Betta Fish Is Sick! Please Help 911

[sbetta10]

I think he is looking better. The stuff on his face is seeming to go away..slowly. We are on day 3 of his velvet treatment and I just gave him his second dose of maracide for treatment day 3. He is definately more reactive to me when I touch the glass by his face. He used to sometimes just ignore me..he is going to the top when he needs air.

I am wondering if I should do a water change because his tank water is getting cloudy and smells a little foul..? Im sure its from the medicine because he hasnt eaten for the 3rd day in a row now and he hasnt pooped either. We were fasting for 3-4 days and i fed him a blanched pea and he actually ate it!! He has never eaten a pea before because he was too stubborn but I think he was really hungry (which was the plan) It was a size definately smaller than his eyeball (probly like half the size) and that is it. I was so happy he ate it! He seems to be responding really well to the meds so I am going to keep treating him until it is completely done with.

Should I do a 25% water change or not since he is being medicated?

His tank temp is at 80 degrees and it stays in the 79-80 range which is perfect and he is still in his 1 gallon hospital tank because I heard maracide can stain acrylic..? Not sure but I am planning on moving him back to the 1.5 acrylic tank on day 9 of the treatment process. I have also covered his tank (not the top) for it to be darker because he is in my kitchen..and I have learned to just keep the lights off...but its working for him so I will keep moving forward with this and I hope betta does too. Hes being so great

 

[loraxchick]

definately change some water if hes still in the unfiltered bowl. do 50% and redose with half the dosage.
good he seems to be on the mend. id throw a thick towel over the tank. keep it dark if it is velvet. will help a LOT in the treatment. glad he ate a bit too.
seems like good progress. keep up the good work!
cheers

 

[sbetta10]

definately change some water if hes still in the unfiltered bowl. do 50% and redose with half the dosage.
good he seems to be on the mend. id throw a thick towel over the tank. keep it dark if it is velvet. will help a LOT in the treatment. glad he ate a bit too.
seems like good progress. keep up the good work!
cheers

Here is an update—we are on day 8 of the treatment process. I have given betta maracide on day 1, 3, and 5. I gave him a 50% water change on day 3 and added a half dose of maracide that day. I also had his tank covered the entire time of medication. He also ate a pea on day 3 and day 7. His stomach still looks bulgy a little and the fungus on his face is seeming to clear up a little..I still see the glitter specs on him and a few more tiny dots on his body. His activity is definitely improving, he actually flared his gills at me when I came home from my 24 hour trip this weekend which I think I have seen him do one other time before! Everytime I walk into the kitchen (his current home) he swims all around and goes to the top, gets some air, and then blows bubbles! Hes so silly and I am soo happy he is getting some energy back!

But I am worried he either caught a second illness from his immune system being so low or if I even got rid of the velvet…Should I do a full water change now at this point or should I keep him in the medicated tank with a 50% water change? Should I keep medicating him? Restart? The dot just under his eye actually got a little bigger at one point but is now seeming to go down a bit more now..and his face area has still got the slimy white stuff in the crevices of his skin,etc. Melafix for that?

 

[loraxchick]

no melafix IMHO. give him a week break from all meds. do small waterchanges daily and feed sparingly. see if he improves on his own. can you post any pics?
keep us posted.
cheers

 

[sbetta10]

no melafix IMHO. give him a week break from all meds. do small waterchanges daily and feed sparingly. see if he improves on his own. can you post any pics?
keep us posted.
cheers

Ok, well the bottle says I can redose if symptoms are still present. He has glitter gold dust all over his body still and his gills are still gold colored. His face and mouth have white stuff all over it and the white raised cottony dot is still there under his eye. I restarted the maracide treatment today after a full 100% water change. His eyes have the gold outline around them still as well. I would post pics but I have already posted tons of pics and he STILL looks like that. The only thing that has changed is his energy and the white stuff around his face and mouth have lightened up but that is it..But now his energy is back down again (maybe adjusting to new tank water) but he definately still has velvet and I am not going to stop treating him until the symptoms are somewhat gone.

