one last post - advice is appreciated

[Sunnyfish]

i made a post a little while ago asking a few more questions regarding my unwell betta's bloating, but it didn't get any responses and i can't stop thinking about my fish and what i'm going to do with him. i don't know if i should continue to try to treat his issues or if i should just euthanize him, and which would be more ethical. this will probably be the last post i make on his illnesses unless i continue to treat and have a question.
i'm firstly going to discuss the option to continue treating him. people recommended almond leaves for his velvet, and i could always try other medications as well. for his bloating the only thing that's been mentioned to me is daphnia. i've been watching him for some time and he doesn't appear to be moving that much. he never has - at least not since i noticed his velvet. i have a towel over his tank because of the parasite, so whenever i move it away for some time he drifts around near the front on the tank where i can see him as if asking for food, but since he's bloated i don't feed him anything. after a few minutes he swims off, either resting on top of his tallest plant or on the bottom of the tank. i can't tell if he's behaving this way because he's hungry or because he's sick, but as i said he acted this same way before he was bloated. do you think he's suffering?
my other option is to euthanize him. i can't say if different medications or the almond leaves will or won't help his velvet, but as for his bloating i'm starting to doubt that it'll do anything besides make him bigger. as i said in my last post, he only seems to get bigger when i feed him peas, and i'd assume that the same would happen with his pellets or other normal foods. it doesn't feel like the daphnia would magically clear all of that up, but then again i've never used it before. i don't want to ask my parents to spend even more money on things that may not even work, but at the same time i don't know if that would be the right thing to do or if it would make me sound selfish (or whatever other adjective). as the title says, advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[hobby5]

I don't know why you start a new topic, the old information would have been helpful too.

If you are sure it is velvet, there are clear instruction how to treat it. Follow them Velvet can be cured.

Did you raise the temp already? This should also help constipation, if it is not something else.

 

[Lajos_Detari]

Hi there,
Yes, firstly you should try to read the section on how to treat velvet.
Almond leaves or any kind of leaves won't be able to help because velvet is caused by parasite which need medication to kill it(parasite).
If you have the medication to treat the velvet, please go ahead to treat it.
If not and if you don't want to spend too much money in medication, then you can consider to euthanize it.

In my opinion, if treating the fish is too troublesome and too costly, then I might just euthanize it.
From my experience, sometimes it might not worth the hassle and money to treat a fish.
Over at my place, buying a new fish is cheaper than treating a sick fish.
And most of the time(from my experience) the fish still die even after I'd spent much money and time to treat it.
By the way, I don't have experience in treating velvet, so I can't say how high is the chances to save the fish with medication.

Anyway, don't feel too bad if the fish die.
From my experience, it's not easy to treat and save a sick fish...

 

[Sunnyfish]

I don't know why you start a new topic, the old information would have been helpful too.

If you are sure it is velvet, there are clear instruction how to treat it. Follow them Velvet can be cured.

Did you raise the temp already? This should also help constipation, if it is not something else.

i started a new one because my old posts have already been drowned and new ones appear at the top of the list so i get replies a lot easier.

i know velvet can be cured, but i'm having trouble with it. the tank is covered with a towel and the temp has been raised as high as it can go (which isn't that high, unfortunately). i also added some aquarium salt and i've been using cupramine, though it doesn't seem to do anything. i tried another velvet treatment before cupramine with no results either. i could keep trying new things, as stated in my first post on this topic, but i don't want to keep pulling money out of my parents' wallets. they have to pay for it, not me.

i started to believe at some point that the huge lump on my betta wasn't actually bloating; i thought maybe it was a tumor or something instead. i disregarded dropsy since he still swam fine and his scales weren't as pineconed as i think they would've been if it had been dropsy. but, as stated, he gets bigger when i feed him anything. i also don't really suck anything up during a water change, which leads me to believe he's not pooping (even when i fed him the peas every now and then - nothing).

 

[Sunnyfish]

Hi there,
Yes, firstly you should try to read the section on how to treat velvet.
Almond leaves or any kind of leaves won't be able to help because velvet is caused by parasite which need medication to kill it(parasite).
If you have the medication to treat the velvet, please go ahead to treat it.
If not and if you don't want to spend too much money in medication, then you can consider to euthanize it.

