Need opinions

[BakaMandy]

So my friend's betta fish is deathly sick to the point all he does is hide and not move. He doesn't eat either, which has raised his concern to whether or not his fish will survive or not.

He doesn't have the time to treat his fish so I volunteered to try and nurse his fish back to health, although I'm not very confident upon hearing some of the conditions.

So these are the symptoms I have gathered from my friend so far.

-Not eating
-Not moving or hiding in a cave/corner all the time.
-Very shallow breathing
-Torn fins

He told me his fish doesn't look bloated and is not getting thinner. He doesn't see any outward changes other than the tattered fins.

I do know however that he did wait probably months to clean his tank properly and just managed to clean it lately (because he doesn't have time D:). So I don't doubt that something indeed is really wrong with his fish.

I've already ruled out that a salt bath is a must, but I was wondering if anyone could suggest to me any other possible treatment or even help diagnose what might be wrong with him.

Please help me ): I really love and care for my friend's fish because it's part of the reason I started keeping betta fish as pets. I don't want to see him die..

[dukie1346]

Im not sure, I must wish you luck!

[neenjar]

Start with salt bath and bettafix and water changes. observe for a day or 2 and see if any other symptoms arise. Is he in a heated tank? That could be part of why he hides and does nothing and loss of desire to eat.

[Luchi]

Maybe you could also entice him with some bloodworms if he hasn't eaten in a really long time.

[BakaMandy]

Nope, my friend has a heater for his tank, he says it's always at 76, cause that's the highest the heater will go. D:

I know he doesn't check for pH, GH, KH or ammonia levels though. :S He has a 10 gallon tank that he keeps his fish in with a biowheel filter system. So he pretty much has the essentials but not everything that's nessessary. Especially medical stuff, hence why I'm going to be taking care of his fish since I got it all practically.

@Luchi: I'll be trying all my food oh him xD My friend has only ever fed his fish like betta fish pellets... and I got everything from worms to frozen brine shrimp. Hopefully there'll be something. :S

[BakaMandy]

So his fish has a much worst case than I thought it.

Half his tail is missing ): but he can still swim which I suppose is a good thing. But the whole chunk that's missing, it's like swollen and there's like black-ish stuff on it.



): Oh his head there looks like he has scales missing too or something... since it looks much redder and almost bloody, and I don't know if salt baths are such a good idea anymore. I defiantly think I'll be switch medicine asap because it looks like bacterial disease described in one of the booklets the medicine Maracyn-Two came with.

I had him in a pickle jar, but later moved him to a 1 gallon hospital tank I just bought because he was having trouble reaching the surface for air. Now he's sitting in water about two inches deep and I'm afraid to add more water in case he might not be able to reach the surface :S

He's a bloody monster D: his body alone is at least two inches. O-o

[MrVampire181]

I say: fin rot, bacterial infections. Ampicillin (my favorite antibiotic) to the rescue!!!!!!

Ok so the gentle treatment methods are not enough here. Your gonna need to really work hard on this little guy. Try the following:

1. Feeding medicated fish food (preferably with Ampicillin).
2. Daily water 100% water changes.
3. Daily salt baths might be a good idea.
4. Stress Coat to lower Stress Levels
5. Keeping him warm.
6. Mthylene Blue to prevent reinfection and lower stress (double power, he he he).

That's all I can reccomend and I hope it helps.

[BakaMandy]

Ampicillin? I've never heard of it used for fish o-o where do you get it?

What kind of medicated fish food would you recommend?

I'll just need to get medicated fish food, Ampicillin and Mthylene Blue, everything else is easily doable for me.

[sunkissedinCA]

aw poor guy! i agree with what mrvampire said. it will definitely take some work to nurse him back to health, but with all the great TLC you're giving him, hopefully he can make a full recovery :) keep us updated!

[BakaMandy]

Thank you very much for your support! It's kind of comforting since I'm defiantly unsettled about his condition :S

Btw, I was looking for stuff about Ampicillin and I found something called Fish Cillin. It seems none of my local aquarium stores have it and it seems I'll have to order it online which will take at least a week to get in.

Is there anything else I can do in the mean time? :S Maracyn-Two and Bettafix are the only medicine I have at the moment, but if there's anything else I can use to at least help a little until I get the Ampicillin?