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I Really Try to Do The Right Thing... :(

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#1 ·
Housing
What size is your tank? 5.5g
What temperature is your tank? ~76
Does your tank have a filter? Yes
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No
Is your tank heated? Yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? None

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Aqueon Betta Bites, sometimes supplemented with Hikari FD Bloodworms or FD Krill
How often do you feed your betta fish? Twice a day

Maintenance

How often do you perform a water change? Once every 3 days
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? API Stress Coat+

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? Clamped fins
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? Lethargic, hanging at bottom of tank
When did you start noticing the symptoms? Today
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? I haven't
Does your fish have any history of being ill? No
How old is your fish (approximately)?I've had him since October

Here's the story:
I had originally been wary of the top fin adjustable heater that had come with his tank. However, everywhere I looked people seemed to say adjustable was better than a preset one. So today I decided to swap out the heaters. I monitored the temperature carefully and it seemed to be fine. But Severus was acting oddly. At first I thought he was just curious about the heater. However, then I found him on the bottom of the tank, barely moving with his fins clamped. I took the heater out and he perked up a bit, but I wasn't sure if the heater was releasing something toxic into the water so I did a 100% change. I put his old heater back in and acclimated him. But he still seems lethargic and is lying at the bottom of the tank with clamped fins.

I really do try to take good care of him, but I feel like I always just mess things up. I hope he's okay...
 
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#2 ·
Sometimes cheap heaters can cause this. Have actually seen it a lot.. Did you at least rinse the heater well in hot water before adding it? Did the heater change the temperature of the water a lot? I assume you have a tank thermometer you monitor temp with..

You're actually overchanging the water. For a 5 gallon you can change twice a week one 50% and one 100% and your guy will never see .25ppm ammonia.

Adjustable heaters are better but that's not one that comes highly recommended.I use Marineland Visitherm. In your size a 50w would be good. Hydor Theos are supposed to be excellent as well, but I only use the Visitherm just because it was the first I ever used and they always worked perfectly for me. 76 is on the cool side for your boy. It's acceptable but I would invest in a better heater than can maintain a 78-79 temp.

If he was poisoned, the only thing you can do is give him time to move through it. You did the right thing by doing a full water change and removing the heater. Adding some epsom salts may help. I'd start with 1/2 tsp per gallon (2 3/4 tsp for your 5.5g) and fully dissolve in some water outside the tank before adding.
 
#3 · (Edited)
The heater wasn't in the tank for mre than a few hours, so I'm hoping if there was something being released into the water he wasn't too badly affected. But I'm so worried about him. :/ He can still swim to the surface for air... I tried to cup him a few minutes ago so he wouldn't have to swim so much to get to the surface and he was sure able to zip around to avoid the cup... I ended up not being able to catch him, so I took out a bunch of decorations so it's easier for me to keep an eye on him.

I'm wondering if he got burned somehow... That heater's a pretty nasty piece of work. It was unplugged and off and it still started melting the plastic of my aquarium hood when I put the hood near it. But, I noticed him twitching a little bit, which worried me. It stopped and I haven't seen him do it again, but I'm still concerned.

I don't have any epsom salt on hand. Is there anything else I could use?

And the temperature changed a few degrees, but it changed very gradually. After about two and a half hours it was hovering around 78 or 79 degrees.

Edit: I managed to cup him, so now he's floating in the tank. I figure the water in the cup's shallower. Plus, the water there is from my other tank so it hasn't come into contact with anything from the tank the heater that caused the problem was in, so maybe it'll help?

I got him to eat a couple pellets in his cup. It's a good sign that he's eating, right? Or is that just me being optimistic? The first one had to sink for him to notice it, but he swam to the surface for the 2nd. Maybe with some rest in his cup he'll be okay?

Edit again: He's still twitching every now and again. :/ Do you think it'll pass?
 
#6 ·
If he's lethargic after a new heater, try cupping in and doing several 100% changes several hours apart. Combined with the epsom salt when you get it and it should help out.

I went through this with a Topfin Adjustable heater that nearly killed my favorite boy twice. I did 2-3 100% changes every day and kept him at 2 tsp/gal epsom salt.

If the edges of his fins turn black and fall off, don't worry too much and keep up with the epsom salt and water changes. It's important to get anything toxic out of him as fast as possible.
 
