Sick betta needs help

[castielthebetta]

I bought a betta fish back in May. He's all white, beautiful fins & I really really like him. He used to swim around a 1 gallon tank but then I changed him to a 3 gallon for some extra space. His tank has plastic plants, rocks, a light, and heater to keep the temp at a solid 79-80 degrees.

I've noticed lately that he's been floating around the bottom of the tank, seeming to breathe heavily. He doesn't eat, at all... He can't swim horizontally as well as he can vertically. He goes straight to the top of the tank every once in a LONG while and takes a gasp of air & just lets himself fall to the bottom of the tank again. I've tried everything, from changing the water temp to changing the water period. I always treat the water & use a little of his old water to help acclimate him to the new water. Please help me. I don't wanna lose my little guy

[Pilot00]

Does he use his fins? If you have a flash light gently flash him over and look for a gold dusting type thingie. If he has that it probably is velvet.

Hows his tummy? Is it swollen?


As a general rule look for something out of place in his body.

I would recommend posting pics so the experts here can offer a more educated opinion.
Also please fill this form

Housing
What size is your tank?
What temperature is your tank?
Does your tank have a filter?
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration?
Is your tank heated?
What tank mates does your betta fish live with?

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish?
How often do you feed your betta fish?

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change?
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change?
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change?
Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?

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

Symptoms and Treatment

How has your betta fish's appearance changed?
How has your betta fish's behavior changed?
When did you start noticing the symptoms?
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how?
Does your fish have any history of being ill?
How old is your fish (approximately)?

[lvandert]

Please fill those out so we can help you ^^

[castielthebetta]

Thanks but he didn't make it. He started convulsing on his plant and then started twitching and stopped breathing. :( I'm sad. But for my next betta, because I will try again...

3 gallon cylindrical tank. Kept at 79 degrees with small heater. Small aerator. No filter. Water changes once a week with 25% of water. No tan mates. Tetra brand fish flakes, shrimp and pellets. Once a day a few flakes and take out what he didn't eat. When I change water I always treat with tetra brand water neutralizer. Always let old water ad new water acclimate and float fish in it before releasing completely into new water. And I'm not sure about the ammonia and stuff. Am I doing something wrong?? Please advise so I can do better with my next betta. Thanks.

Rest in Peace Castiel. :'(

[lvandert]

for a 3 gallon you needed to do 50% water changes every other day and then a 100% once a week.

It sounds like he might have had ammonia poisoning, the current water changes you were doing just couldn't keep up with the building ammonia.

I'm sorry you lost him, he sounded like a wonderful fish

[castielthebetta]

Wow I didn't know had to do them that often. I heard doing too many could stress them out. How exactly do I change the water? Do I remove tw fish into a separate container and just pour out the 25% and refill it? Do I treat the water every single time? I would like to keep one alive for a long time. Please help me out! Thank you!!!!

[castielthebetta]

Oops I meant 50%

[lvandert]

what I recommend is investing in some cheap gallon jugs (drinking water gallon at grocery stores are only like 93 cents) and some air tubing. What you do is fill 1 gallon full and the other half (1.5 is half of 3) and put your chemicals in. Let that sit for at least 2 hours so it can get room temp. Then siphon out about half of the water out. (set a bucket up below your fish tank, put one end of hose into your fish tank and put the other in the bucket. Gently suck on the end in the bucket and once water goes over the tank and heads down it creates a steady flow.) This method will also allow you to suck up poop and left over foods. Now once you have the old water out do the same thing but in reverse for putting water back in. (Put the gallon jug above the water level of the tank, put one end of the hose in the jug. Suck on the other end and put that into your tank). If this is confusing let me know, I'll draw a diagram.

[Pilot00]

Sorry for your loss m8 :(

[tpocicat]

I'm sorry for your loss, it's never easy :'(