Betta Stopped Eating

[tttnjfttt]

I'll have to look at Walmart for a heater (I saw someone post that they have heaters for very small tanks)

This was a questions I had just asked, and even though I had FOUND one at WM, I don't recomend using that one. This heater doesn't let you adjust the temperature. It also tends to keep the water in a "one gallon" (i think its more like 3/4 in reality) around 74. I was told the Neptune 25 watt heater from petsmart is good, which is what I'm gonna try to get.

HTH and good luck with yourlittle guy!

 

[oneponygirl]

Thanks for the heater info! I think after I move the inhabitants of my five gallon to my new ten gallon I will move this little guy from his two gallon to the five gallon. Then I would need a different heater anyway so I think I'm going to wait and see what will work best with the tanks. If he gets better and I move him I'll be getting him some friends (probably whiteclouds) and then maybe he'll be a happier guy all the way around.

Today when I went to feed him he had a white "thing" coming from his vent. Does this support the parasite theory? And does this suggest that the metronidazole is working and to continue? He still didn't eat but he was so busy flaring at me I couldn't get him to notice his food. He does that sometimes. Bugger!

He has lots of rotting food on the bottom of his tank again since he spits out everything I give him. Is it enough to scoop out the food until it's clean or should I do another water change as well? (I did a 2/3's water change just a few days ago.)

 

[oneponygirl]

Bumping to see if anyone can answer my previous questions.

(See above post.)

 

[love cichlids]

i use maracyn II, it works well in every tank that I have when I have had sick fish. You put in 1/2 tablet every day and you should see an improvement in 3 days.

 

[fawnmodel]

waterchanges wont fix the rot in the gravel, stir it and net it, stir it and net it, keep it up

 

[Snailguy101]

Hows your betta doing?

 

[oneponygirl]

Thanks Fawnmodel, I didn't get an answer to the question then but I have done a number of water changes and at least one 100% with the gravel being washed. I also bought a turkey baster to use for cleaning this tank out. It's my smallest one and the only one my vacuum doesn't work in. This fish still isn't eating (it's a miracle it's alive IMO). He's just come off a med for parasites, I'm going to give him a few days off any meds and time to settle in having a heater in his tank (which I just bought and put in on Tuesday) before I try anything new. He keeps going back and forth as far as activity, this morning he was down on the bottom, this afternoon I kept seeing him swimming around and looking better then when I put my son to bed he was down on the bottom again.

 

[Snailguy101]

Hes still not eating and still alive!? Wow poor guy

 

[OrkyBetta]

Hmm, maybe you should try like, microworm or something. If macaryn does no good, colloidal DOES work for everything after all.

 

[Synirr]

Microworms are way too small for an adult betta to eat (or even see,) but trying a different live food might get him interested... maybe white worms or crickets or something?

 

[oneponygirl]

These are the foods that I have tried:
HBH Betta Bites (his usual food)
Hikari BioGold (my other bettas' food)
Brine Shrimp
Bloodworms
live water fleas
live worms (don't recall the type)
peas

These are the meds I have tried:
MelaFix (for fin rot)
Tetracycline (for fin rot) Then later he stopped eating so I tried:
Metronidazole
PraziPro (praziquantel for flukes, tapes, flatworms,tubellarians)

I have been doing 50 - 100% water changes and using salt in the water.

I think it is obvious that he has internal parasites. After giving the meds his belly got really big. WHEN he did poo it is long and white that I can see. I have a theory that the meds worked but he was so loaded that now they have caused a blockage. I haven't seen him poo in a couple of days now and his belly is still really big. He is not eating - period. I did give him some minutely chopped pea the day before yesterday. He just watches while his food sinks. I also got him a heater and put that in on Tuesday. It's one of those very little ones that has no settings, it's just on. It does seem to be helping a bit. His tank went from hanging out around 72 degrees to about 78 degrees. I think I might wrap it in a towel and put something over the top to see if that helps to hold some of the heat in.

Sometimes, like this morning I go into that room and he is swimming and it looks like he is bouncing back (he still doesn't eat though) and other times he is laying on the bottom and a couple of times I thought he had died.

Some people have recommended Maracyn II but as I was reading about it I wonder if it's really what he needs. I was thinking about getting some BettaFix which bosts that it helps appetites and immune systems. The PraziPro also says it is extremely safe and can be repeated (often that is a good idea anyway because of the life cycle of parasites) so I wonder if I should try both the BettaFix and PraziPro. Any thoughts?

 

[oneponygirl]

Woah! This may back up my "blocked" theory. When I got my baby up from his nap I checked on Samson and he has the HUGEST ball of poo hanging from a string of poo (It looks like a ball of yarn hanging from a string - although fishie sized, not human sized). Goodness, he must have had labor pains from that one. It isn't perfectly white but it is a very light tan color, nearly white. I hope this means things are looking up. He is up and swimming so at the least he's not laying on the bottom like he has been off and on.

 

[eudielynn]

That's got to make him feel better.