Lethargic and swimming problems

[Krys]

Housing
What size is your tank? 1.5 gal quaranteen
What temperature is your tank? 78*F
Does your tank have a filter? no
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No
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? Wardley Advanced Betta Pellets
How often do you feed your betta fish? Once or Twice a day

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? once a week
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? Water conditioner

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? Pale, clamped
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? Sitting at the bottom of the tank, not eatting.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? Two-Three weeks ago
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? Salt baths
Does your fish have any history of being ill? No
How old is your fish (approximately)? about 1 year.


The only thing I can think of is that he has a fungus infection. Before he started showing signs of being ill, I did a water change and found the heater to be covered in a foul smelling mold. I immediately washed everything and put him in a different tank. His tank is now mold free.

When he does sit at the top of his tank, he will eat, but if he's down on the bottom he wont and he swims like his swim bladder is affected, but i don't see any bloating.

[veggiegirl]

Hey there,

A tank of that size really needs at least two 100% water changes a week. Does he have any other symptoms like breathing really fast, white spots on the body, tears or holes in the fins ummmm shine a light on him from above and look for fine gold dust over his body/fins in case of velvet.

A picture of him could really help to diagnose so if possible a photo would be great. For now all I can suggest is up the water changes and add some stress coat but hopefully after seeing a pic/receiving more info we will be able to make a proper diagnosis and suggest treatments. Goodluck

[Krys]

Well the problem is, he IS white, so i can't see if there's white spots. I haven't seen any gold sheen to him, but i can check again. No tears or holes, he keeps clamped up.

I'm not home right now but when i get home i'll try and take a picture of him.

[Krys]

I got a few pictures and even did a video to show you how he swims and behaves. He actually came up to me today and tried to eat. Hopefully this can help you see if there's something else wrong that I don't see.

The rusty color on his head is normal. He's had that since I got him about a year and half ago.


VIDEO
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IL9Mq13V0l0
(Yes, I do make those kissy sounds to my fish xP)











For reference, this is what he normally looks like.

You can't really see he rusty head from this angle, but trust me, it's there. This is also about a year old picture, so he was a lot younger and his colors didn't all come through yet.

[veggiegirl]

Hey there,

Okay first glance at your guy and I am thinking something bacterial, but then after watching your video symptoms recognized could also mean parasitic...... so what to do, Okay here's my suggestion. I would probably treat with a mardels product that is antibiotic based and deals with a wide range of bacteria like maracyn two.

During his treatment give him regular water changes (100% changes every two to three days, this will ensure that if his illness is parasitic that the parasite numbers to not build beyond help, it will also assist recovery if he has a bacterial infection. Follow instructions for maracyn two treatment and if after the completed treatment period he has not improved move on and treat with something for parasites like mardels quick cure.

Goodluck

[Krys]

I just cleaned his tank, and found there to be mold AGAIN on the heater. I chucked that heater, twice it's had mold growing on it. I replaced it with another heater that hasn't had that problem.

I gave him another salt bath too, hopefully that will help out.

[Saphira101]

What heater brand is it, is it adjustable? I had one a while ago, it was a little black 25 watt non-adjustable pad heater. It kept getting this weird slimy white fuzz on it, and made the water cloudy. Merlin got fungus on his tail, and it was a big ordeal. (I really had no idea what I was doing at the time of treatment, he just made it through.)

[Krys]

It's Tetra ht10. This is the first problem i've ever had with this brand of heaters. I took it out of the garbage to take these pics, and I had washed it a bit before trashing it. But when veggiegirl said it may be parasitic, i took it out, because that wouldn't be the heater's fault, bactira love warm wet climates, well the heater is wet, and definately warm... so... yeah i guess it would cling to it. But yeah.

[Saphira101]

Hmm. mine was topfin. I heard somewhere that Tetra doesn't make quality heaters, they heat the water, turn off, temp drops 2-3 degrees, turns back on and heats again. This may not be true though.

Also, Wardley is not a quality fish food brand. I'd suggest switching to Omega one, or, preferably, NLS. (new life spectrum)

[Saphira101]

How's the little bugger doing? Is he improving?


Good luck to you and your little boy!!!