Help!

[monica]

Why are my 2 female bettas Swimming pintailed?? And even their swimming fins (the ones on the side) are pinned. They seem like thy waddle to the top for air, and like it is a major challenge. They both hardly move. I just recently added a new filter... Could that be it? It is an underwater power filter, and I made sure to rinse everything out before using it... I tuned it off, changed all their water, rinsed it again... And I will add them back into the tank in a bit. What should I do??? IS it a known disease??

(will try and post pics)

 

[Dan-25]

dont wash your filter media with tap water as this gets rid of the bacteria use old tank water to rinse it. have you added decholrinator to the water before you added it.

you could try adding a bit of bettaspa or IAL to try and help

what are your water stats at the moment

 

[monica]

I rinsed it with new, and old water And I added dechlorinator to the tank before adding it , well the tank was already de-chlorinated.
Here are a couple pictures:

 

[monica]

please... Somebody has to be able to help!!??

 

[liz2]

Oh bless they are stressed. I dont use a filter. If they were mine I would put them in some water you know is ok, even if you pinch some out of another tank, and they all have lower water levels for a bit. Hopefully someone else will post with an idea. Keep the thread at the top.

 

[modaz]

by the look of the pic it could be the very first stages of finrot, just went through the same symptoms with some of my girls and cured it fully in 5 days using myxazin. this will treat anything from finrot, fungus and any bacterial infections that might be causing it.

 

[Amerce]

Have you water test kit, if so test it , if you don't have one buy one, cause it sounds like your tank water is not right, possibly nitrate is too high.

If you are going to rinse the filter then do it in old tan water, do not use old and new water as it just counteracts what you were planning to do (ie. mature the filter quickly).

Take the filter out, put into a mature tank and run it for a while in the old mature tank, let the media in the filter develop the necessary bacteria. In the meantime just do frequent small changes to the girls tank.

Also as mentioned previously treat them for finrot as it looks as they are the first stage, catch it now before it escalates.

Remember frequest small changes to the water with dechlorinated water, then when the filter has matured you can add it to the girls tanks but keep an eye on it with your test kit.

 

[monica]

Finrot??! OOOOH. Well the thing about the test kit, is I really dont know where to buy it... I willtry though. I have to go and buy a fish for a friend, and I will go try and get some cure then. Thanks a bunch for the responses... My small female looks on the verge of death My other larger female seems to be fighting back, and randomly takes a swim of the tank, then goes back to resting.
The thing is that it is thanksgiving this weekend, and many, many guests are here. And I do not know if my mom will support me making an "emergency" trip to the lfs for a couple of "fish" who are "sick" But they matter a lot to me... Is there anything I can do for the time being (being a couple of days) until I can get some kind of cure?? IS there any natural cure??

 

[afishdude]

does your filter make alot of current? they HATE current, that would explain how they are not swimming good.

 

[monica]

As a matter of fact, it did... So I turned the spout so it faced the tanks side. That broke the current a bit. But it is off now, and they still are not doing well...

 

[monica]

Update - Today I woke up, and obth girls were lying at the bottom, when I got up, my larger female (Zara) Came up and paced, greeting me. Her tail is not completely back to normal yet, but it seems to be streching out a bit. But her sidee fins (the ones she flaps for swimming) are still totally pointed. But her other fins are beginning to strech out again. I fed her lots, and she seems to be doing a lot better than yesterday.

The news is not as good for my other female... She looks even sicker today... I separated her from my -getting better- female but they are still in site of each other. (I think Rain finds it comforting to see a friend trying to get her up and going again) She is still totally pointed, her back is still swayed, and she is waddling up to the surface and back down again (I lowered the water level) Everything on her is clamped shut, and I quite surprise she lasted the night I tried feeding her, but she still wont eat, and I am hoping when I got back up at least one of the brine shrimp will be gone...

And added a drop to help with torn fins and such, but I dont think that is doing a lot (except for Zara )

I really want to figure out what is going on.. Hopefully I can convince mother to let me go to the lfs today... Probably not though. If only I was a couple years older and could drive myself...

 

[monica]

New Update:

Zara (my larger female) is almost totally back to normal this moning!! Her tail is totally spread out and back to normal, and same with her dorsal and bottom one. Just her side ones are still a little bit pointed, but I am hoping those will straighten out aswell.

She has white on the tips of the side fins though, is this the start of finrot?? she only really has it on her side fins, and a little bith on those little sticking out sticks before her anal fin.

Rain is still not doing too well. I tried to get her to eat a small live brine shrimp last night, but she kept chewing, but spat it out multiple times... I am hoping to do another water change today. She is still separated.

 

[devon_charm]

Its good to hear that Zara is better, i'm not sure about the white tips though. I hope Rain pulls through it ok things are looking up as she is attempting to take food

 

[monica]

Yeah, I am hoping to try again today with some frozen brine shrimp, as it will be less difficult for her to catch, chew and eat. Hopefully she will try a bit. Thanks a lot for the post I am hoping they will both pull through it well.