Betta Fish Hanging Out at Bottom of Tank & Breathing Heavy

Hi again.

I'm really at a loss here. I've been keeping up with the daily water changes while waiting on the new tank to be cycled. The ammonia level has been at zero for several days now. Unfortunately, my betta's condition is getting worse by the day. I've noticed that his scales appear to be falling off. I agree that ammonia was to blame for much of this, but is it possible that there's an infection at play here?

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It's possible there's an infection at play too. But it's impossible to know that at this stage without some kind of lab tests, and it makes no difference really at this point. Up until three days ago, he was still swimming in ammonia. I can't stress enough just how damaging ammonia levels like that are to a fish, it's not something they bounce back from within three days, and it's even possible that the damage done was too extensive for him to recover from, I'm sorry to say. He might still be able to recover, but it's too soon to tell. Secondary infections can happen as a result of the weakened state ammonia poisoning puts them into.

Imagine someone is in hospital with third degree burns. Even once the fire has been put out, recovery takes a long time, and a great deal of care. Large daily water changes is the best medicine you can possibly provide at this point, even if there is another underlying infection, which may not be there. Please resist the urge to throw any meds at him at this point, even meds cause stress, and it's the last thing he needs right now.

It might be possible that aquarium salt could help here, I'm not sure, so going to tag @essjay and @Ch4rlie for their opinions, but I'd be cautious about it too since you know how salt in an open wound can hurt or help, depending. I wouldn't do anything other than large daily water changes for at least a fortnight though before expecting to see much difference.

Is he still eating?
 
Oh, would you be able to test his water today and post the results for us please? The numbers for ammonia, nitrites, nitrate and pH?
 
Hi again.

I'm really at a loss here. I've been keeping up with the daily water changes while waiting on the new tank to be cycled. The ammonia level has been at zero for several days now. Unfortunately, my betta's condition is getting worse by the day. I've noticed that his scales appear to be falling off. I agree that ammonia was to blame for much of this, but is it possible that there's an infection at play here?

View attachment 116024

Oh dear, sorry to hear your betta is not doing as well as we would have hoped.

It’s certainly possible there may be other factors other than the ammonia/nitrite damage.

Would not be particularly surprised, as stressed fish tend to have a lowered immune system and become more susceptible to secondary fungus or bacterial infections , unfortunately.

Your betta may well have a bad reaction to anti fungal or fin rot medications at this stage perhaps.

The only thing can think of is Myxazin by Waterlife, have heard this is a half decent treatment for fin rot, but even then I’d be hesitant in treating this while your betta is not doing so well and in the stressed situation he is in at the moment.

But if you really want to try this, I would go for half doses to start with.

Salt treatments, am afraid this is something I don’t know too much about but what I do know from past experience is that fish gets very stressed going through salt bath treatments and you have to be so careful with dosages and the amount of time fish is in bath for.

I would be very wary about doing this, would recommend you do much more research into that before going any further.

Right now, the only certain thing I do know is that the daily water changes is more likely than not to be the best treatment you can give your betta, and do continue with testing your water parameters daily just to be sure there is no more ammonia and nitrite present to cause any more damages.

Once your betta is through the worst and looking better I would then perhaps start looking into treating his fin rot and any other possible infections.

Sorry, that’s not a lot of help I know but that’s the best that I can come up with at the moment, times like these I wish I was more qualified and know more about these sorts of things :/
 
I think perhaps think methylene blue might be of assistance for ammonia and nitrite burns.

But again, this may be stressful giving the betta methylene blue bath treatments at the moment.

Think @Deanasue may know more about this methylene blue treatment.
 
I can’t pull the video up, unfortunately. A methylene blue dip may help if he’s too weak for a full bath. Add 1 teaspoon to 5gallons of tank water. Dip fish in for about 19 seconds and pull out. Can do twice a day if fish can handle. At this point, you may want to try an antibiotic too.
 
I see you’re in the USA. I would get some Kanaplex and Furan-2 to treat with. Kanaplex is a great antibiotic and Furan-2 treats bacterial. Petsmart carries both or you can order from Amazon.
 
@AdoraBelle Dearheart If the damage were too extensive, would he continue surviving for much longer like this or would he eventually die? I feel bad because he must be suffering a great deal. He is not eating regularly, but he does accept a few pellets every so often. I believe I last fed him about four pellets two days ago.

@Ch4rlie Thanks for the insight!

@Deanasue Which video aren't you able to access? If it's mine, I could upload it somewhere else or provide a direct download link. Would you be able to link to the products at PetSmart? I'm not finding any results on their website. Thanks!

Here are the current water parameters:

pH: 7.2 to 7.6*
Ammonia: None detected**
Nitrites: None detected
Nitrates: None detected

*pH had dropped to about 6.0 before I changed the water. I'm not sure what could be responsible for such a drop.

**Ammonia was up to about 0.25 parts per million before the water change. The last change I did was 24 hours prior.
 
@AdoraBelle Dearheart If the damage were too extensive, would he continue surviving for much longer like this or would he eventually die? I feel bad because he must be suffering a great deal. He is not eating regularly, but he does accept a few pellets every so often. I believe I last fed him about four pellets two days ago.

@Ch4rlie Thanks for the insight!

@Deanasue Which video aren't you able to access? If it's mine, I could upload it somewhere else or provide a direct download link. Would you be able to link to the products at PetSmart? I'm not finding any results on their website. Thanks!

Here are the current water parameters:

pH: 7.2 to 7.6*
Ammonia: None detected**
Nitrites: None detected
Nitrates: None detected

*pH had dropped to about 6.0 before I changed the water. I'm not sure what could be responsible for such a drop.

**Ammonia was up to about 0.25 parts per million before the water change. The last change I did was 24 hours prior.
Apparently Petsmart isn’t selling it anymore. There is a fish med shortage right now. Try this. I get it at Walmart.
 

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I would usually recommend Melafix, however, this does not work for bettas as it blocks the surface and makes it hard to breathe. I have used Furan-2 before and it works great. I also used Furan-2 when my fish had fin rot as a secondary infection and it worked great. Do you use aquarium salt in your water? If not, I use it in both my aquariums and I believe bettas should be ok with it. It helps boost their immune system and helps there slime coat to prevent infection.

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Apparently Petsmart isn’t selling it anymore. There is a fish med shortage right now. Try this. I get it at Walmart.
Skip that. Do this . Furan-2 is best but Erythomycin treats bacterial also. Kanaplex is best for antibiotics.
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@Stefan3289 Thanks for the info! I don't currently use any aquarium salt; I will look into that.

@Deanasue To clarify, you're recommending E.M. Erythromycin? I'm going to be heading to the local pet store tomorrow so let me know if there are any other medications I should purchase.
 
@Stefan3289 Thanks for the info! I don't currently use any aquarium salt; I will look into that.

@Deanasue To clarify, you're recommending E.M. Erythromycin? I'm going to be heading to the local pet store tomorrow so let me know if there are any other medications I should purchase.
If there is no Furan-2 then yes the E.M works
 

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