Please help! Betta going to explode and die!!

[toad]

I can't see your pics :(

[CTBettaLover]

Here are some pictures. Hope they work this time. Poor fishy :'(

[toad]

Oh My :( I've never seen anything like that.

I messaged OFL - hopefully she can tell you what to do for him!

*sending healing energy to your fishy*

[CTBettaLover]

Yeah... It has gotten really really bad. Thank you so much for messaging her for me. I'm pretty new to the world of forums so I don't much know what I'm doing. I'm just desperately trying to save my precious little Stanley Fish. <3 Thankyou for your support.

[aokashi]

dont feed him any more... usually at the first sign of bloadt, you should stop feeding him until he is no longer bloated...

[Oldfishlady]

Sorry your Betta isn't well.....

It could be either a tumor, fatty liver or kidney related due to the long term aquarium salt use, Sadly, none are treatable/curable, however, you can ease the symptoms.

Since he is overall acting okay, eating, swimming and responding to you and not having any buoyancy problems-What I would recommend is treating him in a 1-2 gal unfiltered tank with Epsom salt 3tsp/gal (Not aquarium salt) and tannins.

Using a cup of dechlorinated water add the proper amount of Epsom salt 3tsp/gal-Dissolve and slowly add this to the 1-2gal tank you have him in for treatment. He needs to stay in the smaller unfiltered tank in the Epsom salt and tannins for the durations. Add a tannin source of either IAL or dried Oak leaf to the tank too.

Then premix some treatment water in a 1gal jug of dechlorinated water to use for 50% water changes every other day.

Premixed treatment water-Epsom salt 3tsp/gal and tannin source IAL (1 lrg crushed/gal) or Oak leaf (20 crushed/gal)

Nutrition-good quality varied diet fed in small frequent meals and if you have access to live mosquito larva-offer several rinsed a couple of times a day to boost protein intake to support the immune response.

Keep us posted....

[CTBettaLover]

Originally Posted by Oldfishlady

Sorry your Betta isn't well.....

It could be either a tumor, fatty liver or kidney related due to the long term aquarium salt use, Sadly, none are treatable/curable, however, you can ease the symptoms.

So there is no way it could just be an infection or parasites? :(((

Since he is overall acting okay, eating, swimming and responding to you and not having any buoyancy problems-What I would recommend is treating him in a 1-2 gal unfiltered tank with Epsom salt 3tsp/gal (Not aquarium salt) and tannins.

Since I went out of town 4 days ago he has grown a lot and become very lethargic. He still responds to me but doesn't leave his betta leaf hammock much at all.

Using a cup of dechlorinated water add the proper amount of Epsom salt 3tsp/gal-Dissolve and slowly add this to the 1-2gal tank you have him in for treatment. He needs to stay in the smaller unfiltered tank in the Epsom salt and tannins for the durations. Add a tannin source of either IAL or dried Oak leaf to the tank too.

I have a 1/2 gallon tank, will that be okay? Also, where do I find tannins? I have a Petco and PetSupermarket near me. There are no fish/aquarium stores in my city though.

Nutrition-good quality varied diet fed in small frequent meals and if you have access to live mosquito larva-offer several rinsed a couple of times a day to boost protein intake to support the immune response.

Any idea where I can buy these? Should I not give him any peas or pellets? How long do you think he has to live if it is a tumor or organ problem? :'(

[SpookyTooth]

I'm so sorry your betta is poorly. While I can't offer any good advice regarding how to treat him I just wanted to give you some information regarding the microorganisms you're encountering.

There are numerous types of worms that can show up in an aquarium but from your description they are either planaria or detritus worms.

Planaria are a species of flatworm, they are thicker than detritus worms with an arrow shaped head. They are also believed to be omnivorous. These guys usually come in on plants and can be removed manually.

Detritus worms are often confused with planaria; they are thin hair-like worms that can be seen crawling up the aquarium glass or swimming through the water in "S" motions. They can range from very short to surprisingly long (sometimes up to 2 cm). Their purpose in an aquarium is to help the breakdown of mulm in the substrate. They are completely and utterly natural in an aquarium system but populations can explode due to one of three things: 1) a dirty environment 2) a newly cycled aquarium 3) new live plants. They can be removed manually and through regular siphoning of the aquarium substrate + water changes.

The other organisms you've spied may be one of a few things:

Cyclops look like a single teardrop shaped blob with a forked tail, they can dart through the water or crawl across the glass. They average a couple of millimetres in length from head to tail.

Daphnia are also known as water fleas and look just like fleas. They dart through the water. They can vary quite dramatically in size but usually average a couple of millimetres in length.

Seed shrimp swim like drunken bees through the water and can be surprisingly large, they range in colours from yellow to green. They can be up to a cm long.

Copepods are absolutely miniscule organisms that look simply like moving dots, they can swim through the water or be seen in huge numbers moving across the aquarium glass.

All of these things are natural in an aquarium and if you can't ever see any of them there may actually be something wrong but of course population explosions can be frustrating. They are all harmless and can be removed through extra water changes and gravel siphoning.

This website helped me a great deal when I experienced microfauna:

http://www3.sympatico.ca/drosera1/fish/worms.htm

[Oldfishlady]

Half gallon will be fine to use for treatment.

Tannins-I use naturally dried and fallen from the tree Oak leaf from my Oak trees in my yard-Usually you have to get IAL online.

I collect live mosquito larva in my yard that I find in standing water-I scoop them out using a brine shrimp net or fine meshed net-Rinse under running water and feed.

I wouldn't fast any longer than 24h-Fish always have internal parasites that they normally shed/pass on a regular bases to keep controlled so not to become problematic/symptomatic and by holding food for too long it can limit their ability to pass them-Also, the immune response helps to keep them from being symptomatic and without proper nutrition it can compromise the immune response. Some parasites can't complete their life cycle in the aquarium setting too.

Some Long fin males can get overly stress in larger tanks with filtration over time. The long fin males are man-made with abnormally long heavy fins and with some they struggle carrying the weight of these abnormal long heavy fins and this in turn can stress them and this can compromise the immune response.
Not all Long fin males have these issues-a lot is also based on genetics/breeding, as well as age can also be a factor.

*SpookyTooth...great info and I agree...

[CTBettaLover]

UPDATE: Stanley is still not doing any better. His stomach is grossly swollen and white from being stretched. He still shows interest in me, his surroundings and food (although i have barely been feeding him since it got this serious). I have no seen him poop in a day or two but I am also not around that often to watch him closely. I think I might want to start internal parasite or internal infection medication but I do not want to medicate without being sure of the problem.... :/ I still have not used tannins because I have very little spare time and have not had a chance to go oak tree hunting. OLDFISHLADY, what type of oak leaf am I to use. I mentioned this method to my mom to see if we had a tree and she said there are many kinds of oak so I should make sure it is the right kind before I use it on my delicate little fish.