 

[loraxchick]

are you blacking out the tank? velvet cannot survive without light. do only two rounds of meds at any time. they need a break after that. meds are hard on the fish.
the white cottony bits you describe sound like beginnings of columnaris. needs antibacterial meds for that. keep the water clean. and lower temp to around 74 if you are able.
cheers

 

[sbetta10]

are you blacking out the tank? velvet cannot survive without light. do only two rounds of meds at any time. they need a break after that. meds are hard on the fish.
the white cottony bits you describe sound like beginnings of columnaris. needs antibacterial meds for that. keep the water clean. and lower temp to around 74 if you are able.
cheers

I have said many times in this thread that I am in fact covering his tank at all times with a dark colored pillowcase. When you say antibacterial meds, what is the best for this? can I use the antibacterial meds in conjunction with the maracide? His temp is at 77 degrees right now because everyone is telling me to have higher temps when treating for velvet. I DONT HAVE AN ADJUSTABLE HEATER. So anytime I have to change his water or adjust the temp, it takes forever to do because I am only home 14 hours out of 24hours in a day and asleep 8 of those hours.

 

[loraxchick]

ok-no need to get upset. just trying to help.
its ok that you cant adjust the temp. treating is better if you could lower the temp actually (ich is the one you want to raise the temp for). good that you are keeping the tank covered.
you can not mix maracide and bacterial meds. you can use epsom salt in conjunction to help the popeye.
took a very close look again at the pictures you posted. that gold coloration on his gills seems like normal red-betta gill covers. they are shinier than the rest of the scales so dont appear "red" but rather like a mix or red and silver. having owned red betta that looks fine TBH. and the gold "dust"-you certain its not just coloration? some red bettas have flecks of blue, purple, gold,orange intermixed with the red scales(almost between the scales). a completely solid red betta is a rarity.
what is worrying is the white "stuff" you are describing. could be one of two things-slime coat being thick and "peeling" off or columnaris.
in the treatment (and yes, i did go back and reread all the posts) when did the popeye become noticeable? and could you post a recent pic of him. id like to see his eyes and better shots of the white stuff. as they say-a picture says a thousand words.
you are doing a good job! but dont panic. and now that new symptoms are starting to crop up id suspect it is something else altogether. if the second round of velvet meds doesnt do the trick you really need to give the guy a break for a few days and reconsider treatment options. meds can be really hard on the fish.
keep us posted and keep up the good work.
cheers

 

[sbetta10]

ok-no need to get upset. just trying to help.
its ok that you cant adjust the temp. treating is better if you could lower the temp actually (ich is the one you want to raise the temp for). good that you are keeping the tank covered.
you can not mix maracide and bacterial meds. you can use epsom salt in conjunction to help the popeye.
took a very close look again at the pictures you posted. that gold coloration on his gills seems like normal red-betta gill covers. they are shinier than the rest of the scales so dont appear "red" but rather like a mix or red and silver. having owned red betta that looks fine TBH. and the gold "dust"-you certain its not just coloration? some red bettas have flecks of blue, purple, gold,orange intermixed with the red scales(almost between the scales). a completely solid red betta is a rarity.
what is worrying is the white "stuff" you are describing. could be one of two things-slime coat being thick and "peeling" off or columnaris.
in the treatment (and yes, i did go back and reread all the posts) when did the popeye become noticeable? and could you post a recent pic of him. id like to see his eyes and better shots of the white stuff. as they say-a picture says a thousand words.
you are doing a good job! but dont panic. and now that new symptoms are starting to crop up id suspect it is something else altogether. if the second round of velvet meds doesnt do the trick you really need to give the guy a break for a few days and reconsider treatment options. meds can be really hard on the fish.
keep us posted and keep up the good work.
cheers

I didnt mean to sound rude at all, I was just trying to make it clear of what I was doing and have been doing. I really do appreciate all the help that everyone has given me but I feel like I just cannot win with this and I get anxious all the time because I dont know what to do to help him..im just going by what others say to do and what i have researched. Anyways, the gold stuff on his gills has never ever been there until a couple of weeks ago. I have had him for over a year now and have never seen the gold glitter (specks) doused all over his body either until a couple of weeks ago and his whole coat is a palish color, almost like an orangey brown color (not the vibrant red I am used to). The last few days, though, his color seems to be not as pale, like it is getting better. I am really strongly leaning towards columnaris or that mouth fungus from the white stuff on his face. There is still only one raised dot below his eye..it has lightened a bit.

