Dire Straits For Betta?!

[jimdandy]

I've done extensive research online but I'm not really sure on anything...

Here are the symptoms:

He's breathing VERY heavily...it looks really bad...i don't know what to do...

Fish won't eat...doesn't make bubbles (he's not happy I guess...), Infact he only stays at the bottom of the tank...sometimes just touching the bottom with the smooth colored marble rock thing...other times he's laying on them at verying degrees. The worst its been is about a 50-60 degree angle. He flaps is uh side fins really fast when hes at the bottom but he goes nowhere.

He only comes up for air....I've just started a treatment of Splendid Betta BettaFix Remedy.....its been a few hours and no change yet...I've also added about a 1/4 teaspoon of table salt. Im thinking about getting Maracyn or Maracyn Two to treat him...but I don't know what exactly is wrong.

The fins...there are stringy looking cotton like stands...the fins themselves look wilted

he looks pale... i cant tell if his skin is too copper or anything...he is red/blue...



It could be constipation...but then whats with the breathing?

Fin/Tail Rot, Gill Disease, Dropsy, and more likely Columnaris (or Body Fungus) could also be the cause

is this just being unhappy and a stomach ache or badly re-adjusting to a new setting? or something really serious? Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated...



Additional Information:

Tank Size: 1 Gallon

-It was a while since I changed the water. instead of every few days or week like has been working well with the fish it was 2 weeks i think, I was absent from caring for it for a few days as well. When I changed the water I let it sit for a few hours instead of a day or two...he wasnt looking good so I put him in there right away (in retrospect dumb move). I treat the water normally with Betta Ultimate water conditioner. The tank looks completely clean...

-The water was kept at low 60s though since today when this all started I've moved a lamp with some strong wattage lightbulbs and turned 2 of the lights on it on the stand the tank is on...it seems to heat up the water a bit....Should I not do this? I have to turn the lamp off sometimes and I'm worried if the water temperature keeps fluctuating it will cause more harm that having the water at a colder temperature only.

-its a one gallon tank so i dont really know how to heat it...ive heard place a zip locked bag of warm water in it.....there aren't really too many heaters or none that ive found that are for anything smaller than a 10 gallon.

-I feed the fish Top Fin Betta Bits the instructions said for 3-4 twice daily but a friend who works at Petsmart said only once so thats what ive been doing...i haven't been underfeeding it have I? he's not the biggest betta ive seen but not the smallest either. Lately I may have been feeding him 5-8 pellets instead of 3-4 as in the last few days.


Please Help if you can tell me what to do...the little guy doesn't even have a name yet (because I couldn't think of a fitting one and things for me seem to last longer if they dont have names but if he makes it out of this one i wonder if lucky would be too cliche?)

Thank you in advance.

 

[Amunet]

Honestly it doesn't sound too good.

I would change his water again. Do a 50% water change right now. And then do another a few hours later.
You really need to warm that water up. Don't do it w/ the water change b/c the the extreme water temp change could cause him even more stress.
Bettas are tropical fish so their water should be between about 76-82F (give or take a few degrees). When the water gets colder they get lethargic.
Can you get your betta a larger tank? Something above 3gallons? Plastic storage bins work as well if you don't have the money for an actual tank. Then you could get yourself a good 25w heater w/ an adjustable dial that lets you set the temp. Walmart does sell those really small heaters that don't let you set anything. Some people use them and have no problems w/ them, but then others do have problems. *shrugs*
You could pick one up though, test it out first (don't forget a thermometer) and then use it in his tank if it works ok.


Is your betta bloated at all? You'd know if he had dropsy if you look at him from above and his scales are sticking out which will make him resemble a pinecone.
If he's just bloated w/ no pineconing, it could just be constipation. You could try feeding him a little bit of cooked (make sure it's not hot) pea, but since you said he's not eating, maybe an epson salt bath would help him poop. For a quick bath (15-30mins).. in a different container, fill up a gallon of water (I use lukewarm water since that's what my fish are in), dechlorinate it, dissolve a tablespoon of epson salt in it and put your betta into it.

You don't have to let the water sit if you use a water conditioner (dechlorinator). All you have to do is just put whatever the dose is into the replacement water and it pretty much treats it instantly.
A 2 week wait to do a water change in a 1 gallon is pretty bad. Bettas aren't messy fish, but in such a small tank, the ammonia is going to build up VERY quickly.


It wouldn't hurt to treat him with some maracyn 1 & 2, but make sure you dose it correctly.

As for the food... when I fed my bettas just pellets.. I fed them about 6-8 pellets a day. But that's only when they were fully grown. I feed them twice a day... 3-4 pellets when I wake, and 3-4 before lights out. In a gallon tank though, I'd go with a smaller amount. 4 pellets a day should be ok for your lil guy.

 

[jimdandy]

I know...its just that he was doing so well...and i left a while around mardi gras and he seemed okay...

I used water that was filterated a few times to put in his tank...so the water was very very clean. the temperature is the problem he could easily go a week without a water change because of the water i used for him...

if the water needs to be warmer...how do i keep it warmer in such a small tank? will the zip lock with warm water in it think work since hes staying at the bottom anyway? I can get a bigger tank...

