[Bettaboy18]

I need help identifying this sickness help plezz? Clear/white scum patches on both sides of my ready to spawn female betta. Also if I treat her & she starts recovering completely how long should I wait to breed her :-?? + she always lays with her head out of the water on top of my plants roots could this have to do with her not feeling well or just her personality?

 

[LittleBlueFishlets]

Hi, in order to allow other members to help you, please answer the questions below. (Put N/A beside the questions you can't answer.)

Also, can you post photos showing the patches on her sides? Pictures will be helpful to people trying to determine what's wrong with her.

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)?

 

[Bettaboy18]

What size is your tank? 7.5
What temperature is your tank? room temp 68-70
Does your tank have a filter? nope
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? nope
Is your tank heated? nope
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? nothin but feeder guppies (most likely how she contracted the disease)

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? feeder guppies/moths
How often do you feed your betta fish? everyday

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? twice a week
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 50/50
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? aquasafe plus+

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

Ammonia:n/a
Nitrite:n/a
Nitrate:n/a
pH:n/a
Hardness:n/a
Alkalinity: n/a

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? white SCUM patches all over NOT dots.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? lays half way in water(head out, tail underwater)
When did you start noticing the symptoms? 3 days ago but thought it was just her coloration & or scrap on scales from laying out of water.
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? not yet
Does your fish have any history of being ill? no
How old is your fish (approximately)?no clue (6 months guess) bought 2 weeks ago

 

[Bettaboy18]

She died :'( but i still need to no what disease it was please?

 

[sainthogan]

For starters, your tank was too cold. Bettas are tropical and need a constant temp between 76 and 82 to be healthy. Too cold of water, and their immune system becomes compromised and they won't be able to recover from anything they might contract. Yes, it is possible that she got something from the guppies, but it's also possible that she already had it, which in that case, your guppies are now probably infected as well. Usually when white stuff comes off like that - it's usually their slime coat coming off due to some sort of infection. If your fish was hanging out of water, that definitely means she was ill and maybe was trying to make it easier for her to breath because maybe her gills weren't working properly. My fish did that when she was ill with velvet which coated her gills making it hard for her to breathe underwater.
I really can't say for sure what your fish had, but I am sorry for your loss. In the future, make sure you have warm water, and always quarantine fish before adding them to the tank, just in case one of them has an infection, that way they don't infect the whole tank.

 

[Bettaboy18]

Ok I'll work on finding sum cheap small heaters, really thanks for the help s.Hogan have a good 1. & if you know of a cheap brand of small heater please post the name. thanks very much again

 

[callistra]

Guppies do not make good tank mates..

A tank without a filter of this size should get 100% change weekly as well.

for the 100% you need to remove him - scoop him out with a plastic solo type cup and set aside while you thoroughly rinse the bowl and gravel to remove the debris. Then he should be acclimated to the new water by floating for an hour while you slowly add a couple tablespoons of new water to the cup every 10 minutes. When you release him, try to let as little of the old cup water back into the tank as possible. All water changes should use same temp water, matched to running tap using the in tank thermometer and the water needs to be premixed with conditioner before adding it to the betta tank. If you don't already have anything, you can use gallon water jugs from the grocery store - rinsed thoroughly in hot water but no chems.

Bettas are tropical fish and must be kept at a temp between 76-82, with 78-80 being ideal. The temp must be stable and not be dipping or jumping around. In a 2 gallon you can get an adjustable 25w heater. Any new heater should be tested for 24 hours in similar size container with in tank thermometer to make sure it will hold a constant appropriate temp between 78-80F. Then the betta must be acclimated to higher temp either by floating in a cup inside the main already fully heated tank for an hour, or by adjusting the heater to increase the temperature of the tank no more than a degree per hour and 5 degrees per day.

You should look for a good quality pellets whose first two or three ingredients are whole fish, not fish meal or wheat. He should be fed two small meals a day (how many depends on the pellet you pick up) and one fast day a week.

 

[Bettaboy18]

The guppies were food/activity not really tank "mates" ha & %50 water change 2x a week = %100(almost).. but good lookin anyways, Thanks 4 the info callistra

 

[bettacrazygirl86]

Ok I'll work on finding sum cheap small heaters, really thanks for the help s.Hogan have a good 1. & if you know of a cheap brand of small heater please post the name. thanks very much again

The heater I have works wonderfully! Mine is a Top Fin adjustable heater. I use it in a 5 gallon though, and it's only 25 watts. I got it for $15 at Petsmart. They have a 50 watt one with is meant more for 10 gallons, for $20. I think you'd be better off with the 50 watt one, and you can adjust it to whatever temperature you want the water to be. 78 to 84 is the ideal temperature range for bettas, so if you set it to a temperature within that range, it'll heat to that temperature and turn off. Adjustable heaters are better than preset ones, so this is definitely the best way to go! Trust me, this is coming from someone who actually has a preset one, and an adjustable. I'm getting another adjustable to warm up my other betta, because her water is a little colder than it should be.

Just know that if you do go for the Top Fin heater that I recommended, I would put it completely in a glass bowl full of water and let it run for a while, like a day or two, and keep switching out the water to get rid of the plastic smell it gives off when you use it. It smells horrible!

 

[Bettaboy18]

Alright thanks Bettacrazygirl86
I figured they would be around that amount I just wasn't sure. Thing is I have to get a few of em so it would be cool to find a website that had stock of emm but I think I'll just use your idea. But I'M STILL OPEN FOR WEBSITE/STORE SUGGESTIONS EVERYBODY lol. Have a good1!