*EMERGENCY* Please help my sick Betta

[IdoA]

Hello,
A few weeks ago my betta started to act weird.
He didn't eat from the surface as he used to, so I had to drop the food down for him.
Now He doesn't even want to eat that.
He randomly lays weirdly on the plants and stays in its cave without moving for hours (He is always hanging at the bottom of the tank).
This got to a point where he doesn't move all day and stays in its cave.

He is alone in a 5-gallon tank. Today I added some methylene blue as my LFS Suggested.
I have no idea what I can do for him and I really need your help.

Water parameters:
Nitrite: 0
Ammonia: 0
Nitrate: 10

PS. I did a water change for him today but the test results are before the methylene blue and the water change.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Several questions, I'm sorry.

When did he last eat?

Is the tank bare bottom because it's a QT for using the methylene blue, or is that his main tank? If it's his main, why no substrate?
He doesn't look well, but need more info to figure out why, or whether MB would be helpful for his problem.

What did the store suggest may be wrong with him?
Is there a filter on the tank? If so, how do you clean it and how often?
How often do you do water changes, and are you using a water conditioner to treat chlorine and matching the temp to the tank temp before adding it?

 

[Colin_T]

Have you got a picture of him form when you first got him?

How long have you had him for?
How long have his fins been short and tatty for?

What do you feed him?
How often do you normally feed him?

What is the water temperature?
What do you feed him?

How often do you do water changes and how much do you change?
Do you gravel clean the substrate when you do a water change?
Do you dechlorinate new water before adding it to the tank?

What sort of filter is on the tank?
How often and how do you clean the filter?

The Methylene Blue might have wiped out the filter bacteria.

 

[IdoA]

Several questions, I'm sorry.

When did he last eat?

Is the tank bare bottom because it's a QT for using the methylene blue, or is that his main tank? If it's his main, why no substrate?
He doesn't look well, but need more info to figure out why, or whether MB would be helpful for his problem.

What did the store suggest may be wrong with him?
Is there a filter on the tank? If so, how do you clean it and how often?
How often do you do water changes, and are you using a water conditioner to treat chlorine and matching the temp to the tank temp before adding it?

When did he last eat? I honestly dont know... I think he ate 1 pellete today but I may be wrong..

Is the tank bare bottom - The Tank is bare bottom, Honestly just because I like it that way.

What did the store suggest may be wrong with him? - They didn't say anything... Just told me to add methylene blue.
Is there a filter on the tank? If so, how do you clean it and how often? There is an Atman filter I clean once in 2 months in tank water.

How often do you do water changes - once every 2 weeks.
and are you using a water conditioner to treat chlorine and matching the temp to the tank temp before adding it? I am using Stress coat and Stress zyme+ by API and matching the temp of the new water to the tank water before adding it.

 

[IdoA]

Have you got a picture of him form when you first got him? Yes I attached it here.

How long have you had him for? 1Year.
How long have his fins been short and tatty for? For a few weeks now.

What do you feed him? JBL Novo Granocolor.
How often do you normally feed him? Once a day.

What is the water temperature? 26C.

How often do you do water changes and how much do you change? Once in 2 weeks - 30%.
Do you gravel clean the substrate when you do a water change? I gravel the bottom.
Do you dechlorinate new water before adding it to the tank? Yes I use stresscoat by API.

What sort of filter is on the tank? Atman F101
How often and how do you clean the filter? I take out tank water and clean it in that once every 2 months.

The Methylene Blue might have wiped out the filter bacteria.

 

[connorlindeman]

How often do you do water changes - once every 2 weeks.
and are you using a water conditioner to treat chlorine and matching the temp to the tank temp before adding it? I am using Stress coat and Stress zyme+ by API and matching the temp of the new water to the tank water before adding it.

Thats definitely a problem. Stress coat has something in it thats not the best for fish health. You need a dedicated water conditioner such seachem prime.

Whats your water parameters? We need exact number please.

 

[IdoA]

Thats definitely a problem. Stress coat has something in it thats not the best for fish health. You need a dedicated water conditioner such seachem prime.

Whats your water parameters? We need exact number please.

What do you mean by exact numbers?
I use the API Master test kit and these are the results.
---- Water parameters ----
Nitrite: 0
Ammonia: 0
Nitrate: 10

 

[connorlindeman]

What do you mean by exact numbers?
I use the API Master test kit and these are the results.
---- Water parameters ----
Nitrite: 0
Ammonia: 0
Nitrate: 10

Somehow i missed those numbers. Sorry

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

When did he last eat? I honestly dont know... I think he ate 1 pellete today but I may be wrong..

That's worrying...

Is the tank bare bottom - The Tank is bare bottom, Honestly just because I like it that way.

The thing is, the fish doesn't. He can see his own reflection, and doesn't have the sense of a secure substrate beneath him. Like us having vertigo, he's seeing himself, the reflections of the lights and anything else above and around the tank, not a solid floor. That's stressful for any fish, but even worse for a betta fish, since seeing themselves makes them think there's another betta they have to drive out of their territory. Please add some sand or gravel to the bottom of the tank, for his sake, and any other future fish. Bare bottom tanks can be okay for a quarantine tank (even then, not always ideal), but not suitable as a long term home for a fish.

What did the store suggest may be wrong with him? - They didn't say anything... Just told me to add methylene blue.
Is there a filter on the tank? If so, how do you clean it and how often? There is an Atman filter I clean once in 2 months in tank water.

