Heavy Breathing Betta

[The Lumpfish Guy]

No, No, No. I have healthy tanks and never share hoses or tools between them, each tank has its own tool kit.

I once infected my tanks with ICH because I used the same tools on all the tanks. Never again.

I see your point, but have to disagree, you are never going to have a completely sterile tank, there is always going to be some bacteria (viruses, parasites) in which you don't want. So to really prevent diseases you need to reduce stress on the animals, eg keeping at the right temp, lighting conditions, salinity, providing the right nutrition ect. That makes for a healthy immune system which can prevent infections taking hold. Rather than an impossible task of preventing the bacteria (virus, parasite) from being in the water.
This is a for more effective way of preventing diseases than buying a net for each tank that you have running. Especially in Established systems.

Obviously bringing new fish in it's a good idea to quarantine, and have separate quarantine equipment.

 

[NickAu]

you are never going to have a completely sterile tank,

Completely sterile? No, but I can sure as hell prevent cross contamination, and with a sick fish thats important.

But hey, you think what you like.

 

[The Lumpfish Guy]

Completely sterile? No, but I can sure as hell prevent cross contamination, and with a sick fish thats important.

But hey, you think what you like.

I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to put down your method of fish keeping, That's the last thing I wanted to do.

I can completely see the reasoning behind the way that you do it, and It does make sense. I was merely attempting to say that there was also a perfectly valid argument for Coin_T's recommendations as well.

We all have different experiences and that's not a bad thing.

 

[TotallyTropical]

Well, uh, hey, on the brighter side of things, day 2 and James is up and moving! (yes, I gave him a name. James Pond, Goldeneye, 007, thought it would fit)
He’s very active today, and other than taking weird breaks near the surface and still refusing to eat bloodworms OR pellets (just tried one to see if he’d even eat anything), he looks like he’s back to normal! I’ll give him a few more days, but I want to get him eating tomorrow.
I’ll do a 100% water change today in case things are not going well cycle-wise, and I’ll use conditioned tap water. Not because of this whole argument ending up with me picking sides, but because it was what I was going to do in the first place.
Sorry to cause an argument on here, but I can see both sides. There are going to pathogens present in the aquarium no matter what you do, and it all depends on whether or not your fish is healthy enough for them to fight off infection. Transferring this water to a tank with a fish who is already suffering from an ailment may not be the best decision as it is easier for them to get sick from whatever is already present in the other tank’s water. It’s as simple as that.

 

[NickAu]

I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to put down your method of fish keeping, That's the last thing I wanted to do.

You didn't its ok I understand.

 

[CometBetta]

To answer your first question about his gasping... it could be the change in water parameters, like for example, a difference in ph.. did you acclimate him? Or drip acclimate some of the new tank water into the old cup it’s in? That could be it. Or perhaps he’s not getting enough oxygen so if the filter isn’t creating a lot of surface tension perhaps get one that makes a little more surface tension to get some oxygen going.

 

[TotallyTropical]

I have another issue.
James seems just about ready to go back to the store, but he has trouble eating. I don't know how to put it... It's almost like his mouth is too small? But he also lunges like 5 times at the same pellet within a few seconds before swimming away and doing the same thing to get some air and leaving in a huff. The pellets are tiny (Hikari Betta Bio Gold; I have some Northfin pellets but I wanted to use the Hikari up first), but he still can't eat them. I crushed them up to see if that would help and he eats the pellet powder normally, though it makes a mess. He doesn't recognize anything else as food either, although he might like betta flakes. I don't like feeding flakes anymore though, I understand why they're not the best choice. Any ideas?

 

[Colin_T]

He is not ready to go back to the shop until he has been eating well for at least 2 weeks and preferably 4 weeks. Fish need time to recover from whatever ailment they had and if he isn't eating properly, he is nowhere near ready to be moved anywhere.

Think of it as a human that has had a sickness and not eaten for a week and are in hospital. They are not ready to go back to work and most hospitals would keep them in a hospital bed until they were eating well and their wounds/ injuries had healed. Then they would be told to go home and rest for several weeks to recover.

Your fish is at the point of starting to recover and showing some interest in food but is far from healed.

Try frozen (but defrosted) foods each day. Use different foods each day and try to get him eating. Once he gets a good meal in his stomach, he will get some nutrients and recover faster. If he has trouble with big bits of frozen food, cut it up so its smaller. Offer him food several times a day and remove uneaten food after 5 minutes and do a big water change to remove any ammonia.

 

[TotallyTropical]

As I said, he's not accepting any other foods. I can try brine shrimp again, but he doesn't recognize bloodworms as food at the moment. Those are the only two frozen foods I have on hand, but I was thinking of blanching a pea or two later and trying that to see if 1, he'd eat it, and 2, it would help more with his swim bladder issue. Otherwise, I'm not sure what else he will eat.

 

[TotallyTropical]

To answer your first question about his gasping... it could be the change in water parameters, like for example, a difference in ph.. did you acclimate him? Or drip acclimate some of the new tank water into the old cup it’s in? That could be it. Or perhaps he’s not getting enough oxygen so if the filter isn’t creating a lot of surface tension perhaps get one that makes a little more surface tension to get some oxygen going.

Ah, thanks very much for the reply!
I can't do much about the filter because he's in such a small tank right now, but it's only temporary and much of an improvement to the cup he was in, at least in my opinion. He also has trouble getting air as is, so I'm worried that more surface tension might make it difficult for him to get air. His breathing is better though, and he's making bigger and bigger steps every day! I'll keep on top of the water changes for now to ensure he's feeling alright.
Edit: I did acclimate him! Missed that part, sorry!

 

[NickAu]

Regardless of any uninformed opinions by some members on this site peas will not help with swim bladder issues.

Epsom salt baths can help.

 

[TotallyTropical]

Okay, got it, no peas. I’ll try an epsom salt bath maybe on Tuesday? I don’t want to do it tomorrow because I’m already doing his water change then. Don’t want to stress him out too much.
And much to my surprise, Northfin pellets are smaller than my other pellets, so he managed to get one or two of those down. I’ll keep trying, but obviously I won’t overfeed him. Hopefully I’ll be back with a good update.

 

[NickAu]

Do not try epsom salt baths without instructions and in this case it may not be needed, any chance of a photo of the fish first?

I need to see a side on photo showing his belly.

 

[TotallyTropical]

It’s hard to get a good picture of him, but I’ve attached 2 of what I can get. His belly isn’t distended or anything, but his swimming is still off.
And I’ve read up on epsom salt baths before, but I’ll certainly do a refresher by looking on here before I attempt anything ( if I even need to), I promise.

 

[NickAu]

Ok he looks fine I cant see any swelling or the need for a epsom salt dip.

He has huge fins, is he a Rose/feathertail? These guys need extra care because of the fins, Lots and I mean lots of plants including floating plants are needed for him to rest on.

This is my Rose tail.
https://imgur.com/fl9AIAF