Betta Fish Attacked Goldfish

[DragonScales+Doubletails]

salt in a freshwater tank is not a good idea

please explain why.

Yeah, scouring a tank removing what is mostly beneficial bacteria and cleaning the filter any more than what you should usually be doing because you have a wounded fish is bonkers just as using salt in a freshwater tank is not a good idea especially with gold fish as they are more sensitive to it than many fish.

If someone is giving advice that could cause harm I'm calling them on it.

I see nothing wrong with the post. maybe you see fishkeeping differently than others.

 

[Colin_T]

Yeah, scouring a tank removing what is mostly beneficial bacteria and cleaning the filter any more than what you should usually be doing because you have a wounded fish is bonkers just as using salt in a freshwater tank is not a good idea especially with gold fish as they are more sensitive to it than many fish.

If someone is giving advice that could cause harm I'm calling them on it.

Most of the slime on the inside glass of aquariums is biofilm that contains harmful bacteria, viruses, protozoa and fungus. Removing this biofilm reduces the chance of infection.

Cleaning the filter regularly helps remove rotting fish waste that is a home to harmful protozoa and bacteria. All the aquarium water passes through the filter several times an hour. If you have a dirty filter full of rotting fish waste, the fish are living in dirty water with lots of harmful disease organisms.

Gravel cleaning the tank and doing big water changes helps remove rotting fish waste and more of the harmful bacteria, fungus and protozoa.

These 3 steps make a huge difference to the number of disease organisms in the aquarium and significantly increase the chance of the fish surviving, and significantly reduces the chance of secondary infections entering the damaged tissue.

These are the 3 main steps we did to any aquarium in the shop that had sick fish in. And if fish started looking off colour, they were the first things we did to the tank, and it usually brought about an instant improvement in the fish.

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As for salt, it is safe for all freshwater fish including goldfish that can tolerate huge amounts and are even found in slightly brackish water in some parts of Australia.

Salt can kill some bacteria, fungus and protozoan parasites and is a lot safer than most of the chemical based medications on the market, many of which contain things like Formaldehyde, which is a preservative used for embalming bodies. Many contain Malachite Green to treat external protozoa. Malachite Green (aka Victoria green) is a carcinogen.

Personally, I would rather swim in slightly salty water for a few weeks and even drink salt water, than swim in water containing Formaldehyde and Malachite Green. And there's no way I would want to drink water containing either of those chemicals.

When I have a choice of using salt, which has relatively minor side effects on freshwater fish, or a hazardous, poisonous chemical based medication that will kill everything in the tank if it's slightly overdosed, I choose salt because it's safer.

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This is my opinion based on over 40 years of fish keeping and working in wholesale and retail fish stores, dealing with hundreds of tanks in each facility. Looking after tens of thousands of fish at any one time. And treating all sorts of fish diseases ranging from minor Saprolegnia fungal infections, to white spot, to Fish TB. I have tried chemical based medications and antibiotics on numerous occasions. I have mixed different treatments in an attempt to cure fish. I tried no medications. I tried heat and cool and salt. And salt, combined with cleaning the tank, works quite well for a lot of minor issues.

In this case the fish has a damaged tail caused by being attacked by another fish. Cleaning the glass, gravel, filter, and changing the water, will help reduce the chance of secondary infections from bacteria, fungus and external protozoan parasites, and this will give the fish the best chance of healing. The salt will also reduce the number of disease organisms in the water and reduces the chance of secondary infections.

These are simple steps anyone can take if they have a sick or injured fish and can usually bring about a good response. At the very least it buys the fish and fish keeper time to work out what is going on, and work on a backup plan. If chemicals/ medications are required, the medication will work better in a clean tank with little to no gunk. The medication will be able to work on the fish and not get wasted killing microscopic organisms on the glass, in the substrate, filter media, or the water.

It is up to the individual what they do to their fish. I am only here to help. My advice is free and I try to offer safer alternatives to helping fish get through health issues. If other people want to use chemicals instead of clean water and salt, that is up to them. But I am not trying to harm your fish and not trying to sell you anything. The information I provide is based on decades of fish keeping and experimenting on fish to try and keep them alive. I have seen just about every sort of fish disease there is. I don't want people to go through what I went through learning about fish. I want people to be able to easily keep fish and have their fish remain healthy for as long as possible.

And I do practice what I preach. I use salt in my own tanks when required and I used it with all sorts of fishes ranging from tetras, to angelfish, guppies to goldfish and even Corydoras catfish. I have never killed a fish with salt but have killed fish with chemicals.

 

[jimwg]

please explain why.