I don't know that brand, can you link what model of filter it is please?

How often do you do water changes - once every 2 weeks.
and are you using a water conditioner to treat chlorine and matching the temp to the tank temp before adding it? I am using Stress coat and Stress zyme+ by API and matching the temp of the new water to the tank water before adding it.

As @connerlindeman said, stress coat is particularly bad for betta fish, since it contains aloe vera. That coats the labyrinth organ that fish like bettas and gourami have, negatively impacting their breathing. Get a water conditioner that doesn't contain aloe vera, such as API or Seachem Prime.
I would definitely up the water changes to daily for now, once you have a better water conditioner. See if you can tempt him to eat with some frozen or live bloodworms or similar, something more appealing than his usual pellets. If he still refuses to eat, then it doesn't look good I'm afraid, and it may be too late.

 

[IdoA]

That's worrying...


The thing is, the fish doesn't. He can see his own reflection, and doesn't have the sense of a secure substrate beneath him. Like us having vertigo, he's seeing himself, the reflections of the lights and anything else above and around the tank, not a solid floor. That's stressful for any fish, but even worse for a betta fish, since seeing themselves makes them think there's another betta they have to drive out of their territory. Please add some sand or gravel to the bottom of the tank, for his sake, and any other future fish. Bare bottom tanks can be okay for a quarantine tank (even then, not always ideal), but not suitable as a long term home for a fish.


I don't know that brand, can you link what model of filter it is please?


As @connerlindeman said, stress coat is particularly bad for betta fish, since it contains aloe vera. That coats the labyrinth organ that fish like bettas and gourami have, negatively impacting their breathing. Get a water conditioner that doesn't contain aloe vera, such as API or Seachem Prime.
I would definitely up the water changes to daily for now, once you have a better water conditioner. See if you can tempt him to eat with some frozen or live bloodworms or similar, something more appealing than his usual pellets. If he still refuses to eat, then it doesn't look good I'm afraid, and it may be too late.

I will get gravel for him then.
Here is a link for the filter: https://www.aquaone.co.uk/documents/Internal100series_instructions_lowres.pdf

Do you recommend Any meidcations/antibiotics?

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

I will get gravel for him then.
Here is a link for the filter: https://www.aquaone.co.uk/documents/Internal100series_instructions_lowres.pdf

Do you recommend Any meidcations/antibiotics?

No, I don't recommend using any medications, most especially antibiotics which are losing effectiveness because of misuse - to treat a problem, unless you know what the problem is. Medications, even when needed, are a source of stress for fish, and if his only current problem turns out to be stress, or poor water conditions, or one of those combined with aging even, then adding another source of stress by throwing random meds in there is only going to make the problem worse, not better.

The very best medicine for fish, is clean fresh water, and plenty of it. This gives them the best chance of handling any illness, even if there's an underlying cause that needs further medication later, the first aid solution is to give them the best water conditions possible through frequent water changes. In this case, I'd do large daily water changes, lots of testing the water for ammonia/nitrite/nitrate, try tempting him with different foods, and fix the current causes of stress and harm such as the stress coat, bare bottom tank, lack of interest in his current food/improving his environment and hopefully his immune system though large daily water changes.

If those things do not improve his situation, and he still refuses to eat, there may be another cause we can discover and then medicate. But never medicate until you have a strong idea of what you're attempting to treat. Especially not antibiotics.

 

[Colin_T]

You don't need a lot of gravel on the bottom of the tan, just a thin layer so you can't see the bottom of the tank.

Temperature and ammonia, nitrite and nitrate are fine.

Filter cleaning is fine but I would do it once a month, rather than once every 2 months.

I would do a 75% water change once a week instead of 30% every 2 weeks.

If the fish has been fine for a year using the same water conditioner, it is not causing the problem.

--------------------
I would do a 75% water change every day for a week, then do it once a week after that.

I would add some salt, (see directions below). If there's no improvement after water changes and 2 weeks of salt, post some more pictures.

I would add some live and frozen food to his diet. The live food should stimulate his appetite and might help. You can buy frozen and live fish food from most pet shops.
Frozen foods include brineshrimp, daphnia, bloodworms, mysis shrimp and prawn/ shrimp.
Live foods include brineshrimp, daphnia, blackworms (not Tubifex worms), white worms and grindal worms.

--------------------
SALT
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt) or swimming pool salt to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres of water. If there is no improvement after 48 hours you can double that dose rate so there is 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.

Keep the salt level like this for at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, Bettas & gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.

The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria but the higher dose rate (4 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres) will affect some plants and some snails. The lower dose rate (1-2 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres) will not affect fish, plants, shrimp or snails.

After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.

When you do water changes while using salt, you need to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable in the tank and minimise stress on the fish.

When you first add salt, add the salt to a small bucket of tank water and dissolve the salt. Then slowly pour the salt water into the tank near the filter outlet. Add the salt over a couple of minutes.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

If the fish has been fine for a year using the same water conditioner, it is not causing the problem.

I don't think the stress coat is the sole cause of whatever is bothering the betta, but given that it contains aloe vera, and the effect that has on labyrinth fish, I would personally still switch to a better water conditioner in case that is contributing to the overall issues, rather than being the sole cause. Like the substrate isn't the cause, but could add a lot of stress to the fish, you know?

I agree with everything else though, of course!