HELP! And quick!!!

[Maryrox247]

Ok so i just got spectrum a few days ago and he would eat pellets... but he would eat fd bloodworms and he had a small bubblenest. now the bubblnest is gone and he wont even eat a fd bloodworm or flare at his reflection ( he was just fine yesterday!) AND he is VERTICAL OR he just sits at the bottom and does nothing unless i put my hand in or something NEVER shopping at theresa's country pet for a betta again!!!!! PLEASE HELP! I just looked at him and right now he is at the top of the tank almost but nt quite vertical with his mouth at the surface... the temp is about 81 degrees fereignheight and the day before i got him i did a 100% water change ( I used conditioner of course) to get rid of the aqaurium salt that probably killed my last betta... WHAT IS HAPPENING? How do i make it stop???? I just had a betta die...

[dramaqueen]

What is the water temperature?

[BakaMandy]

Did you test the water perimeters? :S

And aquarium salt might only be able to kill betta fish in high concentrations, unless you poured it into the tank while your old fish was still in it. The sudden change in the water could have made him go into shock. Betta fish have a high salt tolerance. I've used aquarium salt on all my fish with no problem at all.

If not, there's the possibility of internal parasites, since internal parasites are extremely hard to diagnose because it's all internal. They can look fine but might be really sick inside. But like all sickness, it effect the fish's behavior, so if you watch your fish closely you are likely to notice that something is wrong.

Like my HM was kinda like that, had no appetite and kinda floating at the surface, not moving unless I moved very close to him. But I studied his poop (as weird as that sounds, but poops says a lot) and it looks a lot like one of my female betta when she had internal parasites, so I've been treating him with some maracyn-two and he's becoming a lot more energetic and his appetite has increased tenfold :)

I'd put him in a smaller container (like a pickle jar, so basically a hospital tank) and watch him for several days (changing the water daily of course). Give him a few salt baths might not hurt either, try and watch for his poop. What I look for mostly is the colour (if it's not the same colour of the food your feeding him, looks opaque white and mucus-like and/or unnaturally stringy, he might just be sick with internal parasites). If his poop is not natural, maracyn-two or tetracycline usually does the job. But don't use these immediately, because medicines do tend to stress fish out. So start out with the gentle daily water changes and salt baths :)

[Maryrox247]

OH! So thats why my old betta died! I didn't know i wasnt supposed to just put some salt in the tank while the betta was in it! Right now he is at the bottom again with his nose inbetween some stones and not moveing much except for slight gill movement. I have not changed anything in the water since he has been in the tank and i think he might be dying because he wouldn't eat his pellets...

I dont have a test kit but if i can i will try to get it tested at the fish store the temp is about 81 degrees farenheight. He keeps on wedging himself someway or another inbetween stuff like he WANTS to die?!

[BakaMandy]

Betta fish will tend to wedge themselves into weird spots as a method to hide themselves when they're sick. They know when they're feeling weak, so to protect themselves from the non-existent predators in their tanks, they try and blend in with the environment for cover xD;

Betta fish can live several weeks without eating properly, so don't worry too much if he doesn't eat (it's not a immediate concern, I'd worry more about why he's not eating). My female didn't eat for nearly two weeks when she was sick and who knows how long before that too! Since when I got her from the pet store she was already sick... But now she's better than ever. :) So just watch him carefully and sprinkle him with lots of TLC! But if he is not eating, that's indeed another symptom for internal parasites... but just to double check, is he bloated? Cause he if he is, there's the chance he might have Swimming Bladder Disorder.

If you want to add salt directly to the tank while he's in it, dissolve the salt in a cup of treated tank water and slowly pour it into his tank (I use a pipette to put tiny squirts into the tank every couple of minutes, never directly near him.)