I've Got A Floater Here

[Sakura8]

Housing
What size is your tank? 1.75g QT
What temperature is your tank? no thermometer (it broke)
Does your tank have a filter? no
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? no
Is your tank heated? yes, set at 78 degrees and the light's not on so I assume the temp is 78 or over
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? he's a loner for now

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? he's been fasted for the last two days but normally I feed Omega One Betta Buffet pellets and frozen bloodworms and brine shrimp
How often do you feed your betta fish? 3 times a day

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? every day
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 100%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Seachem Prime

I picked up this little fellow at Petsmart about two or three days ago. He was having trouble swimming down to the bottom of his very dirty cup. He started out in 2 tsps of epsom salt per gallon but I upped it to 3 tsps today. He's shown absolutely no sign of improvement. He floats, most of the time on his side. When startled, he tries to swim down and ends up just thrashing all over the place before wearing out and bobbing back up to the surface like a cork. I haven't attempted to feed him yet because I was waiting for him to regain some control of his swim bladder but now I wonder if he might not have a genetic problem. Aside from the epsom salt, is there anything else I can do to help him regain control? He looks so pitiful floating there.

I should mention that until today, he was actually in a much smaller QT that I couldn't heat because I was afraid he was going to hurt himself thrashing around trying to reach the bottom. Room temp varies from 75 in the morning to around 77 in the afternoon but the temp has fallen so I thought I'd better get him into a heated tank.

[Pataflafla]

His swim bladder looks swollen. Maybe some epsom salt would help? Since you've fasted him for a few days I'm guess he's not constipated.

On a slightly different note, there's an identical case at my local Petsmart and they look almost identical too.

Edit: Just saw you're already using epsom salt. In that case, I have no idea. His swim bladder area does looks kinda huge though.

[Luimeril]

do like i used to with Cup. this won't help his swim bladder, but it'll give him relief from being half-out of the water.

wet a small sandwich baggy, then place it on one part of is QT tank. he can rest under it, and won't dry out. x: it was always frustrating for Cup, to be partly out of the water when he'd float. x:

[Sakura8]

Thanks Pataflafla, I didn't really get a good look at his swim bladder until you pointed it out. I find more bettas with swim bladder issues at my Petsmart than anywhere else.

Good idea, Luimeril! I do notice his side poking out of the water so I'll follow your tip for the little guy and wet a sandwhich baggy.

Do you think his swim bladder might be infected or something? He tries so hard to swim down, I think it's frustrating the heck out of him.

[Luimeril]

i'm not that great with most illnesses. with Cup, i'd fast him for a day or two, and he'd be fine. x:

[Sakura8]

I've never had one float for this long in epsom salt. Usually, two days max and they're at least floating upright. Not this guy. Still on his side most of the time.

[fightergirl2710]

Poor guy :( I think you need to give him the full 10 days at least with the way he looks.. Maybe some antibiotics would help after that in case it is an infection.. Have you checked whether he eats? Hopefully it isn't permanent! I love the sandwich bag idea Luimeril!

[Sakura8]

I just tried to feed him some brine shrimp but he wigged out, flopped around trying to reach the bottom and then went and hid under his baggy. I left a few pellets in there, I'll see if he'll eat those. Luimeril, he sure does love his baggy.

[fightergirl2710]

I hope he eats something! Always a good sign if they do. :)

[HatsuneMiku]

yuki's been doing the same exact thing !! since iv'e gotten him .. he's only been able to swim down and stay down for a week .. D= .. then the other times he's been in qt .. in between that 1 week where everything was fine ..

i'm gonna have to imitate what u do with your new little guy =D .. how do u do this sandwich bag thing ? how do u get it so that it doesn't sink in .. or get him stuck .. @_@ ..