Doktor Mabuse had some fin rot for the past week. Starting on Friday, I've been treating him with aquarium salts (I used BattaFix before, but I am displeased with the results and some things I've learned since). I left for work today, and when I returned a slightly transparent section of his fin has completely melted away, and his body is starting to deteriorate too. I just checked him, and it seems that one of his eyes is enlarged. I'm freaking out. I love my fishie. Here are my answers:
Housing
What size is your tank? 2.6-3 gallons, a fairly recent change. Before it was a 2 gallon, given that is was completely full of water and nothing else.
What temperature is your tank? currently 78 degrees F
Does your tank have a filter? Yes
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No
Is your tank heated? Ambient temperature is high enough that I've had it off for a few days
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? There were three cherry shrimp, but they moved out when I started to treat him
Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Omega One Betta Buffet
How often do you feed your betta fish? A few pellets twice a day
Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? Generally, I've been going by one or two partials during week, and at the end a full water change. He fasts on Saturdays and gets a freeze dried bloodworm treat after the full change on Sundays.
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? If it's a partial, it tends to be about 50%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Water conditioner for Bettas made by tetra, and sometimes a couple of drops of Seachem's Prime
Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?
Ammonia: .25 ppm, which is higher than usual
Nitrite: .25 ppm, also higher than usual
Nitrate: between 0 and 5 ppm, higher than usual.
pH: 8.2 (don't freak out, it's always that high. Houston has liquid metal, not water)
Hardness: My water testing kit doesn't measure this or the below.
Alkalinity:
Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? Please see above.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? He constantly hides from me, unless I turn on the light or turn off the filter. He used to come to the glass to make fun of me, or whatever was going on in his fishie super brain.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? Please see above.
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? BettaFix for 3 or so days, aquarium salts since Friday evening.
Does your fish have any history of being ill? The only other time he looked ill, it turns out he was tearing up his own fins on the gravel because he was trying to dig in it all the time. As soon as I put sand in his tank instead, that cleared up, as well as all of his signs of stress. Probably because he wan't tearing his limbs apart anymore.
How old is your fish (approximately)? I'd guess 8-9 months. He's too young to die.
Please, please help. I love my Doktor fish. If he dies, I don't think I'll be able to adopt any more Bettas. I can't seem to keep them alive, so I can't buy more just to kill it.
