Please help! This is our 5 year old's pet!

[teddybear]

Hi! Thank you in advance for any help you can give me.

We purchased our very first Betta Fish (or any fish for that matter) in May from our local PetSmart. We LOVE our fishy. His name is Teddy Bear. Don't ask me - my 5 year old named him that.

Our little guy has been very active and happy since we brought him home. He lives in a small tank with a filter. I have been religious about changing the water when the filter slows down or there is no more water coming out of it. We have been consistent about feeding him 2-3 pellets of food a day. He has seemed happy in our home and we love having him around.

B/c we have a 5 and 3 year old, we have his tank in the kitchen so we can keep a close eye. There have been times when our 3 year old manages to climb up on the counter and will hit the tank. These times are rare and we correct his behavior.

Our big issue right now...there is something definitely wrong with TB. For the last few weeks he has stopped eating and doesn't move around very much. His favorite places to hide are behind the filter and at the bottom of the tank near a fake plant. My husband has come in on many occasions telling me he is dead....i know he isn't. He is just resting or sleeping...he is pretty much out of it. You can tap lightly on the tank and he won't even move. But then an hour later, you will see him roaming through the tank and maybe coming up to the surface for air or food.

He has developed a discoloration on his face. On both sides. He is a vibrant orange/red color. These spots are dark. They started out white and now they are darkening.

There were a few weeks that he would come to the surface for food, he would put a pellet in his mouth, try to swallow, but couldn't. The food would just come out of his mouth, float on the surface of the water, and he would disappear to his hiding spot. It was almost like he lost the ability to swallow.

In the last week, he has been eating 1 pellet a day. He can keep them down now.

Bottom line, we are worried and don't know what is wrong with him or what we can do to fix it and make him better. I checked out the disease sticky in this forum but I can't seem to pin down which disease he may have. I was hoping someone could help me diagnose him AND help me work on the treatment. We love this little guy and want him to get better.

Please help if you can! Thanks!!!
Sam

[Calmwaters]

Does his tank have a heater? It maybe that he is cold bettas like warm temps around 76-78. I am not sure about the spots but maybe a fungus? Maybe some one else more knowledgeable in dieseses will be here soon.

[kelly528]

Okay what size is his tank and how often exactly do you change the water? Changing it every time the filter clogs is not enough, unless you have a REALLY cloggy filter! You are shooting for at least once every two weeks (If you have a huge tank, that is), usually once a week and even more frequently for tanks smaller than about 4 gallons.

-Can you give us the ammonia, pH, nitrate and nitrite levels in his tank? If you don't have a testing kit, take a sample to the nearest fish room-- they'll do it for cheap, or most of the time free.

-If the tank has a light, how often do you leave it on for? If you have no live plants, you should have it on only for observation. The only thing light is really good for is growing aquatic plants. Leaving it on for any longer than it needs to be will stress the fish.

-Does he look fat in the chest area like he swallowed a marble?

-As calmwaters asked, what temp is the tank at?

-And lastly, can you get a picture?

I am suspecting he just needs some more waterchanges but we'll find out soon enough.

Cheers,
Kelly

[teddybear]

Originally Posted by kelly528

Okay what size is his tank and how often exactly do you change the water? Changing it every time the filter clogs is not enough, unless you have a REALLY cloggy filter! You are shooting for at least once every two weeks (If you have a huge tank, that is), usually once a week and even more frequently for tanks smaller than about 4 gallons.

-Can you give us the ammonia, pH, nitrate and nitrite levels in his tank? If you don't have a testing kit, take a sample to the nearest fish room-- they'll do it for cheap, or most of the time free.

-If the tank has a light, how often do you leave it on for? If you have no live plants, you should have it on only for observation. The only thing light is really good for is growing aquatic plants. Leaving it on for any longer than it needs to be will stress the fish.

-Does he look fat in the chest area like he swallowed a marble?

-As calmwaters asked, what temp is the tank at?

-And lastly, can you get a picture?

I am suspecting he just needs some more waterchanges but we'll find out soon enough.

Cheers,
Kelly

Hi Kelly,

I am going to find out all of these answers for you today, I hope...and get back to you. You are making me feel a little encouraged that it could be as simple as something we aren't doing. I was/am worried he may have something we can't cure.

I don't have that testing kit, so I will get a water sample and bring it to a local fish store. Not sure if PetSmart does that...we bought the fish from there. I know stores like that usually aren't the best in terms of stuff like that, but we live in a small town and I doubt there is a specialty fish shop around...but I am for sure going to check that out.

Back soon with answers. Thank you SOOOOO much!

Sam

[kelly528]

Glad I could help! If you want to get a headstart, give him a water change right now. Does he have a heater?