Please help! betta fish ill with no physical indicators

[bio-tech1]

I have had my glowfish betta since the day they were in the store. And he has been an amazing fish, always full of energy. His fins had even been growing longer. But a few days ago i noticed he was laying at the bottom of his tank with his fins completely clamped. Since then, he has not eaten anything and barley moves. I did about a 70% waterchange that first day. and a couple of days later when he didn't change, I tested the water, PH: 7.2-7.6, Ammonia: 0ppm, Nitrite: 0ppm, Nitrate: 0ppm. I also have another betta that uses the same water that is showing no problems. He lives in a 3 gallon tank with a heater and cycled filter and Mopani wood with some java moss on it. I use seachem prime for the water conditioner. and feed omega one pellets. the only change in his life is that we moved out of my dorm room about a month ago. but he was doing well when we got back. other than the clamped fins he is showing no other outside signs of disease or illness. I am at a loss. I don't want to lose him.

 

[JuiceBox52]

Hi, welcome to the forum.
Did you happen to test your water?
If so, what are the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels?
If you don't have a test kit I would suggest ordering an API master test kit. You can also go to a pet store with a sample of your water and ask them to test it for you. Make sure they give you the exact numbers and you can post them here.

For now, do a 50-75% water change every day for a week until we figure out what is going on.

Do you have an airstone in your tank? If he is gasping he needs more oxygen.

Do you dechlorinate the water before adding it to the tank?

Glofish are fraught with health issues and dont generally live very long due to the unnatural way they are modified

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

I never trust the glow bettas. They are genetically altered for people approval. It’s disgusting if you think about it.

How long has the tank been running? How often do you preform water changes? How often do you clean the filter?

For now, do a 50-75% water change every day for a week until we figure out what is going on.

I don’t suggest this....It can stress out the betta a lot. @Byron clarified this in another thread. If you did a 75% water change EVERY day, your betta will get very stressed. It’s better to either do 1 big water change (60%-75%) every 3 days, or....A small water change (25%-35%) every day.

 

[bio-tech1]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

I never trust the glow bettas. They are genetically altered for people approval. It’s disgusting if you think about it.

How long has the tank been running? How often do you preform water changes? How often do you clean the filter?


I don’t suggest this....It can stress out the betta a lot. @Byron clarified this in another thread. If you did a 75% water change EVERY day, your betta will get very stressed. It’s better to either do 1 big water change (60%-75%) every 3 days, or....A small water change (25%-35%) every day.

Well each person is welcome to have their own opinion. I love my little glow betta. I think he is beautiful. And for the record, its just the first bettas who are 'altered' and that happens before they are fully developed. then the glow gene is passed down. so although it is not natural, I personally don't see it as my betta fish as being altered himself. it was just the genes he was born with.

the tank has been running for many months, so when i set it up, i used media from an already established tank. And when we moved down from college about a month ago, i kept the media wet with the tank water. I perform water changes about every 2 weeks and wash the filter media in the old tank water about every other water change.

 

[bio-tech1]

Hi, welcome to the forum.
Did you happen to test your water?
If so, what are the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels?
If you don't have a test kit I would suggest ordering an API master test kit. You can also go to a pet store with a sample of your water and ask them to test it for you. Make sure they give you the exact numbers and you can post them here.

For now, do a 50-75% water change every day for a week until we figure out what is going on.

Do you have an airstone in your tank? If he is gasping he needs more oxygen.

Do you dechlorinate the water before adding it to the tank?

Glofish are fraught with health issues and dont generally live very long due to the unnatural way they are modified

Yes, as it says in my post, i did test the water levels. PH: 7.2-7.6, Ammonia: 0ppm, Nitrite: 0ppm, Nitrate: 0ppm.
I do not have an airstone in the tank. but he is not gasping. just laying on the bottom of the tank.
And again, as it says in my post, i use seachem prime water conditioner.

 

[JuiceBox52]

Glad to hear it was cycled
Most members on here to weekly changes of 50% I would reccomend that to help keep him healthy

 

[JuiceBox52]

Yes, as it says in my post, i did test the water levels. PH: 7.2-7.6, Ammonia: 0ppm, Nitrite: 0ppm, Nitrate: 0ppm.
I do not have an airstone in the tank. but he is not gasping. just laying on the bottom of the tank.
And again, as it says in my post, i use seachem prime water conditioner.

Sorry I missed the bit where you posted the test results

 

[JuiceBox52]

While the offspring of the original GloFish are not altered they still carry unnatural Gene's that do shorten their lifespan and make then more susceptible to disease, I am not saying you are wrong for purchasing him, just mentioning a likely factor to what is going on

 

[JuiceBox52]

@Colin_T

 

[bio-tech1]

While the offspring of the original GloFish are not altered they still carry unnatural Gene's that do shorten their lifespan and make then more susceptible to disease, I am not saying you are wrong for purchasing him, just mentioning a likely factor to what is going on

Thank you. I knew going into this that he may have a shortened life span. but not this short. my other bettas i have had for up to 4 years already. but have only had the guy for a month or two. do you think this is the norm for glofish bettas?

 

[Colin_T]

Does the fish normally have the yellow body colour?
I assume that is the Glo part.

Fish get clamped fins from poor water quality, something poisoning them in the water, external protozoan infections or external bacterial infections.

Fish sitting on the bottom with clamped fins can be sick or the temperature might be too cold.
What is the water temperature?

-------------------​

Protozoan infections will usually cause the fish to rub on objects in the tank. This is in response to the protozoans biting the fish's skin and drinking their blood.

