Unwell Betta, Please Help

[natalie1737]

Hello, I recently noticed my betta fish hasn’t been feeling well. He’s been laying around much more than usual, and I think his gills are more red, but I’m not sure. He also has been struggling to eat and I noticed tears in his tail. Does anybody have any idea why this is and what I could do to help him? I’m thinking that one possibility might be that I accidentally waited too long for the last aquarium change as I noticed some white clumpy algae? I’m also going to try to thicken him up a bit with blood worms.

I attached a few images of him now, as well as him 2 months ago and when I first got him. Any advice is very appreciated



Housing:
How many gallons is your tank? 5 gallons
Does it have a filter? A bubble filter
Does it have a heater? Yes
What temperature is your tank? About 78 degrees Fahrenheit
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? I use a bubble filter
Does your Betta have tank mates? What kind? No tank mates

Food:
What food brand do you use? Aqueon Betta Food
Do you feed flakes or pellets? Pellets
Freeze-dried? No
How often do you feed your Betta? How much? Usually every morning about 4 pellet dots

Maintenance:
Before your Betta became ill how often did you perform a water change? I try to once a week/ 2 weeks
What percentage of water did you change? 50% 3 days ago
What is the source of your water? My tap
Do you vacuum the substrate or just dip out water? It depends, I haven’t vacuumed in the past 2 changes
What additives do you use other than conditioner? What brand of conditioner? API Aquarium salt. I use API Stress coat+ Conditioner

Water Parameters:
Im testing the parameters right now, 3 days after the water change

Ammonia: about 0 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: about 5 ppm
pH: 6.6

Symptoms and Treatment:
When did you first notice the symptoms? 3 days ago
How has your Betta’s appearance changed? I noticed that his tail fin appears to have 2 unusual tears in it
How has your Betta’s behavior changed? He’s become more lethargic and lays on the gravel. He also struggles to swim and kind of jerks when swimming.
Is your Betta still eating? He is trying, but has a hard time aiming and he seems to often misses.
Have you started treating your Betta? If so, how? No, I’m not sure what the issue is but I did a water change
Does your Betta have any history of being ill? No
How long have you owned your Betta? Since February 2020, so a year and 6 months
Was he or she ill or suffering some sort of damage when purchased? No

 

[Naughts]

thank you for all the information, unfortunately I can't see anything that would cause him to be in such a sorry state.
Have there been any periods when tank maintenance has not been done, or any prolonged periods when you didn't test the water?
Do you know how old he was when you got him, was he fully grown for example?

 

[natalie1737]

thank you for all the information, unfortunately I can't see anything that would cause him to be in such a sorry state.
Have there been any periods when tank maintenance has not been done, or any prolonged periods when you didn't test the water?
Do you know how old he was when you got him, was he fully grown for example?

Thank you for the reply! Yes, I think I might’ve waited too long on the past water change as I’ve been busy because of the summer. I’m thinking that might be a factor in this. Im guessing he was a few months or so as he was quite small when I first got him.

 

[Avel1896]

A bubble filter

Hello
This is not a filter at all. It provides some water oxygenation.

Aqueon Betta Food

Betta usually dislikes flakes and many pellets except OmegaOne Betta Buffet or Atison's Betta Pro.
No live or frozen food ?

What are your water parameters ? That is important : pH GH KH ammonia nitrites nitrates ?

Have you ever dewormed him ?

Please pot overall pictures of your tank.

 

[Naughts]

If your filter is similar to this it will provide both biological and mechanical filtration of the water.

Medium Sponge Filter

XY-2812 Suitable for tropical and coldwater fish tanks up to 200L These simple bio filters provide a perfect home for beneficial bacteria.

www.google.com

Thank you for the reply! Yes, I think I might’ve waited too long on the past water change as I’ve been busy because of the summer. I’m thinking that might be a factor in this. Im guessing he was a few months or so as he was quite small when I first got him.

My thoughts were chronic high nitrates so this could be it. If so there is a chance of improving his condition by regular good maintenance.

• 50% water change every couple of days for 2 weeks then weekly after that. Use a dechlorinator. Match the water temperature to that of the tank.
• Gravel vac the substrate at each water change.
• rinse the filter sponge in old tank water at each water change.
• Reduce feeding to match his reduced appetite so that excess food doesn't foul the water. Offer a small amount 3-5 times a day.

You don't need to add aquarium salt, this should only be used as a specific medical treatment and for a period of between 2-4 weeks. Using salt for longer, particularly in small soft water fish, will cause kidney damage.
If the stress coat is the kind with aloe-vera in, discontinue using it. This can be detrimental to fish gills.

If not chronic high nitrates I would guess a virus like iridovirus (AKA dwarf gourami disease) which, unfortunately, cannot be treated.

