Betta Fish is sick? Please help

[eam09003]

I've had this fish for a little less than a year and he's been fine but all of the sudden today I noticed when I went to feed him he will not move from the bottom of the tank. When I did get him to move, he did it very slowly and immediately rested on the bottom again. I noticed his top fin looks like it's either clumped or missing all together and it looks like there's a large brown spot where that fin was...it almost looks like he's rotting :( His scales seem to also have a brownish tinge under light (he's blue) that wasn't there before. His eyes aren't clouded or anything either. Any idea what it is? I looked again and it looks like part of his back is a coppery/brown color; could it have been velvet? I was away all weekend so if he was sick before, I didn't know..

[LuxC]

Try answering these questions below so other members could help, let's just hope the best for your fish and his/her quick recovery

Housing
What size is your tank?
What temperature is your tank?
Does your tank have a filter?
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration?
Is your tank heated?
What tank mates does your betta fish live with?

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish?
How often do you feed your betta fish?

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change?
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change?
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change?

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity:

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed?
How has your betta fish's behavior changed?
When did you start noticing the symptoms?
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how?
Does your fish have any history of being ill?
How old is your fish (approximately)?

[briser]

Can you get a picture for us?

[eam09003]

Here's a photo of him; I think he's passed but I would at least like to know what was wrong with him for the future; as I said I was away this weekend so if he was showing other symptoms I didn't see sadly.

The tank was a 3 gallon and I fed him Bettamin fish flakes and have been since I got him about a year ago. The temperature has remained constant and he lived alone. I fed him once daily with a few flakes and changed the water btw a week and a week and a half. Nothing had changed as far as I know since I got him until now. He used to be very active and happy. As I said I have another betta in a separate tank and he is doing very well. (same water, same food, same temperature etc.)

[eam09003]

sorry the photo is so big, but he used to be blue in color

[wanabegoodmom]

Is he still alive?

[eam09003]

no he's not :( he passed less than an hour after I noticed his odd behavior and the discoloration so it was too late, but if anyone knows what he had I would really like to know so in the future I can be aware and also to make sure my other betta (in a separate tank) remains healthy

[briser]

Well, did you have a heater in the tank? What was the temperature in the tank? If you didn't have a heater you should get one for next time, or your betta may be too cold! I have a cheap little preset heater that heats my 3 gallon to exactly 78* which is perfect for a betta. I bought it at walmart.

I don't think you were doing enough water changes, especially since you're feeding flakes because those get really messy and build up a lot of ammonia, so he may have died from ammonia.

I have a three gallon tank and feed my betta pellets (you should try them if you can) and I do a 50% water change every Tuesday and a 50% water change every Saturday because I have a filter in my tank. And I use a gravel vacuum to get all the poop and debris out.

I definitely think that was probably the problem. More water changes would be good next time! :)

Hope I was of some help.

[wanabegoodmom]

So sorry to hear the sad news about your fishie. From your first email, it seems like he could have had velvet or fin rot or both. And that maybe it just went too long untreated. Start treatment immediately once you identify the problem. My little guy has been sick three times, now is the third...my reason for visiting this site today. I now have a few medications on hand and can probably treat most anything that comes up. I got a 5 gallon tank with a filter and thought that meant you only need to change the water once a month. I guess that's not right or my little guy wouldn't be sick.

[eam09003]

I just checked and the water temperature was only at 70; and no I don't have a heater. I do have pellets tho so I will start using those more with the other fish. Would ammonia poisoning have caused all of that discoloration as seen in the photo tho? I know it's hard to see because of the photo size, but if you step back a bit you can see better where the brown patches are; also his gills appear to be red which wasn't normal for his coloring either.