Can You Save Prince The Rita/katrina Evacuee..?

[abbylovesbetta]

ok, I wont waste your time, just PLEASE read below and help my purple Betta, Prince live.

Chronology:

To clarify: First-time fish affecionado, fish in large bowl, I am meticulous with cleaning and treating water, 1 year old, Rita/Katrina evacuee, fed him hard pellets (which I learned too late can constipate Bettas).

2 weeks ago, progressing over 5 days : began swimming at top of fish bowl, behaving oddly. Eating 4-5 pellets a day. After a few days, complete emgerency-- twitching, swimming on his side, curling down, unable to stay submerged unless (he's so smart) wedges himself in plastic plant, displayed classic swimbladder and popeye conditions as well as possible bacterial infection. Fins frayed, gills exhibiting sever labored breathing (can you tell I'm a nurse?). I stopped feeding at this point. Read online for HOURS about his condition -causes of swimbladder (trauma, congential, constipation). No bowel movement.

Took him to Petco (don't knock it, there are no fish stores in Houston proper and they were fairly helpful).

Put him through a 5 day regimen of tetracycline and elixir of tea tree oil (used proper dosaging, of course). First 24 hours post tetracycline, excreting white exudate from fins, stringy-like. This resolved in 24 hours. Labored breathing also resolved, but the swimming on his side, if at all, stayed. (let me say--there is nothing more depressing and inspirational than seeing such a small creature fight so hard).

Ok, bacterial issues being resolved. Next on agenda: swimbladder condition, which I thought I caused through feeding pellets, thereby causing constipation. We are now at 1 week of starvation, no BM. Tried the cooked, shelled pea thing, tried and tried and tried. He didnt even nibble.

Still no bowel movmemnt....starting to think that constipation as the reason for this swimbladder disorder is not correct...scared to death, but 2 days ago, did the epsom salt 15 minute dip. He hated it. twitching, writhing, curling...awefully sad to watch. I dont know if I have the heart to repeat, as some sites online instructed. Still no BM.

Now, he's just wedged in between plastic. Refuses to eat. I even tried dried bloodworms. He is starving to death, right? He must be beyond depressed, living wedged in there. I put an ivy leaf in the bowl to float. he loves it. Wedges in the plastic and gets the leaf to cover his head so that he stays submerged.

He must be misrable. I cannot let go of him yet. PLEASE SOMEONE ADVISE....! He's my first "mine-only pet" and I love the little tyke.

I refuse to euthenise. I'll return him to Petco before I do that. I'm also sick of friends saying stupid things like, you spent$40 in supplies on a stupid $4 fish?! Aweful.

HELP SAVE HIM. GIVE ME SOME ADVICE?

 

[Tolak]

What was the dosage with the epsom bath?

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

id try feeding something soft, tetra delicia whole waterfleas are good i use them as a treat for my bettas, they come out soft and i only give them a nibble. theres what they look like:

 

[Darkmoon Bettas]

Houston (if you mean Texas) has some excellent LFS's. I don't know what part you're in, but two of my longtime favorites are Village Tropical Fish in the Montrose area, and Aquarium World by Anything Fishy out highway 290. Both of them are by/for hobbyists, been in business for years, and their staffs are EXCELLENT. (I'd offer to help but I no longer live in Houston.)

How did you try feeding him the pea? Did you just drop it in the tank? Have you tried putting it right near his mouth, almost wiping it off in his mouth, smooshed on the end of a toothpick, tweezers, or a pipette? You could also try powdering some bloodworms and mixing it in the pea mush to make it smell more appealing.

I normally wouldn't recommend this, since constipation is usually caused by too much protein, but if he goes another two or three days without eating ANYTHING, you might try some live tubifex worms or live brine shrimp. (Both stores above have them.) You'll probably have to buy minimum 1/4 or 1/2 ounce, but don't feed nearly that much! Just try 2 or 3 and see if he'll eat them. Even very sick bettas will usually take live food. The motion seems to trigger a feeding response.

Do you have any way of taking photos of him? It might help people to get a better idea of what's going on so we can help you some more.

