Hello fish friends. I am in need of some assistance. I was apart of another fish forum community but they were unsure what to do and I need a bit more advice. I bought a new betta fish about 2.5 weeks ago. Originally I had him in a 2.5 gallon tank that was not filtered or heated for two days. I almost immediately after bought him a 5 gallon filter tank and a heater. He was loving it and making a bubble nest but I noticed a faint weird smell and assumed I could just clean the tank. I now know moving forward to never EVER do 100% water changes on any fish aquarium. The day that I cleaned the tank he only ate one pellet of food which is slightly unusual. I cleaned the tank on Sunday (today is Tuesday) and he has not eaten anything since then. I've tried every treat and food type that I have for him but he's not interested. He sits on the top of the tank in the back corner- the opposite side from the filter. He had no problem with the filter strength previously but I am sure he's weak from not eating which could maybe explain why he is swimming around less. My other forum told me to do 20% water changes and do testings each morning since I need to prepare to do a fish-in-cycle. I've tested the water for two days in a row and here are my results (the same both days):
Housing:
How many gallons is your tank? 5 gallons
Does it have a filter? Yes
Does it have a heater? Yes
What temperature is your tank? varies from 77-78.7 degrees F
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No
Does your Betta have tank mates? What kind? No
Food:
What food brand do you use? Aqueon pellets that I soak before, or Betta-dial-a-treats (dried blood worms, dried mysis, and dried daphnia)
--> I did go to the petstore today and bought frozen brine shrimp and flakes for fresh water fish- he was uninterested so I removed them all.
Do you feed flakes or pellets? Yes, usually pellets. I only tried one flake today but he didn't want it
Freeze-dried? I tried brine shrimp today and he didn't want it
How often do you feed your Betta? How much? I feed him once a day in the mornings - I leave 3-4 pellets in his tank and remove the extra he didn't eat.
Maintenance:
Before your Betta became ill how often did you perform a water change? I only preformed one 30% water change
What percentage of water did you change? 30 %
What is the source of your water? filtered water that I drink at home (not from the sink)
Do you vacuum the substrate or just dip out water? neither - but I just fully cleaned it two days ago
What additives do you use? What brand of conditioner? I was using fluval betta conditioner. Since I changed the water (2 days ago) I added a small amount of Stress zyme, less than a tablespoon of aquarium salt, and today I added betta fix after doing a 10% water change.
Water Parameters:
What are your water parameters? Please give exact numbers. If tested by pet store please get exact numbers. "Fine" or "Safe" won't help us help you. Important: Test your water before the regular water change; not after one.
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 0 ppm
pH: 7.4
Hardness (GH): unsure
Alkalinity (KH): unsure
Symptoms and Treatment:
When did you first notice the symptoms? He had a small flakey like bump by his gill when I first moved him into the 5 gallon tank but he has mainly been weird since the water change
How has your Betta’s appearance changed? There is a hole in one of his big tail fins and a tear in one of his front fins. He also keeps his very top fin on his head kind of clamped when he is floating by the top of the tank (which is often now)
How has your Betta’s behavior changed? Yes
Is your Betta still eating? No
Have you started treating your Betta? If so, how? I stated with Betta Fix today and added 2 drops of Seachem Prime to help with fish-in-cycle
Does your Betta have any history of being ill? He was not ill before at all
How long have you owned your Betta? less than a month
Was he or she ill or suffering some sort of damage when purchased? I don't think so
![1021373]( "1021373")
( you can see the fin is clearly teared. I did notice a tear on Sunday there but it has gotten a little bit bigger. I wonder if he is stressed and eating his fins?)
![1021374]( "1021374")
(this is where he hangs outmost of the day and barely moves)
Housing:
How many gallons is your tank? 5 gallons
Does it have a filter? Yes
Does it have a heater? Yes
What temperature is your tank? varies from 77-78.7 degrees F
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No
Does your Betta have tank mates? What kind? No
Food:
What food brand do you use? Aqueon pellets that I soak before, or Betta-dial-a-treats (dried blood worms, dried mysis, and dried daphnia)
--> I did go to the petstore today and bought frozen brine shrimp and flakes for fresh water fish- he was uninterested so I removed them all.
Do you feed flakes or pellets? Yes, usually pellets. I only tried one flake today but he didn't want it
Freeze-dried? I tried brine shrimp today and he didn't want it
How often do you feed your Betta? How much? I feed him once a day in the mornings - I leave 3-4 pellets in his tank and remove the extra he didn't eat.
Maintenance:
Before your Betta became ill how often did you perform a water change? I only preformed one 30% water change
What percentage of water did you change? 30 %
What is the source of your water? filtered water that I drink at home (not from the sink)
Do you vacuum the substrate or just dip out water? neither - but I just fully cleaned it two days ago
What additives do you use? What brand of conditioner? I was using fluval betta conditioner. Since I changed the water (2 days ago) I added a small amount of Stress zyme, less than a tablespoon of aquarium salt, and today I added betta fix after doing a 10% water change.
Water Parameters:
What are your water parameters? Please give exact numbers. If tested by pet store please get exact numbers. "Fine" or "Safe" won't help us help you. Important: Test your water before the regular water change; not after one.
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 0 ppm
pH: 7.4
Hardness (GH): unsure
Alkalinity (KH): unsure
Symptoms and Treatment:
When did you first notice the symptoms? He had a small flakey like bump by his gill when I first moved him into the 5 gallon tank but he has mainly been weird since the water change
How has your Betta’s appearance changed? There is a hole in one of his big tail fins and a tear in one of his front fins. He also keeps his very top fin on his head kind of clamped when he is floating by the top of the tank (which is often now)
How has your Betta’s behavior changed? Yes
Is your Betta still eating? No
Have you started treating your Betta? If so, how? I stated with Betta Fix today and added 2 drops of Seachem Prime to help with fish-in-cycle
Does your Betta have any history of being ill? He was not ill before at all
How long have you owned your Betta? less than a month
Was he or she ill or suffering some sort of damage when purchased? I don't think so
It wasn’t your fault. Sometimes bettas just get really stressed and shut down. You clearly loved him.