#7 ·
Thanks. There's no blackening of is fins. When I looked at him today, his fins did look kind of stained though. I woke up like three times last night to check on him. Since I didn't have anything better, I did use a bit of AQ salt in hopes that it would help him heal if there were any burns. When I woke up at 6am, he seemed to be more responsive than he was last night. I went back to sleep and woke up about ten minutes ago, and now he's still lethargic but he's hanging out by the surface of the water instead of at the bottom and his fins are unclamped. He does seem to be improving.

A pet store down the road from me opens in 20 minutes. Fortunately, I don't have class until 12:30, so I have time to try and get some epsom salt for him before class. How many days should I keep him on epsom salt for? And are there any other medicines I should be using?

I'm just so mad at myself. I KNEW that heater was bad news... That's why I didn't set it up when I first got the tank. But then I got another topfin aquarium kit that came with a similar heater, and that heater seemed to be doing fine once I figured out how to set it to the right temperature. So I went against my better judgement and decided to give it a shot since it would be able to keep his water a bit warmer than the one I had replaced it with.

At least he's doing better. It was just such a shock. Earlier that day he was swimming around happily and eating pellets from my finger and then after I shuffled around the heaters he got so sick. I wanted to send an e-mail to the company about the problem, but I couldn't find a site to contact. I'm going to try to have a little faith in humanity and believe that they're unaware of the problems with their heaters and will try to fix them once it's brought to their attention instead of selling faulty products knowing that they could kill fish.
 
#8 ·
He's in epsom salt now. He's still floating in his cup, though, because I don't know if swimming to the top of a tank for air will be too much for him and I don't want to risk it. I guess all there is to do now is wait and see... I'll change his water later. I have carbon floating in a bag in his tank to try to get rid of any toxins that might have lingered after the water change. It's so frustrating! I really wish there was more I could do for him.
 
#9 ·
Just have him in epsom salt until 2 days after he's back to normal.

I strongly suggest tossing the heater and any porous surfaces in the tank. New substrate would probably be best along with a 100% water change and a thorough rinsing.

My issue with chemical poisoning required such drastic actions since my betta spent over 12 hours in the water and was displaying cloudy eyes, clamping, and yellowing by the time I got him into a cup of clean water. He displayed the black edges after the second day.

Your boy may never show these symptoms since you got him out quickly.
 
#12 ·
Okay. I hope he starts eating again soon... His fins are definitely deteriorating now. Do they grow back or does the fact that it was caused by a chemical make it more difficult for the fins to regrow? His eyes look just a little cloudy, but not terrible. I really hope he pulls through.
 
#14 ·
I feel like he's so unstable! One moment he'll be swimming around and I'll think he's getting better, and then the next time I look at him he's laying on his side and just looking awful. :( I changed his water multiple times today, using water that was conditioned with API Stress Coat+ and had epsom salt dissolved in it. He's still floating in his cup, though, because I don't want to let him out into a tank unless I can be around for a while to observe him and make sure he's able to cope with the larger space. I'm really trying to help him, but I'm starting to feel like I'm just fighting a losing battle.
 
#15 ·
First off this may seem like a weird question but did you ever think of cycling the tank? I have noticed that when betta or any fish live in a very sterile enviorment it makes their systems weaker. I dont know if anyone suggested yet but I would raise the temp a little maybe to 80* slowly. Betta do great at 80* in general. If he really was poisoned I would aq salt instead. Other then that I am not sure anything else would help at this point. If you have cycled water I would adjust him to that instead. I do really hope he gets better :(
 
#17 ·
I switched him over to aq salt. Now he's floating nose down and tail up... I just feel like he's not going to last much longer. I wrapped some blankets around his tank to try to raise the temperature. I just feel like he isn't going to last through the night. I could be wrong, since I was pretty sure he'd be gone by this morning. I really hope I'm wrong. Do you think there's any chance he'll make it?
 
#18 · (Edited)
AQ salt does help with external problems it also helps boost electrolytes and sense the little guy didnt have any swim bladder or fluid moving problems I think the epsom wouldnt help as much. If he ate something I would go the epsom salt rout if its environmental I usually go the aq rout. If I did use epsom I would raise the temp also but thats something else entirely. Although half the time both do just as good a job to help make the environment more comfortable for the fish.

