Anyone know what could be ailing him?

BettaMomma · Apr 4, 2005

Right now it's just kept at room temp... I think she put a heating pad under him to warm him up...
But I'm taking a mini hydor heater out there to get him warmed up... Hopefully we can get the temp up to the mid-70's, maybe a tad bit higher than that, that's about the best we'll be able to do for now.
I have a little round bubble bar that I'm going to put into the tank, then pinch off the tubing so the bubbles don't disturb him too much.

JacopoFishy · Apr 4, 2005

My ole betta Kiko :rip:

[I miss ya, baby]
well, he belonged to my friend Casey. the summer before she went off to college I took him in. kept him in a bowl at room temperature [until I knew better]
then I joined this place

and found out he needed some heat. after I moved him to my heated tank, he perked right up.
so, your name being BettaMomma, I'm sure you already know all this.
I think I do too much wishful thinking...
perhaps once he warms up he'll start improving?
g'luck

PS I love saving sick bettas, my Frank is a gorgeous bright red color. spotted himon the verge of death in my LFS after being flown in the night before. I know he's a betta and has a labryinth organ, but in his flimsy plastic thing there was hardly enough water to cover his gills.
now Frank's a happy baby, swimmin' all about in my tank

GrullaQuarters · Apr 4, 2005

Hi, just saw this post, this betta is with me. He can swim, but swims vertically, with his tail pointing towards the bottom of the tank. The temp in the tank is 75. His breathing is and has been shallow. I see what looks like a yawn (gasp for air? I don't know) once in awhile. He's alert to whats going on around him, and 'stalks' his bloodworms....he IS eating, but not as much I think a healthy fish would. He lays around, or sits up, as the photos above show, and again, when he swims, his body is vertical, not horizontal.

Sorry, just saw this post. BettaMomma is on her way here.

JacopoFishy · Apr 4, 2005

is the gasping for air at the surface?
and if it is, is it seemingly more frequent than it should be?
(since they all seem to like using that labryinth organ every once and so often)

click this and scroll down to the temperature section

so 75 is pretty good, but he may benefit from a bit more heat.

Frank, my betta, kind of stalks his bloodworms, too.
he sneaks up on them floating on the surface and all of a sudden will lunge at one. so, yea. this might just be a general betta thing, or a personality trait if you will with ours, or a symptom. not sure. :unsure:

I'm not sure about what's going on with him, especially since his symptoms are so general. how old does he appear to be? (bend in spine, if I'm right?)
he sounds just plain ole weak.
too bad that diagnosis doesn't help any.
I think he has a couple o' good people looking out for him, though.

GrullaQuarters · Apr 4, 2005

As far as age, I don't have a clue...he does have quite a bend on his back...enough I noticed, and wondered if this was due to his illness too.

He doesn't go up and gasp for air at all.....once in awhile he'll go up, quick breath, then back down...nothing out of the ordinary there.

BM is bringing a heater for him to use....so we can get his temp up. I was just using a heating pad....

Anyway, either she or I will have an update......she should be here anytime now...

JacopoFishy · Apr 4, 2005

fabulously creative of you to use the heating pad, by the by. I wouldn't have thought of that.

but yea, poor little guy just sounds old and weak.
I can't recall where I learned/heard this from...but I believe young bettas have fairly straight backs and older ones tend to be bent...
so the greater the angle of the bend, the older the fish? :unsure:

GrullaQuarters · Apr 4, 2005

interesting...I always wondered how one could tell the age of a fish....

BettaMomma · Apr 4, 2005

Well, that is ONE fighter of a fish, I must say.
It's pretty obvious once I saw him that he doesn't have one single thing wrong with him except a severe case of nasty swim bladder problem (and some messed up fins, but now that he's in some nice clean water they're starting to grow back already). When he does swim around, he kinda looks like that fish that walks on Dr. Suess

His tail is split and it looks like it's divided into feet. So cute.
He totes around the tank like nobody's business and he sort of wiggles his way up into the plants that are now floating in there.
We started him on some Maracyn 2 today, just in case it's being caused by a nasty infection and to help the finrot get going,and tossed in a bit of salt, but I would have to guess that this guy will tote around like that for the rest of his days.
He is in very capable hands out there along with all the other awesome animals roaming around on the acreage.

He is a total sweetheart, he even drug himself over to the side of the tank to see me when I would kneel down to peek in. :wub:

Oooh what a cute boy.

Oh the joys of rescues.
He's one for the record books.
I'm so excited I got the chance to meet him now under better circumstances than in that nasty old cup.