Sick Betta?

[mnmama]

Hi there, I have a betta, had it about 9 months. It is in a 10 gal tank, by itself. For a week now he has been sitting on the bottom of the tank hasn't been eating. If you tap the tank he will swim but just to the other side and goes back to the bottom. Last night he went behind the heater and rested himself on the suction cup so I took that opportunity to feed him. But it was like he can swim, get to the top... he got a couple pieces but that was like it wore him out and he immediatly went down to the bottom to "rest". I cleaned the tank last night... he does not have a bloated belly or obvious marks on his body. Anybody have any ideas? Before this week he was active and normal.......

 

[WILDER]

Can you post water stats in ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and ph.
Not being able to get off the bottom of the tank and just floating back down can be a sign of a bacterial infection.
Resting can also be a sign, and resting to oneside.
How old is he.
What do you normally feed him.
Is he still going to the toilet, if so what does it look like.

 

[mnmama]

Can you post water stats in ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and ph.
Not being able to get off the bottom of the tank and just floating back down can be a sign of a bacterial infection.
Resting can also be a sign, and resting to oneside.
How old is he.
What do you normally feed him.
Is he still going to the toilet, if so what does it look like.

I've had him about 9 months.... I haven't checked the water stats, have to go get a kit tonight. He eats bloodworms. I just feel so bad if he truley can't keep himself on top! I dont' want him suffering, I even tried to feed him with a medicine feeder last night so he wouldn;t have to swim for food.... um yeah, didn't work. I don't know if he is going to the bathroom, to be honest I have never noticed him going, but he isn't bloated. I got this fish as a gift, so I have no clue

 

[WILDER]

I would get your water tested as it's the first thing to look at when fish are ill.
What else do you feed besides the bloodworms. I wouldn't feed bloodworms no more than twice a week, and only a few as they can make fish bloat up.
It could be bacterial but hard to say without water stats.
I would do a water change for now withnot having water stats.

 

[mnmama]

I would get your water tested as it's the first thing to look at when fish are ill.
What else do you feed besides the bloodworms. I wouldn't feed bloodworms no more than twice a week, and only a few as they can make fish bloat up.
It could be bacterial but hard to say without water stats.
I would do a water change for now withnot having water stats.

Ok, now I feel like an idiot... I only feed him bloodworms, although I do have a bottle of betta food (flakes). I now think I have been overfeeding him as I just put a dash in, which is way more than a few! I will go get a kit after work and let you know, if it's not too late! Will it matter that I cleaned it last night?

 

[WILDER]

He needs a good varied diet of frozen foods like brimestrimp, daphnia which helps the fish digest it's food, veg, and flakes for vitamins.
He needs flakes as there a good balanced diet, he's only getting protein with the bloodworms.
If you did a water change last night it might be fine for now.
But you do need to get water tested and improve his diet.

Soaking his food in garlic is meant to stimulate there appetite and boost there immune system.
I think I would also try a bacterial med aswell.

 

[mnmama]

He needs a good varied diet of frozen foods like brimestrimp, daphnia which helps the fish digest it's food, veg, and flakes for vitamins.
He needs flakes as there a good balanced diet, he's only getting protein with the bloodworms.
If you did a water change last night it might be fine for now.
But you do need to get water tested and improve his diet.

Soaking his food in garlic is meant to stimulate there appetite and boost there immune system.
I think I would also try a bacterial med aswell.

And I thought fish were easy!! I will go get him some different food, someone suggested a pea? Hope Barrack pulls through! (I didn't name him) He's the only fish left, all the rest have died-- this was a while ago so not the cause for his illness. I'm thinking PETCO doesn't have the best/healthiest fish?? Thanks for all the advise!

 

[WILDER]

Peas are for constipation.
I feed them twice a week to keep fish going to the toilet.

 

[mnmama]

Ok, so the water levels are fine, got some different betta food-- not that he's eating. But now that I look at his fins the ends of them look freyed, color seems to be good (not black). Should I get some fin rot medicine... he doesn't have any white spots.

 

[mnmama]

I just read on another thread that a symptom of tb is bent spine.... I noticed this morning (since I am being much more observant after being on this site) that when my fish is sitting at the bottom he is almost curled out, then when he was sitting his spine looked bent, I thought maybe he broke his back... I know, silly, but I'm stumped. Anyway could he have tb? Is there medicine for this?

