Salt And Otos

[catxx]

can i use aquarium salt with otos?
my betta lives with 3 otos and has been munching his own tail, and somehow damaged his pectoral (he's swimming like nemo). he's already had melafix (in small doses) some salt will make him feel better i think but i don't want to put it in if it'll hurt my little otos.

i don't want to take him out of the tank to treat as it may stress him out even more and chew his tail clean off.

 

[§tudz]

otos = no salt

sorry

put the betta in a seperate tank, and find out if its water quality more than him biting himself.

 

[catxx]

i'll test in a sec, i would have though the otos would succumb quicker if the water was bad rather than the betta though?

the otos seem completely unflustered by the whole situation

 

[§tudz]

betta finage seems to be very sensitive to poor quality water,
do you only keep otos with him or are there other fish in the tank? such as phantom tetra or tiger barbs? ie known fin nippers

 

[summerdragon]

hmm, nipping his own tail, odd.... and your sure its not the start of fin rot As you can't salt ottos I suggest using bettafix or any fish product with tea tree oil in it.. Myself and others have used it with great success, and it will not hurt live plants, or any other fish (that I have tried it on so far such at corys,snails,shrimp) it will speed the tail damage healing (provided it's not fin rot)..... good luck.........

 

[catxx]

he's alone with 3 otos, no fin nippers whatsoever
he's already being treated with melafix (half doses, same stuff as bettafix)

but now he's being starved as he's really not looking well at all with a ridiculously fat tummy. trying desperately to keep him alive at the moment. i keep finding him lying on the gravel and thinking he's gone

i gave him an epsom salt bath yesterday. i think he's got all bunged up

le sigh! stupid bettas!

 

[§tudz]

right the swelling sounds like dropsy which in bettas is normal due to liver failure.
Its possible that the guy is just on his way to the big fish tank in the sky.

Most bettas are SO immbred that their genes are just knackered now. Similar to guppies and other common live bearers.
You're lucky if they live for 8months after purchase. Although I've seen some lives for 4-5years.
Bettas are also almost annual fish in the wild, not completely like some killi fish, they dont survive long due to their ponds becoming dried up, to almost nothing but a puddle. And that leads you onto why they are good jumpers and breath air, as puddles have low oxygen so breath air helps, they alkso jump to move from one puddle to another.

Well there we go a little bkg on the betta for you

 

[catxx]

my betta that's sick was a selective bred copper HM by Joby, UK bred, he's about 8 months old.
all my Thai bettas lasted about 4 months in my care, they really didn't like my london water! just dropped.
he has yet to have any raised scales (dropsy)
my first betta died of a tumour and dropsy, this guy has yet to progress that far.

(p.s. i'm a betta geek already, i knew that! but betta splenden is not a species found in the wild, some wild bettas live in rice paddies, some live in bogs, some live in lakes that never dry up in the mountains)