Wondering how my new betta looks?

[angel j]

Hello there I purchased a new betta i now have 2 (this one and my blue/yellow crowntail whos moved from the tank the newbies in to a 10 gallon downstairs) im just wondering if there's anything up with him I don't notice? Got him from petsmart this Friday and he's already exploring. He's a dumbo halfmoon( but I think with some crowntail in him cuz he's got a few of the spikes on his top dorsal fun like my crowntail does lol) he does have a bend in his back i believe it maybe scoliosis I've done research on it after getting him and it's only slight and it doesn't effect his swimming whatsoever. I'm debating on naming him Olympus or Apollo ( these r the best pics I have of him he loves showing off but hes super camera shy) thank u in advance

 

[Colin_T]

His eyes appear to be bulging out a bit and he seems to have a puffed up top lip but that could be the picture.

If you take some more pictures and put them on your computer, then go thru them and pick out a good one showing him from the side, then post it on here. That will give us more to go on

 

[angel j]

His eyes appear to be bulging out a bit and he seems to have a puffed up top lip but that could be the picture.

If you take some more pictures and put them on your computer, then go thru them and pick out a good one showing him from the side, then post it on here. That will give us more to go on

heres some good pics of his eyes and mouth hope theyre good? he loves to strut his stuff but he hates cameras..XD

 

[angel j]

His eyes appear to be bulging out a bit and he seems to have a puffed up top lip but that could be the picture.

If you take some more pictures and put them on your computer, then go thru them and pick out a good one showing him from the side, then post it on here. That will give us more to go on

Hey just a quick addition to the eye thing u said I just tried to feed him and he has some trouble with aiming for it I had to soak a pellet till it was huge so he could get it and he'll do the thing where bettas go up for air a little and he'll be just short of being at the surface and hell be sticking his head out to "breathe" then kinda become a little panicky and freak out then react the top and the breathe and go back to his normal thing. I looked for signs of bad oxegination like his gills moving fast and it isn't that it just seems like his eyesight is bad or his depth perception or something like that.. he doesn't have any mobility issues. He has interest in food and me he can SEE it just seems like he has trouble. He also bites at stuff like the pellet that isn't close enough or just at nothing...

 

[Colin_T]

There is something wrong with his left eye because it seems to stick out quite a bit more than it should. It could be a bacterial infection but it depends on how long the eye has been sticking out for. If the fish was born with it then it's genetic and there is nothing you can do.

Most eye infections are caused by poor water quality and the eye gets a bit cloudy (milky colour). Normally cleaning up the tank conditions will fix the problem but if your tank is clean and has no ammonia or nitrite and the nitrate is less than 20ppm, then it is unlikely to be that. However, you have only had the fish a few days so it might have had the problem at the shop, and hopefully it will get better over the next few days.

You could contact the shop you bought it from and let them know it has trouble feeding and appears to have a slightly enlarged/ swollen eye. See what they have to say. At least then it's on record with the shop that the fish has an issue and if it doesn't get better, you can go back to them and ask if they will exchange the fish. If you wait a couple of weeks before contacting the shop, and it hasn't gotten better, the shop will say it happened at your place and they accept no responsibility.

I am reluctant to suggest medications at this stage because if the fish has a bacterial infection in the eye or brain, they stop feeding and don't act normally. So I am hoping this is just a minor infection that will clear up by itself now the fish is in clean water.

You could do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate each day for a week. That will help to keep the water nice and clean and reduce any bacteria, fungus or protozoans in the water and will give the fish the best chance of recovering.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.

 

[angel j]

There is something wrong with his left eye because it seems to stick out quite a bit more than it should. It could be a bacterial infection but it depends on how long the eye has been sticking out for. If the fish was born with it then it's genetic and there is nothing you can do.

Most eye infections are caused by poor water quality and the eye gets a bit cloudy (milky colour). Normally cleaning up the tank conditions will fix the problem but if your tank is clean and has no ammonia or nitrite and the nitrate is less than 20ppm, then it is unlikely to be that. However, you have only had the fish a few days so it might have had the problem at the shop, and hopefully it will get better over the next few days.

You could contact the shop you bought it from and let them know it has trouble feeding and appears to have a slightly enlarged/ swollen eye. See what they have to say. At least then it's on record with the shop that the fish has an issue and if it doesn't get better, you can go back to them and ask if they will exchange the fish. If you wait a couple of weeks before contacting the shop, and it hasn't gotten better, the shop will say it happened at your place and they accept no responsibility.

I am reluctant to suggest medications at this stage because if the fish has a bacterial infection in the eye or brain, they stop feeding and don't act normally. So I am hoping this is just a minor infection that will clear up by itself now the fish is in clean water.

