Confused about betta behavior, sick, stressed, or dying?

[fishuc]

I have a 2 week old male crown tale betta and he isnt doing so well right now. He was doing fine till about a week ago I made what I am pretty sure was my first stupid mistake, I brought an airstone into his tank from a friend that didn't take too good care of theirs and was pretty dirty and I placed it in my tank without cleaning it. About 2 days later he starting darting around the tank and twitching against the plants in the tank. Obviously he had a parasite which I am thinking is from the airstone so I pulled the airstone out and gave him parts of a Tetra Parasite Guard tablet (since 1 tablet treats 10 gallons and I only have a 1.1 gallon tank). I did this twice with one day in between and this seems to have ended his itching problem. But now I have another issue...he isnt moving much and he hasn't eaten in 3 days. During the treatment of the parasite I got a bio sponge filter and installed that with the airline and pump from the airstone (the airstone is gone and the line was cleaned). He also has a little 7.5 watt heater that is turned on every now and then to keep water about 75-78 degrees but it does fluctuate through the day. He still moves a little but he has migrated from under a plant or between the bio filter and the corner of the tank to the upper opposite corner where he has been almost all of today just almost like staring out of the tank. When he does move now though he seems to more jerk move than smooth swim but he is not itching. I have been doing partial water changes every other day with treated tap water that has been let to sit at room temperature. I do not know the ammonia nitrite or nitrate levels in the tank. When food (TopFin Betta Bits) is put in he seems to know its there and just looks at it then just swims past. I have no clue what is wrong and I feel like I am running out of time and I do not know what to. Please help!!!

[jeremywadejunior]

Originally Posted by fishuc

I have a 2 week old male crown tale betta and he isnt doing so well right now. He was doing fine till about a week ago I made what I am pretty sure was my first stupid mistake, I brought an airstone into his tank from a friend that didn't take too good care of theirs and was pretty dirty and I placed it in my tank without cleaning it. About 2 days later he starting darting around the tank and twitching against the plants in the tank. Obviously he had a parasite which I am thinking is from the airstone so I pulled the airstone out and gave him parts of a Tetra Parasite Guard tablet (since 1 tablet treats 10 gallons and I only have a 1.1 gallon tank). I did this twice with one day in between and this seems to have ended his itching problem. But now I have another issue...he isnt moving much and he hasn't eaten in 3 days. During the treatment of the parasite I got a bio sponge filter and installed that with the airline and pump from the airstone (the airstone is gone and the line was cleaned). He also has a little 7.5 watt heater that is turned on every now and then to keep water about 75-78 degrees but it does fluctuate through the day. He still moves a little but he has migrated from under a plant or between the bio filter and the corner of the tank to the upper opposite corner where he has been almost all of today just almost like staring out of the tank. When he does move now though he seems to more jerk move than smooth swim but he is not itching. I have been doing partial water changes every other day with treated tap water that has been let to sit at room temperature. I do not know the ammonia nitrite or nitrate levels in the tank. When food (TopFin Betta Bits) is put in he seems to know its there and just looks at it then just swims past. I have no clue what is wrong and I feel like I am running out of time and I do not know what to. Please help!!!

How long did you treat him for parasites?

[fishuc]

He was given a piece of the tablet twice over a period of 3 days

[jeremywadejunior]

I suspect that that may not have been long enough to kill the parasite..

Did you see any external parasites on him while you were treating him?

[fishuc]

No I did not. And I came back from classes today and he was on the bottom of the tank kind of sideways but he is moving a little again. Could it be a side effect of the meds thats causing this or poor water? I think he is just pretty much starving to death right now because he still has not eaten in 4 days

[jeremywadejunior]

Originally Posted by fishuc

No I did not. And I came back from classes today and he was on the bottom of the tank kind of sideways but he is moving a little again. Could it be a side effect of the meds thats causing this or poor water? I think he is just pretty much starving to death right now because he still has not eaten in 4 days

They might be internal parasites, then. Weight loss and lack of appetite are both evidence of internal parasites. Poor, guy..

I'm not very experienced with fish diseases but I would get an internal parasitic medicine and treat his water. I suggest at least 10 days but read what it says on the bottle. When I've treated my fish for external parasites in the past, I've kept the meds in the water for 30 days just to be sure everything gets killed off.

Also, I've heard that epsom salt helps for internal stuff. I would pick some of that up, too.

Hope your fish gets well soon!

Oh, also, you should treat him in a hospital tank, if you have one, or remove decor/gravel/filter so that you can keep an eye on him and notice any other symptoms. Do water changes frequently, at least 100% every other day.

Have you noticed how his poo looks?

[fishuc]

But now that I look his fins are a little white tipped. I just put another partial pellet in and did a 25% water change. But his movement is gradually slowing down. If it was still this parasite that is causing this, how much of the mediation should I put in and how often? And how do I get him to eat because he probably only has another day maybe 2 left in him

[fishuc]

His medication is also for internal parasites

[jeremywadejunior]

Originally Posted by fishuc

But now that I look his fins are a little white tipped. I just put another partial pellet in and did a 25% water change. But his movement is gradually slowing down. If it was still this parasite that is causing this, how much of the mediation should I put in and how often? And how do I get him to eat because he probably only has another day maybe 2 left in him

Hmm I looked online for Tetra Parasite Guard tablets and I couldn't find instructions for the duration.. I would say keep using them until his symptoms go away/ he starts eating.

[fishuc]

Alright I will try that, also I suppose its not good that he seems to be tail heavy and can't seem to make himself level near the surface at times....like he about 80 degrees almost straight up