[kngiraffe]

my boyfriend and i got a bright red betta fish two weeks ago. he has been perfectly fine, swimming being active then two days ago i notice he was a little sluggish and not doing much. well yesterday (saturday) when i cam home from work it looked as though he had two white holes in his fin and his fin was starting to look like it was fin rot. well it also looks like he maybe have like two white dots on his head like say his forehead. i wanna get him all fixed up and treated, i just wanan make sure ihave the right medicine.

should i get something for fin rot or should i get maracyn and maracyn 2 or should i get like betta revive?

yes, i have a heater. yes i do have a filter but the current is too strong so i don't have it in/on anymore. gotta get a sponge to stick in there to slow it down. my tank is the mini bow 2.5gallon tank. i just changed the water last monday. could maybe the stress of changing his tank cause him to get sick?

answers ASAP would be wonderful. my boyfriend is gonna pick stuff up for him tomorrow before he comes to my house and i was just wondering what i should get.

oh and his fins are clamped together the past two day. and he's been swimming around a lot the past 10 minutes his water is around 82 degrees, 84. plus he's been hiding in his cave a lot the past two days.

 

[Sakura8]

Hi kngiraffe, welcome to the forum. Would you mind filling out the info below? The more info, the better we can help you. Also, a pic would be great if possible. Does his tail have black ragged edges? That is a sure sign of fin rot.

Just based on the info you've given me, I think it's possible the water quality is poor and causing him to be sluggish. In a 2.5g tank, you'll need to change the water at least twice a week, preferably three (but understandable if you don't have time for three). Change out 50% once and 90-100% the second time and vacuum the gravel to suck up all the guck down there.

Housing
What size is your tank?
What temperature is your tank?
Does your tank have a filter?
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration?
Is your tank heated?
What tank mates does your betta fish live with?

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish?
How often do you feed your betta fish?

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change?
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change?
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change?

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity:

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed?
How has your betta fish's behavior changed?
When did you start noticing the symptoms?
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how?
Does your fish have any history of being ill?
How old is your fish (approximately)?

 

[kngiraffe]

Housing
What size is your tank? 2.5
What temperature is your tank? 82-84 degrees
Does your tank have a filter? i do but the flow is too strong.
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? nopee.
Is your tank heated? yupp
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? nope

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? pellets and flakes, i have blood worms too. but barely feed him that because it killed my other betta.
How often do you feed your betta fish? well everyday, but i just fasted him for 2days i was afraid he was constipated. i feed him last night and he ate all of the food. and fast too.

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? weekly. i haven't had time for anything else. i've worked a lot.
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 100%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? nothing, i use spring water.

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity:

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? he has gotta a little daler, clamped fins, a teeny tiny bit of fraying now.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? sluggish.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? two days ago. but for a week i have noticed one little black dot on his tail. but i read it could've been his fin growing. because there was transparent fin behind.
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? no, not yet. point of the post.
Does your fish have any history of being ill? not that i know of.
How old is your fish (approximately)?just got him literally two weeks ago.

 

[DarkMoon17]

Do you happen to have a pic?

 

[Oldfishlady]

Welcome to the forum...

It does sound like a water quality issue....in a 2.5gal unfiltered tank it needs twice weekly water changes...1-50% and 1-100% to maintain water quality and fin health.....you may also want to lower the temp some...76-80F range....

Even with bottled water and this varies from brand to brand....it may be filtered tap water that still has the additives that are harmful to fish and the filtering process can remove the needed minerals that the fish needs for good long term health.....I would use your tap water along with a good dechlorinator like Prime.....

Right now-if you feel he has minor fin rot..I would go with fresh water treatment and change over to tap water with dechlorinator......start by making 25% daily water changes with your tap water and dechlorinator for 2 days-then 50% daily for 2 days-then 100% to get him changed over to the tap water and this will also work to help heal the fins....

For more severe fin rot....I would QT in something small that can be floated in the heated tank to maintain a water temp in the 76-77F range and Pre-mix some treatment water in a 1gal jug of dechlorinated tap water-Add 1tsp/gal aquarium salt and tannins either IAL or dried Oak leaf to steep and use this water for 25% water changes every hours for 4 hours and then 100% daily for 10 days.....

