Sick Betta's

[red_fish_blue_fish]

So I have posted on these Betta's before. Here is the update for those of you keeping up (FILL IN: two Betta's were purchased from a Wallmart from me...a boy and a girl. The male has a fungus or something, and they both didn't eat...and now all they eat is Bloodworms. The Female has red gills, but I don't know if that is Betta coloring, or if something is wrong with her. My perfectly healthy looking red male I got as a gift from my hubby, is only eating pellets....IF ANYONE WANTS TO PUT THEIR TWO CENTS HERE TO HELP ME, please do!)
So I put Betta fix in the Wally World Betta's tanks...their fins look great, but the rest of them? Still not so hot. I medicated the blue male with fungus meds for a week, he is more active, but no change on the infectiony thing. I think it might be a parasite, so I am letting the water clear, and then I am going to try something for parasites. Any suggestions on meds? As for the female, her coloring is poor...she is more active now...but what do I do about her red gills!!!!!!!
I am goign to buy some frozen peas and see if they will eat that as well as the blood worms. I wish they would eat the friggen pellets!!!! My red male does so well on those. He looks great!
HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[red_fish_blue_fish]

Blue Fish

 

[WILDER]

Where is the fungus on the fish and is it fluffy looking, red gills can be high nitrites so please post test results in ammonia,nitrite,nitrate,and ph, red inflamed gills can also mean gill flukes are they heavy breathing and flicking and rubbing against objects.

 

[BettaMomma]

Hi!
Let me start out by saying that I have had the GREAT fortune of getting bettas that ALL like to eat the pellets I buy. (WITH one minor exception - Liza. She eats ONLY peas and bloodworms so far) but everyone else will eat the pellets I drop in.

It's not that uncommon for certain fish to not eat pellets. They may just not like them whatsoever. It doesn't necessarily mean there's anything wrong with them.

As far as the female having red on her gills, that is probably normal. I panicked when I got my girls because all of them had redness on their gills - and from what I understand, the redness gets very prominent when they're ready to breed. Now, if it's crusty and red looking, that's a little different story. Do you have a pic of that you could post?

Do get a couple of peas, because whoever is just eating the bloodworms will get bound up and the peas will help that along. Just toss a couple of the peas into a microwave safe dish with some water and nuke them for a minute or so, then chop them up and drop them in.

Ya gotta do waht you gotta do for your kiddos. I have to cook up peas and scrape and hand feed blood worms to liza, along with a water change - EVERY DAY. It's monotonous, but I know she really appreciates it

How big are your tanks you ahve them in??

 

[red_fish_blue_fish]

Well, the fungus looking stuff is all of the white spots on the head of the betta pictured up top. He should be all black up there, but his scales are all puffed out, and give off this white spotted aperience. I will try the pea thing. I didn't think that anything was wrong with the pellet eating one, he looks great. Just worried about my two from Wallyworld that will only eat Bloodworms.
Okay, so (colors coresponding with names) Red Fish is in a 5gal tank, he loves it in there. I tried to put im in a large ten, but he likes his little 5gal. Blue Fish (the fungal one? Could those white spots be scars...he has one over his eye too?) is in the large ten gal. He likes it in there. One Fish (the little gal who only eats Bloodworms so far and has red gills that I think are just color markings) lives in a large vase (no plant on top, just a vase) She seems most active in there, but I am getting her a 5 gal as well. And 2 Fish (my unmentioned female, cause she is just beautiful and perfect) lives in a vase next to blue fish. She is perfectly healthy, and has a little crush on Blue Fish. I thought putting her next to him might make him feel better. I worked a bit actually. They show off for eachother, and he built a nest.

 

[red_fish_blue_fish]

Oh, the fungus was fluffy looking...but since I have been medicating him. It went down...now it just looks like Dropsy. But the Dropsy look is ot fading, should I use the parasite medication just top be safe? Or will I over medicate my fish? Does anyone have a medication that they use that they have seen alot of results from that they could recommend to me?

 

[red_fish_blue_fish]

This is the best picture I could get of my little female *aka* One Fish...the one with the red stripes. The more I look at it, the more I think those are breeding stripes. I thought she was too young to breed? When do they start wanting to do that? Oh, sorry about my typing for this Post and the last one...kids stole my glasses...lol. Do you need a heater to breed?...useful info for later. Good lord, I think I have found a new adiction. I have had Red Fish for over a year now, and I just love him. These fish are so much fun becuase they actuall have personalities. I just want them to be as healthy as possible, cause that is my job. I am a Betta mommy now..lol.

 

[BettaMomma]

We are all addicts. Incredibly hopeless addicts.

First, I would say that the red stuff you're seeing on your girl's gills and cheeks is perfectly normal. All my girls have that - it gets redder at some times then lightens up at other times, so I'd stop worrying about her.

About your girl who eats only bloodworms, make SURE you are giving her peas or there will be digestive problems. My little Liza will only eat frozen bloodworms, and ONLY if I feed them to her off the end of a spoon. BLAH! Spoiled rotten little..... Anyway, upon the advice of the great folks here, I have learned that I MUST give her peas to make the rich bloodworms go on through.

Now, for the cottony stuff that you are talking about sorta looking like dropsy - is it looking like dropsy in the sense that a few scales are sticking out because of the cottony stuff? My Jack had cottony crap growing so bad on him when I got him that several of his scales were sticking out too. If it's not an entire area sticking out, but rather selected parts, specifically only where the cottony stuff is, then it's not dropsy. I dosed Jack on Maracyn and Maracyn 2 for one round, and he's made a full and completely recovery.

If you could explain exactly what it is that's telling you it looks like dropsy that would help me give you better advice.

I'll be waiting for your response

 

[red_fish_blue_fish]

The girly with the red stripes is getting peas for dinner...lol...with a side of blood worms. Looks like I will be going out and getting Maracyn, cause it is exactaly as you described...fuzzy stuff making the scales stick out. Well, it is nice to know that I only have one sick fish. Saving them is rewarding, and it is kind of a fun mystery figuring out what each rescue has. My hubby is even getting in on it . Pretty soon we'll have a whole house full of Bettas. Ha!

 

[red_fish_blue_fish]

tried the pea thing...lol. So far only one of my bettas will eat it out right..Red Fish. The one I had no problems with...lol. But I will keep trying to feed the only Bloodworm waters other things. My red Betta really went for those peas. Picking up meds for fungal fish tonight, keep you all posted.

 

[WILDER]

Good luck, squish the pea up if the won't eat it whole.

 

[eudielynn]

It took me five tries before my fish would eat peas. I was beginning to wonder if they thought I was a bad cook.

 

[FishyLoveBug]

It helped mine when I would take a small piece and put it on the tip of my finger. they naturally followed my finger and when something moved in the water they dove for it. Now they jump out of the water for my finger.

 

[red_fish_blue_fish]

Well, now they are all eating peas! That was fast! Although, in the tank I fed peas to last night, they left a little. I cleaned it out, but the water is still foggy. It is in my ten gallon. Do those large snails eat peas too? I was thinking about picking up one for each side, because I divided it into two fives. I tried putting a male and female next to eachother with different food tastes to see if one or the other would react to what they would not eat before. It is working! I have two Bettas now that eat Peas, pellets, and Bloodworms. Their color is already improving. Oh, and with one night of the meds treatment for Mr. "fluff and stuff" infection Betta, the fluff has already fallen off. There are some white splotches on one gill and one eye that I think are battle scars from being placed in a regular tank before he was sold to me. His eye kind of looks like it has cataracks ( I know I spelled that wrong)...lol. Thanks for the help! Always open to more suggestions.