[Julien]

Hello everyone, Today while I was to PetSmart I saw this poor boy floating and not moving a lot in his selling cup .. seing few other Bettas already dead around... I decided to rescue him!

I've made a temporary tank in a large vase until his permanent tank is cycled and it's easier for me to check if he is going better.
(The water is cloudy because I've made it few hours ago)

He is alive and sometimes try to swim but always float back to the surface..

After investigating on internet it look a lot like a swim bladder disease.

What do you think ? Any tips to make this poor boy feeling better?

 

[RussellTheShihTzu]

You can try keeping the water at 78-80. Also add a filter or some sort of aeration as Betta are facultative breathers and depend on their gills for breathing. They only surface-breathe if there's too little oxygen in the water.

If those are Indian Almond Leaves, use them to brew a strong tea. Use dechlorinator and add to his tank until it is at least this color:

If you can, try feeding him a small bit of frozen Bloodworm every hour or so. Or, frozen Daphnia. If he is constipated the carapace of the Daphnia will help move him along.

Good luck!

PS: Keeping him in a smaller container is a good idea. I would not move him to another tank, cycled or not, until he's 100%.

 

[Julien]

You can try keeping the water at 78-80. Also add a filter or some sort of aeration as Betta are facultative breathers and depend on their gills for breathing. They only surface-breathe if there's too little oxygen in the water.

If those are Indian Almond Leaves, use them to brew a strong tea. Use dechlorinator and add to his tank until it is at least this color:
View attachment 1037806
If you can, try feeding him a small bit of frozen Bloodworm every hour or so. Or, frozen Daphnia. If he is constipated the carapace of the Daphnia will help move him along.

Good luck!

PS: Keeping him in a smaller container is a good idea. I would not move him to another tank, cycled or not, until he's 100%.

Great thank you ! Yes I want to wait for him to be 100% before to move him.
The water is already around 78/80° I did put a small heater in the vase.

Yes this is indian almond leaves, I will try to make a tea from it thank you for the tips !

I will definitively try all this ideas !

I also tested the water from his selling cup and it was a very high pick of nitrites, so he might be intoxicated too ... Should I try to give him antibiotics or something?

 

[RussellTheShihTzu]

I wouldn't do anything except keep his water clean and warm. Antibiotics aren't called for at this point; plus, they are extremely stressful.

 

[Julien]

I wouldn't do anything except keep his water clean and warm. Antibiotics aren't called for at this point; plus, they are extremely stressful.

Ok, thank you for all this informations, I will comeback with some updates in few days with hopefully good news.

 

[Julien]

Hi everyone.
Small update after six day that I have this sick Betta.

He is still alive and seem tu go much better, he is not scared anymore of me (he were panicking a lot when I were too close at start), he is quite active and relax ... BUT ... He is still floating !

He doesn't want to eat anything else than pellets.. so I started to give him two small pellets every two days, I don't want to overfeed him because I believe that's what caused the fact that he is floating.. but I don't want him to dye because I don't feed him.

So here is the situation, he seems to be much more relax and "happy" but he is still floating.
Do you think I should just keep his water clean and warm and wait like this ?

By the way, I noticed that the long thin fins on his bottom are starting to switch from black to red. Is it any sign of good/bad news?

Thank you for the advices!

 

[Julien]

Also, I noticed that this is not really his belly but more his side all the way long that is blotted.. I haven't found any information/cases that are mentioning that.
Anyone already saw something like that?

 

[Julien]

I wouldn't do anything except keep his water clean and warm. Antibiotics aren't called for at this point; plus, they are extremely stressful.

Any thoughts about the latest updates?

 

[RussellTheShihTzu]

You can feed him three pellets 3 x per day every day. Overfeeding would be feeding a large amount at once. His issue sounds as if it may be a tumor or injury. I would add some plants that allow him to rest in them when he's at the top. The red is a natural color change.

What are you feeding him? Check the first five ingredients for fillers. Wheat flour is acceptable because it acts as a binding agent. The other four should be some form of fish or fish protein.

 

[Julien]

You can feed him three pellets 3 x per day every day. Overfeeding would be feeding a large amount at once. His issue sounds as if it may be a tumor or injury. I would add some plants that allow him to rest in them when he's at the top. The red is a natural color change.

What are you feeding him? Check the first five ingredients for fillers. Wheat flour is acceptable because it acts as a binding agent. The other four should be some form of fish or fish protein.

I will move up the Java Fern so the leaves are closer to the surface then. And feed him everyday in small quantities.

He really seems to feel good except that he is floating so it's tricky to know what to do to help him..

About the pellets, the five first ingredients on the list are:
Fish Meal, Wheat Flour, Squid Meal, Soybean Meal, Krill Meal.

Any pellets brand recommendation?

Thank you again for your help!

 

[RussellTheShihTzu]

That's an okay food but there are better. In no particular order: New Life Spectrum, NorthFin Betta Bits, Aqueon Color or Betta formulas (not Betta Pro), Fluval Bug Bites, Devour Grain-Free Bug Crumbles (online only).

 

[FishandBirdLover]

Hi @Julien, Any update?

 

[Julien]

Hi @Julien, Any update?

Hi !
So, updates are still the same, he is going well, seems healthy, got beautiful red color accents and like to swim on the surface, but he is still floating...
I am not sure yet but I feel like he might float a bit less, seems like he can keep himself straight a bit longer, let's see in the next days if this is right or not.

 

[BettaloverSara]

I have never had one with SBD before personally but I had heard somewhere that aeration can help. Are you able to put a small air stone in there?

 

[Julien]

I have never had one with SBD before personally but I had heard somewhere that aeration can help. Are you able to put a small air stone in there?

I had one at start but because the tank is not very big it was doing a bit too much flow to the surface (the fish is stuck floating to the surface) so I was wondering if it was not more stressful for him to have to fight against the flow while he cannot swim properly. I can try to put it back in and see how it's going

 

[Julien]

Hello everyone! Update !

My Betta were still floating after the last update so I thought that he had a permanent issue and were happy to keep him as he is, I decided to call him Floater.

BUT! since some days I see a good progress, he was floating less and less each day and started to explore the deepest parts of his tank !

I am happy to tell you that Floater do not float anymore!
After some months being patient and taking care of him he is finally going perfectly well !

Thank you everyone for the feedback you gave to me.

Here are some photos of him perfectly swimming. (The water is a bit cloudy because I just cleaned some algae)

 

[RussellTheShihTzu]

He looks beyond great! What a wonderful job you did. Just shows if one is committed and trusts our advice what can be done. I've read of a few cases where SBD was fixed but not many. This borders on being a miracle. I can't compliment you enough.

 

[BettaloverSara]

Amazing! Great job!

 

[DrizzlingSkies]

Fantastic job!! You did so well!

 

[Julien]

Thank you everyone!
Some more photos of this happy boy !