betta fish "throwing up"

[kaley822]

my betta fish is in a 2.5 gallon tank by himself. i'm pretty sure he had fin rot so i put in some salt and melafix because i was told that would help the fins. i used the amount suggested on the aquarium salt package and on the melafix thing. i've also been doing more frequent water changes, 100% every 5 days or so (but its only been twice since i noticed fin rot).

i havent noticed any change in the fins, no worse, no better, but the past two nights my fish has been acting weird. when i feed him he comes up to the top enthusiastically like always and eats the food right away. It looks like he "chews it" and then a few seconds later throws it up or spits it out or soemthing. then he tries to eat it again and spits it out a few more times. i end up fishing it out so it doesnt rot at the bottom. i am worried he will starve to death. i even tried freeze dried blood worms instead of the pellets and he does the same thing.

theres nothing else i can tell wrong with him, maybe a tad more sluggish than usual but maybe not. also, his stomach right under his gills is like white, completely void of color, but i dont remember if it was like that before...

cant get any water reading at the moment but just did 100 % water change.
help i really dont want to lose him he was such a lively fish

 

[smithrc]

most of our fish do that from time to time... try crushing the food up a bit?

 

[AmberC]

I'm treating mine with melefix right now too. I think that the food is soaking up some of the melefix and thats why they aren't eating it. Hes not throwing up. Hes not going to starve to death. If your really worried.... change the water and dont add more melefix until after you feed him.

 

[~FairyAngelFish~]

I'm treating mine with melefix right now too. I think that the food is soaking up some of the melefix and thats why they aren't eating it. Hes not throwing up. Hes not going to starve to death. If your really worried.... change the water and dont add more melefix until after you feed him.

I agree.

 

[Jae1525]

I wouldn't change 100% of your fishes water.
You should never change more than 40% unless something is rly, rly wrong.

If your changing all the water then your damaging the fishes environment and stressing him out, esp cos you have to take the fish out of the tank whilst cleaning it.

You NEED to test your water properly asap.

Once you have the water tested if the readings are bad just do a 20% water change remebering to add a dose of aqua plus to declorinate it (before the water is put in the tank) and then later a dose of aqua cycle to keep your bacteria levels up then test the next day to see if they have improved.

 

[kaley822]

he ate today without throwing up!!!!

his fins are still in bad shape though

Jae1525~ i dont have any testing equipment here but i took it to the LFS and they tested and said it was fine... this was a day after i changed it though. Is it ok to not change all the water at once even though there is not filter in the tank? (i used to have a filter and only change small amount of the water at once, but when the fins started looking bad i thought the filter may be ripping them so i removed it)

 

[Jae1525]

I'd say it would be healthier for your betta if you invested in a small filter just so you can have a steady cycle in your tank.
He would be much happier and live longer.
As for the water changes he would defo be ok with less of a water change but maybe on a more regular basis until he has a filter.

Then you will only have to do a 10-30% change every week.
That would give you more time to admire him!

It's obvious you love him loads and I'm glad he's eating without being sick now.

 

[GP]

Most fish do that if they are bored of the food and/or somewhat ill. I wouldn't worry about it, or I would try getting him something else to eat to vary his diet.