Help Please

[laurie07]

I feel like such an idiot. I just started this Betta buisness and they are all going to hell in a hand basket. I had one die this morning, now all of them are acting funny. (it was a divided tank)
I put them all in their own shallow bowls to get them out of the tank. What do I do? I don't want them all to die! (These were for my daughter's 2nd b-day tomorrow)
Filtered
No testing supplies yet
Plants
Relatively new tank
Heater at 78 degrees

[JamieTron]

Originally Posted by laurie07

I feel like such an idiot. I just started this Betta buisness and they are all going to hell in a hand basket. I had one die this morning, now all of them are acting funny. (it was a divided tank)
I put them all in their own shallow bowls to get them out of the tank. What do I do? I don't want them all to die! (These were for my daughter's 2nd b-day tomorrow)
Filtered
No testing supplies yet
Plants
Relatively new tank
Heater at 78 degrees

Don't feel bad things like this can happen to any owner of a new species of fish!

Okay hrmm you should describe how they are acting, it may help give any potential symptoms of illness. Did you just purchase them recently?

When you bought them did you acclimate them correctly? sometimes if you just dump them into a new tank without acclimation they can die from numerous types of shock, temperature, ph etc. either from instant shock or it can lower their immune system due to stress leaving them susceptible to illness. Did you condition your water to neutralize any chlorine that may be present?

It was good you removed them out o the tank, the one that died could have had an illness when you bought it.

[laurie07]

They are acting semi-normal. Alittle bit lurkey but then they start swimming on their sides. The one hasn't acted strange at all yet. But the other two are showing signs. Is there anything I can do right now before this one dies or is it too late? Yeah the first one that died I just bought but the one that probably has like an hour left to live I had first.

[JamieTron]

If the betta is having trouble getting to the top of the water it will never hurt to lower the water level for them to get air easily. Make sure their water is clean, and well you know fairly warm (your 78 degrees is good) and if you find they have bloated bellies, I would not feed them for a few days. Sometimes constipation can cause swim bladder disorder with can cause then to have funny swimming habits, like swimming sideways. I bought two bettas that had similar symptoms to yours after I took them home, and these little things helped kinda revive them. Perhaps they could help yours as well. One of mine took over a week to recover I didn't think he would live but he is great now.

You should maybe clean your tank with really hot water or salt water even in case it is perhaps a bacteria before putting fish in it again.

I think all you can do is give them good clean conditioned water in their bowls and try lowering the water for a bit and see. I wouldn't leave them in the tank water if that is what you have in the bowls, I would just put them in new water with a similar temp. just in case.

Hopefully that can kind of help, I hope they survive! Especially for your daughter. All I can think of is swim bladder disorder or water issues. There are no other physical signs of illness are there? like strange spots, lesions, poor ventilation rates from the gills?

[laurie07]

Nope nothing else. I am not sure about that other fish he was really lethargic (the one that died, the one from the same pet store is really lethargic now) I guess they seem alittle stressed. But they are all in clean water now. Took awhile to get them all switched over but now the one is not sideways so much. I think I will have to get them to be in those containers for a while and clean the fishy tank. So, how do I set it up to work the proper way? My testing system I just ordered on Amazon so it might be a week before it gets here.

[JamieTron]

Umm I would just clean their bowls every few days until you can get your tank all set up.

As for the tank, if you rinse with salt water just give an extra rinse with fresh water before filling it up again. You should rinse the rocks, dividers and the plants as well, just in case. I use tap water and neutralize the chlorine with tank conditioner from the local petstore. The instructions for your size tank should be on the label (not sure if you have used this before). Set up your heater, the temperature you had before was perfect around 78 degrees. Your filter can be set up as usual. When you put your fish back into the tank I would float them in a baggie for a bit in the tank just like when you brought them home from the petstore just. This is to help reduce stress if they are still not 100% their normal selves. Since you filter your water though the bacteria in the filter should convert ammonia for you keeping the levels low. This allows you to be able to do partial water changes once a week rather than all the water, just to help maintain the tank health. I would change all of the water every few weeks unless you find ammonia builds up easy in your tank then it should be more frequent. You should probably test your water parameters each time you do partial water changes

I hope this helps :)

[laurie07]

Thanks for all of your help. By putting them in new water they seem to be better all ready. No one has died yet! And Watson isn't floating sideways anymore. I hope they continue to have speedy recoveries.

[JamieTron]

I am glad to hear that! and you're welcome I am glad I could somewhat help at least I hope your daughter has a good birthday!!!