Does Any One Of You Betta Experts Know?

[Galanta]

Hello everybody! This is my second "salvage operation" I am working on and this one seems more promising... I posted the below thread on the emergency forum and they suggested I post it here, so here you go:



I'm trying to fix up my friend's crowntail betta, who seems to be suffering from beginning stages of columnaris (established with Wilder in earlier thread).

Before I got advice from Wilder I hat purchased Pimafix. George (betta) was in medicated water for 48 hours and did not improve. Wilder mentioned to me Maracyn and the importance of aeration, so I went and got Maracyn and a little pump and airstone.


I mixed up the powder as instructed ahead of time and then after the water had warmed to the temperature in the room, did a full water change and refilled the bowl/vase with the Maracyn water.

I hooked up the little pump first with the airstone that came with it, but it was making huge bubbles, so then I changed it to a limewood airstone, which I had picked up because the package said that it made micro bubbles. I assumed that this would be better for a betta fish, since they don't like current. Well, even the little bubbles are stirring up the water (2.5 gallons) like crazy and I fear that it will be wearing him out as he is laboring to get to the top, etc. Further the Maracyn water was clear when I first put it in (had been sitting pre-mixed for 8 hours), but now with the limewood airstone it has gotten all cloudy. Little specks have come off the little wood block and George keeps grabbing them and (luckily) spitting them back out.

So my questions are:

1) Is limewood OK for bettas or is this going to be a problem. If a problem, is it OK to just take out the limewood airstone or do I need to toss all the water and do a 100% change again?

2) Is the current going to stress out George to much? He normally mostly just glides/floats around, but now he is actively swimming most of the time and I don't know if this is going to wear him out too much.

3) I got the smallest pump I could get my hands on and did not expect it to be so strong. There is no adjustment control on it. Is there anything I can do do reduce the bubbles with what I have? I.e. what would happen if I sawed off half of the limewood airstone, to reduce the area of where bubbles are coming out? I currently have it all the way at the bottom. Can I maybe let if float on top, so half the air just goes straight out or will that just not properly aerate the water?
Can I make small punctures in the hose to reduce the air pressure?

These are probably kinda dumb questions, but I don't want to kill George by over exerting him or having him get all messed up by the limewood.

Thank you!

  
PS: He's had the airstone running for a few hours now and does not seem as frantic about it anymore. He found some spots towards the bottom which are relatively calmer and tried to hang out there. But I can tell that when he swims around he does exert more energy than before and he still tries to get to certain places against the current.

 

[tibby25731]

Don't know about limewood, but to reduce the bubbles, you can buy little grips for the air line that swueeze it together, letting less air through. if you can't get to a shop, just find something to squeeze it with in the house - maybe put a heavy object on it??? You don't want him struggling to get to air right now. Do you have any plants in there near the top, that he could rest on?

 

[Galanta]

Dear Tibby, thanks. Nothing near the top for him to rest, overall the whole upper area is a little "turbulent". He has found a couple of spots near the bottom where it is relatively calm and he hangs out there when he is tired of swimming. The clamp is a great idea. At the emergency forum they also told me that I could just poke a little hole in the hose, close to the pump and just divert some of the air out before it reaches the water. I will do one or the other. They say to not cut off the current too much as apparently the oxygen being blown over the affected areas can help on healing.

Anyways - he has been in with the limewood for about 12 hours and is still chipper and swimming around, so it seems safe, unless it acts very slowly ...

 

[Tolak]

It's better for the pump to bleed off excess air than to constrict it, the back pressure will cause excessive heat & wear on the diaphragm. Get a gang valve, run air to the fish with one valve, bleed off excess with the other.

Particles from the wood air stone shouldn't bother the fish. I was doing a little home project a couple of weeks ago, drilling a hole through the floor for a cable run. I forgot that a 55 gallon tank full of angels was below, and I had removed the suspended ceiling panel. They would taste the wood particles, and spit them out, little clean up with a net fixed it.

No harm done, all fish are fine a couple of weeks later.

 

[LauraFrog]

Swimming is OK, it's probably a good sign. Being blown around by the current and struggling to maintain his balance is a very bad sign. Right now sounds like everything is fine. Antibiotics do sometimes cause the water to go cloudy. My tetracycline tabs usually cause it to go yellow, then orange, then reddish, then bright burgundy and extremely dark. It's really odd. But the tabs work.

