Constipation? Indigestion? Please Help!

[Aleydis]

Hey all. I got a Blue Crowntail Betta around a month and a half ago, and he has such a personality! I keep him in a Betta keeper, which I am sorry to report is tiny. I think it's around 1 gallon or so... =/ I have no heating, but my house is usually around 25 degrees Celsius.

Levi was fine, and he was my first Betta too, until recently I noticed a few things I worried over. For one, Levi's poop as always been flaky, ish... Like black clustered dust in water... I didn't question this, since I just thought Betta have different poop... But this worries me now, since he's been pooping less and less... His color is fading, and he's become less crazy.

Also, just today I saw his poop... 3 Topfin pellets perfectly intact and barely digested at all encased in some type of mini-sack...? Mucus sack?

I feed Levi a green pea every now and then, specifically around once a week, and I starve him once a week too. I feed him mysis shrimp, bloodworms, tubifex, peas and Betta bits... What am I doing wrong? Should I be concerned?

Any info and/or help would;d be appreciated.

 

[ReMz]

How often are you changing water? You should be doing 1-2 water changes a week in an unfiltered/unheated tank that size. I would encourage you to upgrade that tank..... you can buy a setup for less that $30 that is much kinder to your fish.

None of the poop you described sounds normal or healthy.

It is possible that he has come down with an internal bacterial infection.

Generally clean water and heated water 78-80 will snap a betta out of less serious ailments. This does require a larger, heated tank though.

Is he laying around on his side at all? eating the same amount? How long have you had him?

If he does in fact have an internal bacterial infection, he will start to clamp his fins and hide at the bottom of the tank. The best treatment for this is Maracyn 1 and Maracyn 2 in conjunction. It will knock out any sort of bacterial infection for the most part. Just treat according to the package.

edit: you can try treating with Bettafix (basically diluted Melafix) if you wish, but it really isn't a "medication". It would be a reasonable first measure and you cannot do any harm. I also realized you are not in the U.S. So, these medications may not be available.

 

[Hawkins]

i blame the tank cup hes in..

 

[Aleydis]

I do water changes once every 3 days, and no, Levi hasn't been acting too differently or eating less. He's still vigorous with his food, but other than his color, nothing has really changed. D:

He's active right now... Every time I look at him he goes crazy in the holder xD

Is there something other than medicine I can do for him? Right now I'm not exactly in a position to go out and buy medicine for $20, especially if I don't know if it'd work or not...

@Hawkins-

...Gee, thanks. That was VERY helpful.

EDIT:

About the tank, I'm actually planning to keep many Bettas, so a large heated tank for each one wouldn't be convenient. Also, Levi is in my room, which has limited space...

 

[tibby25731]

Change the water immediately. And then change it at least twice a week, as previously stated. I would suggest you don't plan to keep lots of bettas until you have the space and money to care for them properly. If you can't afford 420 to try to save his life, then there is not much point you buying any more fish!

 

[Aleydis]

Thanks to everyone who answered! I have performed an 80% water change with conditioning.

I think I MAY have found some clues... My mom has been putting a bit of salt in the keeper every time after I changed the water, and she's only been doing this recently. I'm not sure if salt could hurt a Betta, but everything must be considered. Also, I found some bugs in the house yesterday, it was like a tiny fly bug thing... I fed it to Levi, because I heard that Betta eat bugs... Levi took one and ate it, but bit the second one and spit it out again, and refused to eat it, so I fished it out. I regret it now D: I hope Levi hasn't been poisoned...

Anyone have new suggestions...?



tibby25731- I'd love to buy a larger tank, but how can I put many Bettas into one tank? D: Besides, I already have 3 tanks in my house. My parents wouldn't be too keen about buying another one.

 

[tibby25731]

You can buy a lrge tank and buy dividers and divide it up. I have a 2ft tank divided into 3 for male bettas, works well

 

[Aleydis]

You can buy a lrge tank and buy dividers and divide it up. I have a 2ft tank divided into 3 for male bettas, works well

=O That sounds like a great idea! I check that out next time I go to buy fish supplies! THANK YOU! I never knew those things existed!