Salt water can work with some parasitic infections like arthropods though it's effectiveness with even those parasites is limited and is partially caused by salt also irritating the fish causing them to increase their slime coat and causing osmotic transference of water from the fish's body stressing already sick fish. I agree with Colin that chemical medications don't fare much better with this which is why I never use them either. Many fish are sensitive to salt including catfish and goldfish. If someone has used salt throughout their fish keeping careers and claim to have never lost a sick fish they are 1) not being truthful perhaps even to themselves or 2) unaware of the cause of a fish's demise.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

With the notable exception of other male bettas, the betta is the biggest woosie fish in the world. They can basically be destroyed by any other fish.

I don't know what woosie is supposed to mean, and google isn't helping either. Can you elaborate please?

Whether a betta can be destroyed by another fish isn't the point really - since I hope no one here is deliberately setting up fish to fight. It's not about whether the betta can win the fight, it's the fact that bettas naturally are solitary and territorial. So when they attack like this, it's not the betta is "mean", it's just following the instincts that have evolved with the fish over the centuries.

 

[Colin_T]

I don't know what woosie is supposed to mean, and google isn't helping either. Can you elaborate please?

LOL , woosie is a term used to describe a wimp, a big girl's blouse, another name for a cat but often used for female parts below the belly button, etc.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

LOL , woosie is a term used to describe a wimp, a big girl's blouse, another name for a cat but often used for female parts below the belly button, etc.

Yikes! You have some weird slang over there
But then, we have some strange slang over here too!

I remember a while ago when I was fretting over something minor, you called me a silly *Australian slang, think it began with an n* word. I meant to look it up, but forgot. Have no idea what you called me

 

[DragonScales+Doubletails]

did anyone claim they've never lost a fish though?

 

[Colin_T]

silly noong
it's what mum called us when we were kids and did something dumb.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

silly noong
it's what mum called us when we were kids and did something dumb.

Ah! That fits, I'm pretty sure I'd done something silly Urban Dictionary says noonga is referring to someone calling themselves an idiot or that they did something daft, which definitely sounds like me

 

[CaptainBarnicles]

Woosie...I think we'd spell it 'wuss' in proper English

 

[jimwg]

I don't know what woosie is supposed to mean, and google isn't helping either. Can you elaborate please?

Whether a betta can be destroyed by another fish isn't the point really - since I hope no one here is deliberately setting up fish to fight. It's not about whether the betta can win the fight, it's the fact that bettas naturally are solitary and territorial. So when they attack like this, it's not the betta is "mean", it's just following the instincts that have evolved with the fish over the centuries.

I don't know where all the hostility comes from with some posters responding to posts neither hostile nor personal.

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=woosie
But that many not be the most common nor accurate spelling so...
Wussie https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/wussies

I certainly said nothing about purposely placing fish together to fight. I am referring to the should be generally known fact that bettas can be placed in very few community set ups, not because they will hurt other fish but because other wish will hurt them.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

I don't know where all the hostility comes from with some posters responding to posts neither hostile nor personal.

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=woosie
But that many not be the most common nor accurate spelling so...
Wussie https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/wussies

I certainly said nothing about purposely placing fish together to fight. I am referring to the should be generally known fact that bettas can be placed in very few community set ups, not because they will hurt other fish but because other wish will hurt them.

I only politely asked you to elaborate about what you meant, since "woosie" isn't a word I've ever come across before. Hardly hostile... think you're reading too much into something that isn't there, or confusing me with someone else?

Especially since my comment was purely in response to someone else saying it's a mean betta to go after a goldfish, and I just chipped in to say that it's not that a betta is "being mean" or "being nice" when things like this happen, just following instincts they've evolved over millions of years. There are dangers in ascribing human emotions and personalities onto animal nature.

Not sure why you're so het up, are you projecting a little? Hope your day improves!

 

[jimwg]

LOL , woosie is a term used to describe a wimp, a big girl's blouse, another name for a cat but often used for female parts below the belly button, etc.

Yes. Some would argue it is misogynist when referring to less than aggressive men but I figure referring to a fish should be OK.

 

[jimwg]

I only politely asked you to elaborate about what you meant, since "woosie" isn't a word I've ever come across before. Hardly hostile... think you're reading too much into something that isn't there, or confusing me with someone else?

Especially since my comment was purely in response to someone else saying it's a mean betta to go after a goldfish, and I just chipped in to say that it's not that a betta is "being mean" or "being nice" when things like this happen, just following instincts they've evolved over millions of years. There are dangers in ascribing human emotions and personalities onto animal nature.

Not sure why you're so het up, are you projecting a little? Hope your day improves!

This has nothing to do with what I was saying which was that bettas are not "bad@$$" fish at all with the one exception of fighting other males. They will challenge other labyrinth fish in a community tank and loose every time. Your response was antagonistic and you know it, it was also incongruent to my statement.

 

[CaptainBarnicles]

This has nothing to do with what I was saying which was that bettas are not "bad@$$" fish at all with the one exception of fighting other males. They will challenge other labyrinth fish in a community tank and loose every time. Your response was antagonistic and you know it, it was also incongruent to my statement.

How about you chill out?