[Mullberry]

Hey there, this is my first post on this site. I've seen some good advice being given out for sick bettas and I wanted to reach out for some guidance.

I’ve had this betta fish for about 8 months (technically been taking care of him for about 3 since he used to belong to another family member), and I just noticed a few days ago that he’s been hovering around at the top of his tank, and has seemingly been unable to swim down. He’s basically always at the top water level, either upright or floating on his side. He can swim down to a hiding area at the bottom of the tank, but if he comes out he floats right back up to the surface tail-end first like a balloon.

I had been feeding him once every other day for those last few months, then did some more research on betta feeding schedules and upped the feeding frequency to once a day just about a week ago. I truly could not tell you if these symptoms started after I increased the feeding frequency or not, I hadn’t noticed the behavior until just a couple days ago.

Water parameters are as follows:

Tank volume: 5 gallons
Temp: ~78.5
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrite: 0 mg/L
Nitrate: ~5 -10 mg/L (not 100% certain on this value since I’m using test strips)
pH: ~7.6 using API liquid test kit

I just did a 20% water change yesterday, got a lot of gunk out of the substrate from gravel vacuuming. Used water conditioner and 5 drops of pH reducer since our tap water has a pH of 7.6 or higher. Checked pH of treated water again before adding it to the tank, read about 7.2.

He’s otherwise eating well and not acting too abnormal other than the swimming issues. Ate a good amount of brine shrimp yesterday with no trouble. The general recommendation for possible SBD is to fast your fish for a few days, and then offer some foods that can help relieve possible constipation like peas or daphnia.

My other primary concern with him is that he looks really thin for a betta, which was why I had upped his feeding frequency, but of course now I'm worried that the increase in feeding could have caused the swim bladder problems. Would it still be safe to fast him for a few days and then feed some frozen daphnia? Or could his low body weight be the actual cause of the swimming problems?

His fins have also been looking a bit tattered recently too, as you'll most likely see in the photos I share below. The large tear in his tail fin just recently appeared. I'm planning on getting some aquarium salt later today to see if that helps clear that up too. I've also got ParaGuard on hand in case a more intensive medical treatment is required.


First photo: Left side. Floating behavior pictured. Large tear in tail fin.

Second photo: Right side. More tattered fins and swim bladder appears to be visible.

Third photo: Top down view. Body is noticeably thin and swim bladder appears to be protruding outward slightly. No evidence of pine coning seen.

 

[FernandoTheBetta]

Hello!
I am sorry your betta isn’t feeling well!
Even though you have answered a bit of questions, I ask that you fill out the following form:

PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING: Fill out this form so we can...

Many thanks to BF/TFK Member Mike for developing this questionnaire. It is the same form with a few additions. Please copy and paste into a new message and complete this form when seeking help for your Betta. This information and a clear photo posted directly into the thread will help us give...

www.bettafish.com

This said from prevents us from guessing answers (which in this forum, can be really bad!!).
Thanks!

 

[Mullberry]

Hey there, this is my first post on this site. I've seen some good advice being given out for sick bettas and I wanted to reach out for some guidance.

I’ve had this betta fish for about 8 months (technically been taking care of him for about 3 since he used to belong to another family member), and I just noticed a few days ago that he’s been hovering around at the top of his tank, and has seemingly been unable to swim down. He’s basically always at the top water level, either upright or floating on his side. He can swim down to a hiding area at the bottom of the tank, but if he comes out he floats right back up to the surface tail-end first like a balloon.

I had been feeding him once every other day for those last few months, then did some more research on betta feeding schedules and upped the feeding frequency to once a day just about a week ago. I truly could not tell you if these symptoms started after I increased the feeding frequency or not, I hadn’t noticed the behavior until just a couple days ago.

Water parameters are as follows:

Tank volume: 5 gallons
Temp: ~78.5
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrite: 0 mg/L
Nitrate: ~5 -10 mg/L (not 100% certain on this value since I’m using test strips)
pH: ~7.6 using API liquid test kit

I just did a 20% water change yesterday, got a lot of gunk out of the substrate from gravel vacuuming. Used water conditioner and 5 drops of pH reducer since our tap water has a pH of 7.6 or higher. Checked pH of treated water again before adding it to the tank, read about 7.2.

