Rescue boy...need some advice

[FalconStorm]

Yeah, yeah, I know...everyone's sick of the rescue threads, but I'd like a little advice on this one. I picked this poor little boy up, yesterday. I think he was dropped in a bowl with another betta, although he was in a tank when I found him. His fins are so ripped up that I thought he was a female at first. His pectoral and ventral fins are nothing more than nubs. He's got a grayish patch behind his dorsal fin that is spreading virulently. It spread to three times it's size over night in a saddle-like pattern. I'm pretty sure it's columnaris. I'm not sure if I expect him to live, but I'm going to try.

Right now, Ive got him in about two inches of water with a bunch of hornwort laid sideways for him to rest on. I've got lots of stress coat in the water with some salt and maracyn. The tank he was in when I found him had a bit of ich in it, but I don't see any on him. I'm probably not going to worry about it since he's in completely new water now. I have some maracyn 2, but wasn't sure if I should use it yet. Any ideas? I *might* be able to see if I can get some colloidal silver after work, but no guarantees and I haven't a clue how to use it.

Does anyone have any advice for this poor guy? We've named him Vex and I'm REALLY hoping to pull him through, although I know his chances are a bit slim. He seems to be pretty strong, so I do have some hope for him.

 

[eudielynn]

I used maracyn, salt and stress coat on Vince and he had a pretty bad case of it. It took a couple of days to see any real improvement, but once it started it worked pretty quickly. Vince is completely recovered now. Hope it works as well for your little guy. Hang in there Vex!!

 

[BettaMomma]

My advice to you would be everything that you're already doing.
Make sure to keep his temperature very cool.

The colloidal would be a wonderful added bonus, but with what you've got in the tank, it sounds like a perfect setup for him. I have a feeling he might just do quite well, given the fact that he beats the columnaris. That stuff is really vicious.

Good luck

 

[FalconStorm]

Well, I've beaten columnaris before, but I'm a little worried about dosing Vex since those tabs are for ten gallons of water, and I've got him in two inches of water in a one gallon. I'm *hoping* I'm not over dosing him. I thought about just dissolving a gallon's worth of the medication in a gallon of water and using it for daily water changes, but doesn't maracyn need to build up in the water? Right now, I've dissolved a gallon's worth in a small container and added about a quarter of that since two inches looks like about 1/4 of a gallon of water. Does that sound okay? I *really* don't want to kill him as a result of trying to help.

If he's still alive when I get home, I'm going to try to post some pics, if anyone wants to see him.

 

[BettaMomma]

The dosing you're doing sounds okay.
Maracyn doesn't need to build up in water, in fact after a day it loses its effectiveness. So, you can even go ahead and do water changes in the middle of a dosing periods.

If you were to mix up the meds in the water and keep it longer than 1 day, the meds would be useless. However - you might consider crushing up a whole tablet, then dividing it out into however many teeny little parts you'd need using a razor blade on a mirror. Just make sure you explain to your neighbors that you're dividing up fish meds BEFORE they walk by and peek in the window.

I've also mixed up meds in water and then dosed them by measuring out the right amount with a medicine dropper. It involves some maths, but it can be done pretty easily. Good luck

And I would LOOOVE to see a photo of him.

 

[FalconStorm]

I did NOT know that about maracyn. That means I'll need to be certain to give him his next dosage tonight, because that's when I dissolved the tablet, yesterday. I'm glad you told me. I need to get a mortar and pestle.

Also, do you think daily or every other day water changes would be too stressful for him? I want to keep his water pristine, but right now, stress is probably one of his greater enemies. (I won't even go into the treatment he got at the hands of the store I got him at...very unprofessional.)

Anyway, I'm still very open to advice. Thanks so much for your help, bettamomma.

 

[BettaMomma]

Oh, my favorite. Stores that don't take care of their fish. AAAah!

Oh well, anyway -I would probably give him 2 days between changes. That will help keep the stress levels down. He should be okay.

Actually - do you have gravel on the bottom of the tank, or is it barebottomed? If it is barebottomed, I would even consider giving him daily partial changes and sucking up the yuckies on the bottom with a new turkey baster. That way he isn't stressed much because you don't have to move him, you'll have really pretty sparkly clean water in there, and he won't be stressed.

 

[sandig]

Another way to dose maracyn is to put 10 TBS of water in a cup and dissolve it. Then dose 1 TBS per gal. It will be harder for you because you don't have a measure of how much water is in there.

I will keep him in my thoughts...poor little guy. It sounds like you are doing everything right.
Sandi

 

[FalconStorm]

Well, his tank has gravel in it. That's one of the reasons I put the plant in there sideways, so he has something smooth to rest his fins on. I'm feeding him VERY sparingly right now. I suspect he probably won't be too interested in eating for a couple of days anyway. I may get a turkey baster to suck up leftovers since they're pretty easy to see against the gravel I have in there. That would probably make it easier to dose him too, just add the new dosage with the water I'm putting back in there, and since I won't be moving him, no stress. Why does the gravel matter, anyway?

 

[BettaMomma]

Just was thinking of waste that will seep down into the gravel.
If you had a bare bottom tank you could see every single little speck.

But... if he's not eating much he most likely won't be creating a whole lot of waste. I'd do the partial changes - that should be fine. Just give him a full change at the end of day 5.

 

[FalconStorm]

Well, he didn't make it. He was gone when I got home. Poor guy. I'm not sure he ever really had a chance. This is my first betta death, but at least he died in peace.

 

[Seahorse]

Oh gosh! I'm sorry You did a wonderful thing!

 

[Karah's_Mommy]

lil fella

You did your best to help him making his last bit of time on earth more pleasant. <hugs>

 

[BettaMomma]

I'm so sorry. When they go it is always hard.

You did a very wonderful thing in bringing him into your home and giving him a place to be comfortable, if only for a little while. Hang in there - better days are ahead.

 

[eudielynn]

RIP littl Vex. I'm so sorry he didn't make it.