Is he dying? Help please. :[

[ashleyy]

**I posted this in Fish Care and realized I should of posted it here but I didn't know how to move it, sorry guys!**

Some of you have seen my multiple posts (Sorry lol) but I got Nadador about a month ago and at first I didn't think he was going to make it, but for about a week he was doing amazing.

now..not so much.

He has gone back to being lethargic, clamped fins, slow movements and now he is pale-ing. His body his very pale, and so are the base of his fins. Sometimes almost his entire fins will turn pale, he'll look like a beige betta.
He also seems to be so much skinnier than other bettas I see. His stomach pokes out all the time, even when fasted and fed a pea...but his body is so thin.
He is now letting his head stay in one position and letting the rest of his body sink below it.
He is my avatar picture. This was during his good week.

He is still eating, but not as enthusiastically as he was for that 'great week'. Right now he is just at the bottom, sorta on his side.

I have him in a 2.5 gal Critter Keeper with silk plants and a hiding place.
His temp is at 84 degrees.
He gets a 100% water change every 3 days, and I make sure the temp stays consistent when water changing him and I am gentle transferring him. I use water conditioner.
Params:
nirAte: 10
nirite: 0
Hardness: 25
Alkalinity: 90
pH: 7
I need to get an actual ammonia tester. All I have now is an indicator. It is always at safe.
I always scoop out uneaten food and I do my water changes on time.

He gets fed a variety of foods morning and night. (small amounts)

I'm really worried for his well being.I really want to give him the best life I can. He was doing great, now for the past 3 days he back to being lifeless again.

[JKfish]

It sounds like internal parasites to me. Look to see if his poop is white and stringy. Keep an eye out for pineconing, and for now you might want to consider upping waterchanges. I'm not too familiar with parasites, but soaking his pellets in pure garlic juice (make sure the garlic has no preservatives if it is jarred.) should help a small bit.

[ashleyy]

Oh no. :[ I was wondering that myself. darn. :[

How would he get parasites? The distributor?

I gave him some food to see if he would eat it and he did. But took him a long time to eat it. Not his usual "I haven't eaten in years!" kind of way.

I have never seen his poop. But I don't see anything white or stringy on him or in his tank.

[MrVampire181]

Up your water changes to once a day...yes it's a hassle but it'll be worth it in the end. Other than that I have no idea whats wrong with him :/

[JKfish]

If you have a spare hospital tank, clean clear tubberware, or something along those lines, move him to there if it is shallow-ish( no gravel, just him, water, and a heater) so you can moniter him and his poo and such

[ashleyy]

I have a tank, but the heater won't fit in it :/ I guess I could take everything out of his current tank and lower the water level.

UGH he really looks like hes suffering. It's breaking my heart.

And what also sucks is that I got him a bunch of plastic plants, the softest I could find but they still gave him a tiny poke hole on his fin (it already healed up)
So I immediately went and got him silk plants and gave the plastic one to my boyfriend who has a new 10gal tank with guppies. I rinsed the plants very well with very hot water and let them air out for about 2 days. But now his tank is probably infected? I didn't think he had anything wrong with him at this time... that why I gave him the plants...

UGH this is terrible.. my poor little guy. :'[

[ashleyy]

UPDATE:

I took everything out of his current tank except for the cave and the heater. I filled it half way.

He is so thin and pale you can practically see right through him.

I gave him 2 pellets that were soak in garlic juice. He ate them both.

Tomorrow I will look for internal parasite medications.



**How often should a normal betta poop? He's been in there for an hour and hasn't pooped lol. I just always figured that little animals poop like crazy. Like hamsters...... lol.

[JKfish]

I'm not certain, just so long as he poos at least once a day sounds about right. Lol, Puffy's poo looks like a little cinnamon bun, and he "makes" two of them each day, seeing as I feed him twice a day.

Also, I'm not sure how much more I can do for you, that's about all I have to offer. Keep him heated and in clean water, feed him pellets soaked in garlic juice, and hope he pulls through. I'm not that smart when it comes to betta medicines, sorry :(

[ashleyy]

lol a cina-bun!

thank you for your help. I am doing everything I can to turn him around.