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HELP ! my betta fish is sick

952 views 3 replies 2 participants last post by  sainthogan 
#1 ·
hello my name is yvanna i just joined this website today in the hopes i can get some help with my little friend :/

Housing.
What size is your tank? I have a 10 gallon tank

What temperature is your tank? i keep it anywhere between 72 to 79 degrees

Does your tank have a filter? yes it has a both a regular filter from Grreat Choice and a Penn flax (i think thats the right name) undergravel filter that i just installed 2 days ago still unsure of its purpose though.

Does your tank have an air stone or other aeration ? i do have an airstone that goes all along the back wall of the tank.

Is your tank heated ? yes i have a 5 gallon tank heater that really does the job and well

What tank mates does your betta fish live with? Chunky is in the tank with two African dwarf frogs, i will try to post photos, for a year now, please before it is asked, no i will not seperate them, i have been asked in the past by other fish enthusiast. they get along very well never had a problem i even caught chuncky and one of them casually laying on some plants together.


Food
What type of food do you feed your betta? I feed my bettas Aqueon Betta Food and OCCASIONALLY as in maybe twice a month Aqueon Betta Treat which is freeze dried brine shrimp

How often do you feed your betta? i give them about 5 pellets sometimes twice a day sometimes once.


Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? not very often, im usually adding water due to evaporation.

What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? Usually all of it if not about 50 percent

What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? I add Top Fin water conditioner, its not specific to just bettas.

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water?

If so, what are the following parameters? I havent checked, ever I know thats bad but im not entirely sure what im looking for

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity:

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? Well for one i believe he has fin Rot and he just obtained pop eye it seems as though his color is changing and his scales are turning black and his chin area or whatever its called is more white than usual its always been since i got it but now it seems like its growing

How has your betta fish's behavior changed? it hasnt really until i moved him from the regular tank to a hospital tank that is 5 gallons he still eats just has been a bit lethargic

When did you start noticing the symptoms? the possible fin rot maybe two weeks now no more than that but i seems to be going in a rapid pace. now as for the pop eye the only reason it came up was because i was told Betta Revive by hikari was a good product and within 5 minutes of me putting the treatment in his eye completely swelled up. not sure why

Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? i tried the betta revive and i removed him immediately then i did 3 days of Mardel maracyn which i though was clearing up the fogginess but not the swelling so i switched to epson salt with daily water changes for the past two days and still nothing :(

Does your fish have any history of being ill? no

How old is your fish (approximately)? i want to say at least 2 years ive had him since december 2012 and we are in 2014
 

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#2 ·
For starters, you need a heater that keeps it at a constant temperature. Constantly fluctuating temperatures can be extremely stressful and very hard on his immune system. Many fish have died due to constant temperature fluctuation, it is worse than keeping them in cold water all the time.

Secondly, you should be doing at least a 25% water change weekly, even with the filter, and especially with the 2 frogs. Just refilling the evaporated water is not enough to remove toxins that build up from their waste. Both fish and frogs produce ammonia in their waste - so even if your tank is cycled, they are producing more ammonia waste than your cycle can keep up with in a healthy and timely manner. Fin rot and popeye can both be caused by too many toxins in the water. (There are other things that cause them, but given what you said about tank care, temperature fluctuations and bioload, I'd say it is a result of toxins). You don't need to separate the frogs and fish as long as you keep up with weekly cleanings.

Third, give him time, keep his water warm and very clean - with the 5 gallon and his illness, you're going to need to do a partial water change every 3 - 4 days or he's not going to get better.

Also, post your questions on the disease part of the forum, you will get more advice than on this section.
 
#3 ·
thank you for getting back to me, I will start doing weekly water changes and the reason why the temperature fluctuates is because sometimes i think its too hot in there and i lower the heat. and yeah i realized when it was too late that i posted in the wrong forum haha.
 
#4 ·
Do you have a thermometer? If not, get one that sticks to the inside of the tank, that way, you don't have to keep adjusting the temperature. Again, a stable cool temperature is much, much, much better than constantly fluctuating temperatures, which can be deadly.
 
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