King Fishy sick again?

[newbie32]

Housing
What size is your tank? 10 gal
What temperature is your tank? currently 78, sometimes slips to 76
Does your tank have a filter? sure does
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? nope
Is your tank heated? yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? no other fish

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? bettamin flakes
How often do you feed your betta fish? once a day

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? twice this week, but I just started having a fish so I can't say how often I normally do it. There is no normally yet.
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 1/3 because I'm fearful for my fishy's life
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Water conditioner

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?
Haven't tested my water yet, don't have a test. I know that's bad. : (
Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity:

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? no change really
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? he doesn't swim a whole lot. I've had him almost two weeks and he hasn't been too terribly active. However, he has gotten even more lazy recently. And I'm not sure if he's eating. I feed him, but I don't see him eat.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? Just a few days ago.
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? Just changing the water more often.
Does your fish have any history of being ill? Can't say he really has a history at all at this point. Though, he did act funny like this a few days ago.
How old is your fish (approximately)? Couldn't say the age. Just had him almost 2 weeks.


I gotta say, people were really pushing bettas because they are really fun to watch. My betta spends most of his time laying on the gravel, hiding in the castle or laying the leaves of one of the fake plants. Sometimes he'll attack his reflection, but he hasn't done that in a couple of days. I wonder if he is just a lazy fish or is he sick. I wanna help him if he isn't feeling good. I don't mean to be a bad fish owner.

[newbie32]

I forgot to mention, he has a teeny tiny pin sized hole in one of his fins. I'm not entirely sure if he had that when I got him. I never examined him then. Since he has been acting lazy, I have watched him pretty closely. Just looks like a tiny hole. Is this fin rot? I'm not sure what fin rot is, but I've seen the conversations people are having about it on here and I hope it isn't something serious with my guy.

[iheartmybettas]

You are not a bad fish owner! You are trying your best to help him.

I know his name is King Fishy so I just assumed he was a king male betta. Is he? Maybe try to get some pellets to feed him and some bloodworms as a snack. Maybe he is a little pickier than you originally thought. Also I am wondering if he is cold. That is what his symptoms are telling me. My king male loves being a little warmer like 80-82.

Do you see black edging along his fins or around the pinhole? That is typically a sign of fin rot. If not keeping the water really clean should take care of the pinhole. If he does have black edging you would need to use some aquarium salt to make sure it doesn't spread further. This would mean you should probably put him in the cup he came in and float it in the tank. You would use 1tsp/gallon and change the water in the cup 100% daily. I typically premix it in one of the 1 gallon tanks I have that I don't use anymore. It makes it easier for dosing and it is premade for subsequent water changes.

Hope he gets better soon!!

[newbie32]

King Fishy is just the name I picked for him. It's a nerdtastic story. I'm fairly young, but I love classic movies. I thoroughly enjoy the movie "The King and I." I orignally wanted to name him after Yule in that movie because bettas are siamese. Then I found out his names was Mongkut. I'm not sure how to pronounce that name correctly, so I went with King and added the Fishy for fun.

He is the cheapest betta at Petco. I didn't know if I would be able to keep a fish alive, so I did not invest a lot in this little guy. I think that means he's a Veil tailed betta?

I'm planning on buying a different heater and taking this piece of junk back since it's not keeping my tank warm. I will also get some different food.

Is there no concern with the tiny hole in the fin?

[iheartmybettas]

Is there no concern with the tiny hole in the fin?[/quote]

I saw that question after my last response so I edited my response above.

[newbie32]

There doesn't appear to be black around the hole. It's so small, it's so hard to tell. My betta is a very dark blue with kind of teal colored fins. He's really pretty, but it makes diagnosing the fin rot difficult. There are black or almost black places on his fins that look like it's just his coloring. Nothing alarming. His tank looks pretty gosh darn clean. I have been doing regular water changes this week because I was afraid his water was too acidic or he was sick.

[roadrunner]

Just wondering what decoration you have in your tank. You mentioned castle and fake plant. Is it silk plant? those are best for them because other plastic plants can be too sharp for them and rip their fins. Don't worry they will heal in time.
In the stores they have floating mirrors made for bettas, maybe you could try to get one of those and maybe he'll start swimming more flaring at his reflection (it is good for them once in a while)

[newbie32]

I just have the castle and 3 plastic plants. They don't look very rough or anything. He seems to enjoy them. He has a favorite one he likes to hang around in or under. Should I change them?

[newbie32]

NEW DEVELOPMENT! It appears that King Fishy is breathing quite heavily. Like maybe he can't get any air. WHAT DO I DO?! WHAT'S GOING ON?! I've only been gone from the office for 2.5 hours. Oh no!!!!

[gmd1800]

Try lowering his water so he can swim up to the surface to get air easier. As for actual treatment, another member might be more helpful than me.