New betta - He's sick :(

[Meldiane]

Ok got my Betta from petsmart on Friday. The tank had been running for a day or so with some good media filter from my other tank. The water levels were all good to go. Put him in there and he was ok the first night and seemed to be active with flaring at his reflection. It's been downhill since then.

I saw some white spots on him so I started treating (today) for A fungal infection with some aq salt. Temp is steady around 79. He will swim up to the top for air then just float down to the bottom and lay there (see pic). He will not stop himself from hitting the bottom.

He will have quick bursts of energy and swim around the tank like normal but it's quick lived and he will then float sideways or sink to the bottom again. He seems to be breathing heavy as well.

I have him in a 3.5 gallon tank with a heater and filter. I put a baffle on the filter as the flow was too hard.

Any help would be very much appreciated. I'm so sad :(

[SwimmR]

Sounds like you're doing the right things - heat, salt. But you're right, he does not look good. Maybe an expert will chime in with more suggestions. You can raise the temp a little more while he's sick (up to around 82).

[Meldiane]

Thanks! I hope he will make it. I just raised the temp to be 82

[Meldiane]

Here he is now :(

[Meldiane]

I also just noticed this. He has these patches on his face. They are shiny in the light.

[Pataflafla]

Be careful when changing temperatures. Too fast and you'll shock their system. you have to be slow to let them adjust.

Keep it at a constant temperature right now and lower the water level to a few inches. I would cup him in the betta cup he came in and float that in his tank.

Stop with the aquarium salt and have him on fresh water and water conditioner. Give him a day or two to rest before starting epsom salt at 1 tsp/gal (Dissolve in conditioned water first). Do this for a max of 14 days, but I suggest 7-10 days minimum. 100% daily changes to whatever water he's in, recondition it, and add in the same amount of epsom salt (Plain, no scents or colors)

Did you acclimate him to the new temperature and water source when you first got him? Also, have you rinsed everything under warm water before adding it to the tank and adding him?

[Meldiane]

Originally Posted by Pataflafla

Be careful when changing temperatures. Too fast and you'll shock their system. you have to be slow to let them adjust.

Keep it at a constant temperature right now and lower the water level to a few inches. I would cup him in the betta cup he came in and float that in his tank.

Stop with the aquarium salt and have him on fresh water and water conditioner. Give him a day or two to rest before starting epsom salt at 1 tsp/gal (Dissolve in conditioned water first). Do this for a max of 14 days, but I suggest 7-10 days minimum. 100% daily changes to whatever water he's in, recondition it, and add in the same amount of epsom salt (Plain, no scents or colors)

Did you acclimate him to the new temperature and water source when you first got him? Also, have you rinsed everything under warm water before adding it to the tank and adding him?

I threw away the cup he came in already. Yes I acclimated him to the temp before putting him in. For about 35 minutes. I washed everything in warm water, including the filter before adding him.

So I have a solo cup I could float him in. How long should I keep him in the cup for? Thank you so much for your help.

[Pataflafla]

Keep him floating in the cup until he's stronger. You'll know when he's ready to be out. If he's still having issues with energy or generally being lethargic, then keep him in. Rinse out the cup before putting him in it though.

he might be in shock if your water parameters are off from what the store used. Usually it's levels that the store doesn't measure that are different. Like pH and such.

Give him time to adjust and keep things dark for him.

For the pale spots on his face, that usually happens when a betta is stressed and their colors pale up. When he's feeling better, they should go away.

[Meldiane]

Originally Posted by Pataflafla

Keep him floating in the cup until he's stronger. You'll know when he's ready to be out. If he's still having issues with energy or generally being lethargic, then keep him in. Rinse out the cup before putting him in it though.

he might be in shock if your water parameters are off from what the store used. Usually it's levels that the store doesn't measure that are different. Like pH and such.

Give him time to adjust and keep things dark for him.

For the pale spots on his face, that usually happens when a betta is stressed and their colors pale up. When he's feeling better, they should go away.

So I should put some of the tank water in the cup or new water all together (conditioned of course)

[Pataflafla]

New water altogether. Start with the cleanest and you'll get the best result.