sick betta

[Sussy]

my betta fish named patriot has been sick lately, he seems to have a more curved spine now and frequently lays at the bottom of his tank and only moves from off the substrate when there is food. he also is showing small signs of fin rot, i know how to treat fin rot but i dont know what the curved spine means. can anyone help?

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Sorry to hear that, we need some more info to try to help, there can be several reasons for spine curvature and listlessness, but you're right to be concerned and that you want to find out what's going on with him.

My first thought was potentially old age. How long have you had them? Bettas sadly aren't usually a long lived fish, and the long fin fancy bettas that tend to be available in stores often have health issues. They're a stunning and fascinating fish, but I'm afraid the ones bred for the hobby often come with problems. If you've had him for more than a year or more, then my first thought is he might be showing signs of old age. But if you haven't had him for long, then that's unlikely, since stores sell juveniles.

But there are diseases that can cause spine curvature. Can be genetic, especially in male bettas with huge tails that are heavy and cause a lot of drag pulling on their spine.

Are you able to get photos of the fish and tank, please?
Do you have a test kit? If so, please test the tank water and list the results here. Give the actual numbers.
Have you added anything new to the tank recently?

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

video of the fish can be even more helpful, since we can then watch the way he moves and any fin clamping or other signs of diseases. Unfortunately, the video upload function on this forum doesn't work, but if you are able to get a minute or two of video (maybe when you feed him?) then you can upload to youtube and link it here.

 

[Sussy]

Sorry to hear that, we need some more info to try to help, there can be several reasons for spine curvature and listlessness, but you're right to be concerned and that you want to find out what's going on with him.

My first thought was potentially old age. How long have you had them? Bettas sadly aren't usually a long lived fish, and the long fin fancy bettas that tend to be available in stores often have health issues. They're a stunning and fascinating fish, but I'm afraid the ones bred for the hobby often come with problems. If you've had him for more than a year or more, then my first thought is he might be showing signs of old age. But if you haven't had him for long, then that's unlikely, since stores sell juveniles.

But there are diseases that can cause spine curvature. Can be genetic, especially in male bettas with huge tails that are heavy and cause a lot of drag pulling on their spine.

Are you able to get photos of the fish and tank, please?
Do you have a test kit? If so, please test the tank water and list the results here. Give the actual numbers.
Have you added anything new to the tank recently?

(white spots on plant is sand that got thrown up in my water change) I have had him for a little over a year, he is maybe 1.5-2 years old. He has been doing great for his entire life until recently he has been slowing down a lot. He has short fins too so i dont think its that he is just fatigued. Reason why i dont think it is old age is because the change was very sudden. I do not have a test kit (going to buy new one soon), but today i did a 80% water change but have not seen improvement. i have not added anything new to the tank. For some reason it won’t let me upload a video but I can share a picture. I also would like to add that he does swim up to the glass when he sees me but his swimming looks odd.

 

[Sussy]

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

He is looking pretty unhappy...

Tagging @Colin_T @Essjay @GaryE @TwoTankAmin in the hope that these guys who have much more experience than me have any thoughts.

You've done well with him if he's been healthy and thriving for 1.5- 2 years!
Since you haven't introduced anything new to the tank, disease is unlikely, and I can't spot any signs of infection/fungus/external problems, except for the curve to the spine is quite pronounced. So the spine wasn't like that before? But again, while I'm studying up on fish health, I'm far from an expert, so this is my opinion as a hobbyist, not professional advice.

You do water changes, and he doesn't look like a fish stressed by poor water conditions, so I'm mentally ruling that out.

I still suspect it's old age. The change in behaviour can be sudden. Every creature starts to have things go wrong if they're lucky enough to reach old age. Sadly, things can also go wrong internally at any time. Think of elderly humans, and the health issues that are common in all animals in old age. Fish can also have any organs fail, and we can't see inside to tell what's causing the problem. If the liver, kidneys or heart are starting to fail, the fish starts to struggle. Heart failure especially leads to tiredness and listlessness. The fact he's become listless, is able to swim up to the surface, but then visibly struggles as he sinks again makes me think something internally is failing, and there won't be much you can do to change that I'm afraid except care for him while he's here.

I inherited a tank from my dad a few years ago, including some already visibly elderly tetra, the last remaining survivors of their schools. So I had three glowlights, a single cardinal, one black neon, and a few others. They don't look stunning, but they're not struggling either, and have kept going for three years longer than I thought they would! So he might live for a while longer, not as active as before since it's a lot of work for him to swim.

One thing you could do is drop the water level lower, or move him to a shallower tank so he doesn't have to swim too high to reach the surface. But if you do that, remember that less water volume means much more frequent water changes. You could also use tweezers/tongs/aquascaping tongs to target feed him his food, like some defrosted frozen bloodworms/brine shrimp/etc, so he can rest on the bottom. Maybe add some indian almond leaves for him to rest on rather than the sand.

Think palliative care to keep him as comfortable as possible.

I'm sorry that I don't have a positive answer. I could well be wrong, and hopefully one of the lovely folks I added can also give their opinions! Please update us on his progress either way?

 

[Sussy]

He is looking pretty unhappy...