He’s otherwise eating well and not acting too abnormal other than the swimming issues. Ate a good amount of brine shrimp yesterday with no trouble. The general recommendation for possible SBD is to fast your fish for a few days, and then offer some foods that can help relieve possible constipation like peas or daphnia.

My other primary concern with him is that he looks really thin for a betta, which was why I had upped his feeding frequency, but of course now I'm worried that the increase in feeding could have caused the swim bladder problems. Would it still be safe to fast him for a few days and then feed some frozen daphnia? Or could his low body weight be the actual cause of the swimming problems?

His fins have also been looking a bit tattered recently too, as you'll most likely see in the photos I share below. The large tear in his tail fin just recently appeared. I'm planning on getting some aquarium salt later today to see if that helps clear that up too. I've also got ParaGuard on hand in case a more intensive medical treatment is required.


First photo: Left side. Floating behavior pictured. Large tear in tail fin.

View attachment 1051905


Second photo: Right side. More tattered fins and swim bladder appears to be visible.

View attachment 1051906


Third photo: Top down view. Body is noticeably thin and swim bladder appears to be protruding outward slightly. No evidence of pine coning seen.

View attachment 1051904

Replying with more info!


Housing:
Tank: 5 gallons
Filter: Yes. It uses Koller brand replacement cartridges.
Heater: Yes.
Temperature: Right around 78.5 F
Airstone/aeration: No airstone, but the filter has running water and produces a weak current of bubbles to help aerate the water.
Tank mates: One female nerite snail.

Food:
Brand: Diet primarily consists of Fluval Bug Bites flakes and Top Fin Betta Crumbles. About once a week he'll get either some freeze-dried bloodworms or frozen brine shrimp.
Flakes or pellets: Both.
Freeze-dried: Only the occasional freeze-dried bloodworms, which I soak in water before feeding.
Feeding frequency: I had been feeding him once every other day for a while, but after noticing how thin he appeared, I just started increasing his feeding to 3-5 flakes/pellets once a day, starting last week.

Maintenance:
Before your Betta became ill how often did you perform a water change?
Admittedly not as frequently as I should have been, about once a month. I'm now two weeks in to performing water changes once a week.

What percentage of water did you change?
20%, or about 1 gallon of water out of the 5 gallons total.

What is the source of your water?
Tap water that has been treated with water conditioner. The last change I did I added 5 drops of pH reducer, since our tap water's pH tends to be around 7.6 or higher.

Do you vacuum the substrate or just dip out water?
Vacuumed the substrate last water change, which was 2 days ago on 3/11/23.

What additives do you use other than conditioner? What brand of conditioner?
Both the conditioner and pH reducer are the Imagitarium brand. I just added 1 tablespoon of API aquarium salt to the water yesterday as well.

Water Parameters:
As of today, 3/13/23:

Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0 mg/l
Nitrate: ~5 mg/l
pH: 7.6
Hardness (GH): 0 mg/l
Alkalinity (KH): ~40 mg/l

Symptoms and Treatment:
When did you first notice the symptoms?
About one week ago.

How has your Betta’s appearance changed?
I've observed that he seemed underweight and a few holes started appearing in his fins, along with a large tear in his tail fin.

How has your Betta’s behavior changed?
He's been staying at the surface of his tank, will occasionally float on his side, and will gulp for air at the surface of the water. I know that bettas have an organ that allow them to inhale surface air, but I'm not sure how frequently they do it.

Is your Betta still eating?
Yes. He's had a good appetite the entire time he's been under my care. Just ate 5 betta crumble pellets today.

Have you started treating your Betta? If so, how?
I added 1 tablespoon of API aquarium salt to his tank yesterday. Any guidance on how much salt I can add or how long I should wait to see improvement would be greatly appreciated!

Does your Betta have any history of being ill?
My younger sibling who cared for him before I did ran a course of ParaGuard treatment on the tank about 7 months ago due to a concern about fin rot. From my understanding, he got better after about a week.

How long have you owned your Betta?
He's been under my care for about 3 months.

Was he or she ill or suffering some sort of damage when purchased?
No, not to my immediate knowledge.

 

[Mullberry]

Hello!
I am sorry your betta isn’t feeling well!
Even though you have answered a bit of questions, I ask that you fill out the following form:

PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING: Fill out this form so we can...

Many thanks to BF/TFK Member Mike for developing this questionnaire. It is the same form with a few additions. Please copy and paste into a new message and complete this form when seeking help for your Betta. This information and a clear photo posted directly into the thread will help us give...

www.bettafish.com

This said from prevents us from guessing answers (which in this forum, can be really bad!!).
Thanks!