Edit: Sense he is floating now I would just move him back to epsom though careful the shock can hurt them more of being switched. If you think he cant handle it dont switch him. And raising the temp would be the best thing to help him survive over all. I would use the adjustable heater at 82 * if he is in the cup and not in contact with the surrounding water.( sense the heater might have caused it) Best luck little buddy !!!
 
#19 · (Edited)
I'm afraid of shocking him if I switch him back to epsom salt right now. :/ I was terrified I'd kill him switching him to aq salt. I don't think I want to use the heater, though... I'm afraid it'll get through the plastic or whatever chemical leaked into the water will permanently taint the glass or filter or gravel or something. Am I just being paranoid? I feel like such a terrible fish owner. Everything was fine, and then I had to go messing with it and now Severus is just a mess.

With the blankets, the water temperature's at about 78 degrees. Maybe if I wrap yet another towel or something around it I can get the temperature up without having to use that heater? Also, even when it was unplugged the heater melted the plastic on my aquarium hood when I put the hood near it when I was changing the water. I'm afraid it'll damage the aquarium if I put it in there.
 
#20 ·
Its alright I am paranoid parent too :) Did you slowly move him to the aq salt becuase doing it fast could have shocked him and caused him to float. Give the heater a good soak and scrub. Hold it under the water and see if its leaking air bubbles if it is its no good. If not maybe its bad plastic and then just keep the plastic out of the water. If you have any methelyne blue using that to clean will kill any fish nasty's. But if its more chemical leak it would be in plastic not the glass if the glass isnt leaking air. I would scrub it and use it especially if he is in another container. Its highly doubtful that the heater caused it. Or move his container and heater to another tank or container you wouldnt mind "contaminating" if your not sure something might be leaking.
 
#21 · (Edited)
I tried not to shock him when I moved him. :/ He was floating in the epsom salt, too, except he was floating on his side at the top of the water. I'm almost positive it was the heater. The heater was the only thing that was changed. I noticed a change in behavior not too long after adding it, but I had thought he was just curious about the new addition to the tank. I didn't realize anything was actually hurting him until I found him on the bottom of the tank with his fins clamped. But, I'll go run the heater under water and see what happens.

Edit: I just submerged the heater in water and there were bubbles coming out the top.
 
#22 ·
Thats odd those things are super quality checked :/ I am sorry about it all thats not something fun to deal with. Did the temp suddenly change too I have noticed that even changing the temp suddenly higher can make them clamp.... If the heater is small enough you could try something I did once with a heater I filled a big ziplock bag with water and put that in the tank and the heater in the bag that way only water in the bag was contaminated... I wish I could help more :(
 
#23 · (Edited)
The temperature was increasing pretty gradually. I was watching the temperature pretty closely over the course of about two and a half to three hours and it hadn't changed more than 3 or 4 degrees in that time. I wouldn't do the plastic bag thing... After what that thing did to the plastic on my aquarium hood when it wasn't even plugged in I'd imagine I'd end up with melted plastic all over the tank. :/ Also, the heater plugs in so the bag couldn't be completely sealed so the contaminated water would just leak out into the tank.

If I did accidentally shock him with the switch to aq salt, do you think he might still pull through?
 
#24 ·
What kind of heater is it? Maybe I use different ones cause the plastic top of mine sticks out and I sealed the bag around the cord. And yeah I have melted tanks becuase I forgot to unplug my heater. Lol i spent an arm and a leg on a heater that automatically turns off and cools when water level drops. I wish they were cheaper I would buy a ton of them.
And Hmmmm its weird he would do that... any chance that you could run out and buy another? I know petco sells little ones for $10 I use them for back up heaters.
Sorry you have been so unlucky.
 
#25 ·
It's a top fin heater. I believe it's the 50 watt one. It came with my 5.5 gallon aquarium kit. Can't even return it... I bought the tank months ago but replaced the heater because I didn't trust the top fin one. I just decided to try it now because my room's pretty cold and it was supposed to be able to keep the water a bit warmer than the preset one I'd been using.
 
#26 ·
Yeah I dont really like kit heaters they never seem to work just right :/ but I am very good at breaking things. And okay now I know what you mean I use mostly aqueon or marineland heaters ( i think thats how you spell it)
 
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