Please help my betta fish

TrooperTheBetta

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Hi there. Iā€™ve contacted so many vets about this, and everyone says to euthanize him. I really want him to have a chance at living his best life, so please hear out this story.

My male betta fish, Trooper, has had some sort of bubble in his abdomen and has been stuck at the surface of the tank and unable to swim downwards for a year. Heā€™s from a fish store and is most likely inbred, so it makes sense that he has some kind of disease. Weā€™ve tried so many tank mates in the past, such as neon tetras, snails, etc, but theyā€™ve all attacked him so we had to get rid of them (except the snails, but they have a good home now). Recently, we bought an algae eater for the tank, thinking it would be nice since they both stay on opposite sides of the tank. We thought they could live in peace and that he would finally be the one that could coexist with Trooper. That didnā€™t work, because we found the pleco attacking Trooper, and using his barbs on his head to rip his fins. Trooper was using his small amount of energy to try and fend for his life. The algae eater is nocturnal, so I can only imagine what he was doing to him at night. His fins are damaged, and heā€™s very sickly. Weā€™ve had problems with him in the past where his abdomen would get swollen and red, but that was months ago and hasnā€™t came back since (thank god). Heā€™s very low energy and sickly, do you think thereā€™s anything I can do to help him?

I thought he might be lacking nutrients, he doesnā€™t poop often and his stomach looks swollen compared to the rest of his body which is paper thin. He eats Omega One Betta Buffet pellets. Weā€™ve tried soaking them, but it didnā€™t seem to help so we stopped. We tried frozen, freeze dried, brine shrimp, and theyā€™ve all ended badly. He canā€™t swim around and when we put him in a container to eat the food, it caused more stress than necessary and he was too scared to eat.

The fish store said they have this guy that does a procedure on fish like Trooper, where they insert a needle and extract the air keeping him at the surface. We considered it for a bit, but now that this happened we donā€™t think heā€™d have the strength to make the car ride there. And I donā€™t want his last memories to be painful, since the needle alone will probably be enough to send him into shock.

Iā€™m sorry this is so long, I just really want help for him. The attached pictures are before he got sick (first two) and after (second two).
 

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Hi and welcome to the forum :)


Too much dry food can cause fish to float on the surface. This happens because the fish ingest air with the food and it takes time for them to fart the air out. Until they get rid of the air, it can cause them to float about.

Removing dry food and replacing it with frozen and or live foods for a week can sometimes fix this problem. If it does, then just use live and frozen foods from now on and avoid the dry food. However, if he isn't eating live or frozen food, then there isn't much you can do.

When a fish stops eating and can't swim properly, it's time to euthanise.

---------------------
Regarding the algae eater, most algae eaters will eat anything in the tank and will go after sick or dead fish. If the Betta is unwell or having problems getting around, do not put anything in with it.

If you have to move the fish, scoop it up in a plastic container rather than using a fish net, which can put pressure on the internal organs that are probably uncomfortable enough as it is.
 
This was very informative, thank you so much!

Weā€™ve tried frozen and dried food before, but as heā€™s unable to swim anywhere but the surface, he barely ends up eating anything. Weā€™ve tried taking him out and putting him in a glass container for feedings, but it causes more stress than good for him. As for the brine shrimp, weā€™ve tried those and we think the water they came in made him not feel so well. Heā€™s also very low energy so he canā€™t swim around very well to eat the shrimp.

Do you think thereā€™s any other option for food? Heā€™s always very excited to eat his pellets so itā€™s clear he has a good appetite, thatā€™s good at least.
 
You could scoop him out in a 2 litre plastic icecream bucket with a couple of inches of water, and add some live daphnia.

If you want to try live brineshrimp again, put it in a bowl with the water it came in, then use a small net or coffee strainer to scoop some out and add a few of them to his container. Let him eat them and then add a few more. Continue feeding him until he stops eating them put him back in his tank.
 
Hi there. Iā€™ve contacted so many vets about this, and everyone says to euthanize him. I really want him to have a chance at living his best life, so please hear out this story.

My male betta fish, Trooper, has had some sort of bubble in his abdomen and has been stuck at the surface of the tank and unable to swim downwards for a year. Heā€™s from a fish store and is most likely inbred, so it makes sense that he has some kind of disease. Weā€™ve tried so many tank mates in the past, such as neon tetras, snails, etc, but theyā€™ve all attacked him so we had to get rid of them (except the snails, but they have a good home now). Recently, we bought an algae eater for the tank, thinking it would be nice since they both stay on opposite sides of the tank. We thought they could live in peace and that he would finally be the one that could coexist with Trooper. That didnā€™t work, because we found the pleco attacking Trooper, and using his barbs on his head to rip his fins. Trooper was using his small amount of energy to try and fend for his life. The algae eater is nocturnal, so I can only imagine what he was doing to him at night. His fins are damaged, and heā€™s very sickly. Weā€™ve had problems with him in the past where his abdomen would get swollen and red, but that was months ago and hasnā€™t came back since (thank god). Heā€™s very low energy and sickly, do you think thereā€™s anything I can do to help him?

I thought he might be lacking nutrients, he doesnā€™t poop often and his stomach looks swollen compared to the rest of his body which is paper thin. He eats Omega One Betta Buffet pellets. Weā€™ve tried soaking them, but it didnā€™t seem to help so we stopped. We tried frozen, freeze dried, brine shrimp, and theyā€™ve all ended badly. He canā€™t swim around and when we put him in a container to eat the food, it caused more stress than necessary and he was too scared to eat.

The fish store said they have this guy that does a procedure on fish like Trooper, where they insert a needle and extract the air keeping him at the surface. We considered it for a bit, but now that this happened we donā€™t think heā€™d have the strength to make the car ride there. And I donā€™t want his last memories to be painful, since the needle alone will probably be enough to send him into shock.

Iā€™m sorry this is so long, I just really want help for him. The attached pictures are before he got sick (first two) and after (second two).
How old is he? My father said they dont live long. I hope he gets better.
 

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