I don't think its dropsy He's not bloated....but seems off balance

his fins and area around the mouth and gills aren't looking good though...

thanks again...

Edit:

I did the 50% water change...I noticed hes really yellow/copper and pale around the mouth and gills if you look at him from just the right angle...i forgot what disease that is a symptom for...ive been looking up information online that could help for quite a few hours now...

he swam around for a bit and then went right back down to the bottom to hover and lay down again...

hes still breathing badly...

how long should i keep changing the water every few hours for? and do i put in my water conditioner still while doing this?

I assumed yes for my current water change...

also should i keep putting my Splendid Betta ® BettaFix Remedy in or should i get a more specific medicine for a specific ailment? would Maracyn be the best thing to try or do i need something of a different strength?

 

[dusky]

Should it not be 100% pure sea salt or marine salt as normal table salt has addatives?

Send a message to Ibbledibble, she'll help you if no one gets back to you with help. Hope you don't lose him

 

[joycould]

Always use water conditioner. The first thing I do when a betta doesn't seem itself is raise the temperature to about 82 and add 1 teaspoon aquarium salt per gallon. Keeping the water super clean always helps. It probably ammonia related, usually it is from not changing the water enough. I have heard people actually having high ammonia reading out of the tap. The reason he is sitting at an angle could be 2 things I can think of one is swim bladder problems and the other is just weak.

 

[jimdandy]

well he wont eat anything so he'll stay weak...he only comes up for air and may swim and dart around a few times after that but then right back down... and how do i raise the temperature in a one gallon tank?...its hard to find a smaller than 50w heater...

I've been trying to keep th temperature pretty high in the room hes in. I don't mind it but i need a more efficient way to heat up.

I filter the water i put in with Brita filters that usually seems to take out a lot of stuff but i still put in the water conditioner.

Its been a day or so so far...wouldn't swim bladder be getting better by now?

 

[joycould]

If he is struggling to get to the surface to breath you can only fill his bowl 1/2 full so he isn't using all his energy to swim to breath. I have a 7 watt heater from wal mart and I also have a little heating pad type of heater that I got from petco. Neither one can be adjusted. Swim bladder can be from over eating but not always. Do you have any live food for him such as brine shrimp or blood worms? They are very high in protein and most fish will eat them. If you use freeze dried let them soak awhile in water before feeding them so they don't swell in the stomach and cause more problems. I get the frozen and feed my guys brine shrimp once a week.

 

[jimdandy]

okay I'm taking a bit of water out of his tank now. I don't have those things...where can i get blood worms or the shrimp live or frozen?

So...so far on my checklist today is:

-getting aquarium salt
-finding a heater of some kind
-finding live/frozen food

Thinking about getting:
-Maracyn or some other kind of medicine....but I'm not sure what he needs... hes still pretty pale and discolored around the gills and head (and also slightly copper/brownish in color) along with the heavy breathing and the not eating. Syptons havent changed except physically he looks worse and worse everyday.

 

[dusky]

okay I'm taking a bit of water out of his tank now. I don't have those things...where can i get blood worms or the shrimp live or frozen?

So...so far on my checklist today is:

-getting aquarium salt
-finding a heater of some kind
-finding live/frozen food

Thinking about getting:
-Maracyn or some other kind of medicine....but I'm not sure what he needs... hes still pretty pale and discolored around the gills and head (and also slightly copper/brownish in color) along with the heavy breathing and the not eating. Syptons havent changed except physically he looks worse and worse everyday.

Everywhere will be closed now if you are uk. Ive got some frozen worms and salt if you happen to be near me. Just used spare heater in new tank though. I'm in bournemouth.

 

[jimdandy]

thanks but I'm in the US. its still Morning here...

 

[dusky]

thanks but I'm in the US. its still Morning here...

Ohh goodie.. off you got to local Aquatic store then,, don't forget credit card

I do hope you get it sorted and don't lose him

 

[jimdandy]

Does it Sound like my fish has Velvet? I'm trying to determine what exactly is going on here so i can get the right medicine/treatment going.

 

[dusky]

Does it Sound like my fish has Velvet? I'm trying to determine what exactly is going on here so i can get the right medicine/treatment going.

I don't know why your not geting enough help on this one. Can you take some photos and then describe all the sypmtoms to the people in the store?

 

[jimdandy]

Not at the moment I'm trying to find a camera to borrow. I went to a petsmart yesterday and they weren't
too helpful...basically the lady in the fish section told me they only had one kind of medicine for bettas and not to worry about gettinganything else (which was really really bad advice).

I'm going to go to a locally owned and run store in a couple of hours for some reason on Sundays alot of them around here open up after lunchtime..weird....but anyways im gonna try and get the food and hopefully they have a small heater. he started moving around a little after i tried the plastic bag thing a few times in a row he started coming for air a little more often and will float just off the bottom of the tank at a 45 degree angle.

 

[joycould]

Velvet is very treatable. Use a flashlight and a darkened room to check for it, it will have a golden color instead of white like ick. Usually a fish will rub itself against something.