 

[Phoenixbaby]

whats the point in buying more tanks? when the one uve got isnt nearly sufficient enough space, not to mention the lack of water changes

id upgrade his tank to atleast 4 gallons, heated and filtered b4 u go buying ne more bettas

 

[ReMz]

i blame the tank cup hes in..

This is good advice

Instead of snapping back and playing oblivious, maybe you should consider why Hawkins said this.

THREEE WEEEKS for water changes in an UNHEATED, NON-FILTERED setup Someone should slap you silly. 1-2 times a week is not a suggestion, it is what is NEEDED for your betta to survive and be healthy.

The problem is your water conditions. period.

Why would your mother be putting salt in the tank randomly? If it is salt that has iodine, then that is another problem. How much is she putting in there and why?

You also need to consider that you cannot house 1 betta properly. How do you think you can house multiple? Wanting more bettas and saying that a good home isn't an option is selfish, ignorant, and plain stupid.

I'm not trying to sound nice. you need a wake up call and not people to just be here and "fluff" the info to you.

/rant over.

 

[Aleydis]

Oh! Sorry! I wrote it wrong. I do 50% water changes once every 3 days! I don't know what possessed me to write that...

You misunderstood me, and I know that my water is clean. It's always clear and the bottom is empty, so it's easier to clean. Levi doesn't seem to mind the loss of his previous fake plant friend.

I know you're not trying to act nice. =/ I got that from your post. I'll go edit my previous post now so other people won't misunderstand.

 

[Aleydis]

Also, I'm trying the best I can. =/ My parents bought a 10 gallon tank a few weeks ago, and it was originally meant for Levi, but my dad repossessed it at the last moment.

I'm not asking for people to fluff things up for me, but I really am doing the best I can, and I'm just asking for advice and help. Again, the misunderstanding probably started off your rant, so I won't go too far into this.

The salt is aquarium salt that I put into my community tank... It's been fine for a long time, and water parameters are fine. They're blocks of salt, so my mom takes a block and just swish it into the water for like a second. =/ Is that too much, or is the bug to blame?

 

[ReMz]

whew..... well misunderstanding then.

After you said three weeks I figured you had not done any research and were just slowly killing the guy off. From that I figured regular table salt was just being dumped into the tank at random.

1 tablespoon for 5 gallons is the correct dosage, and that should actually help things.

I would try Melafix. It is a natural treatment for fish and works quite well with bettas. Just not sure if you can get your hands on it. For a tank your size, Bettafix would be easier.

Raising the temperature a bit helps out as well. Sometimes you can find really small pad heaters for 1 gallon tanks that do a nice job at getting the temp up a bit. They only cost around $5USD

 

[Aleydis]

D: I'm not that dumb... XD

Hm... I'm going to write down your suggestions. My mom is planning on pressuring my dad to drive us to this aquarium/fish store to buy some more Pleco food, so I might be able to pick some of this stuff up... Behind his back, of course. =/

Pad heaters? THOSE THINGS EXIST?!? D; I really am dumb.

I'm not sure if those have made their way to Canada yet, but we might stop at petsmart to check anyways.

Good thing too... Because I just checked my "BOWL" on the internet and it turns out it is 24OZ. I'm not sure how much water that is, but it certainly doesn't seem like 1 gallon. It'd be great to see Levi with some plants too, so I might actually by getting an actual tank tomorrow. Ugh, all these decisions! D< How am I supposed to buy an entire TANK behind his back? Medicine, I can hide... TANKS?

But that's my problem.

Thanks so much for your help, + The misunderstanding made me stammer and sweat xD I read from the bottom up. LOL.

 

[ReMz]

no worries. you reallly reallllllly reallllllllllllly should try to pick up something at least 2 gallons. it is better for the fish and certainly makes it more fun when you can watch them swim around and explore.

didn't realize you were in Canada. figured you were from the UK like most ppl here when you said Celsius. Most people haven't heard of the small pad heaters...... I actually can't find them anymore, but it's worth a look. :shrugs: