Can't figure out what is wrong with my betta!

[ANHEL123]

Originally Posted by MistersMom

The nitrites/nitrates/ammonia may be high also, if he is darting....

yes but with those water changes 100% i don't think so, unless he has ammonia in his tap water, which is happened. I would think go to the pet store and check your water. Meanwhile look at him and try to see if he has all those symptoms that we asking about. Give us update. Infinitely buy aquarium salt.
I also read that PRIME is the best to use if you have ammonia in the water. So if you can buy PRIME by Seachem.

[ChoclateBetta]

What was the point in that?

[ANHEL123]

Seems that PRIME conditioner one of the best that removes any heaby metals , stabilizes the pH but i also spoke to someone on this forum who has ammonia in her water and she told me that PRIME one of the conditioners that really helps with this issue.

Well we don't know what is the problem with kimbooffmarz fish though. It can be completely different issue though, but differently testing the water in the store firs option.

[ChoclateBetta]

Could be water changes

[ChoclateBetta]

Why did you post ...............

[ANHEL123]

Because i put a post instead of quote. So i changed it...
Also about PRIME
The best thing to do is to use Seachem Prime. It changes ammonia to ammonium which is the less dangerous of both. It only lasts about two days though so that is why it is very important to do two different water changes a week. There are other solutions such as getting plants that help reduce the ammonia but I think Prime is the best way of quickly doing it

[ChoclateBetta]

Or algae like Marimo.

[MistersMom]

i have a marimo, one doens't work by itself, you need many....

[kimbooffmarz]

Can I ask why not to use Bettafix? Not because I don't trust your opinion, just because I am interested. :)

I have not been able to notice any bloating, that was the first thing I looked for. His stomach looks a bit darker than normal but it seems to have just been because of his color loss.

I wouldn't say he is gasping for air at the top, but any time he does go up (sometimes he seems to be triggered by me being around the tank/taking the lid off) he just seems very quick to the top, takes a quick breath and goes back to the bottom. He is not at the surface very often, which is also very unusual for him.

He has not been rubbing against anything and I haven't noticed any kind of bumps, spots, or dust on his body. He has had a very light and shiny blue spot on one side since i got him, has not grown or changed since so I figured it was just an odd pigmentation. I will post a picture of him at a healthy stage where you can see what I mean.

I bought some aquarium salt today, the box said to add 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons of water which worked out to just over half a teaspoon for my tank (3ml). I know you had all recommended more but I wasn't sure if there was a brand specific limit to it at all so thought I would double check with you, should I add more?

I did see stress coat while i was out for the salt, and would have grabbed some had I known bettafix was not ideal before now!

I do acclimate him well and slowly when i do the water changes, I just feel like scooping him out of his tank every day must not be pleasant for him (maybe I'm just over sensitive?)

I considered ammonia poisoning as well but I haven't noticed any sort of inflammation around his gills or anywhere else. I guess getting my water tested will be my next step if the salt and everything doesn't work.

P.S. after looking at some old pictures of him I am quite convinced of fin rot though he doesn't come out now enough for me to see much of his fins, they were gorgeous back then.. not sure whether it's fin rot or just him looking sick in general...

Spot pics:





And this is all I see of him now at best... :(

[kimbooffmarz]

Oh ya, one more quick question! I am beginning to worry about Max's non-eating.. I know Bettas can go a while without food but am wondering if I should keep trying to offer him food? I have tried a couple times to drop a pellet near him with a baster.. once he bit at it but spit it back out and swam away. Should I just leave him to eat when he's feeling better, how long could that take? Or should I maybe try offering him something more appealing like a bloodworm?