Kiarra
Former Betta Breeder
This last Wednesday, I was at the pet store that usually carries pretty healthy Bettas. I've bought a lot of Bettas from that store, and never really had a problem with their health, other than a few severely injured ones, but they came that way from the shipper. Anyway, I was looking at the Bettas and found one dark blue Crowntail that was up at the top of his cup, all of fins clamped close to his body, except for the anal fin, which hung loosely and rather carelessly beneath him. His color was good---very vivid dark blue. He's quite small---the body is less than an inch long, and he's very narrow. His fins are still small and growing in. He was also extremely skinny, though I know this store feeds their Bettas regularly. The fins were intact except for a large hole located centrally within the dorsal. He was, however, quite unresponsive to stimuli.
I inquired about him of the store's owner, and he said that the boy just hadn't had his water changed, and that was probably what was wrong with him. The timeframe since last water change is likely a boggling 10-14 days, he said. In a standard little Betta cup (not even the big ones they're using at Walmart and Petco these days).
Well, I couldn't leave him there, so I purchased him.
Fast forward to today. He's still alive, much to my surprise. He eats little of what I give him (I'm feeding him HBH Frog & Tadpole Bites right now, because they are softer than the HBH Betta Bites that he tries to eat and then rejects). I have tried giving him frozen bloodworms and brine shrimp, but he doesn't eat them with any particular gusto, either. He lives next to another Betta, and usually hangs out on the side with the other Betta, taking great comfort in his companion's presence. He eats even less when I block his view of his buddy, so I'm keeping him near his buddy for a while. His anal fin still hangs loose from his body, but he can move it. His ventrals are no longer clamped constantly to his body, and neither is his dorsal fin, which still has a very large (though not getting worse) hole in it. But he holds his caudal fin straight out behind him, stiffly, rarely moving it at all. When he "flares" (I deliberately induced him to this, as he does not flare at all at his companion), he merely stretches out his dorsal, anal, and ventral fins and wiggles his body. He does not extend or spread his tail at all, and has not the entire time I've had him. He also does not puff out his gils at all, nor seem to make an attempt to do so.
He swims fine, and is generally a curious fish, though he needs to rest constantly, because he doesn't seem to have much energy in him. He does not float (in the bad way), nor does he appear to tip on his side at all. His color is still a very vivid dark blue. There are no odd spots or discolorations on his body at all. His eyes look normal. There is no fungus, no ich, no velvet. No signs of dropsy.
So my question is...what could POSSIBLY be wrong with this fish? I'm out of ideas on this one.
I inquired about him of the store's owner, and he said that the boy just hadn't had his water changed, and that was probably what was wrong with him. The timeframe since last water change is likely a boggling 10-14 days, he said. In a standard little Betta cup (not even the big ones they're using at Walmart and Petco these days).
Well, I couldn't leave him there, so I purchased him.
Fast forward to today. He's still alive, much to my surprise. He eats little of what I give him (I'm feeding him HBH Frog & Tadpole Bites right now, because they are softer than the HBH Betta Bites that he tries to eat and then rejects). I have tried giving him frozen bloodworms and brine shrimp, but he doesn't eat them with any particular gusto, either. He lives next to another Betta, and usually hangs out on the side with the other Betta, taking great comfort in his companion's presence. He eats even less when I block his view of his buddy, so I'm keeping him near his buddy for a while. His anal fin still hangs loose from his body, but he can move it. His ventrals are no longer clamped constantly to his body, and neither is his dorsal fin, which still has a very large (though not getting worse) hole in it. But he holds his caudal fin straight out behind him, stiffly, rarely moving it at all. When he "flares" (I deliberately induced him to this, as he does not flare at all at his companion), he merely stretches out his dorsal, anal, and ventral fins and wiggles his body. He does not extend or spread his tail at all, and has not the entire time I've had him. He also does not puff out his gils at all, nor seem to make an attempt to do so.
He swims fine, and is generally a curious fish, though he needs to rest constantly, because he doesn't seem to have much energy in him. He does not float (in the bad way), nor does he appear to tip on his side at all. His color is still a very vivid dark blue. There are no odd spots or discolorations on his body at all. His eyes look normal. There is no fungus, no ich, no velvet. No signs of dropsy.
So my question is...what could POSSIBLY be wrong with this fish? I'm out of ideas on this one.
/www.mushi.petfish.net/finrot.html
) and see if I can come up with anything.