In my opinion, if treating the fish is too troublesome and too costly, then I might just euthanize it.
From my experience, sometimes it might not worth the hassle and money to treat a fish.
Over at my place, buying a new fish is cheaper than treating a sick fish.
And most of the time(from my experience) the fish still die even after I'd spent much money and time to treat it.
By the way, I don't have experience in treating velvet, so I can't say how high is the chances to save the fish with medication.

Anyway, don't feel too bad if the fish die.
From my experience, it's not easy to treat and save a sick fish...

a few on this forum suggested the almond leaves for their antibacterial properties, so i figured that i would consider purchasing them just in case.
as stated in my previous response to another person, no, i don't really want to purchase a bunch of new medications to treat it, but only because my parents have to buy it. i'm not the one with the money.
i do have cupramine (mentioned before), but just like my last medication it doesn't seem to do anything (also mentioned before). people say that velvet is completely treatable but nothing seems to be doing the trick.
i appreciate your two cents, by the way. those words were exactly what i was looking for. i'd feel bad just giving up on him, but i'd also feel bad keeping him alive and testing all these products on him that my parents would have to buy for me. i think i'd be able to euthanize him with little to no trouble until afterwards. i already feel guilty for most likely causing most of his issues. i didn't know that treating a fish for these things would be so difficult, but i guess i know now. i'll probably wait to see if any other opinions come up besides yours before i actually go ahead and do it.
i don't know what else to say, so i guess that's it.

 

[hobby5]

As soon as there is a new reply to an old topic it goes to the top again So always keep things together. If possible only start new topics for unrelated stuff.

Are you sure it is velvet? I found some old pics of your betta and it looked pretty normal to me.
Can we have a current picture or two or three?
If you are currently in a treatment phase I would finish it correctly as recommended.

How old is your betta?

What is the temp now?

Fish can go very long without food, maybe you simply overfeed. As single pea is already too much for a single betta.

Best food for fish is live food. Where do you live? Is there any small ponds or rain barrel you could check for mosquito larvae or daphnia?

What happens when you show him a mirror?
To me it doesn't sound like your fish is suffering atm.

 

[Sunnyfish]

As soon as there is a new reply to an old topic it goes to the top again So always keep things together. If possible only start new topics for unrelated stuff.

Are you sure it is velvet? I found some old pics of your betta and it looked pretty normal to me.
Can we have a current picture or two or three?
If you are currently in a treatment phase I would finish it correctly as recommended.

How old is your betta?

What is the temp now?

Fish can go very long without food, maybe you simply overfeed. As single pea is already too much for a single betta.

Best food for fish is live food. Where do you live? Is there any small ponds or rain barrel you could check for mosquito larvae or daphnia?

What happens when you show him a mirror?
To me it doesn't sound like your fish is suffering atm.

i'll take some new pictures soon, but i don't currently have any.
i took another look at the pictures, and in them there's no way you'd be able to see the velvet. it's more below his head, and none of the pictures are taken from that angle. when i shine a flashlight on him and look there, i can easily see a few shiny and reflective scales - they look like velvet.
i already finished the treatment of cupramine, actually. it says to leave the concentration in the water for 2 weeks (14 days), and it's now the 3rd week since purchasing and adding the cupramine for the first time.
i think my betta's about 2-3.5 years old, which isn't too bad considering the conditions i kept him in for so long before moving him to his heated 5 gallon.
i just checked the temperature and it's about 79 degrees.
i think someone in one of my previous posts may have helped me determine what was causing the bloating. i never soaked his food, and when expanded his pellets are far too big and the other foods i feed are all freeze-dried. that's another thing to feel bad about, i suppose.
just to clarify, i don't feed him the whole pea. i cut it into about fourths and give him the smallest piece.
i'm aware that live food is far better for him but i've never had the chance to start my own cultures. the place i live doesn't have any ponds or similar bodies of water.
i tried showing him a mirror just now and he completely disregarded it. he just kinda sank back down to the plants. if that combined with his lack of movement doesn't make it seem like he's in at least SOME pain, then i'm not sure what does. i wouldn't consider euthanasia if his issues weren't bugging him.