So, first off I have a roommate, and we both have a mutual friend. This friend had a betta in a bowl, (first one died, and she got another) and recently she moved back home from the dorms and didn't want to take her fish on the car ride, so she gave the betta, in the bowl, to my roommate to take care of. So my roommate knows I am a fish lover and asks me how to clean the bowl as soon as she receives the betta. I really hate betta bowls, and this thing was no exception. It was a tiny little thing with about half the volume filled with giant glass pebbles, and as we tried to get the fish out, he was very lethargic and kept falling over or upside down or wedging his head in between the pebbles. We finally get the fish out and emptied the water from the bowl, and it was DISGUSTING. The pebbles were hiding what seemed like hundreds of fish poops. Roommate and I are equally saddened and disgusted. I have no idea how long this bowl went without a water change, but my guess was no less than at least two weeks.
So we get a 1 gallon glass jar, move the betta into there with a heater and clean water, and I decide to add half a teaspoon of aquarium salt to see if that helped any. He was very lethargic and would frequently lay on the bottom of the jar on his side, then get back up, swim around quickly, then go back to the bottom and flop over on his side again. Recently he does seem more active than from when we first got him, but I'm thinking that might be the clean water and heater rather than him healing. From above he looks extremely thin along his body, and his spine curves oddly sometimes, and I'm not sure what fin-type of betta he was but his fins look rather gross and ragged. We tested the water 3 days after putting him in the bigger jar, and there wasn't any measurable ammonia on the test but we changed the water anyways, and added a 1/4 teaspoon of salt to replace what was taken out. Just today my roommate noticed that the base of his tail and around his gills are red and we are a little concerned about this. I think it looks similar to septicemia but I'm not too sure. He might just suffer from a case of living in nasty water for who knows how long.
So what do you guys think? We are going to petco today to see if we can get a filter for him, and I can supply some media from my tanks to cycle it. We are thinking about getting a bigger tank for him but we're not too sure. Honestly I'm not even sure if this fish is going to be able to pull through, even with perfect water conditions and/or medicine.
Here are some links to pictures of him:
Picture 1
Picture 2
Picture 3
The red bit on the tail is more vibrant than the pictures show
So we get a 1 gallon glass jar, move the betta into there with a heater and clean water, and I decide to add half a teaspoon of aquarium salt to see if that helped any. He was very lethargic and would frequently lay on the bottom of the jar on his side, then get back up, swim around quickly, then go back to the bottom and flop over on his side again. Recently he does seem more active than from when we first got him, but I'm thinking that might be the clean water and heater rather than him healing. From above he looks extremely thin along his body, and his spine curves oddly sometimes, and I'm not sure what fin-type of betta he was but his fins look rather gross and ragged. We tested the water 3 days after putting him in the bigger jar, and there wasn't any measurable ammonia on the test but we changed the water anyways, and added a 1/4 teaspoon of salt to replace what was taken out. Just today my roommate noticed that the base of his tail and around his gills are red and we are a little concerned about this. I think it looks similar to septicemia but I'm not too sure. He might just suffer from a case of living in nasty water for who knows how long.
So what do you guys think? We are going to petco today to see if we can get a filter for him, and I can supply some media from my tanks to cycle it. We are thinking about getting a bigger tank for him but we're not too sure. Honestly I'm not even sure if this fish is going to be able to pull through, even with perfect water conditions and/or medicine.
Here are some links to pictures of him:
Picture 1
Picture 2
Picture 3
The red bit on the tail is more vibrant than the pictures show
