To make a long story short, I decided to start treating Turbo in a different tank. The tank that I was able to get was a little under a gallon, probably about a .8-gallon or something similar to that. I decided to kind of float it in his ten-gallon tank, because I couldn't find appropriate heating for such a small tank, and I didn't want him to get cold. So, I set up the little tank in the center of the big one, and I put the treated water in it. I acclimated him to it. Then, I battled with him to get him into the little tank. I put the lid on the mini tank, and I observed him for a while... As soon as he went into the little tank, he started acting odd. He swam around wildly, which didn't really concern me, at first.. Then, he started gasping, his gills opening very wide with every breath.. I noticed his face getting pale.. And I started getting VERY worried. So, I took the container I use to keep him in from water changes and scooped some of his old tank water into it. Then, I tried to get him out of the small tank. When I put him into the container, he seemed fine.. I watched him for a while to be sure, and all was well. I decided to just put him back into the ten-gallon. So, I filled it back up with clean water and put him back in. He's regainined most of his color now, and he's behaving normally. So, what do you think caused his little "episode"? Could it have been anxiety from going from a ten-gallon to a tank less than one gallon? I'm honestly not sure what caused it... My poor little guy. =(
Are you sure you put water conditioner in when you put him in the new tank? What was the smaller tank previously used for? Was it ever cleaned with soap? It sounds like there is something wrong with that smaller tank...
How did acclimate him to the treated water while he was swimming around the 10 gal? (Battled to get him into the little tank)- I am assuming he was in a 10 gal then or another one?
Something definitely was wrong with the little tank- Kyt had asked about what it was used previously for, and the soap- but also what did you put in the smaller tank to make it 'treated'?
Was the temp the same as the 10 gallon?
Bettas will stress out- but in this case, it sounds like something in the small tank.
I put water conditioner and the aquarium salt in the smaller one. It had never been used for anything; I had just bought it. I rinsed it thoroughly with water and aquarium salt to make it sanitary. Then, I rinsed it off again. I have a separate container that I keep him in during water changes, so he was in that. And I was lowering the level of the water in the ten-gallon so I could get the smaller tank in it to keep it warm. I compared all of the temperatures, and I even used a thermometer to be sure that the water in the tiny tank was the same temperature as the ten-gallon. I waited and added a little of the new water to his old water in the little water change container. I even floated his container in the little tank for a while to get him even more used to it. The fighting part came when I realized the little cup wouldn't fit in his container, so I couldn't scoop him out. And I couldn't use the net that I just used for the female's water change, because I don't like using the same net for two different fish.. I ended up having to take the container and tilt it onto its side so he could swim out into the little tank's water. So, some of the old water went into it, too.
It sounds like he possibly just got stressed out. A couple of mine do the heavy breathing thing during water changes, especially if they've made it a bit of a struggle getting them into the cup.
Yes, fin rot. And I'm pretty sure it was disolved. I added a little water to the jug, then salt, then more water, and I shook it some.. Is there any way to be completely sure that the salt is disolved? Also, when I filled the tank back up with clean water, I poured the water from the little tank into it. I'm really paranoid about using salt, because I've heard that undisolved salt can burn the fish..
Correct, it can burn. The salt grains tend to be a good sized, I would imagine you could see them in there in the QT tank. I know when I used it for other treatments on one of my guys that they were big and hard to miss. They do take a bit to dissolve though.. some time and a lot of stirring.
If you want, you could use a drinking glass that is clean, add in a bit of water and the salt.. and stir it often while it dissolves. Then you can pour that little bit of salt water into the jug and fill up the jug then.
Add him in just as you had done before, as it sounded like you were on the right path- while he is in the cup floating in the QT tank, every so often take out a little bit of water from the cup and add in some from the tank with the salt in it. I would say take out 1/4 of the water from the cup and add in the equivalent of water from the salt water. I would recommend doing that 4 times in a matter of approx 30 mins.. that way he will slowly adjust to the salt and the temp of the hospital tank.
You can put the hospital tank back into the 10 gal if you wish before doing so, or wait to see how he handles the hospital tank and then move it into the 10 gallon after you have established how he is handling the hospital tank.
Thank you. =] I was planning on doing another water change today. So, I can go ahead and do that. The only problem with not putting the little tank in the big tank is that I don't have a way to heat it, since it's so small. So, I'll probably just do my version of floating it in there again. Lol. We just bought new cups today; styrofoam, though. I don't think that would hurt, right?
White styrofoam tends to be safe. You do what you need to, to keep him warm and safe- he'll just have to calm down and deal with it lol, which most of the time they do, they just hate leaving their homes hehe.
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