My Rescue Boy Refuses to Eat

[LadyVictorian]

So I have had this guy only a day and a half and he hasn't eaten since getting him home. Tried feeding him pellets and will try with frozen food. He eats the food but spits it back out. Not sure if he's not use to it because the guy I rescued him from fed him goldfish flakes.

Housing
What size is your tank? 1 gallon
What temperature is your tank? 80
Does your tank have a filter? no
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? no
Is your tank heated? yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? nothing

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish?How often do you feed your betta fish? NLS (but he hasn't eaten yet so...this is rather pointless so I'll say nothing.)
Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? 100% every day
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? stresscoat, API water conditioner, AQ, red tea bag

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

Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
pH: 8
Hardness: ?
Alkalinity: ?

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? Unknown, he came to me in bad condition. He's pale and has fin rot which I am currently treating.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? He came to me very lethargic, the water he was in was black and cold. Since getting him he has livened up in warm clean water but still isn't eating.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? He came here ill
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? As stated above, fin rot, clean warm water and aq salt. Stresscoat to help healing and red tea to aid.
Does your fish have any history of being ill? Unknown, I'm guessing so since the conditions he was in were deplorable. Came to me in black cold water that smelled awful.
How old is your fish (approximately)? Unknown.

[LadyVictorian]

His scales look slightly raised but not fully pinconed as well, he isn't bloated either. Could he have dropsy?

[asukabetta]

Originally Posted by LadyVictorian

His scales look slightly raised but not fully pinconed as well, he isn't bloated either. Could he have dropsy?

pictures would help a lot for us to help you. Dropsy CAN be cured if caught early. Chances are low though

Bare in mind that it is caused by bacteria and it is HIGHLY contagious. It will attack their kidneys and cause failiure

see if this helps:

http://nippyfish.net/sick-betta/dropsy/

http://nippyfish.net/2009/09/18/curi...in-betta-fish/

you can also try dipping food in garlic juice

[LadyVictorian]

I don't have a camera only my camera phone and though I took like six pictures you can't see the scales it all blurrs together. What frightened me was a picture in another thread and my little rescue looks just like it scale wise.

His scales are just like this (not him)

[LadyVictorian]

Also if it's dropsy do I need to clean everything he has come into contact with with bleach?

[sainthogan]

The fish in that picture looks like he has ammonia burns, which if yours is similar to that, it could be ammonia damage. If the guy you rescued him from only fed him gold fish flakes, then you may have to do some tough love and not feed him for a while until he's really hungry, then give him the betta food.

[asukabetta]

Originally Posted by sainthogan

The fish in that picture looks like he has ammonia burns, which if yours is similar to that, it could be ammonia damage. If the guy you rescued him from only fed him gold fish flakes, then you may have to do some tough love and not feed him for a while until he's really hungry, then give him the betta food.

agreed. +1

[LadyVictorian]

Oh good so even though the scales are slightly raised it might only be ammonia burns? Should I still treat for bacterial infection just in case?

God how filthy that water must have been to burn him then again the tank water was pretty much black.

I tried to feed brine shrimp and he did the same thing, played with it in his mouth a little then spit it out. I have never had a fish spit out brine shrimp. I'll try to not feed him a while and make him good and hungry then try to feed again. I hope he does get better soon, he's such a beautiful boy and I think once he perks up he will be stunning. Also his tail rot has to clear up as well.

What else other than clean water and stresscoat can i use for ammonia burns? I don't have IAL trying to get some in the tea packets for my rescue but I have some red tea in the tank for at least something.