I think my betta is dying?

[FalkorTheBetta]

Ok I got the methylene blue. Which should I do, the dip with 50 ppm of it or the one where he stays in it longer with 3 ppm? If I do the longer one then how long should I do it for? It would be in a 1 gallon so if it is longer than a day how should I do water changes and keep the ppm consistantly (if I even should while doing this treatment)? Also you said to put in an air stone but i'm not sure ill be able to get that today. Is it dire to have it with him from the beginning? And if so, do you have any recommendations for what to use?

 

[Colin_T]

You never use dips for fish because it doesn't do squat. You end up stressing the fish out by catching it and dumping it in chemicals.

You use a separate container, fill it with tank water, add an air stone and the medication and leave the fish in it until the problem is fixed. Change all the water every day and replace it with clean dechlorinated water and redose with medication.

Continue with the 100% daily water changes and retreating the tank until the fish has been cured or for a maximum period of 2 weeks. If there is no improvement after 1 week the medication isn't doing anything to help and should be discontinued.

 

[FalkorTheBetta]

Ok I got it all set up and was actually able to get an air stone but the flow is wayyyy too much for the one gallon. I got the 5 gallon air pump because that was the smallest that the store had but its literally spinning my fish around. Should I periodically just turn it on for a second or two to allow a bit of circulation or is there a way to change the flow that I'm not seeing?

 

[Colin_T]

loosen the screw on the side of the pump or put a T-piece and tap in the airline and bleed some of the air off so less air goes into the tank.

 

[FalkorTheBetta]

I tried loosening the screw but it didn't do anything so I literally took it apart to see if that would do something and nothing changed. Is what I did what you meant for me to do with your first recommendation? Sorry i'm not very handy

 

[Colin_T]

Put the cover back on the pump.

Most air pumps have a small screw on the side and you can loosen that a little bit to reduce air pressure. If the pump does not have a screw in the side then you need to get a T-piece and tap from the petshop.

You cut the airline about 4 inches away from the pump and fit the T-piece into the airline.
You put a short length (2 inches) of airline in the 3rd piece of the T-piece and attach the plastic tap to that third bit of airline. Put a bit more airline (about 12 inches) on the end of the tap.

You open the tap a bit and air will come out and reduce the amount of air going into the tank.

 

[FalkorTheBetta]

Ok it doesn't have the screw. I was just thinking though... Could I just poke a small hole into the tubing? Do you think that would work? Cause then I could pretty much personalize the flow right?

 

[FishGuest5123]

The T valve that Colin is as referring to is only a couple of dollars. I would go with that.

 

[Colin_T]

Yes you can poke small holes in the airline if you can't get a T-piece and tap. Put the holes near the aquarium end of the airline so the main length of airline doesn't have any holes.

 

[FalkorTheBetta]

Ok he has stopped eating. He hasnt eaten in at least 3 days. I even put the blood worms on his nose and he like started to get it in his mouth from just him breathing but when he realized, he would spit it out and turn around. Is there a way I can like force feed him or something cause hes looking really skinny. I found out that my lfs has live brine shrimp, would that be worth a try; like do you think it would spark his interest to see something moving? Or should I just wait until he feels he is ready to eat?

 

[Colin_T]

You can't force feed fish.

If the pet shop has live brineshrimp, then get a small serving and try them. If he eats that is good but if he ignores the food, then he is dying and should be euthanized.

 

[FalkorTheBetta]

But why is he dying?! I feel like ive tried everything and nothing is working!

 

[FishGuest5123]

Sadly, sometimes we can’t figure it out and they can’t tell us. If the brine shrimp doesn’t work then I agree with Colin that it’s time to euthanize him. It’s quick and painless with Clove oil. Don’t let him suffer.

 

[FalkorTheBetta]

OH MY GOD HE ATE ONE!!!