Injured Female Betta, Please Help Me

[!Gina]

I have 2 female bettas in my community tank it is heavily planted and because they were from the same spawn and i got them when they were young, I thought this would be okay to even out aggression.

I later found out that they should be kept in a group of 4, but as these females were the only 2 in my lfs at the time and related I was wary of introducing more to the tank.

Tonight, I got home to find one of my female bettas (the slightly bigger one) attacking the other. Her fins do not seem to be ripped but her body looks covered in sores/bites. She has no color to her and is very pale, she is still able to swim although she appears to be very weak.

Fortunately, I have a 3 gal tank spare, which I had prepared for my male betta which is arriving within the next two weeks. It has a heater but is unfiltered due its small size. I checked that the water temps were relative in both tanks and then transferred the injured betta by hand to the other tank.

She is now sitting at the bottom of the tank and looks very weak. I am really concerned for her wellfare and feel wracked with guilt that i could of let this happen. What meds can i give her? I have added a tiny amount of anti white spot to the tank, as it says it illimates stress and i really thought this might help. If i know what to buy i can get her something first thing tomorrow to help.

Also, I am now concerned for the other inhabitants of my community tank. I have 2 bolivian rams, 3 khuli loach, 4 panda cories. Will the aggressive betta attack any of these? She has not shown any aggression or interest in them and swims away from the rams when she sees them. But should i be concerned?

I'm devasted and would really appreciate some advice, I feel awful about what has happened. Please help me make it right.

 

[-germ-]

I'd think you'll be fine....
Keep her in the quarantine, i don't know about the whitespot treatment, but whats generally considered sensible is to keep her in the best water conditions you can (reduce the chance of infection) and use a little melafix. We had to treat a gourami for the same thing but he is fine now (2 weeks approx) all scales and fins healed up. Dead easy.
Make sure the transition is as stress-less as possible, maybe keep the light off for a while, i always treat my sick fish to some extra food to perk them up a bit.
Keep the water changes up and tank stats perfect and she should be fine.
Also consider increasing the tank temp to the maximum permitted for the species in this situation, speeds up metabolic rate and thus the healing process. Can you add an airstone? May be advisable to set up a breeding trap while she's still in a bad way so she doesn't have to swim up for air.
Raising the temp tank will reduce the oxygen that is available from the water.
I wouldn't advise a salt bath unless as a last gasp, drastic, measure. The increased permeability of her body (due to the scale loss) can theoretically increase the risk of osmotic shock/stress.
Good luck with her. Hope all goes to plan, any probs don't hesitate to Pm and i'll do my best to help out....
I wouldn't worry about the other fish but i'd double check this with someone with better compatibility knowledge than myself.

 

[nemosworld]

put her into a container where it's easier for her to reach the top. add half the recommended dose of melafix and put a bit of aquarium salt in.

 

[!Gina]

Thank you for the quick responses i really appreciate your advice.

I think I have a spare airstone in the cupboard and i also have some oxygenating tablets, I can also pick up some melafix from the store tomorrow. I presume this is a pick me up? for fish but i will research it on the internet tonight. I will also be making frequent water changes and keeping my fingers crossed that she will pull through.

If she does recover, then my concern would be where to place her, whether to get her a tank for herself or whether it would be safe to add her back into the community, which i'd be hesistant to do.

I've had these bettas for about 3 weeks now, they were small when i got them but one grew a lot quicker than the other and she appears to be a very fiesty madam. I dont think she will want to share the community tank now she has staked her claim as queen and only betta. As the community tank is well planted, i barely see her and she does not interact with the other fish.

 

[knt5005]

You could always divide the tank. There are plenty of DIY tank dividers on this site! Personally, I just use plastic canvas from craft stores. Cut it to fit, and either silicone, surround with rocks, or a dab of hot glue will keep it in place.

I'm sure she'll be fine.

 

[-germ-]

Melafix is feted as an all natural antiseptic.
Personally as the queen b is the one causing grief i'd remove her to the 3 gal sfter you've used it as your hospital tank and as your damaged lady is obviously not that aggressive consider adding a few female betta friends for her into the community. Especially if queen b is antisocial and you dont see her.
After a little research through those with decent Betta knowledge of course.
The airstone should be more than enough, maybe tie a loose knot in the tubing so as not to disturb the casualty too much (depends on the power of the pump really).
I couldn't reccomend the oxygen tabs, as i don't know whats in them.....

 

[!Gina]

I have a male betta due to arrive in two weeks, so hopefully if the injured female is recovered by then i may place her back into the community and seperate the aggressive female from the rest of the community with a divider, I think that may work the best for me in hindsight, so thank you all for your input.

She has been in the 3 gal now for about an hour and she seems to be swimming about more now, her stress lines have also disappeared. She still looks in a sorry state though and has not eaten despite my attempts to push food to her.

I did not expect bettas to be so resiliant, she is a definite fighter, i went to check on her earlier and she swam over to the glass and i swear she looked right at me as if she was thankful for being saved, poor thing.

 

[knt5005]

Well at least she's on the mend. I have a female betta who is the largest chica I've ever seen. She can be a bit of a bully, but then sometimes she protects the smallest girl. She's awkward and confuses me. I love her all the same.

 

[!Gina]

Unfortunetly, my injured female took a turn for the worse last night, just as i thought she was improving
Atleast she is finally in peace now and the aggressive female betta in my community seems glad to be the only betta now, she is more active and hides a lot less.

Thank you to everyone who gave me support and advice you were non-judgemental and it helped me greatly.

I still planning on buying some melafix now, i'd feel better just to have it incase of another emergency.

 

[-germ-]

Sorry to be so morbid as to ask were there any further symptoms or odd behaviours before her death?
Did you treat with any salt?
Just tell me to shut up if you don't want to talk about it....

I'm really sorry that she died

 

[Lynda B]

I'm sorry for your loss....

I have a female sorority tank. I started out with 3 females and, even though one was much larger than the other two, they quickly worked out their hierarchy. I then got 2 more females for a total of 5. Again, they worked out their pecking order and the tank became even more peaceful. Now, I have 7 females in a 15 gallon and it's a beautiful community. They all get along just fine and I've never had one ripped fin. Every now and then, someone will bop someone else, but it's never really become aggressive. I would recommend 3 or more. But definitely never less than 3. Even with tremendous size differences, it's worked out very well.