Help! New fish owner...1 fish dead and 1 rotting :(

[pr2ma]

Hi!
I got two bettas in a 2.5 gal divided tank . After 1 week of having them with no issues I had to leave them with a friend for a week cause I had to go away and couldn't bring them with me.
They didnt get a water change in 2 weeks , cause my friend was waiting on me to do it and I didn't change the water before I left, cause I left in a hurry... When I got them back 1 of the fish was almost dead (and finally died after I changed the water ) and the other one, Vio, (from what I've found online) I've diagnosed him with fin rot and this morning woke up with a poppy eye.

I took him out of the tank and put him in a small container (where he came from) cause I don't have any other to quarantine him so he can get better. I will go today and buy him a 1/2 gal one to quarantine.

I got a second fish (red) because my daughter was missing the other one that died and was asking about him (she is 3) and Red is in the tank. When I get home today I will change the water and put some Aquarium salt cause I dont want the new one (REd) to get sick too.

I even bought them a heater because I thought they were acting weird because of the cold weather we have here right now...Inside the apartment is 60F during the day and outside is 27F. But then this morning I noticed the fin and the poppy eye.

I found a few recommendations online about how to treat rot fin. Some say just use Aquarium salt treatment for 10 days having the fish in a 1/2 gal and changing the water everyday and adding new salt, others say to give Maracin 1 and Maracin 2.

Whats my best option? I dont want Vio to die....And I don't want REd to get sick. I'm on a tight budget and I've spent to much already...
I've attached some pics so you guys can see.
Can some one tell me if this is a mild rot or is a very severe one?

Thanks for the help!

[MyRainbowBettaFish]

HI.

the minimum for dividing tanks is generally 5-10 gallons. Your tank IMO Is WAY too small. The divider is also see through, thus letting the fish become stressed at each other. A tank that size with ONE betta needs to be cleaned ATLEAST 1 50% and 1 100% a week. What are you feeding them and how much?

The second one appears to have fin rot, which i treatable with AQUARIUM salt. It also might have fungus....


what do you use to treat the tank water?

can you give us some background info?

oops. just read a piece of the above post. Seperate BOTH fish, in 1 gallon containers. Water changes every other day. They are probably VERY stressed from seeing each other like that ALL the time.

Fishkeeping is generally a very expensive hobby.....

[shellieca]

+1 with Rainbow. Additionally the tank probably hadn't/hasn't properly cycled. If you want two fish I suggest getting them separate tanks or a 10g divided properly. Lots of fresh, clean, properly conditioned & heated water & more than likely they'll improve. I would start by taking the divider out, while I prefer a minimum of 5g per Betta, a well kept 2.5 is good.

[pr2ma]

I'm new to this. So I thought because they sell it to have 2 bettas that it would be ok....
I'll start cleaning it more often now. LEarned my lesson... but for now I can't afford another tank for the other betta or a bigger tank. SO will have to deal with this for a little while and change the water regularly.

Any suggestions on changing water?

I guess I will get 2- 1 gal bowls and start treating them with the Aquarium Salt.

The only thing that I put in the water is the Aqueon Betta Plus.

I feed them Aqueon Betta Pellets.

Which second one? the red one?

Thanks for the help

[sainthogan]

Your sick one looks like he may have velvet along with ammonia sickness. To find out for sure if it's velvet, you will need to take a flashlight and look for a gold or rust colored "dust" anywhere on his body, especially around the gills.
Ammonia sickness comes from not cleaning the tank often enough, and with 2 of them in such a small tank, ammonia is going to build up extremely fast.
If you get the 1 gallon bowls, make sure you get a heater for both. Betta's are tropical fish, and do best in temperatures between 76 and 82.
When you are using aquarium salt, you need to change the water everyday.
When they are well, here is a helpful link on how often you should change the water based on tank size, filter/no filter, etc. Keep in mind this is the recommended change for 1 fish per tank, double it if you have 2 (but in a minimum of 5 gallons for 2 - the general rule is 1 gallon per inch of fish -so if one fish is 2 1/2 inches, you'll need a 2 1/2 gallon tank minimum for just him) http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=115758

[pr2ma]

This is turning into a big project for me... :/

I'll start with the salt treatment for Vio and check Red for signs of Fin Rot. I just got him yesterday at Petco to replace Blu (that died)
Other thing these people at petco are awful. I first bought a 1/2 gal divided because they told me it would be ok for them...

Once i put them in they didnt look happy at all so I got the 2.5 divided and they were very happy moving a lot and eating and everything was awesome. THe problem was the cleaning issue when I left them with my friend which didnt clean the water cause she was waiting for me to do it. :(

[pr2ma]

Originally Posted by shellieca

+1 with Rainbow. Additionally the tank probably hadn't/hasn't properly cycled. If you want two fish I suggest getting them separate tanks or a 10g divided properly. Lots of fresh, clean, properly conditioned & heated water & more than likely they'll improve. I would start by taking the divider out, while I prefer a minimum of 5g per Betta, a well kept 2.5 is good.

What do you mean by cycled?

[LizzyP]

As other users have told you, 2.5 gallons for two fish is not acceptable. You have a couple options here:
1. Buy a 10 gallon tank and divide it. You can buy 10 gallons on sale at Petco sometimes for $10 when they have their dollar per gallon sale. There is a thread around here somewhere for DIY divider that I think costs $5-$6 max. If you go this route we will talk about cycling.
2. Just buy another 2.5 gallon tank. You could even get a Kritter Keeper from Petsmart or Petco for cheap, around $10-$15 depending on the size.

I do not recommend 1 gallon bowls for permanent homes. Being a bowl you can't fit a heater in them properly. If you get a 1 gallon make sure it has a flat side on it to get a heater on. You also will need to do 2 50% changes and 1 100% change per week in a 1 gallon to keep it clean. That's why a larger tank would benefit you.

Which leads me to the next issue. Betta fish are tropical fish. They need water temps between 76 and 82 degrees. Water that is too cold leads them susceptible to disease and illness, which by the looks of it your fish have. Make sure it is adjustable, the preset ones are not reliable. Also make sure you get a thermometer so you can keep an eye on the temp.

You should be feeding a better pellet, such as Omega One or New Life Spectrum. But, we will get there once you get proper set ups for your boys. You're lucky both fish didn't die while you were away.

[Freyja]

You dont need to do that many water changes for a one gallon tank, one 50% water change and one 100% water change is enough . There is such a thing as too clean. As for the 2.5 gallon, you do two weekly water changes: 1-50% water only and 1-50% with substrate cleaning.
FYI- http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=115758

[LizzyP]

Sorry, I meant 1 50% and 1 100%. I'm on my phone.