Butterfly Betta looking rough ?

[TheTenthDoctor]

Wow, that's messed up. I got him as a rescue at Petsmart and got him super healthy and call him Happy. He seems happier in the blue water hiding in the leaves. Any suggestions? I used betta fix but did nothing.

I would put him in a filterless tank with TONS of live plants to cushion him. Lots of leafy plants and frequent water changes

 

[Colin_T]

Yeah it is safe, but is there a specific reason? It is mainly used to treat ammonia and nitrite poisoning and is an alternative to malachite green.

Methylene Blue is used to kill bacteria and fungus on fish. It kills filter bacteria too, and stains things blue. Methylene Blue is quite safe and is used to treat some diseases in people. Methylene Blue can increase the oxygen level in fish and this can help with ammonia and nitrite poisoning. However, the best treatment for ammonia/ nitrite poisoning is clean water and getting rid of the ammonia/ nitrite, and increasing aeration/ surface turbulence to maximise the oxygen level in the water.

Malachite Green (aka Victoria Green) is used to treat protozoan parasites like white spot, velvet, costia, chilodonella, trichodina. Malachite Green does nothing to bacteria or fungus, and is carcinogenic (causes cancer). Malachite Green does nothing to increase oxygen levels in fish and actually reduces the oxygen level in water.

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Thanks! I put him in a separate tank with a little methylene blue and put him back in the tank and he seems ok.

Don't catch fish out and give them salt or chemical baths. Every time you chase and ctch the fish, you damage the fish and allow more areas for harmful disease organisms to enter the body.

If you are using salt or medications, just put the fish in a container and leave it there until treatment is finished after a week or two.

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The fish has fin rot and is sunken in around the head and back.

Fin rot is normally caused by poor water quality that damages the skin and allows harmful bacteria and fungus into the damaged tissue.

The best treatment is clean water (75% daily water changes for a couple of weeks) and salt (1-2 heaped tablespoons of rock salt per 20 litres of water). Keep salt in there for a couple of weeks. If there's no improvement after a few days you might need an anti-bacterial medication (or anti-biotics).

The sunken head is usually lack of food and poor environmental conditions.

 

[FloridaChick]

Methylene Blue is used to kill bacteria and fungus on fish. It kills filter bacteria too, and stains things blue. Methylene Blue is quite safe and is used to treat some diseases in people. Methylene Blue can increase the oxygen level in fish and this can help with ammonia and nitrite poisoning. However, the best treatment for ammonia/ nitrite poisoning is clean water and getting rid of the ammonia/ nitrite, and increasing aeration/ surface turbulence to maximise the oxygen level in the water.

Malachite Green (aka Victoria Green) is used to treat protozoan parasites like white spot, velvet, costia, chilodonella, trichodina. Malachite Green does nothing to bacteria or fungus, and is carcinogenic (causes cancer). Malachite Green does nothing to increase oxygen levels in fish and actually reduces the oxygen level in water.

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Don't catch fish out and give them salt or chemical baths. Every time you chase and ctch the fish, you damage the fish and allow more areas for harmful disease organisms to enter the body.

If you are using salt or medications, just put the fish in a container and leave it there until treatment is finished after a week or two.

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The fish has fin rot and is sunken in around the head and back.

Fin rot is normally caused by poor water quality that damages the skin and allows harmful bacteria and fungus into the damaged tissue.

The best treatment is clean water (75% daily water changes for a couple of weeks) and salt (1-2 heaped tablespoons of rock salt per 20 litres of water). Keep salt in there for a couple of weeks. If there's no improvement after a few days you might need an anti-bacterial medication (or anti-biotics).

The sunken head is usually lack of food and poor environmental conditions.

Daily water changes, wow.

 

[UnknownFishies]

Daily water changes, wow.

what do you mean by wow?

 

[Abaddon]

So butterfly bettas, yeah. These bettas are bred with such long fins that they cannot get blood to the ends of the fins. This causes them to rot slowly.

I'm curious where you got that info. "Butterfly" is a name for the colour variety (2 colours with white fin edges), nothing to do with fin structure (although most butterflies are long-tailed halfmoons). Rosetails and feathertails are the most messed-up in the fin department, their tails can be so heavy that the rays break under their weight It shouldn't happen to regular halfmoons, although their fins are also exaggerated to the point where the fish become less agile and manouverable Regardless, fin rot (which is what OP is dealing with) is not usually caused by poor blood flow, but rather bad water quality + a secondary bacterial or fungal infection. So a broad-spectrum antifungal or antibiotic treatment + tannins (catappa leaves/extract) should do the trick. And proper tank maintenance to prevent it from recurring.

 

[I Like Rare Fish]

Test water. Maybe treat with API General Cure. Symptoms are what; Lowering head, unmoving, laying at the bottom of the tank, not eating, red at the fins, white dots around him, etc. What is your water change schedule? With my 55 I do biweekly and even triweekly water changes normally of 80% with not very many fish in it. Daily should be no problemo.

 

[FloridaChick]

Test water. Maybe treat with API General Cure. Symptoms are what; Lowering head, unmoving, laying at the bottom of the tank, not eating, red at the fins, white dots around him, etc. What is your water change schedule? With my 55 I do biweekly and even triweekly water changes normally of 80% with not very many fish in it. Daily should be no problemo.

I have been using methylene blue and seems to be helping. Been working on daily water changes but I tend to slack. I have 5 cats, a dog and a butterfly garden I care for daily on top of my miserable full time job ? #corporateslave

 

[PorshaF]

I find it easier for water changes if I make it in my routine, so I wake up about an hour earlier than I would if I didn't have the routine. But anyway, I have four 5 gallon tanks that I do 25% water change on everyday because I don't use a filter for theirs. I just do the water changes while my coffee is brewing, by the time I'm done with that the coffee is done and I can keep going with the rest of my morning. Maybe incorporating it as part of your morning or night routine will help you remember or set aside time for it without feeling like you're just doing another chore

 

[UnknownFishies]

Maybe incorporating it as part of your morning or night routine will help you remember or set aside time for it without feeling like you're just doing another chore

I actually find that maintaining my tank calms me.

 

[PorshaF]

I actually find that maintaining my tank calms me.

That's beneficial for you and your fish! ?

 

[UnknownFishies]

That's beneficial for you and your fish! ?

Yup!