Betta ill but feel guilty

[theresamarie3366]

Hello all,
Hope all are well! I am a new Betta owner and when I bought him he was a rescue, so I had no clue whatsoever what I was doing. To make a long story short, I research everything I could find on Bettas and decided that the bowl the incompetant sales person told me to buy was not big enough. So I went out and bought a 10 gallon tank with the works. But again, was given no information and knew nothing about cycling a tank. Needless to say my baby is now suffering from fin rot and a fungus under his mouth. Went to a very good fish store today and the owner was great. He told me exactly what to do with the tank and told me to get the Betta out of the tank until cycling is done and he is well. So now I went out and bought a 1 gallon tank to put him in until cycling is complete and he is wee. Now I read a 1 gallon tank is not big enough. I was more worried about the warth for him that the size truthfully. I made sure there was a light in the tank because i know i can't put a heater in it. He is on my bedside table with his lamp on his tank and my lamp is on. Do you think he will be warm enough? And can I turn the lamp off at night on his tank? I feel so guilty i could cry but I want him well. I am trating him for his illnesses though.
Theresa

 

[SMSBrunetteGirl]

Actually the one gallon is just a minimum. It's all good, especially if temporary

 

[theresamarie3366]

I guess i am more worried about his warth. Should I keep the light on all night in his tank?

 

[Kiarra]

At this point, it may be a very good idea, as long as the water temperature isn't too warm. Do you have a thermometer for the the bowl? As long as the temperature remains between 72-80, he should be in good shape. Ideally, for treatment purposes, it should be 76-80, but, in a bowl that size, the greater range allows for more flexibility in that you should be striving for more STABILITY, rather than the higher temperature itself.

If you have any questions about medicating him, let us know.

 

[theresamarie3366]

I am treating him with Betta Fix. Is that okay? I do have Mayacyn 2 on hand as well as copper safe. What about aquarium salt? Should I add some to his water also?
Thanks for all your help.
Theresa

 

[BettaMomma]

HI Theresa!
Firstly, let me say that you should NOT be feeling guilty at all.
I commend you for finding out how to take care of your betta boy.
You're doing everything exactly right.

Do you have a steady temp in your house? Or do you have something like baseboard heating, like I do? I can't keep our temps steady because of the baseboard heat and I'm having a tough time.

IF you do have a furnace which keeps the temp steady, you'll be okay. As someone else already said, steady temps are better than ups and downs.

As far as treatment, for the fungus, I would probably go for something a bit stronger. Is it possible for you to pick up some Maracyn? That's really good for finrot and fungus - particularly columnaris, although it's hard to say what type of fungus your boy has. If you can get some (they have it at generally any lfs, stores like PetSmart and PetCo, etc.) that would probably be your best bet. You will have to scale it down for your 1G tank size. They give you tablets measured out for 10 Gallon tanks.

I'd probably do 100% water change to get rid of the BettaFix and then switch to the Maracyn.

Good luck, and we're always here.

 

[theresamarie3366]

How about aquarium salt? Should I be using that as well?

 

[theresamarie3366]

I just found some Maracyn-Two. How much should I put in the one gallon tank? The instructions are for a 10 gallon tank and I do not want to over medicate him? Should I use it as well as aquarium salt?

 

[RandomWiktor]

The one problem with a 1 gallon tank is that it is hard to dose. I think with pill-form medicines, treating for a 1 gallon would be tricky. Usually for my 5's and 2.5's, I break the tablet into the appropriate size, but you'd need 1/10 of a tablet, which would probably be hard to do. There is a liquid medicine for fungus, but I think its instructions are per ten gallons as well. But, it might be easier to dose if you could figure out how much 1/10 a tsp is. I believe it is approx. 8 drops, based on the instructions on Aquasafe.
So, for now, you might want to try aquarium salt.
Now, the dosage for aquarium salt is 1 tbsp per 5 gallons (on most brands). Your tank is 1 gallon, so you need to find out what 1/5 of a tbsp is. I think the easiest way to do this would probably be to figure out how many teaspoons are in a tbsp and go from there. Anyone know that number off the top of their head? I'm blanking.

Regardless, don't feel guilty! You've done well by this boy so far, and I'm impresed by the research you'd done. He is in good hands!

 

[Kiarra]

1/2 teaspoon per gallon aquarium salt is the proper dose.

 

[RandomWiktor]

Good to know, thanks Kiarra! The box mine came in only had directions in tbsp per 5 gallons, what a pain in the butt.

 

[BettaMomma]

Maracyn Two is totally different than Maracyn.
Is it possible for you to get just Maracyn?

To dose that, you'll want to cut the pill in half. (you'll do that just to eliminate some of the wasted pill you're going to have)....

You'll need a medicine dropper (you can get one at your local drugstore or any place that sells drugs)...

Crush the half pill up (I put it between 2 paper towels, then use the handle of the scissors I have, then put it into a small cup - like a dixie cup)... Then use the eyedopper and squirt in 5 droppers full of tank water. Next, you want to shake up the water pretty good - and then wait until you see that most of the crumblies have dissolved. Then, you use the eyedropper to suck out 1 dropper full of water, squirt it into the tank and you're all set.

Unfortunately, the medication leftover in the cup you will have to dump out because by the next time you need to medicate, the meds will not still be active in it.