[GreatWhiteSpook]

My white twin tail halfmoon male betta has always been very weak and mild. Even in a crystal clear 80 degree tank, he's not going to explore his tank or swim around playing much. I've bought him toy mirrors, he doesn't like playing.

He's in a 6 gallon, heated, filtered tank with live and synthetic plants, shelter, and a moss ball. He's solid white, so if he has faded color, I have no way of telling really. His scales look relatively normal, he doesn't look bloated, his eyes seem fine, but he DOES have minor tail rot which I've been treating for months only to see very minor improvements. He had tail rot when I got him from PetSmart (Yes, I know, but there are no betta breeders here)
His water has no ammonia, Ph is at 7 now. Nitrite and nitrate are virtually nonexistent. Water is clear, some slightly mushy food on the bottom of the tank in the corner since he refused the food. (its small, I'd suction it, but it is right where he's situated)

Now however, he's at an all-time low. He hasn't moved AT ALL in 3 days, and I even ushered him to the waterline and offered pellets well within his reach and vision-nothing, not even an attempt at eating from him.
So now it has been 3.5 days without food for him. He's just barely moving his mouth, gills, and fins, he's not moving at all, he is resting his belly on the sand.

I've read that this usually indicates an illness or infection. His water usually feels nice and warm, and he has a nice heater, HOWEVER- I have felt his water being cold on some days, so perhaps his heater is malfunctioning? It hasn't been cold for these past 3 days, though.
Please, if any of you have an idea of what would could cause this or what to do, please let me know! I sincerely want to help him and I do not want him to suffer or die from anything other than old age.

 

[Olivia27]

I know you said "crystal clear" but how many times do you change his water per week? What kind of water conditioner do you use and is the dosage correct? How long have you had him? I hope he pulls through x

 

[GreatWhiteSpook]

Also, despite being typically slow and mild, he does love to eat, so this is a very bad sign to me. The only time he starts strutting and being flashy and fast is when he wants me to notice-and feed-him.

 

[GreatWhiteSpook]

@ seren27, I do a 100% water change every weekend. The brand I use is TopFin Betta Water Conditioner. I do the dosage correctly. Also, because of his fin rot, I clean everything. The sand gets sifted and rinsed, all the plants get cleansed, the decor and shelter get cleansed, the heater, aquarium floor and walls, everything.
I've had him for approx 8 or so months. His fin rot is getting better, but not at all like I thought it would.

 

[amyarizona]

I am having a similar problem with my half moon better male. He has always been very active. But now he is barely moving.
His beautiful tail had become split in many places so I purchased some Betta Fix. On Monday I started treating with this. Since we are both treating our fish for tail rot I wonder if the medicine is the problem- what are you treating him with?
I changed the water on Sunday and again today- 3/4 tank change.
I live in Arizona and keep the house at around 70. I do not have a heater. I would get one but the problem started so suddenly- like yesterday so I wonder if cold could be my problem. I had a crown better last winter and never had a problem with temperature.
I just changed the water but am thinking about changing it again and NOT putting the Betta fix in it to see if the medicine could be making him sick. Any thoughts?

 

[GreatWhiteSpook]

Amy, I've been thinking about that too. The medicine isn't doing much, but it DOES say on its bottle to dump all the water every 7 days, so obviously it is harsh. I'm about to ditch what I'm using now and try to find another alternative. It's not working and it negatively impacts the water, plus it stinks. :|
I'll see if that helps the poor guy out any.

 

[LittleBettaFish]

What does 'nitrite is virtually non-existent' mean? Nitrite should be at 0ppm. Anything above that and your water change regime may need modifying.

Also, I would suggest purchasing a thermometer to properly check your water temperature, and to see if the heater is holding the temperature stable. It is very possible for fluctuations in temperature to trigger disease in fish, so this is something you want to avoid.

You say your fish is suffering from fin rot, but are you sure it's not fin biting? It's a very common problem in long-finned bettas, is often confused with fin rot, and often leads to unnecessary treatment that don't have the desired effect. If you are able to, posting some photos of your fish up, might help us determine what the true cause of the fin damage is.

Speaking of treatment, what medication are you using?

 

[Olivia27]

Just to clarify: do you do 100% water change as a regular routine or just because he's sick? It is generally not recommended to do 100% water changes since it basically means killing off all the good bacteria you've gone through all that cycling trouble to raise. Like LBF said above ^ do you have a pic? The worst scenario in my head right now is you mistook his tail-biting as fin rot for a very long time now and as a result perform 100% water change weekly over and over and over again. The ever-changing chemical environment may stress the fish out. Even worse it may reduce your tank's ability to complete the nitrogen cycle due to the amount of good bacteria you've lost.

 

[Aquastar]

Just gonna say something new:

Lower the water level! If he's having a hard time getting to the surface, make it easier. One of my rescues did the same thing, but he had other issues. Airstones would also be a good idea.

 

[GreatWhiteSpook]

The 100 percent change is constant, not just when sick. Also, for nitrate, I mean absolutely 0.
I've quarantined him, into 0.5 gallons and doing aquarium salt and daily water changes, and he really started to come around, but when I checked on him tonight I found him bloated, red, and pineconed. It's dropsy. He still won't eat. I'll try Epsom salts and everything else I can find. If he doesn't pull through I'll have to euthanize him in the most humane way I can find. (Which I believe to be Clive oil) I refuse to watch him suffer, I've heard of dropsy before and I know it is NOT a peaceful way to leave. I haven't had him long, but I love this little guy. I really thought he was getting better and I was so excited. few things hurt like watching a pet die. Thank you all for your help. I'll update on his condition.

 

[GreatWhiteSpook]

API Melafix is the medicine. He lives alone and I'm assuming always has, so I ruled out fin biting. He was tattered when I bought him, but I watched to see if it was tail rot before I acted. Sorry for not responding, I would've posted picks of him. I still might. I was actually going to post about how quarantining had helped and then this happened. His tail hasn't lost overall length, it's mostly narrow streaks that go up a little ways in ways they used not to, there was no discoloration. He's acting well, but I know he must be suffering between the dropsy and starving.