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Will Stressed Betta Recover?

2K views 5 replies 2 participants last post by  tenten 
#1 ·
Hi, I introduced two other community fish to my beautiful betta's 5 gal, and he got stressed, even though no fish were picking on eachother. After a week with new tankmates, his fins were completely clamped and his color is not good. I did not think he would become used to them, so I put him in a heated, filtered and planted 1.5 gal by himself (new, but already cycled with a different fish). i added a little aquarium salt to the water. It has been 5 days and he is not looking any better, although he is still eating. Will he recover??
 
#2 ·
Welcome to the forum and sorry your Betta isn't well......

To start 5gal isn't big enough to meet the needs of more fish species along with the Betta-10gal is the smallest and then you are limited on species and numbers....when stocking fish you need to look at the swimming and territory needs among other things......

Its also important to QT any new fish for at least 3 weeks

Good that you moved him to the 1.5gal planted tank-we need some more information to help narrow down a diagnosis...

On the 5gal-how long was it setup with the Betta before you added the other fish-how many and what species of fish and any signs/symptoms of any issues on them. How much and how often on the water changes, type of substrate, filter, live plants (number and species) water temp, additives used, appetite, how long have you had the Betta and/or age, has he ever been sick and/or treated in the last 30 days.

The Betta in the 1.5gal-water temp, filter, live plants- number and species, additives used, how much/often on the water changes, how long has the system been running...

Signs/symptoms the Betta is currently having and how much salt did you add and are the plants salt tolerant.....

Do you have water pram numbers for both tanks and your source water

Can you post a pic....
 
#3 ·
I had the 5 gal set up with gravel/plants for about a week, then I addded the betta. He was doing great in there, very happy for about a week and a half, then I added two 1.5-inch cory cats. The corys looked fine and left the betta alone, but the betta was shy of them and would hide. Then after a few days he started loosing color. I thought maybe he would get used to the cory cats, but he didn't so I moved him. This tank is new. For all my tanks, i do 10 - 15% water changes weekly and a 25% change monthly. I have small-sized gravel in both tanks, and power filters. in the 5 gal I have 1 java fern, 1 anubis, and 1 mondo grass. In the 1.5 gal, I just have 1 anubis. The water temp in both tanks is 76 - 78 degrees. like I mentioned, i add a small amount of aqu. salt to my tanks, approximately 1/2 tsp per gal. it doesn not harm the plants at that level but its good for your fish. When I prepare water for changes, I add water conditioner and let it sit in an open container for 24hrs. Other than that, i haven't added anything. This betta is new, I bought him from a pet store less than 1 month ago. As far as I know, he hasn't been sick. he looked great when I bought him, and he looked great until i added the corys, which are also fine, there is nothing wrong with them. He is still eating, but he looks awful with his color and clamped fins., those are the only symptoms. Both these tanks are less than 1 month old.
I had the water in my 5 gal tested at a local pet store, and they said the water is fine. i do not have numbers though. I did not have the water in the 1.5 gal tested, but it should be good too. I keep up with water changes and use conditioner, have live plants, don't over feed. I can post a pic tomorrow.
 
#4 ·
Aquarium salt is a great product to use for treatment short term-for the right reason, dosage and duration.....its not needed or good for either of the species of fish you have long term...I strongly recommend that you start making water changes to get it out and if you need to treat the Betta for what ever reason to QT in a small container that can be floated in the heated tank and premixing the salt using a therapeutic dosage for no longer than 10 days.
I would not recommend sodium chloride (aquarium salt) for Corydoras in any dosage

The two aquatic plant species ( java fern and anubias) are salt tolerant-the Mondo grass is non-aquatic and will slowly rot and die fouling the water-I recommend that you remove that plant.
Since both the Java fern and Anubias are tied to something in the tank-this will make needed water changes easier-both are great plants for small tanks and very tolerant to low light, however, since they are low feeders they don't always help with water quality issues-but they can help some and look great.....

In the 5gal filter tank-I would make 50% with substrate vacuum in all places that can be reached weekly

In the 1.5gal filtered-50% twice weekly...1-50% water only and 1-50% to include the substrate cleaning by vacuum or stir and dip

Dose the dechlorinator for the full volume of the tank as a general rule even for the partial water changes-the water is safe to use on contact with the dechlorinator and so you don't have to let the water sit for 24h...if you also have chloramine in your source water-double check the dechlorinator label-some require double dose for the chloramines

Filter media-they need a swish/rinse in the bucket of old tank water with a water change a couple of times a month to get the big pieces of gunk off-they should look dirty but still have good water flow for the beneficial bacteria.....

Right now for the Betta-I would start making some daily 50% water only changes for 2-3 days and see if this will perk him up....if not, he may need to be QT'd and started on a treatment...

Look forward to pics....

Keep us posted.....
 
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