Something happend last night that I am not sure if its what really happend: but I woke up yesterday to his tank being VERY cloudy, I mean you could barely see inside of it. I did a 25% water change because I literally just did a 100%water change the day before. I came home after work and decided it wasnt getting any better...I flashed a light on him to look at him closer and I was no longer seeing those glitter specks on his body.. I thought to myself, maybe the parasite had finally reached the free swimming stage and fell off his body and died in the medicated water which may be where the cloudy water was from? I really have nooo idea if this is the case but anyways I did a 100% full water change lastnight because the cloudiness was just bad and wasnt sure if my theory was totally true or if something just happend to drop in his tank.. He still had the white stuff on his face though, that hasnt really changed. I fed him his first serving of bloodworms since a week ago when i started the fasting and pea feeding. he loved them and accepted them happily. His swimming is definately alot better but still at times when he is stressed will float on his side..still not 100%...After doing the water change I flashed the light on him again and still do not see the glitter specks on his body anymore so i am really hoping they finally fell off and died in the medicated water!

With his new waterchange after all of that, it had his 2nd dose of maracide treatment#2. I plan on dosing the 5th day still (sunday) and on Monday, put him in his regular 1.5 and give him a good break from any meds. i plan on keeping the water pristine clean at all times and my every other day feeding regimen with one day fasting and a pea to follow. After a week or so, I may add the antibacterial but if anyone has any suggestions on that, it would be appreciated.

Here are the most recent pics of Betta (took them an hour ago) :
Sideview 1:

Sideview 2:

Dot on his face closeup:

Striped coat? :

Face:

Another closeup of face:

And another:

 

[loraxchick]

well all that sounds like a step in the right direction. Cant really comment on cloudy water but i would have done immediate waterchange as well.
he really doesnt look in too bad shape TBH. glad that he is perking up a bit. as for the white on him, it may even get better on its own once the parasite treatment is done. as id mentioned, meds can be hard on a fish-stressing him out and immune system down just a bit. so fingers crossed for you that that will happen.
your treatment plan sounds very reasonable. again, keep up the good work. also id like to mention, he does not appear to have popeye. if he did it would be very apparent. so that is good news also.
thanks for the pictures as always they are helpful.
all the best!
cheers

 

[sbetta10]

well all that sounds like a step in the right direction. Cant really comment on cloudy water but i would have done immediate waterchange as well.
he really doesnt look in too bad shape TBH. glad that he is perking up a bit. as for the white on him, it may even get better on its own once the parasite treatment is done. as id mentioned, meds can be hard on a fish-stressing him out and immune system down just a bit. so fingers crossed for you that that will happen.
your treatment plan sounds very reasonable. again, keep up the good work. also id like to mention, he does not appear to have popeye. if he did it would be very apparent. so that is good news also.
thanks for the pictures as always they are helpful.
all the best!
cheers

Ok, it is now day 6 of the 2nd treatment process. Gave him his last dose of maracide yesterday (day 5). Symptoms still similar to the last post I posted with the pics. he ate 1-2 bloodworms yesterday.



I plan on going to petsmart today after work and finally buying the 2.5 gal tank for him. I am also going to purchase an adjustable heater for the new tank.



I plan on setting up this new tank with fresh conditioned water, a new filter, a new heater tonight and see how the new heater does. After 24 hours of watching the heater, etc--I plan to add him to this new uncycled tank (considering he has never had a cycled tank before-were pretty much starting over). I plan on giving him a break from any meds for now and keeping a close eye on him for a few days. The reason for the rush of the new tank is because given the situation were in (no adjustable heater with inconsistent temps), I want to make sure his environment is as stable as possible while I am gone for 4 days. I leave Thursday afternoon and will be back Monday afternoon. I am scared to what I will come home to but am hoping everything will be fine..and if he is in a stable environment, I will feel less anxious about him. Any advice about my plan would be appreciated!!

 

[loraxchick]

do you have any mature filter media? take some of the mature media from an established filter (not more than 1/3) to set up the new filter. wont be struggling with a fish in cycle that way. likely will fully cycle in less than a week (if not instantly seeing as there is only 1 betta).
best of luck! keep us posted
cheers

 

[sbetta10]

do you have any mature filter media? take some of the mature media from an established filter (not more than 1/3) to set up the new filter. wont be struggling with a fish in cycle that way. likely will fully cycle in less than a week (if not instantly seeing as there is only 1 betta).
best of luck! keep us posted
cheers

Right now betta is not in a filtered tank at all and hasnt been since I moved him to his hospital tank. His old tank (the 1.5 gal) had a rear attached filter (cheap $4 whisper) in it and the only thing that goes into that black plastic thing is the filter pads but these filter pads are not the same size as the new ones in the new tank that I bought. Would a $4 whisper filter have mature filter media in it?

