BETTA EMERGENCY

[CyrussMom]

please help! I’ve had my Betta since March and he is in a 6.5 gallon tank, no other fish just him and live plants. The day after Thanksgiving he stopped eating. After 4 days I did a 50% water change, although his water had recently been changed 2 days before Thanksgiving. He has had like one bite every so often but doesnt eat the full pinch of food. Its what I always gave him. He is now just sitting at the bottom of the tank or behind his heater and he looks just awful! Yesterday was over a week since this started so I did a 8 minute epsom bath and he pooped and looked better for the rest of the evening but this morning he looks worse!

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Pictures? What are your water parameters?

 

[CyrussMom]

Pictures? What are your water parameters?

 

[CyrussMom]

I do not have a testing kit, but nothing has changed in our usual tap water and I use a tap water purifier for bettas

 

[mrsjoannh13]

I do not have a testing kit, but nothing has changed in our usual tap water and I use a tap water purifier for bettas

Do you use a water conditioner with your water? (to remove chlorine and chloramine, etc from the tap). Also, do you have a small heater in the tank?

you may need to go to the nearest pet store and get some test strips or a test kit to see what your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels are. It might be something else (maybe an illness of some sort) but knowing some basic water parameters will help start to rule things out.

 

[CyrussMom]

Pictures? What are your water parameters?

Do you use a water conditioner with your water? (to remove chlorine and chloramine, etc from the tap). Also, do you have a small heater in the tank?

I use a conditioner and I have a heater (preset at 78)

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Is he still moving?

 

[Essjay]

I do not have a testing kit, but nothing has changed in our usual tap water and I use a tap water purifier for bettas

What we test for is ammonia and nitrite. Ammonia is excreted by fish and is poisonous to them when it builds up in the water. There are good bacteria in an established tank which turn ammonia into nitrite. This is also poisonous but more bacteria turn it into nitrate.
Your tank has been running plenty long enough to have grown these bacteria but sometimes something happens to kill the bacteria so ammonia, and then nitrite appears in the water. This is why we always ask for test results when a fish is sick.


Could anything have got into the tank - anything sprayed in the same room, any air fresheners or scented candles?
Could there have been any hand sanitiser on your hands when you cleaned the tank? Since we've all had to use a lot of this in recent months there are reports of fish being harmed by it.

 

[TheTenthDoctor]

I would recommend a large water change. Raising the temperature to 80. Feeding him mashed peas, or epsom salt soaked food. Also Try to keep up on the water changes daily. Also your local petsmart or local petco may offer free water testing. Bring a sample of your water and ask them to test it

 

[CyrussMom]

Is he still moving?

Hes still breathing but hasnt moved all day

 

[CyrussMom]

I would recommend a large water change. Raising the temperature to 80. Feeding him mashed peas, or epsom salt soaked food. Also Try to keep up on the water changes daily. Also your local petsmart or local petco may offer free water testing. Bring a sample of your water and ask them to test it

Pictures? What are your water parameters?

When I put him in the salt bath yesterday I thought he pooped this. But its like the size of him and hard

 

[CyrussMom]

Hes still breathing but hasnt moved all day

Okay so i went to do a water change and he didnt even try to swim away from the net. Hes not moving anything but his fins.

 

[CyrussMom]

What we test for is ammonia and nitrite. Ammonia is excreted by fish and is poisonous to them when it builds up in the water. There are good bacteria in an established tank which turn ammonia into nitrite. This is also poisonous but more bacteria turn it into nitrate.
Your tank has been running plenty long enough to have grown these bacteria but sometimes something happens to kill the bacteria so ammonia, and then nitrite appears in the water. This is why we always ask for test results when a fish is sick.


Could anything have got into the tank - anything sprayed in the same room, any air fresheners or scented candles?
Could there have been any hand sanitiser on your hands when you cleaned the tank? Since we've all had to use a lot of this in recent months there are reports of fish being harmed by it.

The only thing near him is a hand sanitizer I use for myself after I feed him or touch the tank (like turning on and off the lights)

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Are you sure you didn’t accidentally hand sanitizer before feeding him?

Have you performed the water changes yet?

 

[CyrussMom]

Yes I’m sure! I just did the water change and he still is about the same