Betta fish is sick

[Lucymariexo]

Hi everyone,
I’m new to owning a betta and he isn’t doing too well. We’ve had him over a month but the last week he’s getting worse and worse.
I’ve checked the levels in his water and they’re fine but I’ve also made sure to do regular water changes incase.
He has been spending more time at the top of the water and now is sideways. He keeps
Resting on the plant leaves. It also looks like he has fin rot from what I’ve researched? He’s got red on his tail and parts missing.

I went and got him anti bacterial and fungus medicine and put it into the tank 3 days ago. He did initially start to look a little better on day one and was no longer side ways (still at the top corner). I did feed him today a few flakes and he has gone side ways again. Could this be swim bladder? What can I do to help him?

I hate to see him suffering but don’t know what I can do to help. The treatment said to leave him for 7 days and then add more treatment if needed.

Is there anything else I can do? I worry if I wait the full 7 days he won’t make it.
We live in the UK.

 

[foxgirl158]

That looks like a swim bladder issue.
Exact parameters please?
How often do you do water changes and how much do you change at a time? Do you use dechlorinator?

@Colin_T @Slaphppy7 @AdoraBelle Dearheart @Byron

 

[Byron]

There are several things that can cause this. It would help to have test results for any tests you can do, GH, pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and what is the temperature?

Detail water changes...how frequent, how much volume, what conditioners, etc.

Members with experience with such problems will need this info to provide advice. "Swim bladder" is rarely just that, but more often a symptom (sometimes with others) of an underlying problem or disease.

 

[itiwhetu]

Once a fish loses its orientation there is not a lot that can be done for the fish.

 

[Colin_T]

Hi and welcome to the forum

If you use chemicals, make sure you remove carbon (black granulated substance) from the filter first otherwise the carbon will remove the medication.

Fin rot is caused by a dirty tank and poor water quality. This damages the tissue and allows bacteria into the wound.

--------------------
BASIC FIRST AID FOR FISH

Wipe the inside of the glass down with a clean fish sponge. This removes the biofilm on the glass and the biofilm will contain lots of harmful bacteria, fungus, protozoans and various other microscopic life forms.

Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for a week or until the problem is identified. In your case, do it every day for 1 week. The water changes and gravel cleaning will reduce the number of disease organisms in the water and provide a cleaner environment for the fish to recover in.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.

Clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks. However, if the filter is less than 6 weeks old, do not clean it. Wash the filter materials/ media in a bucket of tank water and re-use them. Tip the bucket of dirty water on the garden/ lawn. Cleaning the filter means less gunk and cleaner water with fewer pathogens.

Increase surface turbulence/ aeration to maximise the dissolved oxygen in the water. However, don't have too much water movement so the fish gets washed around.

--------------------
If there's no improvement to the red on the tail after 2 big water changes, then add some salt, (see directions below).

SALT
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt) or swimming pool salt to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres of water. If there is no improvement after 48 hours you can double that dose rate so there is 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.

Keep the salt level like this for at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, Bettas & gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.

The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria, fish, plants, shrimp or snails.

After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.

If you do water changes while using salt, you need to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable in the tank and minimise stress on the fish.

When you first add salt, add the salt to a small bucket of tank water and dissolve the salt. Then slowly pour the salt water into the tank near the filter outlet. Add the salt over a couple of minutes.

 

[Lucymariexo]

Tank
What is the water volume of the tank? 22L
How long has the tank been running? 3 months
Does it have a filter? Yes
Does it have a heater? Yes
What is the water temperature? 80
What is the entire stocking of this tank? Only the betta (Please list all fish and inverts.)

Maintenance
How often do you change the water? Once a week
How much of the water do you change? 20-30%
What do you use to treat your water? Tap safe water conditioner
Do you vacuum the substrate or just the water? Vacuum the substrate

*Parameters - Very Important
Did you cycle your tank before adding fish? Yes
What do you use to test the water?
What are your parameters? We need to know the exact numbers, not just “fine” or “safe”.
Ammonia: unsure as ran out of test strips
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 25
pH: 7.5

Feeding
How often do you feed your fish? Once a day
How much do you feed your fish? A pinch
What brand of food do you feed your fish? Aqua care flakes
Do you feed frozen? Rare occasion
Do you feed freeze-dried foods? No

Illness & Symptoms
How long have you had this fish? A month
How long ago did you first notice these symptoms? A week ago
In a few words, can you explain the symptoms? Rail missing and red ends. Fish in top corner and starting to float on sode
Have you started any treatment for the illness? Yes anti bacterial and fungus treatment
Was your fish physically ill or injured upon purchase? No
How has its behavior and appearance changed, if at all? Staying at the top of the tank, laying side ways. Still occasionally swims around the tank but when he stops he floats on his side

 

[Lucymariexo]

Hi and welcome to the forum

If you use chemicals, make sure you remove carbon (black granulated substance) from the filter first otherwise the carbon will remove the medication.

Fin rot is caused by a dirty tank and poor water quality. This damages the tissue and allows bacteria into the wound.

--------------------
BASIC FIRST AID FOR FISH

Wipe the inside of the glass down with a clean fish sponge. This removes the biofilm on the glass and the biofilm will contain lots of harmful bacteria, fungus, protozoans and various other microscopic life forms.

Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for a week or until the problem is identified. In your case, do it every day for 1 week. The water changes and gravel cleaning will reduce the number of disease organisms in the water and provide a cleaner environment for the fish to recover in.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.

Clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks. However, if the filter is less than 6 weeks old, do not clean it. Wash the filter materials/ media in a bucket of tank water and re-use them. Tip the bucket of dirty water on the garden/ lawn. Cleaning the filter means less gunk and cleaner water with fewer pathogens.

Increase surface turbulence/ aeration to maximise the dissolved oxygen in the water. However, don't have too much water movement so the fish gets washed around.

--------------------
If there's no improvement to the red on the tail after 2 big water changes, then add some salt, (see directions below).

SALT
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt) or swimming pool salt to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres of water. If there is no improvement after 48 hours you can double that dose rate so there is 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.

Keep the salt level like this for at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, Bettas & gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.

The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria, fish, plants, shrimp or snails.

After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.

If you do water changes while using salt, you need to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable in the tank and minimise stress on the fish.

When you first add salt, add the salt to a small bucket of tank water and dissolve the salt. Then slowly pour the salt water into the tank near the filter outlet. Add the salt over a couple of minutes.

Shall I stop using the medicine then and go with water changes and salt instead?

Initially when I saw he was becoming sick I did a 50% water change and scrubbed the whole tank and a 30% a few days later but did not realise I could clean his tank daily.

 

[Colin_T]

What's the name of the medication or the ingredients in it?

How often and how do you clean the filter?

 

[Lucymariexo]

 

[Lucymariexo]

I clean the filer ever 2 weeks. I just rinse it in the old tank water.
This is the medication I used. It was all my local pet store had available. I’ve ordered some aquarium salt online which should arrive by tonight incase I need it.

 

[Colin_T]

I would drop the medication and just do a big water change and gravel clean every day for a week. And add salt for a couple of weeks. See if it helps.

 

[Lucymariexo]

Ok will give that a try! Thank you!
I just did a 70% full clean and he isn’t laying on his side completely anymore. He seems more ‘alive’ but will still tilt to his side when he stays still. He is also remaining at the top of the tank.
Hopefully this is what will help