Very stressed Betta - please help

[jbadgley61580]

I posted a few days ago about my Betta and Pleco and the white spot I found on my Betta's head. For those of you who did not see that post, please note the following:

Housing
What size is your tank? 6 gallons
What temperature is your tank? 78 degrees
Does your tank have a filter? Yes
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? an Albino Bottlenose Pleco ****The Pleco died yesterday

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Betta Bio-Gold
How often do you feed your betta fish? usually once a day 1 or 2 pellets and with skipping one day a week. I also give him one freeze dried blood worm a week (a small piece).

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? Once a week
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 25% although last week we did a complete water change because the Malaysian drift wood that I got made the tank turn brown (I read that it was completely normal and safe for the fish).
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? I add a water conditioner.

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters? No - I'm going to buy a kit tomorrow.

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity:

Symptoms and Treatment
He began violently darting around his tank this morning and when I came home tonight he was hiding behind a decoration at the bottom of the tank. I immediately called Petco and asked if I could bring him in to get looked at because I thought he was dying from some sort of disease. The woman that looked at him seemed very knowledgable about Bettas and said that he's very stressed and it could be due to the death of his tank mate yesterday. She also gave me Lifeguard to treat him for any potential disease that may have cropped up since the stress began.
Does your fish have any history of being ill? No
How old is your fish (approximately)? I have no idea.

Is there anything else I can do for my poor fish? The woman at Petco said to leave the lights off and make sure that he has lots of hiding spots. Note that he still eats like a piggy. Any help/advice is much appreciate!! Thank you!

[masshiimarro]

umm... does he have stress stripes? those go horizontally down his body. usually if he is stressed by something that occurred recently and quickly then he will show those stripes. from what i heard if it was a gradual sickness then usually they dont show stripes.

but on the bright side, he still eats! thats always a good thing, means things arent THAT bad! '~'

[jbadgley61580]

Now that you mention it - yes he does!! I didn't know what they were - they only appear to by his gills though not on his body yet. I just hope he gets better. I put him back in his tank and turned the lights out and I'm going to leave him alone until tomorrow.

[masshiimarro]

while i dont know what exactly your fish is going through.. i do know that aquarium salt is a good thing to have on hand. its good for some types of fin rot, inflamed gills, parasites, fungus or as a preventative for bacterial diseases. if you are suspecting any of the above to happen... id say try it. and imo, it works in a much more natural way than medication. it doesnt hurt to add it! 1 tbsp per gallon. ^^

[jbadgley61580]

*update*

I am pretty confident that my Betta is saved. He is back to his normal self and seems much much healthier than last week :D I believe what actually happened was some kind of chemical burn to his gills and fins. I have been testing his water daily with the Freshwater Master Test Kit and all levels are normal. I have noticed that his fins have turned black on the edges...is this just from the chemical burn or is it fin rot? I've been reading conflicting things online: some people have said the black is actually good: it's a sign the fins are healing; some people say it's the beginnings of fin rot. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks everyone!

[jbadgley61580]

here is a picture

[Silverfang]

black is bad, that looks like fin rot to me. Keep his water clean, extra clean. Daily water changes is the usual treatment for fin rot. I believe adding aq salt is also advised, but I am unsure of the dosage.
What you want to see is clearish/white, that indicates new growth. Black is usually fin rot. A high protein food, especially if you can get live or frozen is useful in helping fin regrowth.

[DarkMoon17]

The markings on his face are normal, many male bettas have a red or white stripe on their gill plate. However, he does have fin rot. You should start daily 100% water changes with 1-2tsp aquarium salt per gallon. It might be easier to put him in a small QT container and float that in his tank to keep it warm and premix a gallon of salt water. You can also add Stress Coat to help his fins repair.