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Help, my betta fish is dying.

5K views 111 replies 18 participants last post by  ChoclateBetta 
#1 ·
I'm a rookie betta fish owner and I don't know what to do. My male crown tail betta has been acting weird the past few days. He seems to be afraid of me (he used to swim right up to me). He also seems to be just lying on the bottom of the tank not moving at all any time I look at the tank. It looks like he is dead. His fins seem to be bending. He is in a 2.5 gallon tank with a filter and heater. He eats 2-3 pellets twice a day. He still eats just fine. He also gets dried bloodworms once a week. I've tried giving him a pea for possible constipation. I've tried beta fix but I'm afraid of using it because the online reviews are less then favourable. I've also cleaned out his tank yesterday and I changed his filter. The water is conditioned. I'm afraid the next time I look at the tank he will actually be dead because he constantly looks dead until i tap the tank to see if he will move.

I've had him since June and even though its my first fish he's been very happy and healthy until the last little while. Something is obviously happening to him.

Please help... any advice or suggestions?
 
#10 · (Edited)
Here is the list filled out as requested...

Perhaps this thread should move to the disease & emergency forum?

Housing
What size is your tank? 2.5 gallons
What temperature is your tank? 78 F
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? none - on its own

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? aqueon betta pellets
How often do you feed your betta fish? twice a day (2-3 pellets each meal), also 1 dried bloodworm weekly

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? Typically once every few weeks (did one yesterday and one last week)
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? typically 50% but the last two were 100%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? water conditioner

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

Ammonia: between 0 and 0.25
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity:

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? fins are starting to break off, fins are bent, white dot by its eye (wasn't there yesterday), greyish discolouration under chin
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? lying bent as if he is about to die - lying like this for extended periods
When did you start noticing the symptoms? 3 days ago
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? tried a dose of betta fix but then read online that it is harmful so I'm afraid to give more
Does your fish have any history of being ill? no
How old is your fish (approximately)? I've had it since June - it was already full size then
 
#13 ·
He received a 100% change just yesterday so when should I do the next one? Also I will buy aquarium salt tomorrow at Petsmart and follow the dose as said on the label. Will this take care of everything or am I missing more?

Thanks for the help so far...[/quote

100% daily water changes during treatment are recommended. Aquarium salt usually does the trick with fin rot, however it can sometimes be a very stubborn disease to treat. Fin rot is caused by bacteria, so the cleaner the water, the better.

As for everything, I'm not sure what to make of that spot you noticed by his eye. Could you maybe post a photo?
 
#19 ·
The Aquarium salt seems like the best thing right now - make sure its the kind made for freshwater, and the dosage should be 1 tsp per gallon. So, 2 1/2 tsp for a 2.5. That should help his fins. Also, is your heater adjustable? If you can, I'd gradually increase the temp to 80* during treatment.
 
#22 ·
There isn't much one can do when the better's health is down with little to no physical symptoms on the body. Normally if the food and water quality is good, it's very unlikely the betta will experience this type of problem. However, most betta experts that I know, would tell you to simply try increasing temperature to approximately 83 degrees F, follow by adding salt and Indian Almond Leaf. Almond leaf does more then just tanning the water, so don't be fooled by the appearance. FYI, every serious betta hobbyist uses IAL, and I wonder why. In addition, you might want to switch over to NLS, Omega, or Atison Pro pellets are those are most highly regarded by people who own bettas for many years. If you do the most simple google search, you will come to the same conclusion, not that that's how I came to mine lol. It just supports what I myself have been using -- NLS and Atison Betta Food. Omega One was just a recommendation from other experts out there and I have not tried this pellet yet. Anyway, you will be surprise at what those simple steps will do to your betta!
 
#23 ·
It sounds like you probably weren't doing enough water changes - I believe you said that before this problem you were changing 50% every few weeks, right? If so, that is not near enough. You have to remember that your fish is swimming around in it's own toxic waste - getting rid of half of it just isn't enough.
 
#24 ·
I have to agree with Wendy that this is probably due to the water change schedule - water should be changed weekly, the % depending upon size of tank, live plants, filtered, cycle, etc.

When you go a while without a water change (even just two weeks) and then do a sudden large water change (over 50%) you are risking putting them in shock if you are not very careful with acclimating them back into the new water.. and even still some risk when you do acclimate properly.

When acclimating them after a large water change you should always float them in their cup and every 10 minutes or so remove 1/4 - 1/3 of the water from the cup (tossing it out, don't dump into tank) and add in water from the tank. Do that 3-4 times in a span of 30+ minutes to help them adjust to the new temp and new chemistry.

It's best to keep up on the weekly changes, and only do a partial change when you have a filter - since you did a 100% and changed the filter, any beneficial bacteria you had is probably gone now. Make sure not to be doing the 100%s in his home tank from now on if possible - there are different types of algae scrapers you can purchase to clean algae from the tank if need be.

Bent fins are from water hardness, nothing you can really do about that.
If there is black edging on the fins then he may have fin rot and you would want to be doing 2tsp of AQ salt per gallon, daily 100% water changes for no longer than 10 days.
Fin rot (unless severe - all fins are gone and rot is attacking body) won't be causing the lethargy. Most likely it is the shock he was put in if you didn't acclimate properly.
No need to raise the temp as he isn't cold and it takes really cold water to cause the lethargy.

He is still eating which is a very good sign, so you can continue the salt treatment or not - depending on whether you believe he does have actual fin rot.
 
#25 ·
recommended water changes for your tank which is what I do, is 50% once a week then 50% with substrate vaccuming with filter.

Is the filter creating too much current? Does the tip of his fins look torn?

I would recommend aging the water 24 hours with conditioner before using it for a water change, then, adjust the betta slowly, like you would do when you get a new betta, let the cup float for a few hours, while slowly pouring the new water into the cup, then pour the betta in without any of it's old water in the tank.

There are faster methods but, yeah.

Just use an oak leaf or some indian almond leaves, do not medicate unless you are sure what it could be. Some pictures of your fish would help us, help you.

If he gets worse, Im oldfishlady, sakura8 or Olympia :)
 
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