Help~

[EuN_TeK]

My friend's beta is very sick... and we're not sure what to do. There seems to be some fin/tail damage, probably due to tail rot. Also, there are fairly large open wounds and we're not sure where they could have come from; the scales are missing and you can see the white flesh. On top of all that, he refuses to eat and floats around the top of the bowl all day long. We got some antibacterial medication and aquarium salt, mixed the medicine with a gallon of bottled drinking water and recently started replacing half of the water in the bowl with this mixture on a daily basis. Is there anything else we could do? The fish has jumped out into the sink several times while my friend was changing the water, but these wounds and damaged fins weren't from these accidents. Could these events have caused enough stress on the fish to cause him to catch some kind of disease? Can anyone diagnose this beta if indeed it is a disease. Here are some pictures but they are kind of bad quality. I will take some better ones later and post them up. Someone please help! She really loves this beta and I'd hate to see anything bad happen to him...

 

[fish_fetish65]

*winces* that's some serious damage there. if you're sure the white stuff on him isn't a fungus, my next best guess would be parasites. i don't know that i would put him in purified water, as i have heard it is actually worse for them than tap water. either way, though, he doesn't look good. i hate to say it, but you may need to take more drastic measures if he doesn't start improving soon. try feeding him peas or bloodworms- something besides his normal food, and see if he'll eat that.

he should also really be in a much larger container. that vase is far too small for a betta of his size. try to convince your friend to pick up a 2-3 gallon tank for him. i guarantee he will be much happier in there, and less stressed out- though i wouldn't move him anywhere unless he starts to improve first.

sorry i can't be of more help.

edit: try melafix. it treats a wide variety of diseases/infections. also look around for parasite info and see if it fits his symptoms at all.

 

[Betta_Lovex3]

Ouch, poor little guy. I agree on a bigger tank, melafix, and all the above said. It sort of even looks a bit like body rot.. . I hope you can get him treated, but with damage that extensive, maybe it would be more humane to euthanize him.

 

[EuN_TeK]

thank you for replying so quickly... i'll try to see what i can do about the container size but only after he shows improvement as you have advised. i'm pretty sure the white stuff isn't a fungus because it really looks like the flesh has been somewhat torn? ugh i feel so bad... wish there was something i could do to quickly improve his health. my friend actually attends college in the midwest but lives out in the westcoast and so is extremely worried about her fish since she can't see him at the moment. her sister and some of her other friends have been taking care of this fish but she called me and asked me to take a look at him and this is what i came across.

about the euthanasia... i don't know how my friend would react to the idea... i'd have to ask her what she thinks about that...

 

[fish_fetish65]

thank you for replying so quickly... i'll try to see what i can do about the container size but only after he shows improvement as you have advised. i'm pretty sure the white stuff isn't a fungus because it really looks like the flesh has been somewhat torn? ugh i feel so bad... wish there was something i could do to quickly improve his health. my friend actually attends college in the midwest but lives out in the westcoast and so is extremely worried about her fish since she can't see him at the moment. her sister and some of her other friends have been taking care of this fish but she called me and asked me to take a look at him and this is what i came across.

about the euthanasia... i don't know how my friend would react to the idea... i'd have to ask her what she thinks about that...

as far as euthanasia goes, you can put him into a mixture of baking soda and water- a painless and quick way to die. i believe there is also another way involving mineral oil...? but i'm not exactly sure of that one. since you don't feel he's stable enough to move (have you been taking him out for water changes?) you ought to top off that vase with a little more water to give him some extra room. make sure to add some stress coat or water conditioner as well.

though, if everything else fails, i would try a bigger container as a last resort before euthanasia.

 

[_cRaCkEr_]

If you don't have IAL then what you want to do is ........ don't put him in a huge tank that tank is already fine and remove those pebbles then add some salt (non iodized) you can add melafix then don't feed him for 3 days and do 30% water change everyday.

 

[bUcky]

i agree with cracker

 

[EuN_TeK]

If you don't have IAL then what you want to do is ........ don't put him in a huge tank that tank is already fine and remove those pebbles then add some salt (non iodized) you can add melafix then don't feed him for 3 days and do 30% water change everyday.

thanks for the advice... i'll try that and lets hope for a miracle...
and here are some new pictures...

 

[fish_fetish65]

oh dear... he looks like he's disappearing into thin air. quite scary.
that really is a horrific disease, whatever he has. it's ripping him up...

 

[EuN_TeK]

oh dear... he looks like he's disappearing into thin air. quite scary.
that really is a horrific disease, whatever he has. it's ripping him up...

yea its scaring me too. i called my friend and gave her her options. she was so scared that maybe her betta had died when i called her. i feel so bad for her and her betta. i really hope he gets better. she doesn't want him to suffer, but doesn't want to euthanize him yet. so i just changed the water, added aquarium salt and melafix. hopefully he'll get better soon. thanks for the help everyone.

 

[fish_fetish65]

oh dear... he looks like he's disappearing into thin air. quite scary.
that really is a horrific disease, whatever he has. it's ripping him up...

yea its scaring me too. i called my friend and gave her her options. she was so scared that maybe her betta had died when i called her. i feel so bad for her and her betta. i really hope he gets better. she doesn't want him to suffer, but doesn't want to euthanize him yet. so i just changed the water, added aquarium salt and melafix. hopefully he'll get better soon. thanks for the help everyone.

no problem. make sure to give him ONLY the recommended dose of both, as more than that could kill him.

 

[EuN_TeK]

no problem. make sure to give him ONLY the recommended dose of both, as more than that could kill him.

the owners sister made a 1 gallon mixture of the aquarium salt and melafix with the recommended dosages and i just used that along with some conditioned water so it should be fine. thanks

 

[fish_fetish65]

alright... well, i guess all we can do now is hope. did you try giving him some mushed peas? he might eat them...

anyhow, keep us updated on his progress. my thoughts are with him and his owner... and you, the poor fish-sitter, of course.

 

[liz2]

that is one poorly fish...how long have you or your friend had him? If he is still alive I would put a plain towel or similar round the bowl to try to keep him calm and in the dark this sometimes helps I have found. Also it stops the owner continually looking at them which helps neither the fish nor the owner. If you have used meds and clean water all you can do is hope.

 

[_cRaCkEr_]

It's not really a huge damage on your friend's fish and euthanasia is not the answer. You can definitely cure him.