[chanliteheart]

A gave Cobalt a 75% water change yesterday.
He was happy before the change, I even found a new bubblenest. But his ammonia was up to .25 so I had to do the change, happy or not. Everything was totally fine. BUT after the water change he completely freaked.
I KNOW I added the water conditioner. And I always get the water temp right before addding it.
ps- I am treating another betta for post-ich fin rot. While not likely, there's always the tiniest chance of cross-contamination.

Should I do a 100% water change and hot-rinse the gravel, etc?

What size is your tank? 2 gal
What temperature is your tank? 79
Does your tank have a filter? no
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? no
Is your tank heated? yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? no

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? pellets daily, blood worms 1x a week
How often do you feed your betta fish? 2x a day, 2 pellets each feeding

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? 1-2x a week
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 50% once, 100% once
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? zoomed betta water conditioner (normally i add prime but i have these samples i want to use up.)

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

Ammonia: nearly 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
pH:
Hardness: idk
Alkalinity: idk

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? clamped fins
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? darting wildly and resting halfway OUT of the water on the heater cord clamp
When did you start noticing the symptoms? last night
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? no, that's why i'm here
Does your fish have any history of being ill? no
How old is your fish (approximately)? idk, he's about 1 3/4 inches long w/o fins

 

[sparkyjoe]

I am in no way an expert, but if my fish reacted that way after using a new water conditioner I might be inclined to change out the water and use his normal conditioner this time.

Sorry I can't give you more info but I'm fairly new to this myself.

You did mention the possibility of cross contamination with your other fish who had ich and is now being treated for fin rot. When the more knowledgeable folks try to help they may want to know how that fish is being treated?

Good luck with the little guy!

 

[ravenwinds]

I say definitely do another water change and use Prime (your normal one?)...
If that doesn't improve him...maybe up temp to 82 degrees, slowly so not to shock him and maybe add 1tsp per gallon of aquarium salt...this is usually standard first try treatment for ich...due to possible cross contamination...see Darkmoons sticky at beginning of betta illness section on this forum...

 

[earthworm88]

My gut instinct tells me that it is likely something in the water that triggered his change of behavior. I would immediately do a 100% water change with gravel clean and use your regular prime conditioner. Forget about the samples. In the worst case scenario where cross contamination may have occurred, which I strongly doubt, pristine water should be the first line of defense. I wouldn't treat with salt unless I see the tell tale signs of Ich.

Good luck!

 

[chanliteheart]

after i posted this i decided to do a 100% wc and rinse the gravel, etc. he's still unhappy.

i don't believe he ever got ich. the community tank went through a bad case and we finally (i hope) conquered it. but Saphire, the betta that was in the community tank, developed fin rot as a result. Cobalt never had any dealing with that tank and i was very careful about cross-contamination b/c of the ich. this is the first time he's looking sick.

i did see that the tiniest bit of Cobalt's top fin looked funny, maybe the very beginning of fin rot. (i'm treating his brother Saphire with tetracycline. Saphire just got the first dose last night. we also bought pimafix just in case.)

ps- i did put his regular water conditioner in when i did the water change. it's actually stress coat. (prime is for the community tank.)

 

[ravenwinds]

Be careful w/ pimafix...I know metafix and bettafix are not suggested for bettas because they have been known to kill bettas (yes, we know bettafix is "manufactured" for bettas)...check the top of illness section page...it might have further warning against pimafix or an ok w/ dose...I'll check too.
I know earthworm suggested not to use aquarium salt but many members have had good results w/it and it is less invasive and more general than an antibiotic...just a suggestion; I like to do the least invasive first. Darkmoon's stickies on treatment of betta illnesses might help you narrow things down...they're at the top of illness section list of threads...

 

[chanliteheart]

@ravenwinds, thank you for the heads up about pimafix! i tried to get fungus eliminator (or another good one) but all the chain pet store had was pimafix. i'm so glad i didn't use it. i've been reading darkmoon's stickied threads when i get time. but after your post, i sat down with a notebook and took serious notes about good and bad medications.

it never occured to me that water conditioners were that different. but yes, samples in the trash. thank you for the input, everyone.

i can't do more salt right now: i just finished a 10 day treatment for ich on all 3 tanks (just in case.) only the community tank had ich but i just wasn't 100% positive i hadn't shared tools before i noticed the ich.

i prefer the least invasive route myself but since i just did a salt treatment... whatever is bothering him is either brand new or wasn't cleared up with salt.

 

[earthworm88]

I agree to avoid all meds end with "-fix" if possible, or read the ingredients to see if they contain tea tree oil which is the main culprit that is bad for their labyrinth organs. Because they are better alternatives out there, so these '-fixes" should be left alone, just to be safe than sorry

I know earthworm suggested not to use aquarium salt but many members have had good results w/it and it is less invasive and more general than an antibiotic...just a suggestion; I like to do the least invasive first. Darkmoon's stickies on treatment of betta illnesses might help you narrow things down...they're at the top of illness section list of threads...

I have no problems using aquarium salt at all which is probably my best friend since I don't have access to all the good meds out there. However, in this specific situation where the problem only occurred after a water change and a change of conditioner, the only thing that needed rectified immediately would be those two and hope that the betta will recover. For me, the least invasive treatment is not salt, but pristine water condition. I will only treat with salt if there is a specific condition and signs that I can see and I know salt can treat. JM2C :-D