Tagging @Colin_T @Essjay @GaryE @TwoTankAmin in the hope that these guys who have much more experience than me have any thoughts.

You've done well with him if he's been healthy and thriving for 1.5- 2 years!
Since you haven't introduced anything new to the tank, disease is unlikely, and I can't spot any signs of infection/fungus/external problems, except for the curve to the spine is quite pronounced. So the spine wasn't like that before? But again, while I'm studying up on fish health, I'm far from an expert, so this is my opinion as a hobbyist, not professional advice.

You do water changes, and he doesn't look like a fish stressed by poor water conditions, so I'm mentally ruling that out.

I still suspect it's old age. The change in behaviour can be sudden. Every creature starts to have things go wrong if they're lucky enough to reach old age. Sadly, things can also go wrong internally at any time. Think of elderly humans, and the health issues that are common in all animals in old age. Fish can also have any organs fail, and we can't see inside to tell what's causing the problem. If the liver, kidneys or heart are starting to fail, the fish starts to struggle. Heart failure especially leads to tiredness and listlessness. The fact he's become listless, is able to swim up to the surface, but then visibly struggles as he sinks again makes me think something internally is failing, and there won't be much you can do to change that I'm afraid except care for him while he's here.

I inherited a tank from my dad a few years ago, including some already visibly elderly tetra, the last remaining survivors of their schools. So I had three glowlights, a single cardinal, one black neon, and a few others. They don't look stunning, but they're not struggling either, and have kept going for three years longer than I thought they would! So he might live for a while longer, not as active as before since it's a lot of work for him to swim.

One thing you could do is drop the water level lower, or move him to a shallower tank so he doesn't have to swim too high to reach the surface. But if you do that, remember that less water volume means much more frequent water changes. You could also use tweezers/tongs/aquascaping tongs to target feed him his food, like some defrosted frozen bloodworms/brine shrimp/etc, so he can rest on the bottom. Maybe add some indian almond leaves for him to rest on rather than the sand.

Think palliative care to keep him as comfortable as possible.

I'm sorry that I don't have a positive answer. I could well be wrong, and hopefully one of the lovely folks I added can also give their opinions! Please update us on his progress either way?

Yea, his spine wasnt like this before. I am planning on buying some indian almond leaves too which is a good idea to let him sit on it instead of the sand. thank you for the advice and i appreciate your help.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Yea, his spine wasnt like this before. I am planning on buying some indian almond leaves too which is a good idea to let him sit on it instead of the sand. thank you for the advice and i appreciate your help.

No problem, it's what we're here for! Sorry again that I don't have better news.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Please have a read here, it may help bit also may not be very encouraging.
https://www.justanswer.com/pet/jaqfi-help-betta-fish-bent-spine-just-sits.html

Here are the credentials of the person providing the answers:
Anna:
30+ years of experience- Specialities include: Dog Veterinary, Cat Veterinary, Bird Veterinary, Reptile Veterinary, Exotic Animal Veterinary.

I’m a biologist with over 40 years of experience keeping fish. I’m sorry to hear about this problem. A bent spine in a fish is always very serious, and it may not be possible to help him, but let’s evaluate the situation before we rule out anything. Can you send me a couple of pictures of your fish so I can see his condition?

The answer appears after the pics are provided.

 

[Back in the fold]

I’ve got nearly the same thing happening to my Betta right now . Sad to say I figure he’s almost at the end of the trail . Only a year old and I pampered him profusely . He should live to at least three years old and maybe four but I guess not . When fish start behaving you like describe it’s never good news . A shame too because yours is a nice looking Betta .

 

[Sussy]

quick update, he does seem to be showing signs of improvement as he is moving more often without him seeing me at the tank or me offering him food, i think the water change helped a lot since i did a 75% water chance when i usually do less. He still lays down often and swims kind of oddly but i can see some improvement.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

quick update, he does seem to be showing signs of improvement as he is moving more often without him seeing me at the tank or me offering him food, i think the water change helped a lot since i did a 75% water chance when i usually do less. He still lays down often and swims kind of oddly but i can see some improvement.

Keep up the 75% water changes every few days then. 2-3 times a week ideally. It's a good sign that he perked up after a water change! That's a good reason to keep doing those then.

 

[Sussy]

i know this is a somewhat old thread from a month ago but unfortunately patriot died a week ago. i found him laying on a leaf, i didnt think much of it until i came back an hour later and saw him still laying. i poked him with my algae scrubber.. he moved and swimmed up but just barely, he was swimming like a worm and he was spinning out of control and started swimming upside down until he fell back down.. does anyone know what this is? i dont suspect swim bladder because the days before he wasnt showing any sign of swim bladder.. i feel like this would be old age but he was only around 1.5 - close to 2 yrs old. does anyone have any suspected cause of deaths?

edit: also it couldnt have been water quality since before that i had just done a like 80% water change just a few days ago

 

[MaloK]

From my slim experience with bettas, His humphed back, his apparent loss of mass, the slight cloudiness in his eyes, the way he was swimming and acting.

Your betta was probably a little older than you think... If you had him around 2 years it could easily mean he was 3 years old or even more.

And with old age just like peoples they start to have health problems and becomes less resistant to illness.

When I got My betta a couple weeks ago. The owner of the store told me he was around a year old already.