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Please help me figure out whats wrong with my fish!

1K views 24 replies 4 participants last post by  fishlover44 
#1 ·

I got a fish today. I recently just lost my last fish and i do not know why. Im pretty sure he had ick. The one i got today and earl may is now floating at the top of the tank and cant swim. Help







Housing

What size is your tank? 2 gallon
What temperature is your tank? 72 degrees
Does your tank have a filter? no
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? no
Is your tank heated? no
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? none.? he has a house?

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Premium betta food
How often do you feed your betta fish? just got him today and fed him 2 pellets

Maintenance

How often do you perform a water change? every 2 weeks
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 100%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Ick gaurd

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? He is floating to the top
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? IDK
When did you start noticing the symptoms? 3 hours after feeding
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? no
Does your fish have any history of being ill? idk
How old is your fish (approximately)?idk
 
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#5 ·
Well it seems like you may need to start using some type of de chlorinator... distilled water may still have chlorine... Also one water change every 2 weeks is not enough for a tank that small.. To add a picture you go to advanced and hit the paper clip button and it should let you add a picture
 
#6 ·
Right. Just finished reading.
72F is too cold for the poor thing. Betta fish needs 78-82F to function happily.

cold water hinders metabolism, and because his metabolism is slow/ not working, his body can't process the food fast enough and it is giving him digestive problems.This is why he is floating.

you NEED a heater. actually, your fish needs it. grab one off from amazon for about $13 (prices fluctuate with availability)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00106X8QG

For now place him in the warmest part of your house with minimal temperature fluctuations.

feeding
Try to feed him sparingly until you get that heater (1 pellet a day). if his stomach expands or gets worse, stop feeding him and get a heater immediately.

Water changes
you must do two water changes a week. 50% half way through the weeks and 100% at the end.... when you change out water, make sure it's the same temperature. you can adjust this from the tap, then use water conditioner. acclimatize the fish properly (if you took him out in a cup) by floating him in the tank for a while, then gradually introduce the tank water little by little into his cup and then eventually let him into the tank.

Stop medicating him immediately. ich medicine contains copper, which is usually fairly detrimental to fish as well. you dont need medication for ich. 86F temperatureand aquarium salt will eliminate ich outbreak fairly easily.
 
#10 ·
hmm... you can get water conditioner at any petstore. just ask around. you dont need anything fancy. did you read my detailed post above? you should get an adjustable heater first. walmart definitely sells both water conditioner and heaters.
 
#13 · (Edited)
get a 25w ADJUSTABLE heater if you can. if not a 50w is ok too. just make sure it FITs in your tank.

@ Karebear- I think she could use it. but I'm not an expert with epsom salt. I like to depend on the more natural stuff IAL and heat and such. I dont even use Aq salt anymore.

@fishlover- If you do choose to use epsom salt. it's 1tsp/ gallon. premix it in some tank water in a separate CLEAN (untouched by soap or other chemicals) container first. have it completely dissolve before using it in yor tank.

And make sure to take him off the medication... like asap
 
#12 ·
I agree with Aokashi. Prime is the best conditioner in my opinion... Walmart should have it but if not any conditioner should work...

Aokashi, Im wondering if she should use epsom salt since he is floating pretty badly?
 
#14 ·
But also be careful the heater doesn't heat up the tank too fast. I learned that the hard way... I would increase it by two degrees at a time very slowly
 
#21 · (Edited)
Distilled water is collected by gathering steam, you can actually distill it yourself. The problem is that it is completely devoid of nutrients so if it is used in an aquarium it really needs to have the vitamins and other such things added back to it. Distilled water is generally free of chlorine, anyway. The issue could be a combination of lack of heat and lack of proper nutrients available in the water.

Distilled and deionised water (very similar) are often used in car batteries and irons to stop limescale building up -- it really shouldn't be used in an aquarium unless you have a very fussy animal in there (I know some people who keep select species of shrimp that use 'pure water' (usually reverse osmosis water) and add nutrients/vitamins/minerals etc to it in order to maintain a stable pH/GH/KH as the species of shrimp are extremely delicate) and know exactly what products to add in order to regain the levels of nutrients required by animals and plants to flourish.

Tap water with water conditioner is, in most places, perfectly fine to use :) I'm glad to see that the fish has improved.
 
#22 ·
My fish is doing AMAZING...hes eating and swimming around and making those bubble things all over...I did have to put him on the flakes which he loves those hes not to fond of the pellets. but luckie is doing awesome thanks to all the advice from all of you! I really appreciate it!
 
#24 ·
that is great news! If you want you can get him some freeze dried bloodworms as treats once in a while maybe he will like that!

if you don't mind me asking what type of heater did you buy? Im looking into getting some new heaters and would like to know how you like it
 
#25 ·
I actually just got one from walmart 50w tetra submersible heater...cost about 14.00 and I love it...it keeps my tank at exactly 74 degrees and stays there at all times there is no switch to turn it on and off but if it gets under 74 degrees it turns on and if it gets over 74 turns off...its really nice and handy and it fits in my 2 gallon wine glass tank perfect....my fish loves it actually thats where he is making all his bubble things...lol
 
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