Can Anyone Help Me With My Rescue Betta?

[Canadian Ginger]

So I'm a new member here, and I just got my first betta! I believe he is a veil tail, and he in my opinion is a beauty. To be honest, I had no intention of getting him on Thursday. I walked into PetSmart, eager to look at some puppies (and my boyfriend wanted to look into a snake) but I somehow ended up in that tiny section with the betta cups. That's where I saw him. He was in a cup barely half full, the water was dirty and cold to the touch. He had tears in his fins and I knew he was most likely sick. But he was just so lively and was the only fish to react when I got near!


Underneath him they had the small betta kits for sale, so I bought a pretty kit and decided to take him home. The tank was small, actually only 1/2 gallon (shame on me!). However, I felt that anything was better than that horrible little cup they had him in. I took him up to the cash and they actually gave me a discount without me asking because they figure he's really sick and won't live long anyways!

When I got him home I knew nothing about bettas, so no doubt I made some mistakes when it came to adjusting him to his new home. The next day I was back at PetSmart, and ended up grabbing another tank that was a bit bigger, and had a lid. And that's where he is now. Jojo Chinto, my sick blue betta, now resides in a 2 gallon container beside my laptop where he swims around and gets excited as I enter the room.

I think he either has fin rot or simply has a torn tail, but I really feel bad for my little rescue betta, and I hope I can find a way to make him better, or to at least keep him reasonably happy until he goes.

So now to the real point of my post. Does anyone know what I can do to make him comfortable? This excludes buying a bigger tank! I know most people recommend at least a 5g for a betta, but I just don't have the room for one right now!

I use water conditioner whenever I change the water. I don't have a heater unfortunately (i wasn't sure if they make them for 2 gallon tanks!), and I of course don't have a filter. I feed him flakes, and I bought some dried bloodworms (but he doesn't seem to like the worms). Also, is aquarium salt a good thing for him?

Is there a cure for what I think is finrot, or a torn up tail?

Sorry for the long post! I just wanted to introduce Jojo Chinto (don't laugh!) and see if I can help him. Maybe he isn't meant to survive, after being stuck in such poor conditions at the petstore for so long, but I'd like to give it a try nonetheless!

 

[Loops]

Hi and welcome, I bet he is alot happier with you! well done, you will love owning a Betta, they are great little chracters! Mine is a loon

You definately need to get him a heater, unless your home is very warm, I am sure there will be one for a 2g. If he is poorly the heat helps, plus it should be heated anyway.

Is he feeding ok? what are you feeding him?

As you have not cycled the tank, then I am sure they recommend to change the water twice a week, about 50%, someone will confirm this whenever in doubt, waterchange, waterchange, waterchange! nice clean water helps so much, helped my Lotus so much when he had popeye

Would be nice to see some pics of him

You need to read this, will help you

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/32461-betta-basics-and-care/

 

[ReMz]

Welcome to the forums. I commend you on doing some research prior to posting and having a general concern for your betta.

Jojo Chinto, my sick blue betta, now resides in a 2 gallon container beside my laptop where he swims around and gets excited as I enter the room.

Great job doing the initial research and realizing he needed a larger tank. After all, bettas are a tropical fish with the same requirements as any other tropical fish - with the exception of being able to breathe surface air and known for being extremely resilient. The more space the better (and that is the difference between an'existing' betta and a thriving/healthy betta). For reference, I have kept a single betta in a planted 10g... although certainly not necessary. Kudos to you for taking the first step and not blindly posting "HELP I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IM DOING!".

I think he either has fin rot or simply has a torn tail, but I really feel bad for my little rescue betta, and I hope I can find a way to make him better, or to at least keep him reasonably happy until he goes.

Is there a cure for what I think is finrot, or a torn up tail?

Fin rot can be identified fairly easily in most cases. If there are fairly visible signs of clouding or 'white fraying' on the outer tears of the fins, it is likely fin rot. You can also insure proper diagnosis by looking to see if the tears look natural, or instead, "decayed". In most cases of betta cup rescues with badly torn fins, fin rot is a likely suspect.

Good news: if it is in fact fin rot, it is not lethal (unless very advanced) and can be treated. If tears reach to the body and you can spot any symptoms of actual fin rot, treatment is dire.

Frequent water changes and use of bettafix (melafix = more concentrated dosage and more $$ efficient) may be all that is needed with minor fin rot. An 'every couple of days' water change of 50% would be considered frequent. Much more would cause increasingly unstable water parameters and stress to your new buddy. Unfortunately, you do not have a filtered tank and cannot establish a proper cycle.... so a disciplined water changing regimen is necessary. Given you are a new fish keeper, ensure you are removing the betta from the tank and matching temperature in addition to conditioning the water (more on temperature later).

