[Erin908]

Dr.Gomez is acting very strange. His fins are ripped even though I checked the tank about a hundred times and found nothing that he could hurt himself on. He is living in a 1.5 gallon with two ghost shrimp and is bloated and refuses to unclamp his fins. Could it be that the shrimp are responsible for his ripped fins? Or is he doing this to himself? I tested the water and everything is fine. Does anyone have any suggestions? Should I move him to a hospital tank? Etc. Any help would be great.

 

[Luimeril]

i've heard of ghost shrimp munching away at bettas' fins.... have you seen the shrimp? he could have eaten one. x:

also, imo, your tank is a bit overstocked. 1.5 is just big enough for one betta, nothing else. he could be feeling bad because of that.

 

[Bladezero]

A picture would be great, bloating can be solved with epsom salt and fasting for few days but only if its from over feeding or constipation..

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)?

Try to answer a many as you can to help diagnose him

 

[Luimeril]

8I i always just fast first, in case he just overate or ate a tank mate(never happened with me, since my bettas all live alone), then go to the treatment. but, that's just me. :V

 

[Erin908]

A picture would be great, bloating can be solved with epsom salt and fasting for few days but only if its from over feeding or constipation..

Housing
What size is your tank? 1.5 gallons
What temperature is your tank? 80 F
Does your tank have a filter? yes
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? yes, filter
Is your tank heated? yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? 2 ghost shrimp

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? hikari betta gold
How often do you feed your betta fish? once a day

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? once a week
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 25%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? conditioner, very little salt

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

Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: ?
pH: 7.2
Hardness: 120
Alkalinity: ?

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? clamped fins, bloating
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? seems more stressed
When did you start noticing the symptoms? yesterday
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? no
Does your fish have any history of being ill? no
How old is your fish (approximately)? 6 months

Try to answer a many as you can to help diagnose him

Hope this helps...

 

[Luimeril]

well, first thing i see is, with two shrimp added, you should be doing more than once a week water changes. in a tank that small, twice a week is minimum for water changes, even with a filter...

 

[Erin908]

I'm putting him in a hospital tank...just saw some reddening in his fins. Any suggestions for medications I should use?

 

[Luimeril]

none. :I just keep him warm, fast him for a few days. if he doesn't unclamp and go down in size, treat him with some Epsom salt.

 

[Erin908]

OK, Thank you SO much!

 

[Luimeril]

no problem! :V ripped fins are something i'm pro at(i have had two tail biters and an overagressive flare monster, so.... lol), an bloat is something i'm not pro at, but usually fasting helps if it's something simple. give him a few days, see if he goes down any. keep the QT tank bare bottom, and check for little poos, to see if he's constipated.

 

[Erin908]

Ok, I will. He's in a little 1 gallon bowl with a heater. He's not moving at all. Should I be worried?

 

[Bladezero]

Still bloated?
Does he react to your finger or what you use to show him its feeding time?

 

[Erin908]

He is still quite bloated. And he is not reacting to his food time cues at all. He's not dead, I wiggled my finger in his tank and he spazzed out. But that's it.