Betta Is Acting Weird

[loraxchick]

i would treat the whole tank. it also is good practice to "worm" your fish every so often, especially when you get new ones(dont know what conditions they are coming from). does his anus look inflamed or swollen? keep an eye out for his poo. may be best to isolate him until you see what his poo looks like. anything white, stringy,mucousy and it would almost certainly be parasites. those meds work well if they eat the stuff. soaking in garlic or rolling in some bloodworm juice may be advised if the fish find it unpalatable. also the pellets are usually a little too big for bettas (and those loaches), i just crush them up a bit before feeding.
good luck and keep us posted.
cheers

 

[Lacuna]

I got a med with Flubendazole in it. It's a powder, I am in the UK, and couldn't find any food with the ingredients in. I am adding it to the tank tonight. He doesn't look skinny, but his anus does look very inflamed. It says it treats worms, flukes and parasites. I am really hoping this one will work.

 

[loraxchick]

flubendazole is good. try rolling some soaked food in the powder to get the fish to take it internally. he might spit it out tho as the med is unpalatable to many fish. you really need the fish to eat some tho or else its will only kill the parasite IN the water and not internally. so try to get the fish to ingest some. will not kill him to eat it.
all the best!
chers

 

[fry_forever!]

I wouldn't say internal parasites. I've had tons of fish with those, and they have really tell tale symptoms - ie. skinniness, stringy white/clear poo, and in the cases of livebearers - they don't have fry anymore.

Your best bet is to get a medicated food, if you suspect that it is internal parasites, treat for a week straight, and do a couple water changes in between. If that doesn't work, get a pure med, which is specific for the kind of parasite he has. (ie. levamisole hydrochloride is for camallanus worms, metronidazole is for hexamita, etc.)

Really though, it sounds like he has external parasites, and I still recommend Jungle Parasite Clear, only because it has worked for me every time (including on bettas), AND it doubles as an internal parasite wormer.

Good luck.

-f_f!

 

[Lacuna]

Thanks. The guy in the shop said this med would treat internal and external parasites as well. He does have a small amount of what looks like white fluff around his anal area I have rolled some pellets in the powder, and yesterday he had one of these, and today he had three. I will keep doing this on a daily basis, and if he doesn't respond I'll treat with a med for external parasites again. I'll try to track down the Jungle stuff, I'm not sure if it's available in the UK. He's been ill for about three weeks now, I'm surprised he's lasted this long.

 

[Lacuna]

Well, this morning when I left for work my betta was sat on the sand looking glum, not moving. When I got back from work this evening, he was swimming about, and even gave me a mini-flare when I switched on the tank lights He looks loads better, and is swimming about a bit and no darting. His belly looks a lot less red, it's more of a light pink now, and his fins aren't clamped. I think the powder for internal parasites has done the job. I gave him some more pellets coated in the stuff again tonight, he doesn't seem to mind it. I might do this for a couple more days, just to be sure. And I'll do a big water change once the meds have run their course. Thanks loraxchick and fry_forever

 

[fry_forever!]

Wow, that's great.
I wish you all the luck with your little guy.
And no problem. That's what we're here for.

-f_f!