I posted this in the care section and it probably would be better off in here. Sorry for posting it twice.
Housing
What size is your tank? 10 gallons
What temperature is your tank? 78 degrees constantly
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
Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? dried blood worms and bettamin tropical flakes.
How often do you feed your betta fish? twice daily - once at 11:30 am then at 6 pm
Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? Lately it depends on the instructions of the medication we're using at the time. Right now every 3 days, but before once weekly.
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? Now with the medication 25%, before it was 50%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? BettaSafe water conditioner.
Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?
Ammonia: This is the only thing currently that we test for and it is in the "safe" range.
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity:
Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? His once flowing fins are now clumped into what looks like dreadlocks, his color has diminished into a grey color on his face, he has what appears to be a light fuzzy fungus coating on his body, and now red stripes on his face. (I've included pictures)
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? He use to spend most of his time "flighting" his reflection in the glass and being an overall happy, young, outgoing fish. He now hides in his cave for long periods, doesn't flight himself at all and lies in the bottom corner.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? About a month ago, maybe 3 weeks after we got him.
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? Yes, first we thought it was ammonia poisoning so we just did more frequent water changes because his face had red lines on it, then we noticed his fins started looking different. They started to clump and fray so we treated him Melafix per the pet stores advice. We read that this was actually harmful to bettas so we immediately stopped that. He then started exhibiting a fungus appearance so we tried Jungle Fungus Clear tablets. He didn't appear to be getting any better so we tried Jungle All in One Treatment tabs, when I stumbled upon the disease Columnaris and the symptoms seem to fit. So now we have been treating him with T.C. Tetracycline for the past 2 days and this stuff really turns the water a funky color.
Does your fish have any history of being ill? No
How old is your fish (approximately)? No clue unfortunately
So the story is, my boyfriend and I (who have never owned fish) were in the dreaded Wal-Mart (I hate this store with a burning passion, but our dog insists on only eating a certain dog food from there) and as we're walking down the aisle I see to my horror a whole shel with beta fish in tiny little cups! In fact we noticed that one beta was taken out of his cup and put into a cup with another betta and one was literally biting the other ones fins off. So we scooped the little guy out with a net we found and put him back into his own cup. Unfortunately it was too late and he slowly was dying. Enraged I found a worker and told her how inhumane this was and that it should not be so easy for idiotic people to be able to lift a lid and but one fish inside with another one. So to make a long story short, I felt terrible and knew I had to rescue one of these little guys.
We picked a beautiful blue male with long flowing fins and named him Blue. He was an awesome little playful guy and I felt great to be able to give him a fabulous home! After reading up on necessary care we bought him a 10 gallon tank with a heater and filter, along with some hiding spots and fake plants. He was loving it! After about 3-4 weeks with weekly water changes, he started not being himself. Lethargic, dull colors, and then his fins started clamping up. I've read almost everything I could read to help him and that's why we've been through so many medications, I just want to help the guy and feel terrible that I obviously can't keep him healthy in such a nice big tank and that he seemed healthier and happier in a small cup. I just don't know what else to do! I will do anything to help him because when I have a pet I have to make sure they're happy and healthy no matter what the cost!
I have one before photo and some after photos to give you a visual. I have not yet come across anyone else that has described their fish's fins being dreadlock-like so hopefully someone can help.
The first photo is when we first got him (don't mind the bowl, we went out and got him his big tank later that night) and the rest are of him not feeling so well. The crazy blue water color is from the fungus clear and the ones with a brownish hue is from the tetracycline.
Housing
What size is your tank? 10 gallons
What temperature is your tank? 78 degrees constantly
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
Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? dried blood worms and bettamin tropical flakes.
How often do you feed your betta fish? twice daily - once at 11:30 am then at 6 pm
Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? Lately it depends on the instructions of the medication we're using at the time. Right now every 3 days, but before once weekly.
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? Now with the medication 25%, before it was 50%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? BettaSafe water conditioner.
Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?
Ammonia: This is the only thing currently that we test for and it is in the "safe" range.
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity:
Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? His once flowing fins are now clumped into what looks like dreadlocks, his color has diminished into a grey color on his face, he has what appears to be a light fuzzy fungus coating on his body, and now red stripes on his face. (I've included pictures)
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? He use to spend most of his time "flighting" his reflection in the glass and being an overall happy, young, outgoing fish. He now hides in his cave for long periods, doesn't flight himself at all and lies in the bottom corner.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? About a month ago, maybe 3 weeks after we got him.
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? Yes, first we thought it was ammonia poisoning so we just did more frequent water changes because his face had red lines on it, then we noticed his fins started looking different. They started to clump and fray so we treated him Melafix per the pet stores advice. We read that this was actually harmful to bettas so we immediately stopped that. He then started exhibiting a fungus appearance so we tried Jungle Fungus Clear tablets. He didn't appear to be getting any better so we tried Jungle All in One Treatment tabs, when I stumbled upon the disease Columnaris and the symptoms seem to fit. So now we have been treating him with T.C. Tetracycline for the past 2 days and this stuff really turns the water a funky color.
Does your fish have any history of being ill? No
How old is your fish (approximately)? No clue unfortunately
So the story is, my boyfriend and I (who have never owned fish) were in the dreaded Wal-Mart (I hate this store with a burning passion, but our dog insists on only eating a certain dog food from there) and as we're walking down the aisle I see to my horror a whole shel with beta fish in tiny little cups! In fact we noticed that one beta was taken out of his cup and put into a cup with another betta and one was literally biting the other ones fins off. So we scooped the little guy out with a net we found and put him back into his own cup. Unfortunately it was too late and he slowly was dying. Enraged I found a worker and told her how inhumane this was and that it should not be so easy for idiotic people to be able to lift a lid and but one fish inside with another one. So to make a long story short, I felt terrible and knew I had to rescue one of these little guys.
We picked a beautiful blue male with long flowing fins and named him Blue. He was an awesome little playful guy and I felt great to be able to give him a fabulous home! After reading up on necessary care we bought him a 10 gallon tank with a heater and filter, along with some hiding spots and fake plants. He was loving it! After about 3-4 weeks with weekly water changes, he started not being himself. Lethargic, dull colors, and then his fins started clamping up. I've read almost everything I could read to help him and that's why we've been through so many medications, I just want to help the guy and feel terrible that I obviously can't keep him healthy in such a nice big tank and that he seemed healthier and happier in a small cup. I just don't know what else to do! I will do anything to help him because when I have a pet I have to make sure they're happy and healthy no matter what the cost!
I have one before photo and some after photos to give you a visual. I have not yet come across anyone else that has described their fish's fins being dreadlock-like so hopefully someone can help.
The first photo is when we first got him (don't mind the bowl, we went out and got him his big tank later that night) and the rest are of him not feeling so well. The crazy blue water color is from the fungus clear and the ones with a brownish hue is from the tetracycline.