Don't know what's wrong with my fish!

[PaintedOaksOki]

I found my fish laying on his side at the bottom of his 5 Gallon tank last night, panting like a dog. His tank has a heater and a filter. Parts of his tail are missing, he's missing quite a few scales, mostly on his face. It also looks like his face was bleeding a bit. I floated him in his cup for the night so it was less stressful for him. He hasn't eaten anything since. I was thinking my cat possibly got a swipe at him through the hole for the filter at the back of the tank?

Housing
What size is your tank? 5 gallon
What temperature is your tank? 78-80 Roughly
Does your tank have a filter? Yes
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No just the filter which has a fairly heavy flow.
Is your tank heated? Yes.
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? None

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Omega One Betta Buffet Pellets
How often do you feed your betta fish? 2 in the morning and two in the afternoon.

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? Every week.
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 50% Roughly, closer to 40%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Stess coat, 2.5mL

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters? No, this has not been fixed.

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity:

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? - He has chunks of his tail falling out, and he's lost alot of scales, particularily in the face area.

How has your betta fish's behavior changed? - He lays on his side at the bottom of his cup, will float up for air, then float back down. He won't eat anything either.

When did you start noticing the symptoms? - Last night around 5pm.

Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? - I put some aquarium salt in his cup, and some stress coat, but don't know what else to do.

Does your fish have any history of being ill? - No

How old is your fish (approximately)? - about 6 months? Not to sure got him from the Petstore healed him (you probably remember my story about Tug) I gave him to my friend and am currently at my friend`s house typing this. She did the behavior etc.

[Syriiven]

If the filter has a heavy flow it could've easilly blown him into gravel or a decoration. That would be my first guess based on info provided. It is possible your cat took a swipe, but I doubt he'd get the room and bettas tend to be skittish when something's going for them...but it's a definite possibility.

Keeping him un-stressed is definitely a must, even by keeping him in the dark. Stress coat and aq salt help physical illness and healing...

A picture would better help us figure it out though. It sounds like he had a traumatic experience, but there's also the possibility of a very fast acting infection of some sort.

Also, I've heard Indian Almond Leaves help de-stress bettas, but I havent a clue where you'd get tehm o.O Havent used them myself.

[Perseusmom]

So sorry and it sounds like your doing the best you can for now. The stress coat and AQ salt are good and also if you have any dried Oak leaves natural fallen from a tree you could boil a few to make a tea to add to his water, just boil and strain and let it cool off and add as much to make the color of the water a weak tea color. Keep his water extra clean and keep him out of any light and let him rest. Best of luck I hope he heals up soon.

[Basement Bettas]

pictures of the damage to the face up close and clear...

[callistra]

78-80 roughly is an issue. Temp swings are no good. what are you using to monitor and do you know why it's dipping?

How long has the tank been set up? What filter are you using and how do you maintain it? Cycling can take up to two months and before it's fully established and before then more careful monitoring and changes are needed. Whenever you're not doing weekly 100% changes you really ought to have a drops kit on hand for ammonia, nitrite and nitrates to test periodically and especially in cases of fish illness.

So this was that sudden.. as in one day he was fine and the next all that? Are you using a lid on the tank? Are you sure no containment got into it.. no candles burning, air fresheners sprays or cleaning supplies used in the room?

[PaintedOaksOki]

I couldn't get the photo to upload for some reason. But I said 78-80 because I can't tell exactly where the line is on the thermometer, but it stays the same all the time. I'm not sure what kind of filter it is, I got it from my friend. The tank has been set up for 1 month. And yes I have a lid for the tank, and I'm 99% positive nothing contaminated the water. Unless someone went and messed with the tank without me knowing.

[PaintedOaksOki]

Hey guys! My friend was using my account as we didn't have time to set up an account for her. Tug was getting progressively worse so we put him down about an hour ago now. He was continuing to have scale loss and what not. We felt it was not right to let him suffer by trying to keep him alive for our own wants.

I was the one who wrote 78-80, we had already removed him from his tank and had been treating him in his cup for sometime(with warm water and the thermometer in there.) and she couldn't quite recall the temp. So I put an estimate, that heater keeps things a stable temperature, and that was not my worry. The filter was a tetra whisper something I can't remember, as I no longer have the box that the tank setup came in. When I meant heavy flow, it definitely won't strong enough to push him all the way down the rocks, just give him a VERY light nudge if he came to close to the lip on his way by.