If fin rot seems more advanced, antibiotics are necessary. Fish suffer from bacteria diseases just like any other pet, and the only solution if their immune system is not up to par is to aid with meds.

Maracyn II dosed appropriately will wipe out quite a few fungal/bacterial infections safely (this includes fin rot). I've used it on sick bettas and several other tropical fish successfully multiple times. So, rest assured I am not just regurgitating others' opinions. This should be used in moderate doses over 7 days with water changes every 2 days (not 3 or 4 days total like the package recommends if i remember correctly).

So now to the real point of my post. Does anyone know what I can do to make him comfortable? This excludes buying a bigger tank! I know most people recommend at least a 5g for a betta, but I just don't have the room for one right now!

You are right in knowing a bigger tank is always a better option... However, bettas can live perfectly happy lives in a 2g tank, EVEN unfiltered. Just need a couple water changes a week ideally.

I don't have a heater unfortunately (i wasn't sure if they make them for 2 gallon tanks!), and I of course don't have a filter.

You can in fact get a heater for a tank that size. I used to have a small heater that looked like a flat reptile heating pad for a 1g tank a while ago. Unfortunately I have no idea as tot he brand or name of the product.

More importantly, forget the heater and go buy a thermometer ASAP (cheap). You mentioned he is next to your laptop, so there may be some radiant heat. You want your betta between 72-82 degrees (more around 76-78), but temperature swings are much more detrimental than a constant temp that is a bit lower than suggested. Get a thermometer and check out the temp throughout the day/evening. If you are getting large temp swings or the tank is in the low 70's or colder, you need to find more stable area.

Keep in mind this is a tropical fish and bettas require a tropical climate. Proper temperature control will aid in the health of your betta and ultimately lead to a faster, more successful recovery.

I feed him flakes, and I bought some dried bloodworms (but he doesn't seem to like the worms). Also, is aquarium salt a good thing for him?

No flake and no freeze dried bloodworms (for now). You need to be regulating his diet with pellets. I HIGHLY recommend Hikari Betta Bio Gold. High quality, wont cloud water, wont sink. 6-8 pellets per day. flake food is harder to regulate and will cloud the water. Pellets are the recommended food type for bettas.

I've used aquarium salt with "shmeh" conclusions. I vote don't waste ur money. not needed.




Hope that helps! I know that was a lot of info.
-ReMz

 

[Canadian Ginger]

Hi and welcome, I bet he is alot happier with you! well done, you will love owning a Betta, they are great little chracters! Mine is a loon

You definately need to get him a heater, unless your home is very warm, I am sure there will be one for a 2g. If he is poorly the heat helps, plus it should be heated anyway.

Is he feeding ok? what are you feeding him?

As you have not cycled the tank, then I am sure they recommend to change the water twice a week, about 50%, someone will confirm this whenever in doubt, waterchange, waterchange, waterchange! nice clean water helps so much, helped my Lotus so much when he had popeye

Would be nice to see some pics of him

You need to read this, will help you

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/32461-betta-basics-and-care/

Yeah I figured he would need frequent water changes, so I've just be doing it at about 50% every two days because I read somewhere that a 100% change will stress him out too much.

I've been feeding him the flakes that came with the kit, and he eats them, but it definitely clouds the water up so I'm going to try out pellets instead.

I've got a few pictures, but no time to post them right now. I'll definitely get them up tonight though!

Thanks for the help!

 

[Assaye]

I'm glad you upgraded the tank. You need to keep an open mind to tank upgrades and as soon as you have the money, I would grab him a 5 gallon. It'll be easier for you to maintain and nicer for him to live in as you can put more plants and caves into it. 5 gallons are still pretty small and I have no doubt that you could find space for one. Your 2 gallon will be fine for now, though.

Some basics he needs now:

Heated tank - 76-82F is good range bettas. You need to find a way of keeping the temperature stable and so an internal aquarium heater is what we would always recommend. Just letting the room heat the tank usually means the temperature goes up and down all the time, which wil stress the fish and might even make him sick.

