Blood Red Betta, Sparkles. Many things gone wrong in a row, what do I do!!??

[dennydotweird]

I will put my little friend's vase on the heater vent sometimes and he's always been happy with it until one day, I went to take him off for my room had warmed up to it's usual temperature and he wasn't in there. I instantly panicked thinking one of the cats ate him but, no cats had been in the room, I moved the vase 1/2 an inch and there he was, curled up in a ball. It hadn't been too long because I had just heard him get air at the water surface (quiet home I have).

I feed him Tetra Freeze Dried Blood Worms.

I immediately put him back in after I moved the vase to it's regular home. He had gotten a white cotton looking spot on top of his head (took up half of it) So, I went to Walmart and got Jungle Ick Guard and Jungle Fungus Clear (They had no aq. salt and the man got really mad when I asked if there was some in the back). I put the recommended dose of each in new dechlorinated water. He was really lethargic so, I just let him be there for a day.

All symptoms at that point:
The big white dot on his head.
Laying on his side at the bottom of the water.
'Gasping'.
Lethargy.
Loss of appetite.

After now two days in his medicine water, I changed 85% and acclimated him to the water. I had him sitting in the cup he came with and he came to the plastic that is closest to me and just stared at me for 2 hours.

His symptoms now:
A little sliver of white remaining.
Seems like regular 'breathing'.
A little more active.
No appetite.
Dull in color.
His belly seems to have become transparent.
There is a piece of fin, or gill, in his cup.
Looking at him from top view:
He does want to curve his body one way or another.
Whenever he gets air from the surface, bubbles immediately come from his gills. Sometimes bubbles randomly come from his gills as well.

In his new water with a little of the old, I put just the Ick Guard.
Is this what I'm supposed to do? What should I do?

1-5. When I first got him, he was perfectly healthy.











These last ones are of him now.

[shamu13]

It looks like he has some finrot and ammonia burns on his face. How big is your tank and how often do you do water changes? Answering the questions in this post :http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=49233 should help other members know your situation/advise you better

[dennydotweird]

Housing
What size is your tank? Approx. .75 Gal
What temperature is your tank? Before this happened: 75-78F But I've kept him off of the heater vent since so about 62-74F
Does your tank have a filter?No.
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration?No. When I change the water, the glass things on the bottom wold water bubbles that he'll move around to release.
Is your tank heated? No.
What tank mates does your betta fish live with?None.

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish?Tetra Freeze Dried Bloodworms.
How often do you feed your betta fish?Once or twice daily, one worm.

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change?Once or twice a week.
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change?75%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change?Tetra BettaSafe Water Conditioner. Then the Jungle Fungus Clear and Ick Guard. Just changed it again, with only the water conditioner and Ick Guard.

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?
No. I have no money, he was a housewarming gift from my mom.
Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity:

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed?His belly seems transparent. He is duller than he used to be and he curves when he rests. His gills look odd, more open, I don't remember if they were that way before.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed?He has become more lazy and has a loss of appetite. When he surfaces for air, bubbles come out of his gills.
When did you start noticing the symptoms?March 4th 2013, when he had jumped out.
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how?I put him back in the water, and I got Ick guard and Fungus clear when he formed a large white dot on his head. I treated him with both for two days I think. I changed his water and only added the Ick Guard since he still has a white sliver left.
Does your fish have any history of being ill?It was said he had ammonia burns on his face, it does look like it in the first picture, that was when I first got him, which I don't doubt happened since Walmart doesn't take care of their fish properly.
How old is your fish (approximately)? My mom gave him to me from Walmart around 2 weeks ago (today is 3/7/2013)

[xShainax]

1. He needs at least a 1 gallon tank. 2. Get him betta pellets. Freeze dried bloodworms are a treat, not for regular feeding. 3. He needs to have a heater since he is a tropical fish. 4. With a tank that small you need to do 100% Water changes every day or the ammonia will build up.

[dennydotweird]

Originally Posted by xShainax

1. He needs at least a 1 gallon tank. 2. Get him betta pellets. Freeze dried bloodworms are a treat, not for regular feeding. 3. He needs to have a heater since he is a tropical fish. 4. With a tank that small you need to do 100% Water changes every day or the ammonia will build up.

