He pooped this morning! It looks like a black ball, lol. The shape is normal to me but the color is much darker than I'm used to seeing...what do you think?
Friendlyfishies, I can't wait to see what he looks like! He has improved IMMENSELY in the two days I've had him!
I took the advice from someone on a different site and added a bit of AQ salt (1tsp/gal) to his QT tank last night, in addition to the meds. His fins look even better this morning and he seems to be swimming more normally - even coming up and wiggling at me! I will take pics and maybe another video to share here later :)
Just got home from work and gave the boy some live daphnia, which he loved. Then I tried the mirror trick and HE FLARED!!!! I AM SO FREAKING EXCITED! I took a video, sorry it is kind of crappy quality, apparently I need to clean the side of the tank (plus the tank itself is so scratched) anyway, look at him go!!! He ignored the mirror this morning...but now he is like a different fish!!!
I can't see anything abnormal in his gills, and I haven't seen him scratching on anything since this morning, so hopefully it was just the ammonia and he is over it now. He has pooped again, and it's still black. It kind of looks stringy, but it's hard to tell, it's a black blob on the bottom of the tank.
Last edited by carbonxxkidd; 01-04-2013 at 04:58 PM.
Put an air stone in his tank and bring the temperature up a bit whilst he is being treated.
Finish the treatment, Just because you have seen no poop get a shelled pea dip it in a little cod liver oil and feed him half of it (broken into little pieces) in the morning and half in the evening, do this until the water treatment is finished, at least a 25%water change every couple of days until he perks up again.
Mandy, Marine Biologist/Vet
By the way placing mirrors near male bettas is a big no, no
One of the worst things to cause stress, he thinks that another male is entering his domain and he will go into fighting mode.
His body will go through sudden chemical changes when he flares, you can even stress him out so much he will tire himself out and die from shock and exhaustion.
Mandy, Marine Biologist/Vet
Thanks callistra and eatmice! I knew he was going to be a looker! He has pooped a few more times, still black, but they are HUGE. He's bigger than both of my other males though, so that could be the reason, lol.
Shewbert, I have seen poop - it's normal shaped, possibly a little stringy, and black. He will only eat frozen brine shrimp and live daphnia for me at this point, but at least he's eating something. I used the mirror (for less than a minute) to get him to flare to see if there was anything in his gills because he was scratching/rubbing up against his plant and heater cord. I have not seen him do this since yesterday morning, and I did not see anything in his gills. I normally don't use a mirror with my fish because they flare enough seeing their reflection in the tank glass at night. He is also getting 100% water changes daily. The temp in his tank is around 80. I have an airstone, but don't think it's necessary because he breathes from the surface anyway. He is acting 100% normal, after 3 days of treatment, and looking better every minute!
No scratching at all today, but he does seem to be a pretty aggressive guy. I've heard that is true for most plakats, but wow...every time I come near his QT tank he flares at me now! He's getting very active and is pretty attractive too. Very excited and glad I took him home. He still won't eat anything besides frozen brine shrimp...but I guess it's better than nothing. :)
I can't wait until I get him out of his QT tank and into something not so scratched up so I can get better quality photos of him! He definitely has a blue sheen too, which can't really be seen in the photos. Very neat.
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