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my fish is not well

518 views 6 replies 2 participants last post by  WetBetta  
#1 ·
hello,

I am totally new to this forum and I have never had beta fish before.

I have a male 2 years old Betta. Until about three weeks ago he was pretty healthy. Now he is lying on his side on the bottom of the tank and is not eating. It has been a couple or three weeks. I change water completely every day now add salt, betafix. Nothing helps. The fish is not eating, just lying there, and he cannot swim. I mean, he swims if tap on the bowl, but as soon as he stops he starts sinking.

Would appreciate any advice.
Konstantin
 
#2 ·
So we can help you faster and better, please fill out the following. If you don't know, put "don't know". Also, if you can provide a picture, it would help.

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)?
 
#3 ·
What size is your tank? 1.5 gal
What temperature is your tank? 78 F
Does your tank have a filter? No
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No
Is your tank heated? No
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? None

What type of food do you feed your betta fish? blood worms (he ha not been eating at least since June 22nd.)
How often do you feed your betta fish? every second day

How often do you perform a water change? rarely (since he has been sick I change every day)
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? bettafix, aquarium salt

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

Nitrite: normal
Nitrate: high
pH: normal
Hardness: normal
Alkalinity: normal

(I fixed nitrates and now everything seems normal)

How has your betta fish's appearance changed? faded color, raised scales, heavy breathing

How has your betta fish's behavior changed? not eating, not swimming, lies on the bottom on his side
When did you start noticing the symptoms? about three weeks ago
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? betafix, daily water change, water testing
Does your fish have any history of being ill? no
How old is your fish (approximately)? 2 years old

currently he is in a bowl with about a pint of water. when I started changing water and taking care of water parameters, he got a little better, started swimming a little, so I moved him back to his aquarium (changed water completely, changed gravel, and plants) but there he got worse again.
 

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#7 ·
Take some of the water from his container in a cup and mix 1 teaspoon of epsom salt. Stir it until all of the salt has dissolved into the water. Adding a drop of Betta Revive to this mix will help. Add this slowly and gently back into his container.

Stop feeding blood worms for a while. Try pellets soaked in water.

Do 100% water changes everyday with treated aged (set out for a couple days) water. And don't forget the epsom salt mix above.

Do this religiously. Let us know how it goes.