Adonis, my HMDT, is going to die & I know he is starting to suffer. I posted on him before & the consensus was he probably had TB, which had been on mind as well. I really need some reassurance that I am doing the right thing & that he has TB. Tomorrow I will take action, either treat or euthanize, so please answer as soon as possible so I can decide early & get it over with.
I got him 7/19/12, he had a crooked spine that mostly straightened out with 4 days. He had 2 lesions on his head a week after I got him that healed in 3 days of treatment with AQ salt. He jumped from the tank about 2 weeks ago. He developed 4 lesions in the spot as the last 2 within 12 hrs. They looked identical to the previous lesions. These also cleared up in 3 days with AQ salt treatment. He has torn fins that don’t appear to be re-growing. He has not had fin rot. He was timid, but at the begining of Aug he started doing much better. Now, whenever I take the lid off the tank he would start swimming erratically & frantically, run into things & tried to hide between the tank wall & the heater cord.
Within the past 2 days, he hides in his cave & won’t come out if I am anywhere near the tank, unless he sees a food pellet sinking. Even then, his whole body rarely leaves the cave. He’s never missed a meal, as long as I can get the pellets to sink close enough to him. In the past 12 hrs, he has rapidly started to lose color. His poop is now dark brown & has been for 3-4 days. My part of CA rarely hits 70 in the summer & the last 2 nights have been chilly so I covered the tank with a towel to keep it warm & temp steady. It’s at 80 now & his deterioration has accelerated since then. The last bit of hope I have is that it’s an internal parasite since his poop has changed color. I don’t believe he’s bloated & I think he is looking thinner, but I’m not sure because of the hiding.
I’m sorry this is so long, I just want all the pertinent info here. I really don’t want to euthanize Doni because I love him, but as a responsible fishkeeper, I feel it would be unethical to allow him to suffer when there’s no hope. If I euthanize, I’ve pretty much decided I want to use the clove oil method because it seems the most humane & painless, even though the link says it takes between 30-60 mins. This is what I plan on doing: http://www.oscarfishlover.com/helpful-articles/euthanize-fish But I’ve heard of clove oil & vodka as well. What do you do with the vodka? Is 1 or the other better? Is there a way I can speed up this method without causing him to suffer? Any advice to help me get through this? If it is (and I know at this point it more than likely is), I need to throw away all of his equipment & I need to do that with his body as well, right?
Housing
What size is your tank? 1.75 gal
What temperature is your tank? 80 for the past 2 days, normally at 76-78
Does your tank have a filter? No
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? Omega One
How often do you feed your betta fish? 3 pellets twice a day, in lieu of pellets on Sat PM he gets 2 live bloodworms, fast Sunday
Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? Every other day except when treating with AQ salt then daily. About a week ago switched to every 2 or 3 days based on water params.
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? Used to be 100%, now either 50-100% depending on params
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? SeaChem Prime & VitaChem
Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
pH: 7.6
Hardness: Not tested
Alkalinity: Not tested
Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? In the past 12 hrs he is rapidly losing color.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? Lethargy within the past couple days, very scared & timid.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? Since I got him 7/19, rapidly increasing symptoms in the past couple days.
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? AQ salt, daily 100% water changes, cover with towel to reduce stress & keep tank warmer
Does your fish have any history of being ill? On & off since I got him
How old is your fish (approximately)? Don’t know
I got him 7/19/12, he had a crooked spine that mostly straightened out with 4 days. He had 2 lesions on his head a week after I got him that healed in 3 days of treatment with AQ salt. He jumped from the tank about 2 weeks ago. He developed 4 lesions in the spot as the last 2 within 12 hrs. They looked identical to the previous lesions. These also cleared up in 3 days with AQ salt treatment. He has torn fins that don’t appear to be re-growing. He has not had fin rot. He was timid, but at the begining of Aug he started doing much better. Now, whenever I take the lid off the tank he would start swimming erratically & frantically, run into things & tried to hide between the tank wall & the heater cord.
Within the past 2 days, he hides in his cave & won’t come out if I am anywhere near the tank, unless he sees a food pellet sinking. Even then, his whole body rarely leaves the cave. He’s never missed a meal, as long as I can get the pellets to sink close enough to him. In the past 12 hrs, he has rapidly started to lose color. His poop is now dark brown & has been for 3-4 days. My part of CA rarely hits 70 in the summer & the last 2 nights have been chilly so I covered the tank with a towel to keep it warm & temp steady. It’s at 80 now & his deterioration has accelerated since then. The last bit of hope I have is that it’s an internal parasite since his poop has changed color. I don’t believe he’s bloated & I think he is looking thinner, but I’m not sure because of the hiding.
I’m sorry this is so long, I just want all the pertinent info here. I really don’t want to euthanize Doni because I love him, but as a responsible fishkeeper, I feel it would be unethical to allow him to suffer when there’s no hope. If I euthanize, I’ve pretty much decided I want to use the clove oil method because it seems the most humane & painless, even though the link says it takes between 30-60 mins. This is what I plan on doing: http://www.oscarfishlover.com/helpful-articles/euthanize-fish But I’ve heard of clove oil & vodka as well. What do you do with the vodka? Is 1 or the other better? Is there a way I can speed up this method without causing him to suffer? Any advice to help me get through this? If it is (and I know at this point it more than likely is), I need to throw away all of his equipment & I need to do that with his body as well, right?
Housing
What size is your tank? 1.75 gal
What temperature is your tank? 80 for the past 2 days, normally at 76-78
Does your tank have a filter? No
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? Omega One
How often do you feed your betta fish? 3 pellets twice a day, in lieu of pellets on Sat PM he gets 2 live bloodworms, fast Sunday
Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? Every other day except when treating with AQ salt then daily. About a week ago switched to every 2 or 3 days based on water params.
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? Used to be 100%, now either 50-100% depending on params
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? SeaChem Prime & VitaChem
Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
pH: 7.6
Hardness: Not tested
Alkalinity: Not tested
Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? In the past 12 hrs he is rapidly losing color.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? Lethargy within the past couple days, very scared & timid.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? Since I got him 7/19, rapidly increasing symptoms in the past couple days.
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? AQ salt, daily 100% water changes, cover with towel to reduce stress & keep tank warmer
Does your fish have any history of being ill? On & off since I got him
How old is your fish (approximately)? Don’t know