[Calypso77]

My poor little Betta, I am not sure what is wrong with his. For starters when I first got him a little over a month ago I noticed he was missing one of his Pelvic fins, didn't seem to bother him much just had a hard time turning the direction to quickly.

Now I have notice for over a week he has been swimming just at the top of his tank and when he would try to go to the bottom he would just spring right back up. I noticed he hadn't poop for roughly a week so I fast him the best I could (felt too bad) and I gave him a blanched Pea this weekend and he has gone some but now when he is just hanging out floating at the top his back end goes side ways. I am not sure if he is still constipated or if he has sim bladder or if he is under weight... I really need help on this one I am new to the whole Betta world and am completely obsessed with trying to cure him of whatever ails him. . I will attach a few pictures for you to see what you think.

Thanks so much for all your help. Sorry if the pictures are hard to make out. Took them with bad camera phone, I can try again with better camera if needed.

Normal right after I got him

Now pictures

 

[Neil D]

Alright, I'm not much help here, but I can give a few tips.

1) No peas for bettas. I've read over and over again it's bad for them.
2) Daphnia works well as a laxative.
3) Your betta seems to have stress stripes (horizontal stripes)
4) Is your bowl heated?

You should also fill out a sheet stickied at the top of the diseases page.

 

[Calypso77]

Ok what are Stress Stripes? And no it is not heated but is kept at room temps around 75 - 80 F. I will go fill that out now. Thanks

I just fed him as he was doing nothing not hardly moving and now he is swimming more since I fed him.

 

[Neil D]

Stress stripes appear when a betta is well...stressed. They are horizontal strips running the length of the fish on both sides. They're usually well pronounced on darker fish. They seem the most visible on the second image.

 

[Calypso77]

Housing
What size is your tank? 1/2 Gallon tank
What temperature is your tank? Between 75 - 80
Does your tank have a filter? No Filter
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No
Is your tank heated? No
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? Alone

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Betta Flakes - will not eat Pellets
How often do you feed your betta fish? Every other day

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? Once a week
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? Betta Conditioner

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity:

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? Not much change maybe a tad lighter.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? Not as active.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? 1 1/2 weeks ago
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? Fast and then given blanched Pea
Does your fish have any history of being ill? No, I got him and he was missing one Pelvic Fin though
How old is your fish (approximately)? I have had him 1 1/2 months.

 

[Aus]

Your fish looks.. very stressed and unwell.

1/2 gallon tank isn't very big. Then take out the water displaced by rocks and decoration - he's living in just a few cupfuls of water. If you're changing that water once a week, it'll be loaded with ammonia most of the time, which will not be helping his health at all.

He should be eating twice a day, small amounts, as you're using flakes (these also cause a lot of ammonia..). Flakes aren't great, I noticed my first betta got very bloaty on them at times - he took time to want to eat pellets but did so after I stopped giving him flakes and let him go hungry a few days if he didn't eat them. Irregular/infrequent feeding seems to be almost as bad for them as overfeeding (though stupid pet store people tell folks to feed thier bettas every few days.. they are much better off with daily small meals..)

I've never had a fish with swim bladder issues, so I'll leave that side of it to someone who's dealt with it. But please do consider a bigger living space, without sharp plastic plants and with much more frequent water changes (or at least 2-3 a week in his present home!). Some bettas freak out badly in bowls, the round shape distorts everything.. if you do choose to allow him a larger home, perhaps a try a rectangular one, it might help him not to stress.

What's your routine for water changes now? Where do you put him for them and do you acclimate him to the new water at all?

 

[Calypso77]

Right now I have no plants or stones in with him, just so I can see if he poops or not. I did have a fake plant in with him and he seemed afraid of it, would not go anywhere near it. I did have him in a bigger bowl when I first got him but it didn't have a cover and it seemed to get dirty a lot faster. My other Betta is in the same type tank and is perfectly happy with all his living conditions.

I went ahead and fed him this morning in case he is anemic and within an hour he pooped. I will try feeding him a little more again before bed.

I was told if he can't get to the bottom of his tank to lower his water level for the time being til he gets better so it is easier for him to float around and sleep.

 

[Neil D]

If you have two bettas in this condition, it really isn't good. I really recommend splurging a bit for a 5g tank, dividing it, filtering it, and heating it. I can guarantee your fish will be more active.

