Newbie With Sick Betta

[MissHell]

I have my first betta, which was given to me about 10 months ago.
He seems sick and I am uncertain what to do to make him better and to prevent it from happening again.
These are his symtpoms: lays at bottom, he is not eat, his face turned gray, barely swim around and breathing heavy.
Wondering if this is the problem and solution??

Bacterial Infection
If the betta‘s water becomes fouled with uneaten food and fish waste, if it is not well filtered or if the jars are not kept sparkling clean, bacterial bloom will promptly occur and infect your fish. Sometimes you keep the water clean and the fish still gets a bacterial infection!! Why? because bacteria is resident in your tap water, in the air, on your hands etc... Usually healthy bettas have their immune system to protect them against these attacks. But bettas with a deficient immune system (when a betta is stressed, because it was scared, or moved or shipped, its immune system will become deficient) will catch whatever is lurking in the water, including the bacteria. They will have a “bacterial infectionâ€￾. VERY CONTAGIOUS!!

Symptoms
Betta may have clamped fins, lay at bottom or at surface, not eat, lose its color, turn gray, barely swim around. In more advanced cases, its body may start developing red patches, open sores and all kinds of nasty looking stuff. (Even holes in its head!! YIKES!!) Different bacteria affect fish differently. Some will attack the internal organs while others prefer to munch on the skin.

Treatment
Do a full water change for jars or a 70% water change for tanks. (To get rid of some of the bacteria present). Clean filter, change filtering system, remove any uneaten food rotting, or any dead fish!!! Isolate any bettas with symptoms if in a community tank.

You should also treat the whole tank. There is a wide variety of antibiotics available for fish. REMEMBER: Remove carbon from your filters before you add the meds!! The carbon would otherwise absorb all the medication and you would be flushing your money down the tube. Oh, and did I mention money?? Yes, brace yourself, cause your little fishies are gonna cost you a bundle, fish antibiotics can get pretty darn expensive - just as people's antibiotics are, as you well know!!
ANTIBIOTICS TO USE Tetracyclin, Kanamycin (good for serious infections) you can get them from good fish stores or online stores!!

 

[Amunet]

Also try getting some maracyn 2 if you have some extra money to spend on it.
My tanks came down with something VERY bad.... Today will be the 4th day of treatment and all fish are doing really well.
It might help your little guy out.


How large is the tank he's in? Filtered? Heated? If not heated.. what does the temp stay at? Water stats.. ammonia, nitrite, nitrate

 

[MissHell]

This is how I have been caring for him.

He is at my desk at work, A/C (normally about 72 degrees), no natural light.
He is in a vase with colored rocks. I was told to change the water once a month.
I have been changing the water every 2-3 weeks. I change it 100% with tap water.
I put him in a cup (tiny one from the pet store) and let the water sit over night, before putting him in it.

He is fed a small pinch of bloodworms M, W, F.

Any advise is appreciated.

 

[t.ropical_m.istx3]

you're using tap water, do you let it sit out at least 24 hours before using it or treat it? if not that could be a biiggg problem.

 

[girl4God81]

Hey, I think it's great that you are leaving it out for awhile, I think I agree that 24 hours would be best, and definitely away from sunlight.
I would change it MUCH more often than once a month (so it's good that you are) and if it's in a vase I would do a water change at least once a week. Betta's are pretty tough! Mine started doing the same kind of stuff, just kinda lazing around until I changed it out more often. I would also suggest a 20% water change maybe 2 or 3 times a week . That can be difficult when you leave the water out to dechlorinate, but you could add a water conditioner instead of leaving it out. Anyway, a few options...

Also, I ended up buying a water heater when I realized that despite keeping our house around 73 degrees, my betta's bowl was about 65! So I bought a little heater which is making the water around 75, and he's been MUCH happier! You could also try some freeze dried blood worms, my betta tears those up! Good luck!

