Betta on & off for months

[Buckley]

I’ve had my Betta since February and soon after he developed brown patches on his back. I figured it was from stress and he was fine after a water change but still discolored. It’s April now and he’s gotten progressively worse. He currently has fin/tail rot and patches on his sides have shown up within the past week. I’ve medicated him daily since for the rot and (what I believe are) ulcers. He’s still eating but is constantly too dwelling. He’s clearly having a hard time breathing and his gills look inflamed. I’ve looked up Columnaris and Velvet, which seem to be the only contenders. Although, they’re deadly within a week. I feel like I’m just waiting for him to die. The picture where he looks green is when his whole tail fell off within 8 hours. What do you guys think?

 

[Colin_T]

Have you tested the water quality for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH?
If yes, what are the results in numbers?

How often are you doing water changes and how much water do you change?
Do you dechlorinate the new water before adding it to the tank?

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The water in the first picture (90915) looks milky cloudy, that is normally caused by uneaten food.
The fish looks ok in the second pic (90917).
In the third pic (90918), the fish has a bacterial infection and looks close to death.

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You can try treating it with a broad spectrum medication or anti-biotics, but it might be too late and it would be cheaper to euthanise the fish. If the fish is still eating and you want to try treating it then visit the pet shop and see what medications they have.

 

[Buckley]

Yes, he needs a water change again. He refuses to eat the flakes and only the krill in his food. The first picture is from today. I’m guessing he’s responding to the medication because he definitely looked like he was going to die in the third picture. Nitrite and nitrate are 0, ph is 6.8 and I need to get an ammonia test kit. I have only used the 5 in 1 strips along with the ph tester and adjuster. I change 25% of the water weekly from my 29 gal cycled tank. I haven’t changed it yet because I have fish in the other tank now. How should I dechlorinate the water outside of his tank?

 

[Colin_T]

Bigger water changes are better. Change 75% of the water and gravel clean the substrate a couple of times a week. The bigger water changes dilute more nutrients and disease organisms than smaller water changes do.

How should I dechlorinate the water outside of his tank?

Get a bucket used only for the fish. Fill it with tap water, add dechlorinator to the bucket of water, then aerate it for at least 5 minutes (preferably 30 minutes) before adding it to the tank.

If you make up the water first, it can aerate while you drain the tank water out and gravel clean the substrate. Then you can add the new dechlorinated water.