Stubborn parasites, or just stress?

[RoxieStClaire]

Housing
What size is your tank? 1/2 gallon (don't start yelling at me, its his hospital tank he's in right now, his 5 gal is being cycled anyway, so he can't move in just yet)
What temperature is your tank? 76 degrees
Does your tank have a filter? no
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration?no
Is your tank heated? no
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? none

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? New Life Spectrum Betta Formula, 2-4 pellets a day
How often do you feed your betta fish? every day, with one day per week of fasting

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? Currently 100% daily
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 100%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Betta conditioner, considering adding something for ammonia (it builds up in this bowl FAST)

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters? yes

Ammonia: 0.25 (but by the next morning after a water change its all the way up to 0.50)
Nitrite: n/a
Nitrate: n/a
pH: 7.6
Hardness: 250
Alkalinity: 240

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? dull grey head, with white underbelly
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? A few minutes after he eats ANYTHING he starts darting wildly around, then suddenly stops and hangs out a the top of the tank with his fins clamped. He also has only pooped once that I know of since I brought him home, and it looked like a little white glob hanging off a string
When did you start noticing the symptoms? As soon as I brought him home
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? I did some research on my own, and decided he might have parasites, so I've been adding 1/8th of a tablet of Tetra Parasite Guard to his water every time I change it
Does your fish have any history of being ill? Not that I know of, I only just got him a week ago
How old is your fish (approximately)? anywhere from 6 months to a year, I'm guessing


I just got this fish a week ago, and at first he seemed fine (he even made a bubble nest his first day), but I noticed that he would start darting wildly around the tank for no apparent reason after he ate. Then a few days later he became listless and spent most of his time at the bottom or the top of his tank except for right after I fed him, when he would once again start darting like mad. I also noticed that the one time I saw him poop it was white, which led me to think it was internal parasites, which is when I moved him to the hospital tank and started treating him with parasite guard.

Since I did this three days ago, he SEEMED to be getting better (he started fanning his fins more, and swimming around his bowl more) but I still haven't seen him poop at ALL (even though he's not bloated or anything) and today when I fed him a pellet he started darting again, and now his fins are clamped again.

He's also appeared to be "yawning" every now and then, which I've heard is something they do when they have too much ammonia in their gills, and I'm wondering if its safe to put an ammonia neutralizer in a bowl this small.

My main questions are: How long should I treat him for parasites, and should I try to do something about the ammonia other than 100% water changes every day (which are DEFINITELY stressing him out right now)?

[Perseusmom]

Prime is a great water conditioner and its detoxifies ammonia but only for 48 hours I have read not sure it thats true or not. Anyway it sure would be a big help to you and your Betta to get some. I have never had to deal with the other problem he has so dont know what to tell you. Does the hospital tank have gravel or anything cause it would be best if it does to take that out so the bottom is clear and you can see his poop, I feed NLS also and my Bettas poop is dark orange to dark brown .

[RoxieStClaire]

"Get a fish," they told me. "It'll be cheap!" they told me. Pfft, lies, Tudor's already cost me around $100.

Anyway, as long as it'll keep the ammonia level down for at least a day or so maybe at some point I can quit doing the 100% daily water change, and maybe he'll calm down and go back to normal on his own. Prime's on my list of things to buy tomorrow after class. Hopefully it'll at least help him a bit!

[Perseusmom]

Yeah using proper care and buying everything you need is not cheap by any means !
I think with using the Prime you should be able to do the 50 percent water changes and here is something that is cheap, a turkey baster for water changes, Perseus was in a half gallon for a week after I got him while waiting for this tank I ordered on line to get here. Good luck I hope he is feeling all better very soon !


Also a bottle of Prime will last you a long time, its only 2 drops per gallon, I use 1 gallon jugs I rinsed very well to use for water changes, make them up in the morning and by late afternoon when I do water changes they are ready for me makes things go abit faster.

[RoxieStClaire]

Quick question about partial water changes: How large of a water change does it have to be for me to have to take him out while I do it and then acclimate him before putting it back in? Never had a betta before this, really.

[RoxieStClaire]

Good tip about buying prime, I put a drop in when I changed his water this afternoon, and Tudor's been much more active at least, and thrashes less. I'm still concerned though, because he still hasn't pooped!