fighting with pleco.

Your betta needs peace and bettas need to be alone. I know there is always the exception, but ...

After that you can start to work on his recovery program.
You obviously have went to a lot of trouble trying to get him well with all of the treatments and I am sorry for your life events that caused you to neglect the tank. Don't give up, he's still eating. ♡

Hi and welcome to the forum

Can we get some more pictures of the Betta, a bit bigger than the current ones?
I would like photos of the tank and the other fishes that are in it too?

------------------
SUMMING UP
You have had the fish for about 7 months.
It lives in a 10 gallon tank with some catfish.
It has been looking unwell for the last 2 months.
You feed it dry food and it is still eating.
You do a 10% water change each week and a complete clean every 2 months.
You use a water conditioner to remove chlorine/ chloramine.
You have treated it with anti-biotics, salt and done other things, which haven't helped.
You have a slight trace of ammonia and nitrite, which might be in the water or the test kit reads none as 0.25ppm.

------------------
In the middle picture it looks like there are red lines in the fins. This is fin rot and the red lines are blood flowing through the fins.

There are some interesting colours on the top of the fish, which could be natural colouration, especially if it changes regularly.

------------------
Normally I would read you the riot act for using anti-biotics on something that is not a bacterial infection but can't be bothered. Plus you have to read everything I put down here

And you might want to read the following links when you have some spare time.


------------------------------------
What sort of filter do you have on the aquarium?
How often and how do you clean the filter?

Do you have a gravel cleaner like the one in the following link?

What does the fish's poop look like?

------------------------------------
DO THE FOLLOWING
Wipe the inside of the glass down with a clean fish sponge.

Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for two weeks. After that do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every week. The water changes and gravel cleaning will reduce the number of disease organisms in the water and provide a cleaner environment for the fish to recover in.
You should also do a 75% water change any day you have an ammonia or nitrite reading above 0ppm, or a nitrate reading above 20ppm.
*NB* Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.

Clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks. However, if the filter is less than 6 weeks old, do not clean it. Wash the filter materials/ media in a bucket of tank water and re-use the media. Tip the bucket of dirty water on the garden/ lawn. Cleaning the filter means less gunk and cleaner water with fewer pathogens.

Increase surface turbulence/ aeration when using salt or medications because they reduce the dissolved oxygen in the water.

Add some salt, (see directions below).

------------------
SALT
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt) or swimming pool salt to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres (5 gallons) of water. If there is no improvement after 48 hours you can double that dose rate so there is 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.

Keep the salt level like this for at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, Bettas & gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.

The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria, fish, plants, shrimp or snails.

After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do a 75% water change once a week after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.

When you do water changes while using salt, you need to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable in the tank and minimise stress on the fish.

If there's no improvement after a week of daily water changes and salt, post more pictures.

------------------------------------
After this settles down, get some live or frozen food for the fish and feed it that instead of, or in addition to the dry food. Dry fish food can cause problems to some fish and it might be a problem to your fish.

You can buy frozen marine mix, prawn, fish, brineshrimp, daphnia and a few other types of food from most pet shops. Keep them in the freezer and take a small bit out to feed to the fish.

You can culture live daphnia at home and you might find mozzie larvae in buckets of water in the backyard. these can be fed to the fish.

The following link has information on how to culture live food for baby fish but some of the foods can be fed to adult fish as well.

Colin_T said:

Hi and welcome to the forum

Can we get some more pictures of the Betta, a bit bigger than the current ones?
I would like photos of the tank and the other fishes that are in it too?

------------------
SUMMING UP
You have had the fish for about 7 months.
It lives in a 10 gallon tank with some catfish.
It has been looking unwell for the last 2 months.
You feed it dry food and it is still eating.
You do a 10% water change each week and a complete clean every 2 months.
You use a water conditioner to remove chlorine/ chloramine.
You have treated it with anti-biotics, salt and done other things, which haven't helped.
You have a slight trace of ammonia and nitrite, which might be in the water or the test kit reads none as 0.25ppm.

------------------
In the middle picture it looks like there are red lines in the fins. This is fin rot and the red lines are blood flowing through the fins.

There are some interesting colours on the top of the fish, which could be natural colouration, especially if it changes regularly.

------------------
Normally I would read you the riot act for using anti-biotics on something that is not a bacterial infection but can't be bothered. Plus you have to read everything I put down here

And you might want to read the following links when you have some spare time.

Do not use anti-biotics unless you know what the problem is.