Hopefully, I can get 5-in-1 test strips tomorrow and I can see about a bigger tank, I don't have a penny to my name but, I can try to see about a larger tank.

How would I treat the ammonia burns once I get the right habitat?
Should I use epsom or aquarium salt if I use the salt treatment?

[Sea Dragon]

A large piece of tupperware thats 100% free of any soap would be a good temporary home. A heater's really important, you can get one for under 10 bucks online.

Ammonia burns should go away on their own in a environment with minimal stress (extra clean and consistently warm water).

I hope your little buddy gets better!

[shamu13]

I wouldn't do a salt treatment yet, not until you've started giving him a bigger tank and cleaner water, as well as heat. AQ salt works to stimulate slime coat by irritating the fish's skin. It could be extra irritating since he already has ammonia burns. Try xShainax's recommendations first for a few days. You can try to find some used tanks from Craigslist if you're short on money, or even just a really big critter keeper. It shouldn't run more than $15. Also, it doesn't seem like your fish has ick, from what I can see in the pictures. Medications are usually stressful for the fish, I would just start with good, warm, clean water first. Its always recommended to get a water testing system, but if you're short on money I would go with a bigger tank and a heater first. That will help your fish the most. Good luck!

[VJM]

Don't bother with the 5 in 1 strips, they are not accurate. You can get the API Master Test kit on Amazon much cheaper than in stores, but I would definitely concentrate on getting a bigger tank and especially a heater first.

[Oldfishlady]

Don't get me wrong-but if you are on a budget-I wouldn't get either the test kit or the test strips at this point. If you don't have one already-get a thermometer to monitor the water temp of both the tank and the replacement water used for water changes.
You may or may not need a heater, however, its a good idea to have one on hand-your goal is to maintain a somewhat stable temp of at least 75F-your may or may not be able to maintain this with your room temp-I would be careful placing him on the vent to increase temp-since this can cause too many temp changes that can be stressful-especially with an already compromised Betta.

The jump could have damaged him internally-plus the added stress-this can compromise the immune response and make it harder for him to recover and why it is so important to support the immune response-Give him to the tools and he can heal himself in some cases.

As posted-the chemicals from the medications can be toxic and further stress him. What I would recommend at this point is heavy tannins and Epsom salt while in a small bare QT-covered with plastic veggie wrap to retain heat/humidity for the labyrinth organ-dim lit quiet location-along with good nutrition and limited water changes using premixed treatment water.

While the small container is not ideal-you can make it work until you can get at least a 1gal to keep him long term. Sometimes we have to work with what we got-especially when we are limited on funds.

If you have any Oak trees nearby-gather a bunch of naturally dried and fallen from the tree Oak leaf-at least 20 or more-add 3-4 whole to his covered QT-Then add about 20 crushed to a 1gal jug of dechlorinated water-then add 3tsp of Epsom salt-Let the leaves steep and salt dissolve-Shake well before use-
Using this water make 25% water changes every 15min for 1 hour today-leave him and the whole Oak leaves in his covered Qt container for now.
Then using the premixed treatment water start making 25% water changes every other day for 10-14 days.

Nutrition is really important-if you have access to any live mosquito larva offer several rinsed a couple times a day to boost protein intake to support the immune response.

Hopefully, he wasn't damaged beyond recovery-you will be surprised at how some of these little fish can bounce back, however, if he doesn't, don't give up...Stuff happens-we learn, grow and move on with more knowledge....

Good luck and keep us posted....

[dennydotweird]

I got a 2 gallon vase and will fill it with 1.75 gal. of water. And I got Tetra BettaMin Tropical Medley. It's first few ingredients are: Fish meal, dried yeast, Ground brown rice, Shrimp meal, Wheat Gluten, Feeding Oat meal, Fish oil, brine shrimps (FD), Krill (FD), Potato protein.. So I'm guessing it has a lot of protein.

He went up and had some of it, (3/7/2013 2:22pm)

I don't have oaks but where could I get some oak leaves?

I have a trip that will cause me to be away for 55 hours. (A little more than two days.) Can I just give him clean water before I leave and change it when I get back?