Newbie Allert

[rainbowpuddle]

Ive aquired a fish, I was rat sitting and he came as an extra, the owner is moving away so I have some new pets.

So here are my questions so far..
Why is "he" lying on the bottom, apparently this is normal for him?
What is the lump on his tail? (see pic)
Does he need a friend(s)
Is it ok to feed him flake food all the time-id that not boring?
Is "he" a he?

http/s141.photobucket.com/albums/r52/che...rrent=fish3.jpg

http/s141.photobucket.com/albums/r52/che...rrent=fish2.jpg

http/s141.photobucket.com/albums/r52/che...rrent=fish1.jpg

 

[merry78]

ok, brace yourself.....AHHHH! (that was in sympathy, not aimed at you!)
you have a male betta (siamese fighting fish).
He looks quite ill. he will take a variety of foods and in fact looks a bit too thin.
the lump/hole on his tail definitely needs treatment asap. bettas may sometimes lie on the bottom but it should not be all the time- it's a sign of stress/illness/old age.
The betta subforum on this site should give you lots of info. I suggest you look into
1. water quality
2. medications and treatment for the hole/ulcer, whatever it is.
3. different foods and feeding
possibly in that order. bettas are lovely fish with wonderful personalities, and as soon as you get him happy and healthy, i bet you will love the way he interacts with you.
congratulations on providing a home for him and caring enough to worry about his welfare.

ps there are heaps of betta fanatics on this forum who can give you lots of great advice on him.

 

[rainbowpuddle]

hmm its become an animal hospital here lately, one of the rats has lumps too!
Thanks for your help

 

[-germ-]

How often does he swim?
Can you please provide the best close-up you can of the lesion on his tail....
He looks in a very bad way.
May just be me...

 

[rainbowpuddle]

How often does he swim?
Can you please provide the best close-up you can of the lesion on his tail....
He looks in a very bad way.
May just be me...

Okay I'll try some more pics.
He swims when I put more water in the tank (I was told not to chage the water for the two weeks I was looking after him), I have been takingout and topping up the water gradualy with bottled water.
He also swims when I put food in.
the owner said he is way over life expectancy.
I think he looks rough too

 

[*Fishkies*]

Okay no it is not normal for a betta to lay on the grown. And this one does not seem to be in the best of health at the moment.

The lump on his tail seems like a possible tumour, and may be allowing your betta to think that he cannot swim much. Bad water quality would seem to be the problem here. So I would do a 20% water change everyother day, especially if you tank is not filtered.

Male Siamese Fighting Fish (male betta) do not need friends, they prefer to be a solitary fish. However if you want you could add some type of shrimp or snail as this would help keep his tank clean.

As for foods for a betta, (depending upon where your located. there are a variety of foods at fish stores) I feed my bettas HBH Betta ColorBright, Omega One Betta Buffet, Hikari Betta Bio-Gold Pellets. And there are many more that I just cannot think of at the moment.

Finally take a look at the link HERE it has some information for and about your betta that will help you out.

Some questions for you....
Do you filter your tank that he is in?
What size is the tank?
How often do you feed?
What foods specifically do you feed?

Best of luck! Don't give up!

Do you add water conditioner to the tank?

 

[Lynda B]

Oh my gosh..... he is a sad little fellow. He's very thin. But his color is excellent. That's a very good sign.

We don't want to stress him too much. So, I would have you:

a ) keep him in a darker area (no bright lights on him)

b ) keep him quiet (no other pets or loud noises around him)

c ) slap your neighbors for allowing him to deteriorate like this (I'll leave this up to you)

d ) give him a water change, add dechlorinator and add 1 tsp of aquarium salt (not table salt) per gallon of water

e ) if he's hungry, feed him, if he's not, that's okay

What size bowl do you have him in?

 

[-germ-]

In addition to fishkies questions... how oftendo you change the water, or have you not had him long enough to do so?
Edit;In addition to Lyndas posts, i'll slap him for you if you like....

 

[rainbowpuddle]

Some questions for you....
Do you filter your tank that he is in?
What size is the tank?
How often do you feed?
What foods specifically do you feed?

Best of luck! Don't give up!

Do you add water conditioner to the tank?

Thanks!
He is in a tiny tank just now but the lady is bringing over his other tank later.
I have fed him two flakes as intructed once a day
Hes getting AQUARIAN TROPICAL FLAKE FOOD
fish are stressful!

 

[Lynda B]

Fish are very relaxinggggggggggggggggggggg...

That person is going to get 2 slaps from me now for telling you not to change his water for 2 weeks.

I would just follow my initial instructions for now til you get him settled in a larger tank... at that point, we'll determine if it's worth it trying to treat his tumor. It could be that he's had it long enough that it would be more stressful to treat him than not to. If you could find out about how old he is, that would be helpful. But it really sounds like his previous owner wants to dump him and just be rid of him.

 

[*Fishkies*]

fish are stressful!

Sometimes but once you get everything situated they are fun!!!

Those flakes you are feeding him are alright. I would suggest trying to find some food for him that are more betta specific labled. As actual betta foods help bring out thier colors and keep them healthier. Variety is also better, so you had the right thought in your first post.
Since he does seem a little on the "skinny" side. I would suggest feeding him as much as he eats in a minute or two. I know bettas have a small stomach however this one needs some nurishing.

Does he get fed everyday?

 

[rainbowpuddle]

B)-->QUOTE(Lynda B @ Jul 17 2007, 02:19 PM) [snapback]1693947[/snapback]
Oh my gosh.....[/quote]

his color is excellent. That's a very good sign.

Yay!

We don't want to stress him too much. So, I would have you:



Right *moves him away from the telly*



c ) slap your neighbors for allowing him to deteriorate like this (I'll leave this up to you)



d ) give him a water change, add dechlorinator and add 1 tsp of aquarium salt (not table salt) per gallon of water

ok, have changed some of the water with bottled water a few times including today, I should be in town tomorow so I'll get suff then

e ) if he's hungry, feed him, if he's not, that's okay

how do I know?

What size bowl do you have him in?

Tiny tank but the bigger on is on the way

 

[*Fishkies*]

Try putting a flake in the tank, if he eats it he may want more he will not eat it take the flake out. However give him some time when you first give him the flake.

 

[Lynda B]

Oh I forgot..... stop using bottled water. Sometimes they add chlorine to that. Or, sometimes they remove helpful minerals. Just use tap water. See how easy this is becoming?

 

[merry78]

not sure about using bottled water due to odd mineral contents, do you know if his previous owner used tapwater? If they did, and live in an area with similar water qualities (ie nearby), you might be better off using tap water with dechlorinator added. (you can get the dechlor at the fish shop at the same time as yoiu get the aquarium salt and more varieties of food).
you will know when he's not hungry because he will ignore food that you put in the tank. you may want to feed him several times per day, but don't leave uneaten food in his tank, siphon it out when you do his daily water changes.
hope he gets better soon, his little face in the first pic looks so sad!
ps, i think you have a whole bunch of people ready to do some slapping on your fishies behalf!

whoops, too slow....what they said!