This forum has helped me many times in the past with my ('new') betta (I've actually had him almost 2 years at this point, but he's my 1st betta & I still feel new at this). For the past 18 months *peaches* has been happy, healthy, & comfortable in a 2.5 gallon tank (with heater & filter, & plenty of real plants).
I have done various amounts of water changes (& gravel/tank cleaning, depending on the amount of 'dirt' in the aquarium) over the course of the time I've had him - always testing the water. He has never seemed to be too stressed with this......until about 2 weeks ago.
At that time I did a thorough cleaning, making sure I added in about 1/2 gallon of *old/cycled* water. Since then, he has been listless, lethargic, & has had no appetite; he lays on the bottom of the tank (occasionally he'll swim to the top of the heater or a plant leaf & lay there), only coming up for air once in a while. He seems to *gasp* a little, but there are no streaks & no other signs of ammonia poisoning (no streaking, no discolouration outside of being just a *little bit* paler than usual).
At any rate....I've tested the water over & over, & all have seemed to be normal. However, I did not know until today that the testing kit does NOT test for ammonia (only nitrate & nitrite derivatives). I immediately went to the pet store & got an ammonia test kit, as well as Prime & a pH reducer (on the advise of the 'fish expert' -- just in case).
According to the test strip, there is 1.0 mg/L of ammonia, (so now I'm going on the assumption that it is, indeed, ammonia poisoning), & I carefully measured out an appropriate amount of Prime & pH reducer about 4 hours ago, in the hopes that it wasn't too late.
My question: if this is indeed an ammonia poisoning, any idea as to about how long b/f I notice if peaches will recover? (I don't know if he WILL recover; it may be too late, but how long does the treatment need to start working & take effect?) I know 4 hours is probably not enough time, & I'm trying not to worry too much, but it's a bit difficult. :-(
Don't know if any of this is important, but....
* when I first noticed his lethargy, I gave a couple days thinking he might have been stressed from the cleaning this time, so I continued with regular feedings for a few days (small amount each morning - he did not eat)
* after a few days I stopped feeding, thinking he may be constipated. No change.
* after about 2 days of not feeding, I tried a small, peeled pea. He was not interested.
* thinking I may be dealing with a bacterial infection I added a full-spectrum antibiotic to the water for 3 days (with filter off). Again, no change.
* I continued with 1/4 - 1/2 water changes every other day or so, plus, added a little salt every now & then.
* I did try feeding once the other morning, but again he wasn't interested (I removed the food after about 10 minutes). Yesterday, however, I discovered that my well-meaning visiting nephew fed him (I don't know how much) while I was away at work; there was food floating at the top & I don't know how long it was there, but I removed it immediately.
I'm not sure what additional information I can give you, but as I said, I did not know that testing for ammonia came separate from the usual testing kit & a good deal of the last 2 weeks has been 'guess' work.
I know he's a hearty little fellow, as he has survived a few bouts of fin rot, single cell algae, as well as once jumping from his bowl when I cleaned the tank (I found him on the floor while I was waiting for the water to heat up; he might've been on the floor for 5 or 10 minutes b/f being 'rescued'). I'm just hoping I'm not too late this time.
Is there anything else I should be doing????
The advice I've gotten on this forum in the past has been a blessing, so any advice given will surely be heeded.
Thanks to all!
~p
I have done various amounts of water changes (& gravel/tank cleaning, depending on the amount of 'dirt' in the aquarium) over the course of the time I've had him - always testing the water. He has never seemed to be too stressed with this......until about 2 weeks ago.
At that time I did a thorough cleaning, making sure I added in about 1/2 gallon of *old/cycled* water. Since then, he has been listless, lethargic, & has had no appetite; he lays on the bottom of the tank (occasionally he'll swim to the top of the heater or a plant leaf & lay there), only coming up for air once in a while. He seems to *gasp* a little, but there are no streaks & no other signs of ammonia poisoning (no streaking, no discolouration outside of being just a *little bit* paler than usual).
At any rate....I've tested the water over & over, & all have seemed to be normal. However, I did not know until today that the testing kit does NOT test for ammonia (only nitrate & nitrite derivatives). I immediately went to the pet store & got an ammonia test kit, as well as Prime & a pH reducer (on the advise of the 'fish expert' -- just in case).
According to the test strip, there is 1.0 mg/L of ammonia, (so now I'm going on the assumption that it is, indeed, ammonia poisoning), & I carefully measured out an appropriate amount of Prime & pH reducer about 4 hours ago, in the hopes that it wasn't too late.
My question: if this is indeed an ammonia poisoning, any idea as to about how long b/f I notice if peaches will recover? (I don't know if he WILL recover; it may be too late, but how long does the treatment need to start working & take effect?) I know 4 hours is probably not enough time, & I'm trying not to worry too much, but it's a bit difficult. :-(
Don't know if any of this is important, but....
* when I first noticed his lethargy, I gave a couple days thinking he might have been stressed from the cleaning this time, so I continued with regular feedings for a few days (small amount each morning - he did not eat)
* after a few days I stopped feeding, thinking he may be constipated. No change.
* after about 2 days of not feeding, I tried a small, peeled pea. He was not interested.
* thinking I may be dealing with a bacterial infection I added a full-spectrum antibiotic to the water for 3 days (with filter off). Again, no change.
* I continued with 1/4 - 1/2 water changes every other day or so, plus, added a little salt every now & then.
* I did try feeding once the other morning, but again he wasn't interested (I removed the food after about 10 minutes). Yesterday, however, I discovered that my well-meaning visiting nephew fed him (I don't know how much) while I was away at work; there was food floating at the top & I don't know how long it was there, but I removed it immediately.
I'm not sure what additional information I can give you, but as I said, I did not know that testing for ammonia came separate from the usual testing kit & a good deal of the last 2 weeks has been 'guess' work.
I know he's a hearty little fellow, as he has survived a few bouts of fin rot, single cell algae, as well as once jumping from his bowl when I cleaned the tank (I found him on the floor while I was waiting for the water to heat up; he might've been on the floor for 5 or 10 minutes b/f being 'rescued'). I'm just hoping I'm not too late this time.
Is there anything else I should be doing????
The advice I've gotten on this forum in the past has been a blessing, so any advice given will surely be heeded.
Thanks to all!
~p
