Kitty Trouble

[FirstTimeBetta]

OK..this morning i woke up and found my sons fish laying on the lid of his tank on the the floor on top of the rocks that cover the bottom of the tank. My cat knocked him off the counter. I dunno how long he had been without water, but to my suprise he was flappin around. He was still alive and i quickly filled up a cup with water and put him in. He's still swimming around...only he wont eat and whenever i approach the tank he kinda like freaks out. Will he be okay? Or should i worry? I'm sure he's a little spooked, but, will he get over it?

[kelly528]

Bettas are labyrinth breathers, and therefore will not suffocate if removed from water. The biggest concern is that the incident has probably left him very traumatised and vulnerable to secondary infections, not to mention his slime coat has probably been stripped off. Place him back in the tank, turn the heat up, and keep the lights down so that he can rest. You can add aquarium salts to discourage infection and feed him protein-rich foods like bloodworms to promote healing. If you can provide lots of hiding places for him and place a book or something in front of the tank so that he is not stressed by outside movement, that will also help. Keep an eye out for sores or white fuzzy patches (which would turn out to be a bacterial infection called columnaris, NOT fungus, as many people wrongly assume) and let us know if he takes a turn for the worse.

[FirstTimeBetta]

Ok I will do that...thnx..I'll let you know how he does.

[dramaqueen]

You can also add some Stresscoat because its good for their slime coat.