External bacterial infections normally cause the fins to degrade/ rot away very quickly, over a few days to a week.

Your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate appear fine so that is not likely to be an issue.

-------------------
This leaves chemicals contamination in the water, or a heater malfunction causing cold water.
Do you use a bucket specifically for the fish tank?
Does anyone smoke, paint, use perfumes, deodorants, air fresheners, etc in the room?
Do you use a disinfectant or perfumed soap to wash your hands?
Do you have any oils, creams, grease or anything else on your hands?
These thing can all poison the fish when you work in the tank or feeding the fish.



-------------------


Check your water temperature.

Do a big (75%) water change and gravel clean the substrate each day for a week. This will help dilute anything that might be in the water.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

You can do a big water change every day as long as the new water has a similar chemistry (GH, KH and pH) to the tank water, and it has a similar temperature to the tank water, and as long as the new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

Make sure you use a clean bucket specifically for the fish, and make sure it hasn't been used for any soaps or chemicals or cleaning products. Same deal with any sponges you use to clean the glass. Make sure they are soap free and have nothing added (like mould inhibitors).

Make sure you don't have anything on your hands/ arms before you work on the tank.

-------------------
Clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks. Wash filter media/ materials in a bucket of tank water and re-use them. Tip the bucket of dirty water on the lawn.



-------------------


Bettas are labyrinth fishes and can breath oxygen from the water or air from the atmosphere.

 

[bio-tech1]

Does the fish normally have the yellow body colour?
I assume that is the Glo part.

Fish get clamped fins from poor water quality, something poisoning them in the water, external protozoan infections or external bacterial infections.

Fish sitting on the bottom with clamped fins can be sick or the temperature might be too cold.
What is the water temperature?

-------------------
Protozoan infections will usually cause the fish to rub on objects in the tank. This is in response to the protozoans biting the fish's skin and drinking their blood.

External bacterial infections normally cause the fins to degrade/ rot away very quickly, over a few days to a week.

Your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate appear fine so that is not likely to be an issue.

-------------------
This leaves chemicals contamination in the water, or a heater malfunction causing cold water.
Do you use a bucket specifically for the fish tank?
Does anyone smoke, paint, use perfumes, deodorants, air fresheners, etc in the room?
Do you use a disinfectant or perfumed soap to wash your hands?
Do you have any oils, creams, grease or anything else on your hands?
These thing can all poison the fish when you work in the tank or feeding the fish.



-------------------


Check your water temperature.

Do a big (75%) water change and gravel clean the substrate each day for a week. This will help dilute anything that might be in the water.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

You can do a big water change every day as long as the new water has a similar chemistry (GH, KH and pH) to the tank water, and it has a similar temperature to the tank water, and as long as the new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

Make sure you use a clean bucket specifically for the fish, and make sure it hasn't been used for any soaps or chemicals or cleaning products. Same deal with any sponges you use to clean the glass. Make sure they are soap free and have nothing added (like mould inhibitors).

Make sure you don't have anything on your hands/ arms before you work on the tank.

-------------------
Clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks. Wash filter media/ materials in a bucket of tank water and re-use them. Tip the bucket of dirty water on the lawn.



-------------------


Bettas are labyrinth fishes and can breath oxygen from the water or air from the atmosphere.

As far as i have seen, all the glofish bettas have the yellow body, but most have clear fins, the red fins are the premium type. i believe that they are supposed to be coming out with all the colors the glofish come in later on.
I have not noticed him rubbing against anything at all. in fact, he barely moves at all.
The tank water is kept at a constant 78 degrees F.
I don't believe its anything getting into the tank, as there is another betta tank directly next to it and nothing has changed in that tank or betta. The tank also has a lid that covers the whole tank surface, so any airborne contaminants such as perfume would have a very hard time getting in.
I don't believe its an external bacterial infection as other than the clamped fins, there are no other visible signs.
I do have a bucket made only for my fish. but for this specific tank, i just remove the betta and use my detachable sink faucet to pump the water directly into the tank.

I am most worried about him not eating. i know that they can go up to two weeks with no food. But before this, i was on vacation for a few days. So he already had gone a few days without eating. So if he has not eaten anything without me noticing, he will be coming up on the 2 week mark soon.

 

[Colin_T]

It could be an internal bacterial infection or something else with his insides.

If you run tap water straight into the tank, you can poison the fish with chlorine/ chloramine. You should fill the bucket with tap water, add dechlorinator and aerate the water for at least 5 (preferably 30) minutes before adding that water to the tank.

 

[Byron]

I don’t suggest this....It can stress out the betta a lot. @Byron clarified this in another thread. If you did a 75% water change EVERY day, your betta will get very stressed. It’s better to either do 1 big water change (60%-75%) every 3 days, or....A small water change (25%-35%) every day.

This is taken out of context and thus needs clarification. There was a specific issue with the fish in that thread, they were under severe stress to begin with (I believe ich was the issue). I recommended one large change each week of the two-week heat treatment period. Daily changes involving vacuuming of the substrate would be somewhat stressful, and with fish under stress fighting off ich you do not want to be adding more stress. But when a problem is likely from the water conditions, the more water changed out the better.

 

[bio-tech1]

This is taken out of context and thus needs clarification. There was a specific issue with the fish in that thread, they were under severe stress to begin with (I believe ich was the issue). I recommended one large change each week of the two-week heat treatment period. Daily changes involving vacuuming of the substrate would be somewhat stressful, and with fish under stress fighting off ich you do not want to be adding more stress. But when a problem is likely from the water conditions, the more water changed out the better.

Is clamped fins not a sign of stress?