But for your situation now, I would recommend getting in contact with Oldfishlady (OFL) on the forum. She really knows how to deal with this.

 

[Calypso77]

I don't have 2 Bettas in this condition.

 

[Neil D]

I meant two bettas in the .5g bowls, not two sick.

 

[Calypso77]

They are in their own tanks.

 

[Oldfishlady]

What I would recommend at this point is Epsom salt (Not aquarium salt) with tannins treatment.

Good that you removed everything in the half gallon-this will work well for QT and treatment....Cover the top with plastic veggie wrap to retain heat/humidity for the labyrinth organ.

Premix some treatment water in a 1gal jug of dechlorinated water
Add Epsom salt 3tsp/gal and a tannin source if you have one.....
Either IAL (1lrg crushed) or Oak leaf (20 crushed)
I use naturally dried and fallen from the tree Oak leaf for my tannin source.

Let this steep for 30min to start releasing the tannins and salt to dissolve
Shake well before use and use this premixed treatment water for 25% water changes every 15min for 1 hour today-After the last 25% water change-lower the water level so he doesn't have to struggle.

He needs to stay in this Epsom salt/tannin stained water in the covered QT for the duration of the treatment.

Tomorrow- start 50% water changes using the premixed treatment water (if you added tannins the water should look darker every day)
Make daily 50% WC with the premixed treatment water for the next 10-14 days.

Nutrition-if you have access to mosquito larva offer several rinsed several times a day.

If he start to get better in a day or so-Don't stop the treatment-he needs a full 10 days-longer if needed...Epsom salt is safe to use long term if needed.
If you have any live plants or a soft silk plant-add this to float to help make him feel more secure and to rest on-Dim lit quiet location.

Double check the water temp and try to maintain this in the 76-77F range for treatment.

Feeding a small amount of Pea for constipation- is NOT harmful to the Betta, however, you don't want to feed it as part of the staple since it provides little nutrition due to the short GI tract-

Once he is better we can go over proper care in a half gallon container...

Good luck and keep us posted....

 

[Calypso77]

Thank you so much. Now I don't have tannins and don't think I can get that anywhere around here, so is it ok to just do the Epson Salts? And do you just get the regular Epson Salt you would use in your own bath?

 

[Oldfishlady]

Just the Epsom salt will help......If you have any Oak trees near by-you can use naturally dried and fallen leaves for the tannins....You can also use either decaf green or black tea to help darken the water for stress-but due to how it is processed it doesn't have the antibacterial/fungal properties.

Epsom salt-(magnesium sulfate) is what you want-usually you can find it in most stores that has a pharmacy dept. No added perfumes, dyes...etc....if it has the recipe on Oral intake for humans-it will be fish safe....

 

[Calypso77]

Bad news, just went to my only store and no Epson Salt there. I can't get anywhere else til Friday (live in middle of no where and don't drive). ;(

 

[Oldfishlady]

Dang the luck...no neighbor, family or friends that might have some...Since I am old...I can say this...lol....but us old people sometimes keep it on hand and people that garden usually will have some on hand too...great stuff for the garden too......

Good luck....

 

[Calypso77]

No luck there either. No one I know lives close. Same with neighbors. I have one grocery store I can try but not til tomorrow as they are now closed. Fingers crossed..

 

[Destinystar]

Thats not enough water changes for a half gallon bowl, its just not safe and why take risks, I would change it every day if I were you. I had my Perseus in a half gallon bowl for a week till I got a 5 gallon tank for him and a heater and he loves to explore and swim and so happy I got such a bigger tank for him, better for him and me too as I can watch him better now and having a blast doing so ! Good luck if you need any more help just ask okay and welcome to the forum !

 

[Destinystar]

Great advice your are getting and just saw your post about being old and not driving and living in the middle of nowhere dang that sounds like me too ...lol I am so happy I can order things I need on line, check out wag.com they haves some good buys and of course Walmart.com they some some good tanks that are just plain with no filters for like 12 dollars. Nice to know you and see we have so much in common !

 

[Calypso77]

Great advice your are getting and just saw your post about being old and not driving and living in the middle of nowhere dang that sounds like me too ...lol I am so happy I can order things I need on line, check out wag.com they haves some good buys and of course Walmart.com they some some good tanks that are just plain with no filters for like 12 dollars. Nice to know you and see we have so much in common !

Being Old?!?!?! Where did I put that?