That's completely understandable! More info is always better! I just replied to my original post with answers to the questions. Thanks!

 

[EDRVT]

Hello. The floating on his side and inability to stay down definitely sounds like swim bladder disease. To help with SBD, it is generally recommended to feed daphnia as a laxative. However, I would also recommend increasing your feeding by quite a bit. He does look very thin and I feed my adult males 4 pellets (Bug Bites or Omega One Crumbles) 3 times a day.

 

[Mullberry]

Hello. The floating on his side and inability to stay down definitely sounds like swim bladder disease. To help with SBD, it is generally recommended to feed daphnia as a laxative. However, I would also recommend increasing your feeding by quite a bit. He does look very thin and I feed my adult males 4 pellets (Bug Bites or Omega One Crumbles) 3 times a day.

That’s been my thinking as well, that he needs more food than what he’s been getting. Could I keep feeding him once a day for another week, then increase it to twice a day after that? I don’t want to overload his system too quickly with too much food in one go, if that’s something that can happen in fish.

 

[EDRVT]

Maybe do the same amount but split into more than one feeding and slowly increase the amount at each feeding.

 

[Mullberry]

Maybe do the same amount but split into more than one feeding and slowly increase the amount at each feeding.

Ooh that's a good idea. Thanks!

 

[BettaloverSara]

I agree that he is very thin and needs more nutrients. I would start feeding him 3x per day, at least four hours apart until he puts on some weight. Also the issue could be the PH down. Betta can handle a wide range of ph as long as it is stable. A sudden up or down can be quite dangerous.
I do not believe he has swim bladder, I think the above 2 things are what is making him weak.

 

[Mullberry]

Very good advice! Thank you! I gave him a couple extra flakes tonight, which he happily ate all in one go.

Also, in regards to how his fins look, could I add some paraguard to his tank if the aquarium salt doesn’t help? I just added a tablespoon of salt two days ago and am waiting to see if there’s any improvement. Thanks again!

 

[ghostking679]

If I overfeed my Betta at one time, he develops SBD. With warm water and reducing food he gets better. Feed him more, but stretch it out across the day.

 

[Mullberry]

Replying with more info!


Housing:
Tank: 5 gallons
Filter: Yes. It uses Koller brand replacement cartridges.
Heater: Yes.
Temperature: Right around 78.5 F
Airstone/aeration: No airstone, but the filter has running water and produces a weak current of bubbles to help aerate the water.
Tank mates: One female nerite snail.

Food:
Brand: Diet primarily consists of Fluval Bug Bites flakes and Top Fin Betta Crumbles. About once a week he'll get either some freeze-dried bloodworms or frozen brine shrimp.
Flakes or pellets: Both.
Freeze-dried: Only the occasional freeze-dried bloodworms, which I soak in water before feeding.
Feeding frequency: I had been feeding him once every other day for a while, but after noticing how thin he appeared, I just started increasing his feeding to 3-5 flakes/pellets once a day, starting last week.

Maintenance:
Before your Betta became ill how often did you perform a water change?
Admittedly not as frequently as I should have been, about once a month. I'm now two weeks in to performing water changes once a week.

What percentage of water did you change?
20%, or about 1 gallon of water out of the 5 gallons total.

What is the source of your water?
Tap water that has been treated with water conditioner. The last change I did I added 5 drops of pH reducer, since our tap water's pH tends to be around 7.6 or higher.

Do you vacuum the substrate or just dip out water?
Vacuumed the substrate last water change, which was 2 days ago on 3/11/23.

What additives do you use other than conditioner? What brand of conditioner?
Both the conditioner and pH reducer are the Imagitarium brand. I just added 1 tablespoon of API aquarium salt to the water yesterday as well.

Water Parameters:
As of today, 3/13/23:

Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0 mg/l
Nitrate: ~5 mg/l
pH: 7.6
Hardness (GH): 0 mg/l
Alkalinity (KH): ~40 mg/l

Symptoms and Treatment:
When did you first notice the symptoms?
About one week ago.

How has your Betta’s appearance changed?
I've observed that he seemed underweight and a few holes started appearing in his fins, along with a large tear in his tail fin.

