What Is Wrong With My Betta

[LilyRose Tank]

hello there. My Betta Rusty, has become lethargic and laying on the floating plants to get air, his gills are almost static, and he is using his labyrinth organ.
I thought it may be velvet or slime disease,so have treated as such.
This is how he was the day I got him

this is how he looks at the moment with sticky fins and tail

well, do you think I'm treating him right...the rust colour is normal, but under his eye he has a spot of gold, developing, so do you think he has velvet?

 

[mattlee]

velvet is normally small yellow spots and the fish will be flashing. its not velvet if you ask me.....
if you have treated with meds then up the airation. next time dont jump in and treat before its 100% as it can cause even more stress on the fish, ill or not....
its amazing what a good water change can do so a fish thats looking a bit off

 

[LilyRose Tank]

just to add i have been doing daily water changes every day for 4 days, what do you suggest?
and someone on the better forum suggested velvet, and i looked it up, and slime disease seemed relevant. as for aeration, the internal filter has an aeration tool on it, and its fine. I have checked him again and he seems brighter.

 

[mattlee]

meds can reduce the oxygen levels in the water so increased airation is needed otherwise the fish can become lethergic and struggle to breath...

 

[loraxchick]

if he is not flashing and sratching against objects in the tank i would highly doubt it is velvet. have you shined a flashlight on him in a darkened room? he would have gold "dust" on him if it were velvet. treatment is lower temp (unlike ich) use anitexternal parastie meds and DARKNESS! cover the tank for 4 days. no peeking no feeding no waterchanges. velvet cannot survive without light.
but again id suspect something else if he is not flashing or scratching. how is his poo? is he still eating? is his anus red or inflamed? is his slimecoat thick or sloughing off in parts?
let us know.
cheers

 

[LilyRose Tank]

hi Lorazchick...ok. no flashing, no rubbing etc.
he is lethargic, laying on bottom of tank, was laying on foilage at top with no gill movement. has gill movement today, has sticky appearance, as you can see in the photois. hes not eating, hes just lifeless, keep thinking hes gone, so i place my finger in the water beside him and he turns away from it, so i know hes still with us. he seems a little better today, as his fins aren't as clamped. they are spread a little, but he is still lethargic, and hiding. shall try the dark room test later.
when I looked at the slime disease lists it seemed feasible...

 

[mark4785]

A sticky appearance may suggest the fish is producing excess mucus in response to a parasite being on it's skin/scales etc. In my opinion, if your water is dechlorinated and your water stats are suitable for that species of fish, the fish may have some sort of unicellular parasite such as Costia.

Watch the fish for an extended period to see if it tries to scratch itself to relieve irritation as it may only do this once every 10 minutes or so.

 

[LilyRose Tank]

just to update this thread. we lost Rusty, he passed away a few days ago. Still have no idea what was wrong with him.