This thread is going to be harsh and a lot of people are not going to like what I have to say. But it needs to be said because anyone who uses anti-biotics when they don't know what they are treating, is contributing to the death and extinction of all animals on this planet, and that includes...

www.fishforums.net

What to do if your fish gets sick

If your fish ever looks sick or unwell, then the following steps might help. Test the Water and Clean the Tank. Test the water quality for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH and write the results down in numbers. Check it for general hardness (GH) and carbonate hardness (KH) too if you can, but...

www.fishforums.net

------------------------------------
What sort of filter do you have on the aquarium?
How often and how do you clean the filter?

Do you have a gravel cleaner like the one in the following link?

Aquarium Cleaning Made Easy

Aquarium cleaning should take 30 minutes every two weeks. Learn how the professionals do it in 18 easy steps.

www.about-goldfish.com

What does the fish's poop look like?

------------------------------------
DO THE FOLLOWING
Wipe the inside of the glass down with a clean fish sponge.

Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for two weeks. After that do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every week. The water changes and gravel cleaning will reduce the number of disease organisms in the water and provide a cleaner environment for the fish to recover in.
You should also do a 75% water change any day you have an ammonia or nitrite reading above 0ppm, or a nitrate reading above 20ppm.
*NB* Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.

Clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks. However, if the filter is less than 6 weeks old, do not clean it. Wash the filter materials/ media in a bucket of tank water and re-use the media. Tip the bucket of dirty water on the garden/ lawn. Cleaning the filter means less gunk and cleaner water with fewer pathogens.

Increase surface turbulence/ aeration when using salt or medications because they reduce the dissolved oxygen in the water.

Add some salt, (see directions below).

------------------
SALT
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt) or swimming pool salt to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres (5 gallons) of water. If there is no improvement after 48 hours you can double that dose rate so there is 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.

Keep the salt level like this for at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, Bettas & gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.

The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria, fish, plants, shrimp or snails.

After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do a 75% water change once a week after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.

When you do water changes while using salt, you need to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable in the tank and minimise stress on the fish.

If there's no improvement after a week of daily water changes and salt, post more pictures.

------------------------------------
After this settles down, get some live or frozen food for the fish and feed it that instead of, or in addition to the dry food. Dry fish food can cause problems to some fish and it might be a problem to your fish.

You can buy frozen marine mix, prawn, fish, brineshrimp, daphnia and a few other types of food from most pet shops. Keep them in the freezer and take a small bit out to feed to the fish.

You can culture live daphnia at home and you might find mozzie larvae in buckets of water in the backyard. these can be fed to the fish.

The following link has information on how to culture live food for baby fish but some of the foods can be fed to adult fish as well.

Back to Basics when Breeding Fish

STARTING OUT Make sure you have a pair, (1 male + 1 female). There is nothing worse than spending your hard-earned dollars buying a couple of fish to try and breed and ending up with a pair of fish of the same sex. Let's face it, to reproduce fish you need a male and a female. Two males won't do...

www.fishforums.net

Click to expand...

I am going between mobile and computer so it may take me a while to respond, but here are some pics. He is in a container by himself until the nee tank I ordered gets in. I also included a pic of 3 of the 4 corys. The pleco is extremely reclusive so it is a partial pic.

First, let me say thank you so much for taking the time to respond. That in itself I am so grateful for. I am going to respond to Colin T's post piece by piece, so here goes:

Colin_T said:

SUMMING UP
You have had the fish for about 7 months.
It lives in a 10 gallon tank with some catfish.
It has been looking unwell for the last 2 months.
You feed it dry food and it is still eating.
You do a 10% water change each week and a complete clean every 2 months.
You use a water conditioner to remove chlorine/ chloramine.
You have treated it with anti-biotics, salt and done other things, which haven't helped.
You have a slight trace of ammonia and nitrite, which might be in the water or the test kit reads none as 0.25ppm.

Click to expand...

This is all correct. I believe the ammonia and nitrate may be the result of the API general cure, but am not 100% sure.

Colin_T said:

What sort of filter do you have on the aquarium?
How often and how do you clean the filter?

Click to expand...

I have a Marina Bio-Carb (it has three inserts) slim filter. I rinse them every other week and replace about every six weeks.

Colin_T said:

Do you have a gravel cleaner like the one in the following link?

Click to expand...

I do have a gravel cleaner, and use it when I do large water changes, but it seems pretty ineffective in getting the debris out. I usually stir it up a bit and net the nasties out. Do you recommend the powered ones?

Colin_T said:

What does the fish's poop look like?

Click to expand...

I have never seen Neptune poop. I feed him in the evening, so I am guessing he does his business overnight.

Colin_T said:

DO THE FOLLOWING
Wipe the inside of the glass down with a clean fish sponge.

Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for two weeks. After that do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every week. The water changes and gravel cleaning will reduce the number of disease organisms in the water and provide a cleaner environment for the fish to recover in.
You should also do a 75% water change any day you have an ammonia or nitrite reading above 0ppm, or a nitrate reading above 20ppm.
*NB* Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.

Clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks. However, if the filter is less than 6 weeks old, do not clean it. Wash the filter materials/ media in a bucket of tank water and re-use the media. Tip the bucket of dirty water on the garden/ lawn. Cleaning the filter means less gunk and cleaner water with fewer pathogens.

Increase surface turbulence/ aeration when using salt or medications because they reduce the dissolved oxygen in the water.

Add some salt, (see directions below).

Click to expand...

I have him in a tupperware container by himself for the moment, should I put him back in the tank? He looks better today (no tankmates and no lights). I did order a new "quarantine tank" but it won't be here until Wed-Thurs. The container has a heater and aeration, and I changed 50% of the water this morning. He basically stays by the heater and doesn't move.
I honesty didn't realize the pleco would bully him, and that aggravates me. I thought they were peaceful. I may rehome him. How about corys? will they bother him?

Do you feel that the bloating near the tail is swim bladder? or stress? He has symptoms of some Betta diseases, but not others. I don't want to lose the little guy, he is the friendliest Betta I have ever had. Thanks for all the info, BTW. I will add salt to the container now, and hopefully he will start recovering soon.

vanalisa said:

Thats a lot of info.

First and foremost---------
Get Neptune a 5g (or larger) tank for himself! No bright lights he needs to be de-stressed.

Obviously follow rules for a new tank..de-chlorinate, use some seeded filter media, etc. If you are unsure about this just ask.

Keep the water clean. Put live plants in his tank. The one picture with pink fins is probably ammonia burn. He has also most likely been fighting with pleco.

Your betta needs peace and bettas need to be alone. I know there is always the exception, but ...

After that you can start to work on his recovery program.
You obviously have went to a lot of trouble trying to get him well with all of the treatments and I am sorry for your life events that caused you to neglect the tank. Don't give up, he's still eating. ♡

Click to expand...

Thank you. I ordered a new tank, but will most likely try to keep him in the 10 gallon and put the others in the smaller tank (and rehome the pleco, the big bully). Thanks for the info.

kbell77 said:

I have a Marina Bio-Carb (it has three inserts) slim filter. I rinse them every other week and replace about every six weeks.

Click to expand...

That needs to change and so does your water change schedule.

After this has been resolved, do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every week. Turn the heater and filter off but leave the fish in the tank when you do this. After the tank has been filled back up, turn the heater and filter back on.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

-------------------
Don't replace the filter media/ materials unless it starts to fall apart. The filter media develop colonies of good bacteria that keep the water clean. If you replace the media, you get rid of the good bacteria and the tank starts to get ammonia and nitrite problems, which adversely affect the fish and cause these types of problems.

It usually takes around 4-6 weeks for the filter to develop the good bacteria. It should not be cleaned during this time because you can upset the developing filter bacteria. Once the filter has cycled (developed the beneficial filter bacteria), you should clean it at least once a month.

To clean the filter, wash or squeeze out the filter materials/ media in a bucket of tank water and re-use them. Tip the bucket of dirty water on the garden/ lawn. When the media is clean put it in the aquarium.

Then take the filter case and rinse it under tap water. Take the motor off the filter case and rinse that under tap water. In the motor is an impellor assembly (magnet with 3 or 4 plastic blades on one end, and a steel or ceramic shaft that runs through the middle of the impellor. There are usually rubber grommets and plastic washers on either end of the impellor shaft. (Don't lose these bits). Take the impellor assembly out of the motor and rinse the inside of the motor under tap water.

Take the rubber grommets off the end of the impellor shaft and rinse the impellor, impellor shaft, and grommets/ washers under tap water. Be careful not to lose the rubber grommets or washers (if it has washers). Some people find it easier to put these parts in a sieve and gently rinse them under tap water. Then reassemble the impellor. Put it back in the motor and put the motor back on the filter case.

Most motors have a rubber o-ring where they fit into the filter case. Smear a thin layer of Vaseline on the o-ring before putting the motor on the filter case.

Put the filter media back in the filter and set it back up. Fill the filter with aquarium water and plug it in, then turn it on when the tank is full.

-------------------
If the filter media starts to break down, you can replace it with sponge. You buy a sponge for an external power filter (like an AquaClear HOB style filter) and use a pair of scissors to cut the sponge to fit in your filter. The sponges get squeezed out in a bucket of tank water like the other media, and re-used. Sponges last for years and only need replacing when they start to fall apart.