Nutrition is really important for good health to help maintain a strong immune response....small frequent high protein meals of a varied diet is best...

Can you post a pic...

Keep us posted....

 

[kngiraffe]

the ph level was really high. how do i reduce that?

 

[Oldfishlady]

What is the pH and the pH after it has degassed for 24h...do you have KG/GH reading too for hardness....what kind of testing products are you using...strips or liq reagent......

 

[kngiraffe]

it is strips by jungle and when i stuck it in my betta's tank it was like 8.4 the highest of alkaline and it's just quick dip

 

[kngiraffe]

my boyfriend bought, mardel maracyn-oxy and betta revive. since it's minor should we just do like 20% water change with tap, add the filter since we got a sponge to slow it down and add the new plant and give him betta revive or what? what would you. i'll try to get a picture.

 

[Oldfishlady]

Your pH is fine....I wouldn't worry about changing it...stable is much safer than swings especially when you try to change it without the proper test.....Bettas will adapt...my pH is much higher than that and have never had any issues with keeping, spawning or rearing fry......

I would get the water quality improved before you add any medication to the tank.....the only chemical additive you need is a good dechlorinator.........often all that is needed is water changes, time and good nutrition......

I would leave the filter out for now....

 

[kngiraffe]

alright, so i feel a littler relieved. we're gonna try to put the filter in right now just to see if the sponge we got will slow the currrent down.

do you think tap is better than spring?

 

[DarkMoon17]

Tap is not only cheaper than spring, it is also better for the fish. It contains many nutrients that the fish would only be able to absorb from water. Just make sure you use a dechlorinator. Is he doing any better?

 

[kngiraffe]

he actually has been swiming around a lot more. and being more active. his tail is looking better and his fins aren't as clamped. he is on his 3day of medicine. he actually flared the first day of medication. i had a bobbing seahorse and i stuck it in there and he flared at it. hahaha. but he's been swimming in the current of the filter. he goes in to his cave and he like sees me walking towards the tank in the morning and comes swimming out. or when i turn the light on he comes out from his hiding spot all happy. he seems to be doing a lot better.

oh and since i have a 2.5 tank i need like .8ml so i'm using an old medicine dropper well the first day i had it in the water trying to just make sure i got all of the medicine out and he was chasing the dropper through the tank.

 

[Sakura8]

I'm so glad he's full of energy and spunk at least. :-D That's good to hear because it means he's got a lot of fight in him. He sounds like a real character, too.

 

[kngiraffe]

awh thank you!! when we picked him out he was like swimming all through his bowl because i think he could see other betta's. he is definitely more lively then our one before.

it's funny because i named him after a throughbreed horse that was on abcfamily's show, wildfire because he would swim up and down up and down the one side of the tank and he would swim in the current of the filter. i said that was him "Racing" hahaha, pretty dumb but i liked it.

 

[Sakura8]

awh thank you!! when we picked him out he was like swimming all through his bowl because i think he could see other betta's. he is definitely more lively then our one before.

it's funny because i named him after a throughbreed horse that was on abcfamily's show, wildfire because he would swim up and down up and down the one side of the tank and he would swim in the current of the filter. i said that was him "Racing" hahaha, pretty dumb but i liked it.

What a good name for him. I actually named my three girls after racehorses, too. Zenyatta, named after the 2010 Horse of the Year; Goldikova, a champion turf racer from Europe who bites everyone in sight (and so does my girl Goldi); and Rachel Alexandra, named after the 2009 Horse of the Year. My girls aren't quite as zippy as your fellow is so they aren't quite living up to their racehorse namesakes.

 

[kngiraffe]

awwh they are cute names yeah that's why i knew instantly something was wrong with flame, because he's not one to not be active. like even right now he is swimming around his tank. but he is creeping around it.

 

[kngiraffe]

aaah! HELP!

he has like white under his gills. should i do a complete water change now. and see what happens?

 

[DarkMoon17]

If you have any concerns then do an immediate water change but please get us a pic too...