You could do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate each day for a week. That will help to keep the water nice and clean and reduce any bacteria, fungus or protozoans in the water and will give the fish the best chance of recovering.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.

I do belive he was like this when i purchased Him due to me being there just as the shipment truck came by and he was brought out and placed in the betta area while i was right there, and he isn't lethargic from what I can tell he's pretty active and loves to chase the bubbles the filter makes, he was very eager to eat he just had to grab it, I'll make sure to contact the petsmart and let them know ( they did have a betta there with horrible ich he was obviously dark blue but the ich was so bad he only had traces of the blue left I told the manager and she took him right away to the back for treatment)his eyes aren't cloudy whatsoever that i see, ill still do the water changes and see if that helps any, he doesnt have substrate he has a bearbottom tank (I removed the gravel after my betta I moved to the other tank scratched his underside on it and it got slightly infected and I had ro treat him for it) i always keep the water clean in the tank and all new water is dechlorinated before it goes in, i don't leave food in to rot, clean up waste and do a water changes when needed (small 10-15% changes once a week or so) I make sure to have a clean tank and check all the levels with test strips to avoid a sick fish id hate seeing my fish sick bc i wasnt attentive to his needs, and he searched his tank today and his depth perception isn't as bad he has improved, thank you for the help if his eye worsens do you think I should use the medicine from my other bettas infection? It's just betta fix you add into the water or?

 

[Colin_T]

You should be doing a 75% water change every week for any fish including Bettas. Small 10-15% weekly water changes don't dilute nutrients or microscopic organisms sufficiently and bigger water changes are much better and more effective.

I have never used Bettafix but Google says it contains Teatree oil and that can be an issue if it leaves a film on the surface. You can try it but I would do water changes first because that normally fixes most fish health issues.

 

[angel j]

You should be doing a 75% water change every week for any fish including Bettas. Small 10-15% weekly water changes don't dilute nutrients or microscopic organisms sufficiently and bigger water changes are much better and more effective.

I have never used Bettafix but Google says it contains Teatree oil and that can be an issue if it leaves a film on the surface. You can try it but I would do water changes first because that normally fixes most fish health issues.

Ok I'll do that instead thank you I was worried about stressing them out but I'll do the 75% changes from here on out. And it does leave a film I only used it since my other bettas infection was just getting worse by the second, I'd given him almost a week to try and fight it himself but he was just lying on his side at the bottom almost all the time barely moving, it didnt seem like he could fight it himself at that point, I'll do the 75% water changes before I use that stuff, it's really just for dire situations. thank you for the help again

 

[Colin_T]

Doing a big water change shouldn't stress the fish too much. Just carefully drain out some water and then fill the tank back up. Leave the fish in the tank when this happens and he should simply swim about in the water as it drains down and while it fills up.

 

[angel j]

Doing a big water change shouldn't stress the fish too much. Just carefully drain out some water and then fill the tank back up. Leave the fish in the tank when this happens and he should simply swim about in the water as it drains down and while it fills up.

Ahh alright thank you he my other betta when I did big changes would freak out and jumped out of the tank onto his table so I didn't want a repeat of that scared the life outta me..XD I'll do that from now on and just keep a close eye on this little guy so I don't have another heart attack..XD

 

[Colin_T]

If you work in the tank more regularly, the fish get use to things being in there and to you being next to the tank, and they don't stress or spook as much. You don't have to do much for this and you can simply put a syphon hose in the tank each day and move it slowly about for a minute and then remove it. You don't have to remove any water when you do this, you simply put the hose in the tank so the fish gets use to it and doesn't get scared when you do drain the tank.

The same thing applies with fish tanks, they should be kept in an area where lots of people move around. This way the fish get use to people moving near them and they just accept it and get on with their life. But fish kept in aquariums in a quiet corner of a dark room stress whenever people go near them because they aren't use to it.

 

[angel j]

If you work in the tank more regularly, the fish get use to things being in there and to you being next to the tank, and they don't stress or spook as much. You don't have to do much for this and you can simply put a syphon hose in the tank each day and move it slowly about for a minute and then remove it. You don't have to remove any water when you do this, you simply put the hose in the tank so the fish gets use to it and doesn't get scared when you do drain the tank.

The same thing applies with fish tanks, they should be kept in an area where lots of people move around. This way the fish get use to people moving near them and they just accept it and get on with their life. But fish kept in aquariums in a quiet corner of a dark room stress whenever people go near them because they aren't use to it.

I worked on his tank often and hung around it literally almost 247 (the tanks in my room and I stay there alot of the time besides school and even then my mom comes in and out alot) I fed him by hand and he was all ok with my hands and me he comes up to meet me whenever i came around even now, I'll do that with this fella though so he won't have issues until he's used to me he already comes up to the front when people come in so It seems like a good sign and he follows me when I walk around my room it's really cute to be honest