You can also try a SMALL dose of Epsom salts in his regular water--I mean about 10-15 grains per gallon. I've used tiny doses in fish tanks before, with dropsy and constipation cases, and it doesn't seem to hurt or bother the fish at all in such tiny doses, but it does help draw fluid a little still.

Best of luck to you and your little guy.

 

[abbylovesbetta]

What was the dosage with the epsom bath?

He's in a 1 gallon bowl; so I put approximately 1/8 of an ounce in there. Not much...

Thanks for reading...

Houston (if you mean Texas) has some excellent LFS's. I don't know what part you're in, but two of my longtime favorites are Village Tropical Fish in the Montrose area, and Aquarium World by Anything Fishy out highway 290. Both of them are by/for hobbyists, been in business for years, and their staffs are EXCELLENT. (I'd offer to help but I no longer live in Houston.)
Yes, In TX. I totally know where you are talking about - the Village Tropical Fish store. However, they have seriously gone DOWNHILL. I've heard terrible things coming out of that store. In fact, when you pull them on citysearch, I believe the reviews are terrible. I may try Aquarium World on 290- far away, but worth the drive to save him.


How did you try feeding him the pea? Did you just drop it in the tank? Have you tried putting it right near his mouth, almost wiping it off in his mouth, smooshed on the end of a toothpick, tweezers, or a pipette? You could also try powdering some bloodworms and mixing it in the pea mush to make it smell more appealing.
So I put the pea on the end of a non-pointy hairpin, smooshed. Up to his mouth. Followed him around the bowl, and he basically just looked right through it and kept moving away. This went on and on for like, 30 minues. I'm going to try the bloodworms plus pea. Although, how do you make that solid enough to poke into and hold up to him?


I normally wouldn't recommend this, since constipation is usually caused by too much protein, but if he goes another two or three days without eating ANYTHING, you might try some live tubifex worms or live brine shrimp. (Both stores above have them.) You'll probably have to buy minimum 1/4 or 1/2 ounce, but don't feed nearly that much! Just try 2 or 3 and see if he'll eat them. Even very sick bettas will usually take live food. The motion seems to trigger a feeding response.
I wonder if Petco has these (or the bayou? kidding...) I wonder though, if from what I've read, blood worms and peas are their favorite snack, will he even want any live food?


Do you have any way of taking photos of him? It might help people to get a better idea of what's going on so we can help you some more.
great idea. And by the way, thanks for all your advice. I'll post one tonight or tomorrow. Of note, he has a white patch under his chin/neck area. I cant recall if that was always there. Is this indicative of something? Have I overlooked a fungal infection and misdiagnosed with a bacterial?


You can also try a SMALL dose of Epsom salts in his regular water--I mean about 10-15 grains per gallon. I've used tiny doses in fish tanks before, with dropsy and constipation cases, and it doesn't seem to hurt or bother the fish at all in such tiny doses, but it does help draw fluid a little still.
I've done this dose (see my post). I'll try it once more, but his response was so torturous. Do you think its maybe not even constipation at all? But, rather trauma that injured the bladder?


Again, thanks so much for taking the time to read and help me and Prince so much, thanks!

Best of luck to you and your little guy.

 

[jollysue]

An injured swimbladder probably wouldn't cause him to stop eating. He could have a fungus. Salt works quite well on most fungal infections, but he is probably also constipated. Continue to try to get him to take a food that will help with that along with the epsom salts. I think the straw/pipette thing is to hold the soft food together. Garlic extract is also used to stimulate appetite and help bowels.

I am so sorry. Betta can really get bad with constipation. They love rich food and are little piggies.

Is he pineconed?

Lots of helpful suggestions from Darkmoon

 

[Darkmoon Bettas]

What was the dosage with the epsom bath?

He's in a 1 gallon bowl; so I put approximately 1/8 of an ounce in there. Not much...

Thanks for reading...

Houston (if you mean Texas) has some excellent LFS's. I don't know what part you're in, but two of my longtime favorites are Village Tropical Fish in the Montrose area, and Aquarium World by Anything Fishy out highway 290. Both of them are by/for hobbyists, been in business for years, and their staffs are EXCELLENT. (I'd offer to help but I no longer live in Houston.)