 

[WILDER]

Bent spine can be old age, injury, birth defect, internal parasites, fish tb, vitamin defiency.
I would say poor diet if you have only been feeding bloodworms.

 

[mnmama]

I called a lfs yesterday and they suggested that I put him in a smaller space, so I put him in a bowl and added some betta fix... last night noticed a piece of his fin on the bottom, this morning looked at him and he is turning grey/white in the face area........ I don't think there is much more I can do at this point but wait, just hate to see the little guy suffering! Thanks for all the advice... any other ideas appreciated, but like I said I think it's just a waiting game at this point.

 

[Athena]

Can I just ask what sort of tank you have kept him in? I mean, was it filtered and did it have a heater?

I can't believe they told you to move the fish into a small bowl. Obviously, now he'll be even more stressed than before. Oh dear!

Really, all that was needed was to vary his diet, do small regular water changes every day for a couple of weeks and, if necessary, treat with a fin rot/bacterial medication as a last resort.

If it's fin rot then it's usually brought on by a bacterial infection caused by either stress, overfeeding or bad water quality.

Yes, feeding too many bloodworms can cause constipation in bettas (oh they do love their bloodworms though!) so, it's a good idea to give them a squashed up pea at least once a week. Giving them some live or frozen brineshrimp goes down great too, usually. My betta loves live brineshrimp the best.

Lastly, if your betta is left for long periods of time on his own with nobody to amuse him (!) then he's likely to just get a bit bored and sit around more. Doesn't mean he's not well. Just needs a bit of stimulation to get those fins whirring! They are very sociable fish and thrive on your company!

At the moment I would think he is probably highly stressed at being moved from his home, getting medicated and possibly not being in a warm enough tank (well, bowl, if it doesn't have a heater).

If that was my betta I would gravel vac his tank, do another small water change, check the water stats for ammonia/nitrite and if all ok and temp at correct level, put him back in there. If his condition has really deteriorated I'd then start medicating with something that covers fin rot and other bacterial infections (in the UK we have MYXAZIN).

And be careful not to overfeed during this time.

Hope the lil' fella pulls through!

Athena

 

[mnmama]

He was in a 10 gal, filtered, heated tank by himself. Have had him for a while. I just started the meds yesterday (beta-fix) I have switched to betta pellats, but he doesn;t eat anyway. I changed the water on Monday and checked the water levels on Tues, they were ok... of course could have been bad before I changed the water, just thought if that was the problem he would be starting to get a little better, just getting worse now. I had no clue about changing water so often as the store told me that it wasn't good because there is "good" bacteria in the water.....

 

[Athena]

No, there is no good bacteria in the water - all the beneficial bacteria is held mostly in your filter and a little is in the gravel and tank decorations.

That was quite bad advice you received from your LFS I'm afraid. Sorry to hear that.

Regular water changes are essential to the well being of the fish. Obviously, in a 10 gallon, filtered tank with just one betta in it, it's not going to produce a ton of waste in just one week - but if there is a chance that there is uneaten food wasting away in the tank then this is where doing a weekly water change is helpful in preventing a build-up of toxins in the water. Do a gentle gravel vac at least every fortnight (don't go too mad with trying to remove every tiny bit of detritus LOL).

Once a month, give your filter sponge a very light sloosh in a bowl of TANK water. Never tap water. Again, don't overdo the cleaning of the filter or you will remove too much of the good bacteria.

Sounds like you had a nice little home set up for him there - I would try to get him back in there asap. And I wouldn't try to force him with those betta pellets - he's a betta that's used to eating bloodworms and it can take ages to wean them off bloodworms onto pellet food (or even flake). Mine refused flakes/crisps/dried food for about 8 months!

So, for now, if you can get hold of some frozen or live foods that would be best as he's more likely to be tempted to eat with those than the pellets. He probably won't want to eat at the moment if he's feeling poorly, though. Try him with a bit of squashed up pea to begin with. Just a tiny little speck of it and see if he takes it. If not, leave the food for now. Try again tomorrow. He won't starve over night.

Give him lots of attention, too. It's surprising how much that helps in their recovery.

All the best - Athena