Filtered tank OR lots of water changes - a filter means that physical particles of waste get sucked up, which makes the water look cleaner. This isn't the real magic, though. The real magic is that in the filter you get some very special bacteria growing that will remove some very nasty waste chemicals from the tank. You can't see or smell these chemicals but they are toxic enough to kill fish. It takes around a month for these bacteria to grow (this is called the "cycle"), however, so even if you get a filter you'll need to act as though you don't have one for several weeks. In terms of water changes in unfiltered or uncycled tanks, I would be doing them every day in a 2 gallon. I have a 3 imperial gallon tank as a hospital tank and I need to do water changes every other day to keep it free of these nasty waste chemicals. In a tiny 2 gallon, please do at least 50% a day and then 100% twice a week, as an absolute minimum. Once your filter bacteria are properly grown (assuming you get a filter), you'll only need to do 25% a week water changes.

Live plants - plants provide essential hiding spaces, oxygenate the water and help remove some of the waste chemicals in the tank. Bettas come from very heavily planted habitats and it is important to make them feel comfortable. If you don't want live, try silk plants. The betta won't notice the difference, although they won't do the extras that live plants do. Plastics tend to tear their delicate fins.

A cave - somewhere to hide and feel safe. Everyone needs some alone time, even fish.

Proper food - many 'normal' flake and freeze dried foods increase the chances of them getting constipated (which can be fatal is un-successfuly treated) and don't have the right nutrients. You would be best off getting a dedicated betta pellet food (such as Atison's Betta food or Hikari Betta Bio Gold - these are cheap and easy to find in shops or on Ebay). You'd want to feed 4 pellets a day - 2 in the monring, 2 in the evening. If you want to feed bloodworm, feeding live or frozen would be best I feel. Others feed freeze dried with success but if you want to do that, I'd suggest feeding a bit of cooked (and de-shelled) pea the day after and then giving them a starve day. A bit of pea is great as a once a week or once every two weeks thing anyway.

So, with clean water, a warm tank and good food, your little man should do very well. Try to get him a decent sized tank when you can - it takes less time for nasty stuff the build up, gives him more space for exercise and stimulation and looks a lot better.

Something that you should get are test kits. Liquid test kits for ammonia and nitrite. These are the nasty chemicals I keep talking about. They build up fast, cause damage even at tiny concentrations and kill at higher concentrations. You need to know how fast they are building up so that you can do water changes to lower the levels in the tank. If you get a filter and "cycle" your tank, you shouldn't need to worry about these after the few couple of months but even experienced fish keepers have trouble with their tanks. These are essential in any fish first-aid kit and will make the difference between your fish healing and thriving or getting worse and dying. While your tank is unfiltered or uncycled, you want to start testing for ammonia twice a day (without doing water changes and while feeding normally). As soon as you get a reading of ammonia, change the water (do 75%). If it took 3.5 days for the ammonia to reach detectable levels, make sure you do water changes every 2.5-3 days. If it took 2 days, make sure you do water changes every 1-1.5 days, etc. Just to make sure you keep the tank clean.

Check out this link for information on how to cycle tanks and how to manage a new aquarium:

Beginners Resource Centre

 

[Canadian Ginger]

Thanks for much for the great replies! I am planning on going out and getting a bigger tank in the near future, but I need to get rid of some other furniture first. Do you think a 10 gallon would be too big for him? The way I figure it, I can put quite a bit of plants and little caves for him to hide in if I grab a bigger tank, and I could try and make it a community tank once he's better.

I'm just on my way out the door to grab some testing kits and betta bites, also on the hunt for a small heater. Hopefully I can find this stuff all tonight. Again, thank you for the help!

 

[ReMz]

Thanks for much for the great replies! I am planning on going out and getting a bigger tank in the near future, but I need to get rid of some other furniture first. Do you think a 10 gallon would be too big for him? The way I figure it, I can put quite a bit of plants and little caves for him to hide in if I grab a bigger tank, and I could try and make it a community tank once he's better.

I'm just on my way out the door to grab some testing kits and betta bites, also on the hunt for a small heater. Hopefully I can find this stuff all tonight. Again, thank you for the help!

A 10 gallon tank is like a betta palace . Your betta will swim around and have a blast. The only concern is getting a filter that has very little current.

This was one of my old 10g betta tanks... it is now overrun with plants and needs a bit of trimming :

 

[nessar]

Thought you might be interested in this link, its how to make a simple filter yourself and its flow isnt very strong (good for bettas). You need an airpump, but they're pretty cheap. Might want to get an airpump with adjustable flow so you can turn it down to stop it making a bit of a current if your betta doesnt like it, although ive heard some are fine with a current
here's the link
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/85297-super-simple-5-minute-sponge-filter/
If you go to the bottom of page 4 theres a diagram telling you how it all works, its a bit complicated to grasp but read the whole thread because lots of people asked questions and it should make things clearer
5g tanks really arent that big, and I dont know about America/Canada (I assume from you having a petsmart and bettas in CUPS) but here in England they sell them for £20 in Pets At Home, complete with filter and air pump. You might be able to get a similar deal out there, try the childrens starter tank section.
See if you can take the tank you got on the first day back and save some money.