-------------------

kbell77 said:

I do have a gravel cleaner, and use it when I do large water changes, but it seems pretty ineffective in getting the debris out. I usually stir it up a bit and net the nasties out. Do you recommend the powered ones?

Click to expand...

Can you post a video of you using the gravel cleaner?
If you use the gravel cleaner correctly they are very effective at cleaning the tank.

Don't waste your time or money on fancy gravel cleaners (electric or other). A basic model gravel cleaner like the one in the following link does a perfectly good job.

-------------------

kbell77 said:

I have never seen Neptune poop. I feed him in the evening, so I am guessing he does his business overnight.

Click to expand...

Try to monitor him and find out what his poop is like. It's a good indicator of what is happening inside him. If it's coloured and normal that is great. If it's white or stringy then it's a problem.

-------------------

kbell77 said:

Do you feel that the bloating near the tail is swim bladder? or stress?

Click to expand...

Don't know what you are talking about. The caudal peduncle (area where the tail joins the body) looks pretty normal. Pictures taken from the side would offer more information but you won't be able to do that while he's in a plastic container.

The swim bladder is in the middle of the body and when there is a problem with it, the fish will either float to the surface or sink to the bottom when it stops swimming.

In most cases where the fish floats to the surface, it is actually air in the fish's digestive tract that is causing the fish to float up. The fish take in air when feeding from the surface or eating lots of dry food, and this air causes them to float. When the air eventually gets farted out (yes fish farts exist), the fish swims normally again.

If you think this might be a problem, stop feeding dry food for a week and use live or frozen (but defrosted) foods instead. Dry foods have lots of air in them and frozen foods don't normally have any air in them. If the fish swims normally after a week without dry food, then it has air in its intestine.

-------------------

kbell77 said:

He has symptoms of some Betta diseases, but not others.

Click to expand...

There's no such thing as Betta diseases, all fish get the same diseases. If the pet shop is telling you that, they are probably trying to sell you stuff.

-------------------

kbell77 said:

I honesty didn't realize the pleco would bully him, and that aggravates me. I thought they were peaceful. I may rehome him. How about corys? will they bother him?

Click to expand...

Small plecos don't normally cause problems to other fish. Plecos also stay on the bottom and Bettas live near the surface. This makes it even less likely that there would be a problem between the two fishes.

Make sure you have driftwood and algae in the tank for the pleco.

Corydoras are fine and won't be an issue.

I think this is a water quality issue caused by replacing the filter media every month or so, rather than a disease. Doing the above should help fix the problem and stop it recurring.

Colin_T said:

Don't know what you are talking about. The caudal peduncle (area where the tail joins the body) looks pretty normal. Pictures taken from the side would offer more information but you won't be able to do that while he's in a plastic container.

Click to expand...

It is very swollen- that is what worries me the most. He has been on his side (unless he actively rights himself, and that is a struggle) for a while now. It goes from one side to the other and then both. The first set shows him on his side next to his leaf. I will feed him the stuff you directed as soon as I find some. Thanks for all the advice.

@Colin_T
Fish fart?
Learn something new every day..thanks

@kbell77
I thought you said platy not pleco, although I would have said they were sparring, too.
Nevertheless, I still think most people agree betta are best alone or maybe with a snail.

So Neptune hasn’t gotten much better... tested the isolation tank and water parameters were terrible, even with ammonia removers and 50% water changes. I got some betta revive last night (at the fish store’s suggestion) and he is perkier today, but durn it he is still on his side. His fins are NOT clamped, so I don’t think he is too stressed. Got a new pic to add, it shows his swelling really well. He is upright at the moment and swims fine (at the top) but absolutely cannot go more than 3-4 inches down. Once he stops swimming he lays on his side. I have been feeding him daphnia and frozen shrimp. How long should I expect it to take before he improves? What else is there that this could be?

kbell77 said:

So Neptune hasn’t gotten much better... tested the isolation tank and water parameters were terrible, even with ammonia removers and 50% water changes. I got some betta revive last night (at the fish store’s suggestion) and he is perkier today, but durn it he is still on his side. His fins are NOT clamped, so I don’t think he is too stressed. Got a new pic to add, it shows his swelling really well. He is upright at the moment and swims fine (at the top) but absolutely cannot go more than 3-4 inches down. Once he stops swimming he lays on his side. I have been feeding him daphnia and frozen shrimp. How long should I expect it to take before he improves? What else is there that this could be? View attachment 130610View attachment 130611

Click to expand...

