My poor betta is sick! What's wrong!

907 Views 11 Replies 4 Participants Last post by Bikeridinguckgirl14, Oct 14, 2014

quiche223

Discussion Starter · Oct 12, 2014

My betta fish has been sick for about a week and a half now. He seems very bottom-heavy and lays on his side a lot. His gills are also VERY red and inflamed but it can't be ammonia or nitrate poisoning because I took a sample of his water into the pet store and they tested it for me and it came back fine. He comes up to the surface for food and air but it seems very hard for him to swim up. His head and upper portion of his body are bigger than normal too and it seems like it's hard for him to breath. I've also never seen him poop?? His tank is 1 gallon, he has a filter and a heater, I do a 25% water change every 3-4 days and I clean his tank every 1 1/2-2 weeks. I feed him 3 Aqueon color enhancing pellets in the morning and 1-2 bloodworms at night. For the past few days I've given him a quarter of a pea at night but that doesn't seem to help. I tried giving him a MARINELAND all-in-one remedy that treats parasitic problems and infections for 5 days but he hadn't improved either. Please, please help if you can! I love my betta so much and I just want him to feel better!

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Bikeridinguckgirl14

· #2 · Oct 12, 2014

You need to be doing more water changes! Like 50%daily at least. Pet stores sell betta in 8.0 ammonia when even .25 is dangerous, so their definition of ok is usually not ok. Also bettas shouldn't eat peas, only goldfish should. Peas will cause constipation, so don't feed him for a week please I beg you
Treatment: daily 100% water changes with 1tsp/g Epsom salt for 5-10 days then 75%daily water changes for the rest of his life. Small tanks are a lot more work than big tanks, so maybe invest in a 2.5-5g tank for less maintainance

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quiche223

Discussion Starter · #3 · Oct 12, 2014 (Edited)

Thank you!

Thank you, Sayla! I'll definately start changing his water everyday and I'll fast him for a little bit too. How does using the Epsom salt work and what does it help? Thanks!

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Bikeridinguckgirl14

· #4 · Oct 12, 2014

Epsom salt "draws stuff out" of the body. So if you have painful feet soak them in Epsom salt water for an hour and the salt will draw toxins out of your skin and make them soft. Same principal, the salt draws poisons and excess fluids out of your betta. For some reason this helps the swim bladder a lot, drawing fluids and poisons from it, and it reduces swelling. To add it just dissolve it in tank water, keep me updated on him ok?

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atomiczombie757

· #5 · Oct 12, 2014

need some help from you guys,
My tank has......NEMATODES
how do i get rid of these guys? are they harmful or is it ok for a betta?

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Bikeridinguckgirl14

· #6 · Oct 12, 2014

^next time start yor own thread please. And look here http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=46230

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atomiczombie757

· #7 · Oct 12, 2014

sorry im new to this

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Bikeridinguckgirl14

· #8 · Oct 12, 2014

No problem. To make a new thread go to the section you want and you'll see a start new thread button.

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quiche223

Discussion Starter · #9 · Oct 12, 2014

Thanks, Sayla, I'll definately keep you updated! I'll try the Epsom salt, hopefully that'll help him get better. I just feel so bad for him, he wants to swim around and come to the surface when I greet him, but its so hard on him. Anyways thanks for the advice and fingers crossed he gets better!

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quiche223

Discussion Starter · #10 · Oct 14, 2014

So everyday I've been changing all of his water and yesterday I gave him an Epsom salt bath. I fasted him 3 days but his bloating hasn't gone down. I also noticed that his scales have raised up and are sort of ruffled and each scale has a little silver lining on the raised part. His eyes have also turned a darker color. I have no clue what's wrong, nothing seems to be working

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TerriGtoo

· #11 · Oct 14, 2014

quiche223 said:
So everyday I've been changing all of his water and yesterday I gave him an Epsom salt bath. I fasted him 3 days but his bloating hasn't gone down. I also noticed that his scales have raised up and are sort of ruffled and each scale has a little silver lining on the raised part. His eyes have also turned a darker color. I have no clue what's wrong, nothing seems to be working

It sounds like a case an advanced case of dropsy. Can you post pictures?
With an advanced case there is not much that can be done.

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Bikeridinguckgirl14

· #12 · Oct 14, 2014

Agreed, a pic is necessary here

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