 

[Assaye]

10 gallons would be wonderful!

You would need to be careful about what fish you put with him - bettas can be aggressive and many fish are also known to find their fins an irresistible snack! Good tank mates for a 10 gallon would be dwarf/pygmy corys (regular corys need more room), otocinclus (tanks over 3 months only), snails (apple and nerite snails are pretty) amd shrimp.

A sponge filter is a fantastic method of biological filtration and produces very little current. You can also baffle a normal filter by putting a bit of "aquarium safe" plastic or sponge in front of the outlet. I run normal filters in all my betta tanks and never had a problem.

Did you find your heater and other supplies?

 

[Big_eyes]

Might want to get an airpump with adjustable flow so you can turn it down to stop it making a bit of a current if your betta doesnt like it

Or just work some magic with an elastic band and a bend in the tube

 

[Canadian Ginger]

Well, I had no luck with the heater, but I managed to pick up some other stuff. I got some pellets, a thermometer, various medecines and some aquarium salt (and all of it was a lot cheaper than I expected!). I'm also looking into some bigger tanks, though I'm hoping to get one that comes with a filter and heater. When I get it I'll still hold onto my old tanks as sick tanks, just in case. You never know when you'll need them again! (Like grabbing more sick fish from the petstore...)

Today Jojo started making his first bubble nest! I'm hoping this is a good sign that he is doing well.

Also, the thermometer is showing a steady temperature of 74, and that's without a tank heater. The desk he is on is right in between my laptop (which is always on), a lamp and my radiator, so I'm thinking that is helping the heating situation out.

I'm attempting to get some pictures of him now with my horrible camera.

 

[Canadian Ginger]

Well, I had no luck with the heater, but I managed to pick up some other stuff. I got some pellets, a thermometer, various medecines and some aquarium salt (and all of it was a lot cheaper than I expected!). I'm also looking into some bigger tanks, though I'm hoping to get one that comes with a filter and heater. When I get it I'll still hold onto my old tanks as sick tanks, just in case. You never know when you'll need them again! (Like grabbing more sick fish from the petstore...)

Today Jojo started making his first bubble nest! I'm hoping this is a good sign that he is doing well.

Also, the thermometer is showing a steady temperature of 74, and that's without a tank heater. The desk he is on is right in between my laptop (which is always on), a lamp and my radiator, so I'm thinking that is helping the heating situation out.

I'm attempting to get some pictures of him now with my horrible camera.

This is one I took the day I made my post, where his tail is all split up (and he's flared up).

 

[loraxchick]

74 isnt ideal but could be sorse. could you wrap a towel around 3 sides of the tank. might help ot hold some heat in. also his damage isnt too bad. it should grow back nicely with time.
if in the US go to a walmart. they sell 25 watt heaters for around 15. put up an ad on craigslist looking for a 5 gal tank. with an airpump you can always make your own filter in the future, so keep that in mind in "emergency" situations (you seemed liek you will be getting another fish someday
he is a very nice solid blue. CUTE! and bubblenesting is a good sign.
all the best
cheers

 

[Canadian Ginger]

74 isnt ideal but could be sorse. could you wrap a towel around 3 sides of the tank. might help ot hold some heat in. also his damage isnt too bad. it should grow back nicely with time.
if in the US go to a walmart. they sell 25 watt heaters for around 15. put up an ad on craigslist looking for a 5 gal tank. with an airpump you can always make your own filter in the future, so keep that in mind in "emergency" situations (you seemed liek you will be getting another fish someday
he is a very nice solid blue. CUTE! and bubblenesting is a good sign.
all the best
cheers

I live in Canada, and I checked out the Walmart today which is where I got my other stuff. They only had 50W & 100W heaters and said they were for 2-15 gallon tanks (yeah right! My poor fish would fry!). I'm going to run to PetSmart and see about smaller heaters tomorrow. Thanks for the advice!

 

[ReMz]

he's not in any major case of fin rot (if at all). You have obviously done a bit of research and you are doing all the right things.

74 is ok as long as it is consistent. better to have a heater regulating the temp but nothing wrong with a constant laptop heater . His fins will grow back in no time with consistent water changes.

Would like to see a new topic with some pics of Jojo. Veil Tails ROCK ... more so when they are nurtured back to health.