I apologize for not reading @Colin_T 's whole post. I hardly think he would have left anything out...also, I haven't followed the other thread since my last
post so I don't know what all you've done so far.

Anyway,
Ich at some point previously that caused him to scratch or rub his body on anything? Then the poor water quality for that bad period has inhibited healing?
Anything sharp in the tank?
Anything in tankmates or equipment that is forcing him into a tight spot?
I've never seen Hole in the Head...and spine, but,?
If he recovers he may just have a scar...

Okay, swimming weird...again, is swift current directed downward causing water to carry him to the top, then he gets tired and is resting/recovering, and tries to swim below...and repeat.
He may just be exhausted.
If you notice the current stressing him out there are many ways to adjust the flow, just ask.

I used to worry about the bulges, but I've learned that is normal, but...where is a betta's swim bladder, can you go online and look at pictures to compare?

Did you give him a pea?
Salt?

I think you said you isolated him, if not I would do so.
Something to consider that I have learned about lots of things that are ill or malfunctioning, one cannot rule out that there may be more than one issue at a time. I think we tend to look for THE problem instead of a bigger picture.

I apologize again if any of this has been covered already, but I just feel compelled to try to help.

You said he isn't much better, but is he worse? Just wondering, it may just take time.
Neptune may make a comeback soon!

vanalisa said:

I apologize for not reading @Colin_T 's whole post. I hardly think he would have left anything out...also, I haven't followed the other thread since my last
post so I don't know what all you've done so far.

Anyway,
Ich at some point previously that caused him to scratch or rub his body on anything? Then the poor water quality for that bad period has inhibited healing?
Anything sharp in the tank?
Anything in tankmates or equipment that is forcing him into a tight spot?
I've never seen Hole in the Head...and spine, but,?
If he recovers he may just have a scar...

Okay, swimming weird...again, is swift current directed downward causing water to carry him to the top, then he gets tired and is resting/recovering, and tries to swim below...and repeat.
He may just be exhausted.
If you notice the current stressing him out there are many ways to adjust the flow, just ask.

I used to worry about the bulges, but I've learned that is normal, but...where is a betta's swim bladder, can you go online and look at pictures to compare?

Did you give him a pea?
Salt?

I think you said you isolated him, if not I would do so.
Something to consider that I have learned about lots of things that are ill or malfunctioning, one cannot rule out that there may be more than one issue at a time. I think we tend to look for THE problem instead of a bigger picture.

I apologize again if any of this has been covered already, but I just feel compelled to try to help.

You said he isn't much better, but is he worse? Just wondering, it may just take time.
Neptune may make a comeback soon!

Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply! I have done most of what Colin T suggested, with the exception of the salt; I am going to add that to the main tank today. I have kept the lights off in the main tank, and covered it for most of the day. The filter has little flow and does not bother “his” corner anyways. The fins are recovering; I am not as concerned about them now. As far as removing him, the corys don’t bother him and I rehomed the pleco so the water should be cleaner altogether. I was more concerned about the water quality of the isolation container- the ammonia, nitrate and nitrite levels were all extremely high. So I put him back in the main tank. The bothersome issue for me is him staying on his side. He doesn’t attempt to chase food- he did once yesterday and he physically couldn’t go any deeper than 3-4”. I keep asking about this because I know it isn’t normal for a betta to lie on his side all day. He was not bloated when I got him. He swam to the bottom occasionally. I have looked at all the fish diseases and swim bladder was what I found, but it had a resolution time of at most a couple weeks, not 2 months. I will keep up with the wet food and large % water changes. And add salt.

kbell77 said:

Thanks for the reply! I have done most of what Colin T suggested, with the exception of the salt; I am going to add that to the main tank today. I have kept the lights off in the main tank, and covered it for most of the day. The filter has little flow and does not bother “his” corner anyways. The fins are recovering; I am not as concerned about them now. As far as removing him, the corys don’t bother him and I rehomed the pleco so the water should be cleaner altogether. I was more concerned about the water quality of the isolation container- the ammonia, nitrate and nitrite levels were all extremely high. So I put him back in the main tank. The bothersome issue for me is him staying on his side. He doesn’t attempt to chase food- he did once yesterday and he physically couldn’t go any deeper than 3-4”. I keep asking about this because I know it isn’t normal for a betta to lie on his side all day. He was not bloated when I got him. He swam to the bottom occasionally. I have looked at all the fish diseases and swim bladder was what I found, but it had a resolution time of at most a couple weeks, not 2 months. I will keep up with the wet food and large % water changes. And add salt.

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Just follow @Colin_T 's salt directions.
How about the pea?