Ollie has been my first betta that I ever had and I wonder if his time is coming. He was bright red and blue when I first got him but his colors are dull and they have been for awhile now.
Ollie is eating ok but his tail is really short now and he sits on his tail and looks at the top of the tank a lot alothough he seems to be swimming alright.
There's no white or yellow dots on him and I keep checking on him. I just don't have a clue. I've had several bettas die before and it is really hard for me. I've watched several of them take their last breaths a few months ago.
I just really want to know what is wrong with Ollie.
What size is your tank? Its smaller than 2.5 gallons
What temperature is your tank? I have thermontors on my other 2 tanks and they are both 76 right now so I think Ollie's water is the same temp.
Does your tank have a filter? No
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No
Is your tank heated? No
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? Ollie's by himself in his home
Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Pellots
How often do you feed your betta fish? once every 2nd day
Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? Just changed all of their water not long ago
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? Did the whole thing this time
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Aqua safe
Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?
Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? Ollie's colors have been dull for along time and his tail is really short
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? He looks at the top of the tank
When did you start noticing the symptoms? Has been dull for awhile now and just noticed yesterday his tail is getting shorter he almost doesn't even have one anymore
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? No
Does your fish have any history of being ill? Yes he alomost died
How old is your fish (approximately)? I've had him for along time
If his tail is getting shorter it sounds like he has a severe case of fin rot. How often have you been doing water changes & are you using a water conditioner. A 2.5g tank needs at a minimum 2 water changes per week, a smaller tank could require more. His water temp should be 78-80F for his long term health. When you say "I've had him for along time" how long is that? "He almost died", from what? Can you post a pic of him? You may need meds from the sounds of how severe it is but we need a pic if possible.
Not a problem, welcome & hopefully we can help get Ollie better. Glad you did another water change for him. We may want to add some pre-dissolved aquarium salt if you can get it, that usually helps with fin rot. I can give you specific instructions on its use once you're ready to use it.
If you can give me some information regarding the water conditioner that would be helpful. Most people's tap water is not safe for fish & we have to add water conditioner to it to make it safe, do you or mom do this or is the water set out over night? If we can narrow down long you've had him that may help as well, has it been 6 months, a year, two years? Let me know if anything I say or ask doesn't make sense, sometimes I get ahead of myself.
Yes the water with the stuff sits out until I need to use the water. Been such along time that I got him that I don't even know how long ago :-(
Also my other fishies are in 2.5 gallons 2 tanks and they have white stuff on the top of the water. Have no idea what it could be changed their water not too long ago cause the white stuff was there and it came back.
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