Internal Bacteria?

[OohFeeshy]

OK, I'm pretty sure Hannibals got internal bacteria. His fins have got clear bits in them (although this might be to do with him swimming into the filter....) and now he's listless. He was fine until I did a water change yesterday (could this have something to do with it?), but now hes resting against the plants and only coming up for air occasionally. The trouble is, I won't be able to get meds until Monday at the earliest. I've got salt and BettaFake in there, what else can I do? The heater is right up, but is rubbish so I cant do much about that. Water params are 0a,0ite, don't know -ate but won't be much, if any.

 

[Kiarra]

The clear bits in his fins sounds more like fins repairing themselves. When he had his incident with the filter, did it tear his fins? If so, are the clear bits present where his fins were torn?

This may sound like a very stupid question, but did you remember ABSOLUTELY to add Dechlor? I've heard of fish behaving in that manner after a water change due to lack of Dechlor in the water.

Perhaps change his water again, and be sure to add Dechlor, and see if that does any good at all.

 

[OohFeeshy]

I did add dechlor, but I'll do another water change with warmer water and leave out the finrot meds (I know that won't have caused it, but it says not to use with int. bac meds). As for the filter, he keeps swimming under it and getting stuck. He has to do a lot of struggling to get out. I guessed it was repairing, but I've heard ragged fins can be a sign of internal bacteria.

 

[Kiarra]

If the filter is so strong that it sucks him in, then that's probably why he's behaving so listlessly. Imagine being in a very strong wind with a long, trailing piece of clothing on. It's a lot easier to stay in place than to go against the wind, and, eventually, you get pretty tired of doing even that. It's possible that the filter just has him stressed out, and he doesn't want to fight it. Or perhaps the filter has him worn out, and he's too tired right now to swim any more than he has to for air.

 

[OohFeeshy]

Its not actually that strong. Its turned as far down as it will go without turning it off completely and he only gets sucked in when he swims underneath it. How long can they go without food? He had plenty to eat yesterday so should be fine until I can get some meds, I think.

 

[Kiarra]

They can go a LONG time without food, so don't worry about him on that account. I've had fish go almost two weeks without food without suffering any real ill effects.

 

[OohFeeshy]

My main point is- Do you think he'll be OK until Monday? I didn't want to get out of bed this morning in case he was dead ( ).

 

[Kiarra]

I don't know if he has internal bacteria or not, but, if he were my fish, I'd shut off the filter for a few hours and see if that perks him up at all.

 

[BettaMomma]

Beware of filters.
I don't know if you are familiar with what happened to my betta, but he went into a tank with a filter and he truly hated it. It eventually made him horribly sick.

BUT... in my case, i'm pretty sure it was because I had moved him from a tank with no filter to one with a strong filter.

I would say that I'd try giving him a break from the filter too, to see if that makes him more active.

AND... I was also wondering about the dechlor too - are you sure you put it in?

 

[AlexsDaddy]

If the filter is set as low as it can go and still sucking him in, get brand new nylon stockings, rince it really good under hot water, then cut a piece of it off and put it around the filter intake and secure it with a rubber band. That'll prevent him getting his fins sucked in. He might still get stuck to it, but at least it will protect his fins. Good luck with him!

 

[OohFeeshy]

Well, I'm happy to say he's a lot better today. He's actually swimming around. I did another water change, with warmer water, and made sure to put the dechlor in and stir it in thouroughly. I also put salt in, and dissolved that. I'm still sure I put dechlor in, I picked up the bottle and squeezed roughly the amount in (I couldn't find a spoon, but it was more than enough), then walked over and did my 18g. But, he is a lot better, as I said.

 

[Kiarra]

Good to know he's starting to feel better!

Do you add Dechlor to the tank AFTER adding the new water? I'm curious, because I do just the opposite...I never put any water in that hasn't been dechlorinated first.