 

[Galanta]

Thanks. He was struggling before when going up or down (as he kept trying to go down where the bubbles were pushing him up and trying to go up where the current was pushing him down - LOL)
Anyways - i just made a tiny hole with a tooth pick right close to where the hose hooks up to the pump and it reduced the flow just enough that he does not have to struggle anymore. Now he can float close to the surface on the opposite side of where the airstone is, if he wants to.

Couple of quick questions:

a) Has anybody used Maracyn? How do I tell if he is responding to the treatment and how soon should I be seeing a change in him?

b) The Maracyn package says to medicate on date 1, 3 and 5. Do I just add in another dose on those days or should I do a water change at the same time - anybody know?

 

[Tolak]

Ignore those instructions. Remedicate daily after a 50% water change for 10-14 days.

I was on the phone long distance just yesterday discussing the hows & whys of over the counter antibiotics sold by local shops. I don't mind jacking the cell phone bill to talk to a registered pharmacist who specializes in aquatics. He would tell you the same thing.

 

[Galanta]

Sounds good. Now - it holds 2.5 gallons and I filled it with water and the appropriate amount of maracyn. So, if I take 1/2 out, I fill it up with another 1 1/4 gallon with the right amount of medication for 1 1/4 gallon right? Or do you mean I take out half of the water and then add another dosage for 2.5 gallons? This would increase the concentration on a daily basis and does not seem to make sense - just want to double check. Because on the package they just say "dose on day 1,3, and 5", which makes it sound as if you just keep adding the stuff.

By the way - do you know if the medication deteriorates in any way once it hits water? I got the powder, which treats 10gal per package. So I measured out 10 table spoons of water and dissolved the whole package. I mixed up 3 table spoons with 3 gal of water and I have the rest in a stryo cup. Can I keep using this mixture or do I need to mix up new medication every time I add it in?

 

[Tolak]

Medications do deteriorate in water, loose effectiveness greatly. Add aeration to help the meds oxidize, and you are down to nearly nothing in 24 hours with the ingredient in Maracyn, erythromycin. Medicate the full 2.5 gallons.

If mixing the medication in tank water leads to deterioration of effectiveness, the same will occur in most any container of water. If you have some pre-mixed, seal tightly and refrigerate. If each packet treats 10 gallons, 1/4 will treat 2.5 gallons. Divide it into 4 even piles, and add one pile daily.

Most medications for fish were originally created for treating humans. Most everyone has been on antibiotics at one time or another, standard treatment is the same as recommended for fish, daily dosage for 10-14 days in most cases. If you have ever had a sick cat or dog the meds are often the same, the daily dosing for the same time period, though at a lesser rate for less body weight.

 

[Galanta]

You are awesome! This makes perfect sense. I had the premixed stuff out overnight and put it in the fridge this morning, so won't take any risk but grab another packaged and devide up the powder. Will do as you say - fingers crossed that our little friend will recover. So far he is not deteriorating in spirit, so I have my hopes up! Thank you soo much for your help!

 

[loraxchick]

that is some GREAT info and advice!
i hope the little guy makes it
best of luck

 

[Galanta]

that is some GREAT info and advice!
i hope the little guy makes it
best of luck

Thank you. I will definitely post pics once operation completed successfully. Can somebody tell me how I will know that the medication is biting and how soon I should expect improvement?

One other person also recommended to add tree oil (I have Pimafix, which is some kind of tree oil). Do u all agree on that? Would appreciate a second opinion...

 

[Galanta]

Bump ... : )

 

[loraxchick]

melafix is tea tree oil (also called malalueca) and pimafix is india bay tree oil...they are used for different applications...melafix generally for bacterial stuff and pimafix for fungus.

 

[Galanta]

Thanks for the clarification. So far I have been sticking just to the Maracyn. Have you used it before? I am not sure if the medication is "biting" or not. Don't know how soon i should see the white stuff disappearing. He has lost most of the few long white threads/strands he had before, but I am not sure if they actually died off or if the current produced by the air bubbles just tore them loose. It looks to me like it is not spreading to new areas, but the affected areas look about the same. He has been on Maracyn for 2.5 days. Does this sound normal (i.e. adequate progress) or is this inadequate response to the medication?