What Would You Do?

[garethusa]

Okay so Violet has passed away.

If I only would have known better, ever since I got her at PetSmart in her cup, she had the stringy white poo, but I didn't make much of it.

So she has basically been in sorority off and on because I had to pull her out several times because she was being picked on, she would freak me out by not joining the others and well, she never ate, so I tried to see if I could do this while she was on her own but no success.

It was thought she may be a runt betta and would never grow and that her temperment was just different.

But after about three weeks or so, I think she may have just been sick.

Not really knowing what she was sick of, but since she shared the tank on and off during those three weeks with my other five girls, what would you do in the sense of:

1. Pre-treating the other girls in the tank? Mind you, none of the other girls exhibit illness; they all eat, they all swim together, they are all lively, the little ones that I got along with Violet are and have been growing.

2. I just cleaned out the tank and did a 100% water change after about 2.5 weeks and changed the filter. Violet was part of the new tank for about four days until I pulled her out.

3. Violet may or may not have had stringy poo (but I am guessing she has) in the shared community tank.

Advise.

I wouldn't want to treat the other girls and risk them getting harmed from medication. But then again, I don't want to risk anything either.

Just not sure what steps I should take now to keep my other girls healthy.

I believe I should clean out the mega biOrb again and put in a new filter just to make sure I have a clean clean new home.

Thanks,
Gareth

 

[-germ-]

Sorry i know very little about bi-orbs but when you say change the filter what exactly does that entail?
If the tank is cycled then changing all your filter media at once is likely to cause a bit of stress for your fish, via ammonia and/or nitrite poisoning, even if non-lethal and not resulting in an illness it can reduce the life span and damage the immuno-suppression capability of your fish (or from what i can gather).
Ie; Be careful changing the filter.
White stringy pooh is often associated with bacterial or parasitic infection, without further symptoms to try and be specific as to what she may have had would be to clutch at straws. Even then, without a pathalogical analysis (not likely) its impossible to 100% say "it's this" or "it's that."
Are there any other symptoms you may have overlooked or just not thought neccessary to mention?
She probably was picked on as a result of being ill, but then again the stress caused by being bullied could have factored in her getting ill, in fact, again with the non-specific sympyoms it could have been the sole cause.
Its impossible to say.
I'd consider treating with a general medication (which most likely won't cover parasites) but i'm not sure what Betta people would reccomend general tonic wise?

 

[garethusa]

the biOrbs have chemical and biological filtration seperate. so when i mean i changed the filter, i changed the carbon cartridge and i kept the biological system in tact.

****

the chemical, carbon, filter is step up at the base and is within a cartridge that you can change every 4-8 weeks depending on the conditions of the water and how many fish you have.

the biological filtration is set up in the ceramic media, which look like little stones, and this is where all the good bacteria colonize. when i did the 100% water change, i only rinsed the stones in the cycled (or almost cycled) water and not clean treated water. i placed the stones back in with the treated new water.

****

my assessment about violet is that she never really ate since day one. she never really ate either when i had her confined to her own tank.

from day one, even at the store, she had the stringy white poo and it was my error to not think of that too much but now at least i know to avoid fish that exhibit that in their cups. i thought the white string was a one time occurance as i never saw it again in the community tank. but a couple of days ago, she had it again and that is why i brought it up. she probably has been this way since day one.

she may have already had a very poor immune system to begin with.

and with not eating, she really had the odds stacked against her.

i provided her with plenty of hiding spots in the community tank as well as her own tank. she took advantage of them and she would be MIA for a couple of days and then she would appear.

*****

all other fish are doing well and lively and are finally at the point where nipping has stopped amongst them. she never was like them.

 

[kittytehpirate]

I think that might be all you can do.

The full waterchange should remove any particles that could be harmful to your other betta girls that Violet left behind. Other than that, i don't know what else can be done. I really doubt that you should dose them up, but if you feel the need, do it in a 1/2 or 1/4 of the dose that is required for the size of your biorb. I've got both carbon and biological filtering in my eclipse, but both of those run in the filter...just keep those bacteria cultivated and you'll be fine.

Don't feel bad for taking Violet in. If she had been left in her cup, she would have gone to a home that wouldn't have cared for her properly or would have been thrown out by an employee. She got a good home and a great friend and family for the time she was with you. I doubt she could have asked for more.

<3
Kitty