I got a new ct Betta and he is really sick. Rainbow has dull coloring, won't eat ANYTHING, sleeps 24/7 and always hides. He lives in a 1/2 gallon tank(temporal rarely) and it is not heated/filtered. The bowl (I hate the word) is cold and I have not tested it. I do a complete water chage twice a week and feed home 4 pellets every 3 days, not that he eats at all. I noticed the symptoms when I first brung him home and the only change in behavior is not eating and has a bulged stomach. Do you think he will get better once I put him in a divided 10 gallon shared with aqua (check out the case of stubborn fin rot) ? This new tank will be heated, filtered and tested. Also how do I treat him? Thanks for any input.
Ps. I mostly want to know if he will fell better once in a 5 gallon 'cause I don't want to waste my money.
Bettas need water that is at least 75 degrees, 77 is even better. If the water is too cold, it will act exactly as you described, it's immune system will weaken, and it will die.
Quote:
Originally Posted by aqua001
I got a new ct Betta and he is really sick. Rainbow has dull coloring, won't eat ANYTHING, sleeps 24/7 and always hides. He lives in a 1/2 gallon tank(temporal rarely) and it is not heated/filtered. The bowl (I hate the word) is cold and I have not tested it. I do a complete water chage twice a week and feed home 4 pellets every 3 days, not that he eats at all. I noticed the symptoms when I first brung him home and the only change in behavior is not eating and has a bulged stomach. Do you think he will get better once I put him in a divided 10 gallon shared with aqua (check out the case of stubborn fin rot) ? This new tank will be heated, filtered and tested. Also how do I treat him? Thanks for any input.
Ps. I mostly want to know if he will fell better once in a 5 gallon 'cause I don't want to waste my money.
Actually 76-82 with 78/79 for regular healthy kept use or the slightly hotter for nursing most sick is the rule of thumb.
Also your betta should be fed at least once a day (most people feed twice) with one day for fast. 4 at one time is also too much. Feed no more than 2 at a time standard size pellets but if you're got teeny tiny ones NLS or smaller you can feed more.
Suggest checking out the betta care stickies available in this forum. In the meantime please fill this out as well:
Quote:
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?
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)?
Callistra, here is the information, hope this helps in terms of diagonosing him!
lives in a 1/2 gallon 'bowl', will move into five gallon ASAP.
not exactly sure of the temp but it is cold.
no filter
no aerition of any type
not heated
he has no tankmates
he eats bettabites pellet form
three pellets every four days but he shows no interest in food at the moment.
I perform a water change twice a week, 100 percent.
i add conditioner and pimafix.
i have not tested any of the water parameters.
Rainbows appearace changed from bright to pale and literaly see-thruogh when put under light.
no behavior change. he has slept 24/7 since i brung him home.
I tried to treat him by putting in a little bit of sea salt, then i did Melafix and now Pimafix. none of this is working!
I think he was sick since i brought him home from petsmart!
i do not know his age but he is certainly not young, already about one in in size not including tail.
While I've never had a betta harmed by using Melafix (Pimafix is in this category too), I know others advise against its use and I would never recommend it in a tank that has no surface movement.
I would assume your betta is cold and is living in less than ideal water conditions. On a 1/2 gallon tank I would do a 100% change at least every second day. Exposure to even trace amounts of ammonia for an extended period, can be enough to seriously compromise your betta's health.
With the 5 gallon a twice a week (one 50% and one 100%) should be good. Also want to use aged water (24 hours if ph is stable and 48 is probably safe if it's not). You can age the water by filling up gallon (rinsed very very well in hot water) milk jugs. Getting a heater and heating him up will help a lot. I have a Marineland Visitherm 50w in 5g of water right now and it works very well. Will run you about $20. Make sure you have a glass submersible in tank thermometer too. The heaters are usually a few degrees off so you will need to make sure you monitor temp. Try to set the heater at first a few degrees below regular room tank temp. Turn it up one degree slowly until it turns on. Then you know the difference between the actual temp and heater set temp. Acclimate him slowly by raising it a couple degrees every hour or two until he's in the 78-79 range. It may take longer.
I would not use any of the 'fixes' on this. What kind of conditioner do you use?
He may very well need meds.. he sounds like he does.. but I'm not 100% convinced since I'm sure he's had his share of ammonia and is surely cold.. His immune system is likely compromised and that is why he cannot fight this off, but that doesn't mean it hasn't reached the point he needs help.
If you could share photos that would be helpful. Look into purchasing a meds like Maracyn and Maracyn 2 (to be used in combo) or Kanamyacin (Kanaplex by seachem). These meds will work on internal infections when food is refused.
Comet1993, sorry about the typo. when i said sea salt I meant aquarium salt. i did them seperatly, each one for about a week until I figured they did not work. Now I am on Pimafix and my fingers are crossed LOL.
Callista, I use Aqueon water conditioner. (This should not be harmful, right?) I always age his water for at least 24 hours so this should not be a problem. I will try to grab some medicine like you suggested. Another thing, when i changed his water today, he was put under bright lights (the lights in my living room are bright!) and i liked closly at him. I could see his veins!!!!! does this mean he is super skinny? he has not eaten for a while so i am geussing yes. How do I post pics?
looks like they have you on the right path here. But again, unless you know for sure you need to use salt, discontinue using it. And don't mix meds unless directed to do so.
to post a picture you need to upload it somewhere... facebook, photobucket, flikr, ect. and then click the photo icon on the bulletin chat thing here, and insert the web address to your photo.
sometimes soaking the pellets in garlic juice will help get them to eat.
I moved Rainbow into his new five gallon about an hour ago. I put nothing in the water exept for conditionder and it is at a 75 degrees and in bio-filtered. he has shown slight improvment but is still lethargic. I got him to eat a live brine shrimp today! try to update his statues tom.
Check out the eBook Betta Fish Care Made Easy
Similar Threads
Won't wake up!!!!!!!!
