[jibruno]

ok my beautiful red CT male is going crazy.
hes sitting on the surface darting into the corner, flipping out, jumping out of the water and swimming sideways..his fins are taking a beating and starting to droop.
i did a water change today but didnt help. there are no other changes to his tank..

any ideas?

 

[TorisExtraordinaryBettas]

how big is his tank?
is he around any other bettas?
Also i would do a water test to if every thing is ok

 

[frazier71]

Is he rubbing himself against things? Like he's trying to itch? Take a hard look at him and make sure there's not signs of ick and also turn the light off shine a flash light on him. Any gold dust of there is its velvet. I would definitely make sure its not one of them first because the earlier its caught the more luck you'll have treating it.

 

[lvandert]

My female does that after breeding. I remove her from the environment and put her in a different tank and that helped. Maybe just take him out, do a good water change, move things around and then put him back in so he thinks he's in a new tank. That is if he's not sick. I've heard of something, what was it called? the spins? maybe...I'm not sure. Hopefully someone else knows what I'm tanking about

 

[jibruno]

its one betta in a 5 gal tank, ill check for ick and velvit, thanks

 

[jibruno]

well its not ick or velvet, now hes too week to even swim, he either sinks or floats vertically in the water. i put a suction cup plant in there so he can rest and stay at the surface.. idk whats wrong =[

 

[Oldfishlady]

If you have a small container-like the small temporary cups/lid some Bettas are sold in...Place him in that and add a few drops of your dechlorinator-turn off the light-float the cup in the tank attached to the side so it doesn't sink....

Usually when a fish acts that way....it is a sign that something is wrong with the water....either forgotten dechlorinator, too hot or too cold water from the water changes without proper acclimated, heater cracked and you have a stray volt, contamination of some type-either from hands, items used to clean the tank, in the air...etc.....accidents happen to all of us at one point or the other

Was he acting like this before the water change and if so, when was the last water change before that one, heater and filter in the 5gal, did you unplug the heater and let it cool off before the water change, what kind and how much dechlorinator......what is the temp, how long have you had him, how much and how often are the regular water changes, any tank mates...

Can you post a pic and do you have any Epsom salt on hand (Not aquarium salt) and a tannin source-either IAL or dried Oak leaf

 

[jibruno]

i do a water change every few days, it was 3 days since the last water change that he started acting this way and that is why i did the additional change. had him for a few months now and hes a year old, the heater is brand new. the temp is 74 degrees F

 

[MaisyDawgThirteen]

Bettas temp range is from 76-82, but 78-80 is the sweet spot.

 

[Oldfishlady]

Was the heater ever exposed to air without being unplugged or cooled off.....sometimes they can crack and you will get stray volts...but since he was acting like this several days after a water change--that most likely isn't an issue....anyway......does the tank have a lid, location of the tank and I am sure you did this but just thinking out loud to rule things out....did you wash your hands before your fed him-especially if you had just put hand lotion on or used any type of chemical...etc.....or if the tank is near the kitchen or bathroom...chemicals sprayed or excessive smoke/oils from cooking...etc....

When you have a sudden change in behavior like that...erratic swimming, heaving breathing, trying to get out of the tank, gulping at the surface, rolling on their side, sinking....etc......when it didn't start after a water change...it is usually water contamination of some sort......

Did you get him out of the tank and in a cup, has the behavior changed any.....you may want to go ahead and start some Epsom salt 3tsp/gal to detox him....depending on what it is....it may or may not help....but it can't hurt....also if you have a tannin source-either IAL or Oak leaf-add this and get the water as dark as possible

Premix some treatment water in a 1gal jug of double dosed dechlorinated water-Add the Epsom salt 3tsp/gal and tannins-let this steep for 30 min and start making 25% water changes every 5min for 20min-keep the water temp in the 76F range and cover the top of the small bare QT with plastic veggie wrap to retain heat/humidity for the labyrinth organ-dim lit, quite location to help de-stress him.....

Tomorrow start 50% daily with the premixed treatment water for the next 5 days and see how he is doing at that point and we will go from there....

If you don't have IAL you can use Oak leaf if you have any pesticide free Oak trees near by-collect 20 or so naturally dried and fallen from the tree Oak leaves-crush and add to the 1gal jug....

Good luck....

 

[brettwashere]

I have a lot of oaks in my yard, what is the best type? Also how crushed? Like mortar and pestle crushed or fingers crushed. I have a sick fish, just picked him up recently, trying to dr. Him up. Thx

 

[Oldfishlady]

I have and use about 6 different Oak trees on my land.....as far as I know all are safe to use......I crush with my hands.....

 

[brettwashere]

Ok thanks, any problem using mopani root? I picked one up that didn't have a tag on it and it stained the water fast. I took it out and have been soaking it since to try and leach out as much of it (tannins?) as I can.

 

[brettwashere]

Well, he died in the hospital tank over night. Kinda peeved, he was like $14 and he had a beautiful over half tail, guess that's the risk of buying pet store bettas. Thanks for your help. This is one of the best forums I've been on.

 

[wystearya]

Well, he died in the hospital tank over night. Kinda peeved, he was like $14 and he had a beautiful over half tail, guess that's the risk of buying pet store bettas. Thanks for your help. This is one of the best forums I've been on.

Not sure how long you have had him, but most pet stores at least have some sort of guarantee. Petsmart is 2 weeks, if the fish dies within those two weeks, you take the dead fish and your receipt into the store. You can either get a refund or exchange for another fish.

I'm so sorry your fish passed away. I know all too well the heartbreak of losing a gorgeous new Betta. I wish you the best if you try again!

 

[brettwashere]

....Can't find the receipt. I'm pretty sure it hasn't been two weeks, but I've been treating him for about 5 days and it was a day or so before I isolated him. I guess I'll have to eat the cost. I also picked up anoter fish from the same store at the same time but he seems ok for now.

 

[lvandert]

Picture of new fishy?