[Fritz]

My betta Alejandro is in a very bad state. He is lying at the bottom very lethargic and not swimming well. As soon as I noticed I started to do an immediate full water change. When I put him in his cup I noticed this spider web like stuff hanging from his fins. I tried to gently pull it off and it seems to be connected to him. I am in the process of acclimating him to the water now. I think that I might have been using too much water conditioner. I very carefully measured it this time.

 

[Fritz]

Housing
What size is your tank? 2 gal
What temperature is your tank? 78*
Does your tank have a filter? no
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
Usually gravel but just now bare bottom

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Top Fin Color enhancing betta bits
How often do you feed your betta fish? two pellets once a 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? API Stress coat+ fish and tap water conditioner

Water Parameters: ???


Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? darker shade
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? yes, he is lethargic and hiding. Gasping for air. trouble swimming.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? yesterday he was a little slower and didn't feel like eating but today it just went down hill fast
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? Just a water change so far
Does your fish have any history of being ill? no he has always been happy and active. he does tend to flare a lot.
How old is your fish (approximately)? less than 1 year.



Should I put him in his 1/2 gal tank? he constantly flares at his reflection in that one and I dont want to stress him out even more.

 

[Fritz]

Is this caused by the slim coating effect of the stress coat?

 

[Fritz]

I think I'm going to keep him floating in his cup in the tank to make it easier for him to swim up and get air. Is that ok?

 

[dramaqueen]

It sounds to me like fungus. I'm going to try to get OldFishLady to take a look at this thread. She knows a lot more about this stuff than I do.

 

[Tikibirds]

I noticed something like that starting on my CT and I added in Aquarium salt. The next day it was gone. However I'm not sure what it was.

 

[ao]

looks like too much stress coat. my fish did that at double dosage of stress coat... should come off if you pull though... if it doesnt i dont know what it could be

 

[Oldfishlady]

You have the right idea...QT in a small container and start a 10 day salt treatment with tannins if you have any-either IAL or Oak leaf
Premix the 1 gal jug of dechloprinated treatment water-add the salt 2tsp/gal and tannins-use this water for 25% water changes every 15min for 1 hour today then daily 50% for 3 days and then re-eval....temp in the 77-78F range.....

 

[Fritz]

Alejandro is doing a little better. I do believe that I was putting too much stress coat in his water. All of his decorations were really slimy when I pulled them out. Is Stress coat a good conditioner to use all the time or should I be using something different?

 

[ANHEL123]

So you have him on aq salt right? I just saw similar post ....wondering if it the same problem. Is he active and eating?

 

[ao]

I usually use a half dose of stresscoat with another water conditioner.... O dont realy believe in having artificial elements in the tank all the time. might discourge actual slime coat production of the fish. Just my own opinion though

 

[ANHEL123]

Why you need to use stress coat with another water conditioner? I believe you can use only stress coat ?

 

[ANHEL123]

I thought that you don’t have to mix it??? I don't use stress coat i am using Prime by Seachem but i believe Stress coat it a water conditioner that you can use along every time when you change the water. I am curious myself.
I used to use another brand of the water conditioner and they completely change the label and i was confused if i have to combine it with something else. Then i just switch to Prime...

But i would like opinion on Stress coat...

 

[Fritz]

I use stress coat+ and it says on the label that it is a water conditioner as well. As far as I know you don't have to add anything to to.

 

[ANHEL123]

yes i think so. How is your betta doing?

 

[ao]

Yup it is a water conditioner, but because I use a half dose, I have to compensate with another water conditioner >.> no dead fish yet

 

[BETTACHKALOVE]

Thank you It just will be pain for me to do it. I hate to mix stuff lol. I just like to use one water conditioner. It pain for me because i have 10 bettas and i use aged water. I have a lot of empty gall at home which drives my husband crazy lol.