is this normal?

[goinpostal]

i have a betta for a little over a month. he has a one gallon tank but stays mostly at the bottom. a week ago i placed him in a 1/2 gallon with a divider to administer meds to both of my bettas at the same time ( noticed ick spots on their fins) the little red guy had been doing so well i placed him back in his tank and right back to the bottom he went. in the half gallon he swam around, showed off for me, came to the glass whenever he saw me...i dunno what the deal is. he seemed much happier in the little hospital tank?? should i put him back in there?

[DragonFish]

Is the one gallon heated? Whats the temperature? How often are you preforming water changes? What sort of decor do you have in there?

Were you preforming more water changes in the 1/2 gallon while you were medicating? If you were its possible that, along with being next to another male, had perked him up a little. It certainly, however, was not the lack of space. Even a 1 gallon is a little on the small side as a long-term home.

Also, are you entirely positive they both had ich? What did it look like? How long did you treat for and what with?

[Laki]

I can't see how a 1/4 gallon PER fish in the hospital tank would make either of them better. Like dragon mentioned, 1g is minimum for long term living so cutting that down to 1/4g is way worse. Could you "treat" both in their 1/2g-1g alone? What are you treating them with? How often are the water changes? How warm is the water? Can yuo show pics?

[goinpostal]

i did get the water temp up gradually over a few days in the hospital tank to 83 (from 71-73 in 1 gallon) and have been treating them both with Formalin and Malachite Green (quick cure) and aquarium salt.water change daily (100 % in hospital tank...25% in 1 gallon) when i put him back in the 1 gallon today i have the temp at 83 like the hospital tank.
i am positive it is/was ick and no signs of it now but his behavior has me baffled. he was doing GREAT in tiny tank...complete turnaround. i got them not even looking for a fish.just saw them in those tiny cups and felt so bad for them i figured even if they didnt make it that it had to be a better way to go than the cup. they have never been 100% but the red one did such a big recovery i thought he would perk up even more if i put him back in there...ugh.gonna see if i can get a decent pic on my cell and post....

[goinpostal]

this is the best i could get....refilled his tank yesterday after cleaning and added aquarium salt and betta safe water conditioner and put him back in today

[majesticstorm]

I think that the the thing is that the temperature in your 1 gallon is too low. They usually like it from 78-79F, although 76 is okay.

How often are you changing the water in your 1gallon?

[ChoclateBetta]

Lower temps mess with the immune system.

[goinpostal]

thanks for the reply. i think u are right, thats why i raised the temp.i have another question about them....see the pink spots on him? he was solid red...the other i got the same time as him is doing the same thing only much more drastic...half of his head is now peachy pink looking.doesnt appear to be an injury at all...just changing color? is THIS normal?? could it be from the water temp also? they have been in the 83 degrees for close to a week and it doesnt seem to be helping that...actually is worse.any suggestions on what i could do?

[aemaki09]

could be him marbleing, or coloring up back to what his color should be now that he's feeling better

[DragonFish]

He was probably a little more active in the smaller tank because of the other male on the other side, not the size of the tank.
My guess is his lethargy before you started treatment was due to the cold water, bettas are tropical fish after all, but since that isn't the case now it could be a couple of things....
What is/was your regular water change schedule for the 1 gallon?

Thats some pretty heavy medicating for just some Ich....generally a couple of weeks in AQ salt at 83-85 should with daily water changes should do the trick.
How long were you treating for? When you moved him back into his 1 gallon, did you acclimate him back in? If so, how?

What sort of heater are you using? Does the temperature fluctuate? If so, how much? What sort of thermometer are you using? If you're heater is adjustable, go ahead and bump the temp down a couple of degrees over the next couple of hours to about 80. No need to keep it quite so high now that hes out of treatment.

The 'pink spots' from what I can see in the picture, look just like his normal coloring to me...though he does look a tad on the pale/sickly looking side.

Did you add conditioner into his water? What brand? Do you use regular tap water? Any chance any sort of soaps or chemicals could have gotten into his tank? Do you know your levels(Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, PH)?