How has your Betta’s behavior changed?
He's been staying at the surface of his tank, will occasionally float on his side, and will gulp for air at the surface of the water. I know that bettas have an organ that allow them to inhale surface air, but I'm not sure how frequently they do it.

Is your Betta still eating?
Yes. He's had a good appetite the entire time he's been under my care. Just ate 5 betta crumble pellets today.

Have you started treating your Betta? If so, how?
I added 1 tablespoon of API aquarium salt to his tank yesterday. Any guidance on how much salt I can add or how long I should wait to see improvement would be greatly appreciated!

Does your Betta have any history of being ill?
My younger sibling who cared for him before I did ran a course of ParaGuard treatment on the tank about 7 months ago due to a concern about fin rot. From my understanding, he got better after about a week.

How long have you owned your Betta?
He's been under my care for about 3 months.

Was he or she ill or suffering some sort of damage when purchased?
No, not to my immediate knowledge.

Update (3/18/23):

He’s still been floating on his side on occasion at the top of his tank, but his appetite has still been good. He’s been getting 4-5 pellets in the mornings and either flakes, bloodworms, or brine shrimp in the evenings. He doesn’t seem to have put on much weight from these photos, so I may increase the feeding to 3x daily as some users have suggested.

I introduced a moss-covered plastic log that sprouts little plants from Petco last week, and it’s just started sprouting. I also added some aquarium salt. Just did a 40% water change today and added back the salt that was lost.

My other concern at the moment is that he might be developing fin rot. I’ve seen some holes appear in his fins that haven’t gone away yet, and I’m thinking of starting a course of paraguard if they don’t start looking better by next week. Thank you all for the advice! It’s been a huge help and I’m crossing my fingers this little guy’s gonna be feeling better soon!

 

[BettaloverSara]

Very good advice! Thank you! I gave him a couple extra flakes tonight, which he happily ate all in one go.

Also, in regards to how his fins look, could I add some paraguard to his tank if the aquarium salt doesn’t help? I just added a tablespoon of salt two days ago and am waiting to see if there’s any improvement. Thanks again!

Why paraguard? He doesn't seem to be showing signs of a parasite. Personally, I wouldn't be adding any medications as he seems too weak to be able to handle them and other than being extremley thin, I don't see anything that suggests infection. He does not have fin rot.

Just like people, severely malnourished fish will be lethargic and may have trouble swimming and staying upright. If it were mine, I'd feed him every 4 hrs until he puts some weight on. I do not believe the aquarium salt is necessary at this time but this is just my opinion.

 

[Mullberry]

Why paraguard? He doesn't seem to be showing signs of a parasite. Personally, I wouldn't be adding any medications as he seems too weak to be able to handle them and other than being extremley thin, I don't see anything that suggests infection. He does not have fin rot.

Just like people, severely malnourished fish will be lethargic and may have trouble swimming and staying upright. If it were mine, I'd feed him every 4 hrs until he puts some weight on. I do not believe the aquarium salt is necessary at this time but this is just my opinion.

Hey there, I’m worried about fin rot because there are holes forming in his fins steadily over the past two weeks and I don’t want them to get worse. I had introduced some aquarium salt to his tank last week to see if it could help, but the holes are still forming. I could hold off on paraguard for a little while longer but I feel like I ought to try something before his fins get any worse.

Here’s a photo I took of him this evening. I circled the two largest holes in his fins:

 

[BettaloverSara]

Paraguard treats parasites, fin rot is not a parasite it’s a bacterial infection. Tossing the wrong med in the tank is far worse than doing nothing at all. I do not believe he has fin rot, however, even if he does it is not causing him to float on his side and any more medication may just kill him.
I have only ever had one fish with fin rot, that i inherited from my cousin that way. It took a while but I got rid of it with clean water and tannins. I would do the same with this guy and up his feedings to at least 3 times per day.

 

[Mullberry]

Paraguard treats parasites, fin rot is not a parasite it’s a bacterial infection. Tossing the wrong med in the tank is far worse than doing nothing at all. I do not believe he has fin rot, however, even if he does it is not causing him to float on his side and any more medication may just kill him.
I have only ever had one fish with fin rot, that i inherited from my cousin that way. It took a while but I got rid of it with clean water and tannins. I would do the same with this guy and up his feedings to at least 3 times per day.

I understand, I’ll hold off on the meds and get some tannins for him. Now that I’ve checked on him again, it’s very possible he might just be biting at his fins looking at the shape of the holes.