Hi everyone. I am new to this site, and am also fairly new to keeping and enjoying bettas. My heart broke yesterday when, in a local large department store chain, I saw a lone male crowntail swimming in a cup with about 1-1/2 to 2 inches of what I can only describe as pure filth. I could see he was "gasping", very lethargic, underweight, and that his gills were inflamed, and he has a protruding eye. I purchased him and immediately began substituting his sewage stew for conditioned (with Prime) clean water with a bit of aquarium salt. Today, he remains lethargic but a bit more active. He does not appear to be gasping anymore, but I can see his gills are still irritated and flare out just a bit. I see no open sores on him, or signs of ick or velvet. He has only a very mild interest in the flake food that I have offered him and no interest in pellets. He is extremely frightened and only gets up off the bottom and swims around when the room is dark and I am not near the bowl. I currently have him in a 1-gallon glass bowl without a filter.
I want to help the poor fellow, but I'm not certain how to best do that in a manner that won't further traumatize him. I definitely question how often I should be changing out his water, what to feed him, and if medicating him with something would be beneficial or not. Any advice would be tremendously appreciated!
he is going to be very stressed out the best thing to do is keep his water super clean and leave him alone. make sure the water is at least at 78 and i wouldnt put any direct light on him. try to feed him but scoop out anything he doesnt eat. it may take him a couple of days to eat properly. He will heal up in clean water might take a couple of days to see some positive change in his behaviour.
He is probably is shock, give him some time, but he will need clean warm water, and you will need to watch for temp flucuations, if you do not have a thermometer, It is best to get one, and if possible get a upgrade to get a heater in there, but in the meantime, try pellets they have the nutrition that he desperately needs, try several times a day..until he eats at least 2 to begin with..it's a good start,
that will bring up his energy..then for water changes, for the first day..it's ok, let him settle and do a 50 % on day 2 he will be better adjusted, then do a full water change, if he has signs of fin rot, I would add a very little AQ salt for treatment, not even a full tsp..1/2 would be ok, but if there is no sign of fin damage, do not use any other medications, or salt, just let him adjust, and try to get him to eat, spend a lot of time with him, and try to get him to respond to your voice, and finger.. if all goes well, he will be fine.. keep us posted, hope all goes well:)
Also keep him in a calm, dim room for a little while..but check on him, and let him see you are there for him, I sat for hours tankside with my rescue..and kept talking to him, and they do come around..they need to know someone is there for them..if he is not responsive..give him time, like an hour or so..then check on him again, and call his name, and sit with him for a while and just watch..all his activity..slowly move your finger across the outside of the tank, and see if he follows with his eyes, if he does..its a good sign..
Thanx for the good advice, Meg and Lelei. His tank temp is 80 and holding. I don't see any fin rot, but then with the spiky crowntail, I don't know if I would recognize fin rot on him. My biggest concern is getting food to him. He will eat just a little, but I have to put the food in, turn out the lights and back away. I would feel better if he would eat a bit more, but I think he's just scared of me at this point. I'll be working on getting him to know and trust me. I really hope he recovers, and I will be keeping you guys posted for certain.
Thanx again!
Hi there! I can't believe it - he is alive and seems to be doing pretty well. He is not a very active fish, but he eats and swims well and no longer seems to be having breathing problems. My only concern is that his gills underneath his head seem to protrude a bit. It's not horrible, but when I compare him to my other healthy betta, you can see the difference in the gills pretty plainly. The treatment I gave him was to add aquarium salt to his water at the amount recommended on the box, kept him in a dark, warm, and quiet location, did water changes every other day for the first week, and tried not to stress him, and in about 4 days, he began to improve. I continue to change about 30% of his water every 2 days, and then a 100% change once a week. So far - so good. Thanx for checking up on us!
It's soo funny you would say that..I have actually been told this by a few others as well.. I am very honored with such a Title
My little man? He is very well..Thnks for asking, I love him sooo much..Sammy, and Sapphire, and Crimson..my most recent rescue..oh and the girls My other rescues
Hi there! I can't believe it - he is alive and seems to be doing pretty well. He is not a very active fish, but he eats and swims well and no longer seems to be having breathing problems. My only concern is that his gills underneath his head seem to protrude a bit. It's not horrible, but when I compare him to my other healthy betta, you can see the difference in the gills pretty plainly. The treatment I gave him was to add aquarium salt to his water at the amount recommended on the box, kept him in a dark, warm, and quiet location, did water changes every other day for the first week, and tried not to stress him, and in about 4 days, he began to improve. I continue to change about 30% of his water every 2 days, and then a 100% change once a week. So far - so good. Thanx for checking up on us!
So happy to hear the great news!! Very glad he is doing well..Keep us updated, and If you can post some pix
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