I've been killing my fish and didn't know until now...

[Christine12]

hey all,

i'm new to the betta word as well as this site. i recently adopted mr. spiderman from one of my friends because she was moving out of state and could not take him with her. she told me that they killed their first one within months and thought that this one was going too, but was willed back to life. my point being, i don't think he was in good shape when we got him in the first place (about a month ago). but now with all i've learned in the past couple hours i realize how much more we are (or aren't) doing correctly for him!!!

i have my list of supplies to get as soon as the stores open in the morning, but i'm not sure what should be done first.

first and formost, i need a heater (poor guy, i had no idea--i've only ever had goldfish!!!). also, i don't think either of us (my boyfriend and i) knew about the water cycleling and we were just doing 100%changes. of course he's been being treated for fin rot too so i don't know if too much medicine has been staying in the tank or not, but i imagine so. he also has these new spots on his body near his face--i don't know what it is, but it doesn't look good. they look like tears or peeling though and i think there are 2 of them as of a couple days ago. i'll try to get some pics up later today if not the next.

so my first concern is the water. (this is a 2 gallon tank btw) should i do one more 100% change now to make sure there is only the amount of meds in there that is needed and get it nice and clean for him or should i start with 50% change first???

next, if what is on his face is a fungus or something like that, should i try to find something for both that and the fin rot so i don't have to add so much to his water? also, i read somewhere about taking the carbon out when treating the tank and replacing it once treatment was finshed. i read the intructions on the meds to do this, but was under the understanding that you placed it back in when you were done with that treatment not all treatments--which is it???

he's definetely being a picky eater (mainly because he is sick i'm guessing), but i was thinking about getting him some frozen bloodworms to get his appeitte back up. is this a good idea or should i wait until he is feeling better???

well i think this is all for now. if i've missed anything, i will get back on here and let you know. i really hope it is not too late for spiderman. he still seems really cheerful when there's activity around his tank (he and my cat played for about 30 minutes a couple days ago...she, batting at the tank to say hi and he was flapping his little fins and swimming around--and than some time just looking at each other (better than him hidding in his castle all day...) he seemed thankful for the company :)

[onefish2fish]

Welcome to the forum.

I would only change out about 30% of the water. Its better to do small water changes over extended periods of time then 1 large change at once. Over the next few months your most likely going to have to do small daily water changes to keep ammonia and nitrite levels at a minimum while the tank is cycling. Carbon is used to removed in-organics from the water. Using carbon will help take out any med so when your treating your fish with meds its best not to use the carbon as it is counter productive.
What are you attempting to feed at the momment/how often and how much? Do you ever fast him? Looking forward to seeing pics!

[Christine12]

we are feeding him betta pellets which recommended 3 times a day. (i saw the 2-4 pellets at a time and realized we were waisting a lot of food!) but he never really ate that much other than a couple of times (4-6 pellets awhile back) and i didn't know how much he was eating before we got him so i was trying to make him eat everytime. yes, we have skipped meals to see if he's hungry later which seemed to work for while, but now he's maybe eating 1 pellet , if that. but he seems hungry because he immediatley goes for #2 after he gets the first one in his mouth and then spits that one out. i know he usually takes alittle while to get the first one going-drinks some water and then spits out the remains so i know he can't digest 2 at a time, and i'm pretty sure he knows that too. i usually watch him to make sure he eats atleast one or so though.

[Christine12]

also, thank you for your time and advice :)

[onefish2fish]

im not a betta expert but i want to say your supposed to feed once daily 2-3 pellets and fast (meaning no food) once a week, hopefully someone more betta experienced can chime in.

[dramaqueen]

I would feed him 2-3 pellets, twice a day.The bloodworms can be used as a once or twice a week treat. Welcome to the forum and guck with your betta. :)

[dramaqueen]

That was supposed to say GOOD LUCK with your betta. lol

[Haeclark]

My boy Blue Bandit had gone threw a few cases of fin rot since Ive gotten him [Oct 2008].

I had tried everything I could, and nothing seemed to be working. The rot would always come back, getting worse. At his lowest point, he had lost a total of roughly 50% of his caudal fin and roughly 30 of his annal fin. His dorsal fin was barley affected, luckily...and ATM he has almost fully recovered with new regrowth. :D
Finally, with my combined experience of seeking help and treating Blue, I have come to realize the best method for treating fin-rot, is simple and all natural...no meds needed! [unless the rot has already gotten to a severe case]

All you need to do to treat fin-rot:
1] PRECISE weekly water changes! As fin-rot is caused from bad water conditions, you'll need to make sure your fish's water is kept clean...even more important while treating then normal.
[Blue's 10 gal weekly water change routine: Prep water every Fri. Change 50% - 30% of water every Sat depending if I do a gravel vacuum or not]
2] add aquarium salt [tropical fish = 1 full rounded tablespoon per 5 gals]. Don't put in the full dose, just about half the recommended. This will help fight off the bacterial that's eating your fishes fins, as well as promote his gills and prevent parasites.
3] feed him blood worms. I use freeze-dried. Don't completely switch out the pellets /flakes, but be sure to give him more worms then the other food. I typically give him all worms 4 days, all flakes 1 day, combo of both 1 day and fast the last.

Do this until you see new regrowth, then start to cut his worms back to only 3-4 days out of the 7 day week. Once he's back to normal, his feeding regimen can go back to normal as well. Be sure to always watch your water levels and make sure they're normal.

Note: people will tell you it's not good to give your beta that much blood worms a week...but IT DOSE WORK! As I said, Blue is now almost fully recovered from this treatment, where as all the medications I used before would only work for less then a week before he'd relapse.
I was told the blood worm tip from another beta owner who also had gone threw fin-rot. Makes scene to me, as it is one of their natural foods...plus they sure do love them!

One of my other betas that also went threw fin rot the same time as Blue's last re-lapse around Turkey day is also recovering lovely from this method. She is a female red and gray crown tail beta, and her crown tail is almost fully re-grown.

Hope he recovers well!

[dramaqueen]

Haeclark, it sounds like you found a great method of helping Blue's finrot problem. Maybe the protein from the bloodworms helped his fins to heal.

[Haeclark]

must be something along those lines. Some kind of supplement gained it seems.