I went to petsmart lastnight and got betta a 3 gallon marineland Eclipse tank with 3 stage filtration system installed in the hood and some new gravel. I also got him a new 10 watt heater that says it is factory preset to 78 degrees..so once again i dont have an adjustable heater but it was the only one there for 3 gallons and since there is more water depth in the 3 gallon opposed to the 1.5, I think the heater will do just fine.

 

[-Craig-]

do you have any mature filter media? take some of the mature media from an established filter (not more than 1/3) to set up the new filter. wont be struggling with a fish in cycle that way. likely will fully cycle in less than a week (if not instantly seeing as there is only 1 betta).
best of luck! keep us posted
cheers

Right now betta is not in a filtered tank at all and hasnt been since I moved him to his hospital tank. His old tank (the 1.5 gal) had a rear attached filter (cheap $4 whisper) in it and the only thing that goes into that black plastic thing is the filter pads but these filter pads are not the same size as the new ones in the new tank that I bought. Would a $4 whisper filter have mature filter media in it?

I went to petsmart lastnight and got betta a 3 gallon marineland Eclipse tank with 3 stage filtration system installed in the hood and some new gravel. I also got him a new 10 watt heater that says it is factory preset to 78 degrees..so once again i dont have an adjustable heater but it was the only one there for 3 gallons and since there is more water depth in the 3 gallon opposed to the 1.5, I think the heater will do just fine.

I'm not sure if it would have Filter media in it, but i hope he gets Better soon.

 

[sbetta10]

do you have any mature filter media? take some of the mature media from an established filter (not more than 1/3) to set up the new filter. wont be struggling with a fish in cycle that way. likely will fully cycle in less than a week (if not instantly seeing as there is only 1 betta).
best of luck! keep us posted
cheers

Right now betta is not in a filtered tank at all and hasnt been since I moved him to his hospital tank. His old tank (the 1.5 gal) had a rear attached filter (cheap $4 whisper) in it and the only thing that goes into that black plastic thing is the filter pads but these filter pads are not the same size as the new ones in the new tank that I bought. Would a $4 whisper filter have mature filter media in it?

I went to petsmart lastnight and got betta a 3 gallon marineland Eclipse tank with 3 stage filtration system installed in the hood and some new gravel. I also got him a new 10 watt heater that says it is factory preset to 78 degrees..so once again i dont have an adjustable heater but it was the only one there for 3 gallons and since there is more water depth in the 3 gallon opposed to the 1.5, I think the heater will do just fine.

I'm not sure if it would have Filter media in it, but i hope he gets Better soon.

Update (since its been about a week)
I got the new tank sat up as planned and betta was put in it and monitored. He seemed to be just fine. I think he actually swam around for the first 5 minutes..not sure if he was just adjusting or really enjoyed his new tank and was taking a look at everything. I have to say though, while monitoring the tank before I put him in, the new heater for the 3 gallon was heating my tank up to 85.7!!!!! I just dont understand these stupid heaters--it says right on the box that it is factory preset to 78 degrees!!! I didnt have the tank light on either! I decided to see what it did without the heater and to my surprise, using no heater actually keeps his tank at 77.5-78.5 consistently if I have the house temp on 74-75 degrees which worked perfectly. I left for my 4-day vacation and came back to a pretty happy betta. he was so happy to see me that he flared his gills at me I love this when he does it as he never used to!

He seemed to be in good spirits and swimming around alot more than usual. BUUUUUT he still swims at an angle sometimes and he found a spot in the corner of the tank where he just sits at the bottom most of the time. I have fasted him over andover again and have given him peas and he still seems to have swim bladder issues after 6 months of these ongoing symptoms. His belly does not look swollen at all and am wondering if the damage is permanent after having it for so long!?

The white fungusy stuff is NOT going away, no change what so ever..I also noticed silvery saltsize specs speckled on his body and am wondering what that is!? I will take more pics of him tonight and post them later or tomorrow.

I was thinking about doing a treatment of Jungle Fungus Eliminator, is this the right thing to do? I heard it works wonders for those secondary bacterial infections they might catch while thier immune systems are low (like when he had velvet). Oh by the way, the rust color on his gills have diminished!! Please help me?!