Is my little buddy depressed? Or is it swim bladder?

507 Views 4 Replies 3 Participants Last post by Laki, May 2, 2012

CrazyForBettas

Discussion Starter · Apr 10, 2012

I bought a male betta fish named Peeta a week and a half ago. When I bought him he looked perfectly healthy except when it was feeding time. He would not swim up to eat and when the pellets sank he would eat them and spit them back out. I finally got him to eat after 5 days, but the next day I had to leave for vacation. He was left in the care of my best friend who, until now, has taken pretty good care of my other betta and my cat. She has had 3 bettas herself and has two 60 gallon tanks of guppies. I figures I could trust her. I couldn't be more wrong. She never fed anyone (my two bettas, my brother's betta, and my cat) for 4 days. She literally came in once to feed and she put WAY too many pellets in (about 15). He (obviously) didn't touch the food, and when I came back he was laying at the bottom not moving. I quarantined him in his original jar, fearing he would die (I'm moving him to a 1/2 gallon) and again, he laid on his side, not moving or eating. He started breathing rapidly and looked like he was in pain (don't ask, I could just tell) I checked him for everything, and the only thing I could think of were he was cold (fixed that, still no improvement) or swim bladder.(he looks like he can't swim up) Just a few minutes ago, he was swimming around but now hes laying on his side breathing heavily. He still hasn't eaten and I'm really worried about him... What do you think is wrong, and what can I do to help him?

Housing: the jar he came in (1 pint)
What size is your tank? 2.5 gallons (until I took him out)
What temperature is your tank? 78
Does your tank have a filter? yes
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

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? aqueon betta pellets
How often do you feed your betta fish? twice a day

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? every 2 weeks
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 25-75 percent
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? aqueon dechlorinator

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters? No... there are none...

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? laying on the bottom, not eating or moving
How has your betta fish's behavior changed?^
When did you start noticing the symptoms? yesterday, minus the eating, which was from day 1
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? just quarantined him
Does your fish have any history of being ill? no
How old is your fish (approximately)? um... a few months? hes medium sized, not full grown yet.

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Laki

· #2 · Apr 10, 2012

Hm. He might benefit from an epsom salt treatment. Pre-mix 1tsp of salt to 1g of water and make sure its all dissolved and the same temp as his q-tank water.

Also, my 2.5 needs a mid-week change and an end of the week change.. Could be your fish is in poisoned water. Clean it first and foremost. Get yourself in the habit of cleaning it more often than 2 weeks! A fish lives in his own waste and after that long he'll be poisoned by his own ammonia.

Good luck! I hope our fish feels better soon!

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AG5

· #3 · Apr 10, 2012

CrazyForBettas said:
Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? every 2 weeks
Having had a 2.5 gallon tank I would do a 100% weekly change at the end of the week with either a 50% midweek or 2 25% changes every 2 days. I did this for my betta when he was ill and it got better. But you should be doing weekly 100% water changes for a 2.5 if you don't have a filter imo
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 25-75 percent
See above
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? aqueon dechlorinator

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters? No... there are none...
There should be water parameters. Buy a pH kit from petco or petsmart and test out your levels. Just because the water may look crystal clear doesn't mean there is a pH spike or some other imbalance

There are plenty of thread about testing water levels. As stupid as it sounds, your buddy may be more susceptible to getting ill than others. I have a friend who has had a betta in a 2 gal for a year and a half now who has never checked the water level nor has a heater (I know I know, I'm still trying to convince my friend) but his fish is as happy and active as a clam. Not all bettas (like humans) have the same tolerance levels for the same thing. Of course, not being fed for that week you were gone probably shook him up a bit too, but I hope he starts to recover!

Oh and I don't know if someone already mentioned this, but API Aquarium salt may help your fish (it sure helped mine when my guy had fin rot for a week - that stuff along with proper water changes is ridiculously useful). Again, there are plenty of threads on aquarium salt too.

Edit: I had my fish in a 2.5 gal for a month but then I put him into a 5 gallon tank - 100% weekly water changes wasn't my thing, and he's a lot happier in a 5 gallon tank

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CrazyForBettas

Discussion Starter · #4 · May 2, 2012

Well, just an update, Peeta died 4-16-12, but not before having 2 "deaths" and coming back to life.

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Laki

· #5 · May 2, 2012

I'm so sorry to hear!!

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