 

[Jaded12]

Agreed depending on the size of the vase it should be changed AT LEAST once a week. Now you've said you've had him 10 months, correct? Was he roughly the size he is now when you got him? And was he purchased at a pet store? My guess would be his problems are resulting from "old age" Some bettas live longer then others based on how they're kept during their lives and I feel he may have just reached the end of his life span. All of the symptoms you described coupled with how long you've had him just screams old age to me. Add a bit of aquarium salt (1 tsp./gallon) and some betta fix, and see how he does

 

[zoekin8yg]

sod the leaving the water out use decholrinator as leaving the water does not remove chloramines. And you need to change the water at least once a week. It might be columnaris? I cant spell that

 

[Amunet]

Yeah, as others have said.. you need to be doing water changes ALOT more often since he's in a vase (that's probably less than a gallon?) and that's not filtered. That would be like you having to stay in a pool that isn't filtered where you have to pee and poop in it.... don't think you'd really enjoy swimming around in it until someone decided to clean it once every 2 weeks ya know?
Also get yourself some tap water conditioner that gets out chlorine, chloramines? and heavy metals. That way you can do water changes alot more often without having to let the water sit which still wouldn't get rid of the other 2 bad things.
A heater would be prefered, but dunno how large the vase he's in is. Maybe a small 25 watt would be ok, but not too sure.

 

[MissHell]

Poor little guy seems to be worse today. He is sitting at the bottom, kind of sideways. He did not even acknowledge the food I put in today.

I could not find Tetracyclin or maracyn 2 at the pet store I went to on my lunch break. I ended up with BettaFix Remedy, the clerk recommended. Bottle says it contains 2% melaleuca. He seemed to freak out (darting around the bowl) when I added the drops.

I feel bad, I feel like it would be better to put him out if his misery, although I don't know how to do it. Anymore suggestions on what I can do?

 

[zoekin8yg]

You really need to find a proper medication, although we need to find out what it actually wrong

 

[MissHell]

On my way home from work tonight, I will try to find another pet store and get Tetracyclin (or the other).

If I do find it, do I need to change the water again, then add the new meds?

 

[zoekin8yg]

Yeah change the water before adding any new meds. Have you got dechlorinator as well?

 

[iasg]

no idea, really... but I found that a salt treatment helps a lot, any experience with bettas and salt? I am using it on my tropical and goldfish tanks. Salt water kills off mainly simple cells like fungus and bacteria and parasites like flukes and ich.

Furthermore, despite common belief I am not happy to keep a betta in a vase... you may need to change your water more often, and better partial water changes than radical ones... again speaking from tropical freshwater experience. I've killed my share of fish with radical water changes, just by changing the osmotic pressure... and when they are stressed they really don't like temp changes.

I've heard, and again, no betta expert here, that they appreciate higher temps as well...

There are desktop suited small tanks available, real tanks. May not help your fella, but maybe his successor.

Just a couple thoughts.

 

[Jaded12]

Hows he doing? If you can't find tertacycline, you can use anything labeled as a "broad-spectrum anibiotic"

 

[MissHell]

Hows he doing? If you can't find tertacycline, you can use anything labeled as a "broad-spectrum anibiotic"

There is still something wrong with him, still not eating, coloring is weird and is breathing heavy.
I actually put him in a little travel cup and took him to 2 different places, hopefully if they looked at him and they could suggest what was wrong. One place was a tropical fish store, she said he did not have ick or velvet, but he did appear sick - suggested he is just old. She recommended BettaFix (which I already had).

Second stop (pet store), the guy told me NOTHING was wrong other than he is changing colors. I was kind of irritated, b/c I know SOMETHING is wrong. A different guy at the pet store gave me antibiotics, however I did not look at it close until I got back to my office. I am debating on trying to use the antibiotics as is it a dosage for a 10gal tank and I need to adjust the dosage (not certain I can get it right and that I want to handle it). There is a warning on it that it has been proven in CA to cause cancer.

I did buy him a plant and he seems to like sitting on it. He spends most his time on it.