Hello!
So my CT Stanley has been having bloat problems since day one. I gave him a bit of a pea one time and it worked fine. Now however, he has been bloated for a week or two and it hasn't gone down although he is still passing stool. It may even be growing ever so slowly. Sometimes his poop is the normal cinnamon color, other times it is this color but hanging, connected by bits of stringy white stuff, and other times such as yesterday it is completely white and stringy like it got pushed through a playdough spagetti maker.
He eats like a pig still, or would if Id let him. Ive fasted him for 3 days and gave him a single regualar sized betta pellet soaked in treated water yesterday. He does seem to be hiding a tad more than usual but he still greets me excitedly at the glass whenever I come near and explores his tank when Im not.
I think his bloat must be because of either internal parasites or internal bacterial infection judging from his poo. I treated him with 1 tsp/ gallon (8 when discounting decorations and gravel) epsom salt dissolved in treated water yesterday and it made him poo white within two hours.
Ever since day one I have had pest problems that may be contributing to his health issues. I brought home a live plant from Petco (bad idea!) and introduced all sorts of critters to his tank. I have found and removed a single very small snail. I had an outbreak of freeliving worms that wriggle in an S shape when in the open water a couple months ago. They hungout just above the surface of the water on the glass. This is how I first noticed them. Stanley likes to search for them in the gravel and happily slurps them up like spagetti when i point one out to him. I have since used a gravel vacuum for pwcs and they have greatly reduced in number. I only see one every now and then. A couple weeks ago I noticed daphnia looking creatures crawling all over the glass. They were white specks with very short pointy tails on one end. They have since subsided greatly as well. Just yesterday though, I noticed what seemed to be planaria (not many) on the glass. They were shorter than the other worms and seemed flatter as well. I dont know if maybe him eating these little daphnia and worms could have infected his tummy or not.
There has also been a recent bacterial bloom (i think) or algae bloom. There is white cobweb like stuff growing all over the glass and decorations even after taking them out and rinsing and scrubbing with hot tap water. It breaks apart very easily when i move the water much such as during water changes. It turns brownish in color and to a thick slime when removed from the water. Maybe this has made him sick?
Please help me figure out whats going on with his tummy before it ends up hurting his organs and causing swim bladder disorder or worse....
Here are my stats:
Housing
What size is your tank? 10g
What temperature is your tank? 82 F
Does your tank have a filter? yes aqueon
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? not installed waiting on gang valve.
Is your tank heated? yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? none other than pests
Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? aqueon mini betta pellets and aqueon FD bloodworms on very rare occassions
How often do you feed your betta fish? Once a day. Normally around 6 mini pellets.
Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? weekly
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 30-40%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Aq salt 1/2 tsp/g & stress coat
Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?
Ammonia:<.25
Nitrite:<.25
Nitrate:0
pH: 7.7
Hardness: Hard
Alkalinity: Cant remember
Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? Very bloated
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? not much
When did you start noticing the symptoms? two weeks ago
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? yes epsom salt yesterday
Does your fish have any history of being ill? other than curled scraggly and holey fins, no
How old is your fish (approximately)? <1 year Ive had him for about 3 months and bought him from Walmart so that plus however old they are when given to the stores.
So my CT Stanley has been having bloat problems since day one. I gave him a bit of a pea one time and it worked fine. Now however, he has been bloated for a week or two and it hasn't gone down although he is still passing stool. It may even be growing ever so slowly. Sometimes his poop is the normal cinnamon color, other times it is this color but hanging, connected by bits of stringy white stuff, and other times such as yesterday it is completely white and stringy like it got pushed through a playdough spagetti maker.
He eats like a pig still, or would if Id let him. Ive fasted him for 3 days and gave him a single regualar sized betta pellet soaked in treated water yesterday. He does seem to be hiding a tad more than usual but he still greets me excitedly at the glass whenever I come near and explores his tank when Im not.
I think his bloat must be because of either internal parasites or internal bacterial infection judging from his poo. I treated him with 1 tsp/ gallon (8 when discounting decorations and gravel) epsom salt dissolved in treated water yesterday and it made him poo white within two hours.
Ever since day one I have had pest problems that may be contributing to his health issues. I brought home a live plant from Petco (bad idea!) and introduced all sorts of critters to his tank. I have found and removed a single very small snail. I had an outbreak of freeliving worms that wriggle in an S shape when in the open water a couple months ago. They hungout just above the surface of the water on the glass. This is how I first noticed them. Stanley likes to search for them in the gravel and happily slurps them up like spagetti when i point one out to him. I have since used a gravel vacuum for pwcs and they have greatly reduced in number. I only see one every now and then. A couple weeks ago I noticed daphnia looking creatures crawling all over the glass. They were white specks with very short pointy tails on one end. They have since subsided greatly as well. Just yesterday though, I noticed what seemed to be planaria (not many) on the glass. They were shorter than the other worms and seemed flatter as well. I dont know if maybe him eating these little daphnia and worms could have infected his tummy or not.
There has also been a recent bacterial bloom (i think) or algae bloom. There is white cobweb like stuff growing all over the glass and decorations even after taking them out and rinsing and scrubbing with hot tap water. It breaks apart very easily when i move the water much such as during water changes. It turns brownish in color and to a thick slime when removed from the water. Maybe this has made him sick?
Please help me figure out whats going on with his tummy before it ends up hurting his organs and causing swim bladder disorder or worse....
Here are my stats:
Housing
What size is your tank? 10g
What temperature is your tank? 82 F
Does your tank have a filter? yes aqueon
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? not installed waiting on gang valve.
Is your tank heated? yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? none other than pests
Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? aqueon mini betta pellets and aqueon FD bloodworms on very rare occassions
How often do you feed your betta fish? Once a day. Normally around 6 mini pellets.
Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? weekly
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 30-40%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Aq salt 1/2 tsp/g & stress coat
Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?
Ammonia:<.25
Nitrite:<.25
Nitrate:0
pH: 7.7
Hardness: Hard
Alkalinity: Cant remember
Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? Very bloated
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? not much
When did you start noticing the symptoms? two weeks ago
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? yes epsom salt yesterday
Does your fish have any history of being ill? other than curled scraggly and holey fins, no
How old is your fish (approximately)? <1 year Ive had him for about 3 months and bought him from Walmart so that plus however old they are when given to the stores.