 

[natalie1737]

Hello
This is not a filter at all. It provides some water oxygenation.


Betta usually dislikes flakes and many pellets except OmegaOne Betta Buffet or Atison's Betta Pro.
No live or frozen food ?

What are your water parameters ? That is important : pH GH KH ammonia nitrites nitrates ?

Have you ever dewormed him ?

Please pot overall pictures of your tank.

Thanks for the reply, I feed him pellets and will get him some blood worms as well. I haven’t dewormed him and the water parameters are
Ammonia: about 0 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: about 5 ppm
pH: 6.6

I attached a photo of his tank!

 

[natalie1737]

If your filter is similar to this it will provide both biological and mechanical filtration of the water.

Medium Sponge Filter

XY-2812 Suitable for tropical and coldwater fish tanks up to 200L These simple bio filters provide a perfect home for beneficial bacteria.

www.google.com

My thoughts were chronic high nitrates so this could be it. If so there is a chance of improving his condition by regular good maintenance.

• 50% water change every couple of days for 2 weeks then weekly after that. Use a dechlorinator. Match the water temperature to that of the tank.
• Gravel vac the substrate at each water change.
• rinse the filter sponge in old tank water at each water change.
• Reduce feeding to match his reduced appetite so that excess food doesn't foul the water. Offer a small amount 3-5 times a day.

You don't need to add aquarium salt, this should only be used as a specific medical treatment and for a period of between 2-4 weeks. Using salt for longer, particularly in small soft water fish, will cause kidney damage.
If the stress coat is the kind with aloe-vera in, discontinue using it. This can be detrimental to fish gills.

If not chronic high nitrates I would guess a virus like iridovirus (AKA dwarf gourami disease) which, unfortunately, cannot be treated.

Thank you very much for the advice, yes my filter is similar to that. I think that nitrates could be the issue as well, I will be sure to do the water changes. Also, thank you I didn’t know that about the aquarium salt and the water conditioner, I’ll be sure to change it out!

 

[MsRed]

Betta usually dislikes flakes and many pellets except OmegaOne Betta Buffet or Atison's Betta Pro.
No live or frozen food ?

Well, that is a huge (and not really true) generalization...
I've never had a Betta who wouldn't eat flakes or pellets.
In fact, most of my bettas would eat pretty much anything that would fall into the tank, including algae wafers and blanched veggies that are meant for my snails.
Whenever I drop a zucchini slice in there, he goes nuts! He eats like a maniac and guards it with his life.
If your guy has survived for a year and a half on those, that means he'd eating it.

On the other hand, it is healthier for them to have some variety in their diets.
I offer two types of flakes, two types of pellets (one of them bug bites style), freeze-dried brine shrimp, freeze-dried bloodworms, and frozen bloodworm, mysis and brine shrimp.
They eat all of them with the same gusto.

 

[Avel1896]

I think that nitrates could be the issue as well

5 ppm nitrates ? Not a concern.

 

[natalie1737]

Well, that is a huge (and not really true) generalization...
I've never had a Betta who wouldn't eat flakes or pellets.
In fact, most of my bettas would eat pretty much anything that would fall into the tank, including algae wafers and blanched veggies that are meant for my snails.
Whenever I drop a zucchini slice in there, he goes nuts! He eats like a maniac and guards it with his life.
If your guy has survived for a year and a half on those, that means he'd eating it.

On the other hand, it is healthier for them to have some variety in their diets.
I offer two types of flakes, two types of pellets (one of them bug bites style), freeze-dried brine shrimp, freeze-dried bloodworms, and frozen bloodworm, mysis and brine shrimp.
They eat all of them with the same gusto.

Thanks for the reply, I’m going to buy him some different food for variety. I also didn’t know they like zucchini, that’s an awesome idea! : )

 

[natalie1737]

5 ppm nitrates ? Not a concern.

Alright, thanks!

 

[Naughts]

5 ppm nitrates ? Not a concern.

This is after the recent water change, the water quality before this is questionable (see post #1 and #3)

 

[Avel1896]

This is after the recent water change, the water quality before this is questionable (see post #1 and #3)

Post #1 says : about 5 ppm which is not a concern.
Post #3 shows no result for nitrates.

 

[natalie1737]

Post #1 says : about 5 ppm which is not a concern.
Post #3 shows no result for nitrates.

Yes, I think doing a water change has helped but I think prior to this water change the nitrates could’ve been a bit higher

 

[Naughts]

Post #1 says : about 5 ppm which is not a concern.
Post #3 shows no result for nitrates.

testing the parameters right now, 3 days after the water change

Yes, I think I might’ve waited too long on the past water change as I’ve been busy because of the summer. I’m thinking that might be a factor in this.

Avel, please try and read all of the post so we don't need to repeat things. Thanks.