Betta Problem

[Mongwopman]

if he pooped brown it is likely not internal parasites. probably bacterial to be honest.
food in garlic is a good idea if he will eat it. and yes, you can just chops some up and roll some food around in it to pick up some garlic juice. no need to go buy prepared garlic-y food.
aquarium salt is the salt needed. and the dose is 1 tablespoon/5 gal. dissolve in a cup of tankwater before adding to the tank.
other than clamped fins and lethargy, does he show any other symptoms?
any scratching or rubbing? pinholes in the fins? is he "yawning" at all? does his anus look inflamed or enlarged? any bloating? are there any new decor or plants in the tank? any chance of chemicals in the tank(air fresheners,aerosols etc?)?
for now just keep his water clean and at a moderate temp.
all the best
cheers

There are no visible symptoms besides being light in colour.

He does yawn, but not alot or any more than what is regarded normal i guess.
He was flashing against objects 2 weeks ago before i treated him, but that has since stopped.

Anus looks normal, doesnt look bloated, looks thin infact. You will see from the photos later when I upload.

The aerosol thing raised an issue, his tank just has a see through plastic cover on and is in my room where i do get dressed (duh) and use Deodorant, I dont stand next to the tank abviously and spray myself, but do some from across the room. I will refrain from this and see what happens.

 

[loraxchick]

how's his appetite? if he has been "under the weather" and not eating well, could explain his thinness. flashing is generally parasites or chemicals. good that he stopped this. is he lost color or does it look like his slimecoat is built up? any stringyness to his "skin" (ie slime coming off?).
feed high protein food like (3) frozen bloodworms every other day if you have any. with garlic as menitoned above if you are able.
all the best and keep us posted.
cheers

 

[Athena]

Hi there

Sounds to me like the symptoms of flukes - flashing/scraping in initial stages, weight loss, ragged fins, poor appetite...

Needs to be treated promptly with a med such as Sterazin, do an initial gravel vac and partial water change too. Once the disease reaches the point of increased breathing rate it is usually too advanced to save the fish, so early treatment (within first few days if poss) is recommended.

Regards

Athena

 

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

I could'nt perhaps crush a garlic and try rub some of his food in the juices from that? I assume garlic juice is just that....garlic juice.

That is exactly right.

I had a jar of crushed garlic; so I just took a bit of the juice out and soaked his pellets in it (although they didn't go down very well as they sunk and he doesn't like sinking food)-I did the same with bloodworms the previous day and they certainly went down well

 

[Mongwopman]

Well at lunch time now, I tried that, just crushed some garlic and rubbed some BW into this. He ate some, but also left a bit behind.

Seems he doesnt like to eat food if it not moving, so when it sinks he tends to look at it for a loooong time before snapping it up.

 

[BethK]

my lot like to chase food, so i put it in the water, infront of the filter, try that. Least he ate a little x

 

[Mongwopman]

Yeah im glad he ate a little, I will keep him on the BW for now, just hope he doesnt get picky and decide thats ALL he wants to eat.

 

[Mongwopman]

did the waterchange as i was going to, fed a little more BW and the guy is looking more perky, more active....however....after some closer inspection, his eyes have a glazed over look about them, could be why he circles his food and hasnt been eating properly. Have treated wth salt.

I suspect the garlic juice thing has perked him up somewhat, his fins are'nt clamped at the moment. I have got a photo but i cant find the darn cable to download them.

 

[Mongwopman]

And today he is all miserable again. I did drop him into my bigger tank which contains another male betta, could this have been the reason he was so alert?

 

[Mongwopman]

Images to show you what he looks like, 2 with flash off and 1 with flash on.

This was after he was looking a wee bit better last night!

Considering he looked like this when i got him :

 

[Athena]

Oh dear, he does look very poorly! Did you see my earlier post about flukes?

Can you just confirm also that this betta has been in a tank on his own from the time you bought him?

I wouldn't put him in a tank with any other fish to be honest - this could only make things worse - especially putting him in with another male betta. That's asking for trouble LOL! The extra stress of another male betta nearby will only add to his suffering and he could go downhill rapidly.

If this change in his appearance and appetite has happened whilst he was in a tank alone (and not the cause of aggression/stress/fighting), then I would still recommend treating for flukes as he has all the symptoms of this - the sooner treated the better. Flukes can ravage the fins of a fish down to nothing. The longer the fish is left untreated the less chance of survival and in the meantime it is suffering.

Hoping for the best outcome - regards, Athena.

 

[Mongwopman]

I did read your post about flukes and am trying to see where i can find some fluke medication. Not easy given my options are limited in terms on shops etc.

He is on his own, in his own tank. When he was put into the other tank, he was in a floating compartment thingy.

 

[Curiosity101]

Have you made sure you've removed all the chemicals once the medication period was over? It's probably never going to cause a problem if you didn't, but it may not help if there are still lots of meds floating around in his water.

Also I'd probably drop the use of salt in his tank unless you're specifically trying to treat his eyes...

It sounds like you've basically covered everything you can medicine wise, I reckon it's gonna be a case of whether he will eat now cause he'll need to energy to get himself healthy.

 

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

Seems he doesnt like to eat food if it not moving, so when it sinks he tends to look at it for a loooong time before snapping it up.

My male is the same; but I hold the worms for him to get .

My females will chase the sinking food down and eat it from the bottom.

 

[loraxchick]

what is the active med in the internal parasite treatment you ran? for flukes see if the fish shop has any malachite green. kills external parasites like ich and other external nasties. it is widely used as a med so they should have it.
i thnk athena is spot on here. keep with the bloodworms and treatment until he feels better. dont worry-he will go back to pellets when hes well.
cheers