Yes, In TX. I totally know where you are talking about - the Village Tropical Fish store. However, they have seriously gone]DOWNHILL. I've heard terrible things coming out of that store. In fact, when you pull them on citysearch, I believe the reviews are terrible. I may try Aquarium World on 290- far away, but worth the drive to save him.
That's unfortunate to hear about Village Tropical. They were a very good store for many, many years.

If Dave still owns/runs Aquarium World, he knows his bettas very well (his wife has bred and shown them for many years) and at least one of their staff members, a lady with bright red hair, breeds and shows as well.

How did you try feeding him the pea? Did you just drop it in the tank? Have you tried putting it right near his mouth, almost wiping it off in his mouth, smooshed on the end of a toothpick, tweezers, or a pipette? You could also try powdering some bloodworms and mixing it in the pea mush to make it smell more appealing.] So I put the pea on the end of a non-pointy hairpin, smooshed. Up to his mouth. Followed him around the bowl, and he basically just looked right through it and kept moving away. This went on and on for like, 30 minues. I'm going to try the bloodworms plus pea. Although, how do you make that solid enough to poke into and hold up to him?
It's going to be a mush, like slightly more solid babyfood, hence the toothpick suggestion--you can get it to stick to the wood, instead of skewer it. Just roll it around in the mush and it should coat it a bit.

I normally wouldn't recommend this, since constipation is usually caused by too much protein, but if he goes another two or three days without eating ANYTHING, you might try some live tubifex worms or live brine shrimp. (Both stores above have them.) You'll probably have to buy minimum 1/4 or 1/2 ounce, but don't feed nearly that much! Just try 2 or 3 and see if he'll eat them. Even very sick bettas will usually take live food. The motion seems to trigger a feeding response.
I wonder if Petco has these (or the bayou? kidding...) I wonder though, if from what I've read, blood worms and peas are their favorite snack, will he even want any live food? [/color[[/b]
Individual stores may, but as a national chain, neither Petsmart nor Petco carry live tubifex. (Peas actually aren't a preferred food, just a good medicinal option.) Bettas as a whole love tubifex even more than they love bloodworms. They go absolutely nuts for them. If you can't find live tubifex, don't bother with freeze-dried. Bettas tend to ignore those. But you might try FROZEN bloodworms, they have more smell to them in water, and might trigger him to eat. Both major chains do carry those.

Do you have any way of taking photos of him? It might help people to get a better idea of what's going on so we can help you some more.
great idea. And by the way, thanks for all your advice. I'll post one tonight or tomorrow. Of note, he has a white patch under his chin/neck area. I cant recall if that was always there. Is this indicative of something? Have I overlooked a fungal infection and misdiagnosed with a bacterial?
Does it look fuzzy at all, or raw, or just pale?


You can also try a SMALL dose of Epsom salts in his regular water--I mean about 10-15 grains per gallon. I've used tiny doses in fish tanks before, with dropsy and constipation cases, and it doesn't seem to hurt or bother the fish at all in such tiny doses, but it does help draw fluid a little still.
I've done this dose (see my post). I'll try it once more, but his response was so torturous. Do you think its maybe not even constipation at all? But, rather trauma that injured the bladder?
I didn't know what dose you initially used. It's a little suprising he reacted so badly to such a small dose, but some fish are more sensitive than others. I'd try seeing if you can get even a grain or two in before he starts writhing. Even a little might help a bit.


Again, thanks so much for taking the time to read and help me and Prince so much, thanks!
You're more than welcome. I love bettas Here's hoping for some progress for him!

 

[33moths]

Have you tried small pieces of cocktail shrimp? It may help. You could sneak in a piece of pea if he likes the cocktail shrimp a lot.

 

[bettawen]

you could try live daphnia (water fleas) they do help act as a natural laxative

 

[wendywc]

I just now saw this thread, but I can't believe you said this. I still haven't been to half the stores around Houston, but I can easily name 3 dozen or so. Some Petcos are good though.

Took him to Petco (don't knock it, there are no fish stores in Houston proper and they were fairly helpful).

Anyway, any updates on your guy?