[freeflow246]

I made a thread about this a little over 24 hours ago, but I didn't get any replies and now that his condition is deteriorating I'm starting to freak out.

Housing
What size is your tank? - fell ill in a 2.5 gal, now in a 1 gal QT tank
What temperature is your tank? - 80
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? - none

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? - NLS pellets and frozen bloodworms
How often do you feed your betta fish? - twice a day, once a week fast for 1 -2 days

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? - at least once weekly, often twice weekly
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? - 100% and 50%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? - dechlorinator and a teeny bit of slime coat

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

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? - one of his eyes has gone a bit cloudy
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? - he sinks to the bottom and lists to one side, and when he tries to swim he twirls around like a torpedo
When did you start noticing the symptoms? - almost two days ago
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? - I put him in a 1 gal QT tank with 1 tsp of epsom salt and fasted him starting yesterday morning. He went from merely sinking to twirling so I added Jungle Fungus Clear since it claims to help SBD.
Does your fish have any history of being ill? - no
How old is your fish (approximately)? - almost a year

This morning, he pooped and it was a normal color and consistency. His SBD persists, so not constipation. He is almost completely unable to control the direction he swims in, so when he needs air he twirls all over the place until he is able to get to the surface. By this morning, he was almost too exhausted to get to the surface, so I cupped him and let him float in his tank. I also fed him two bloodworms, since it's not constipation, and he ate but slowly and reluctantly.

All I can guess is that this is an internal bacterial infection. A few days before the symptoms appeared, the AC in our house went nuts and brought our house down to 62 F. He has a heater in his bowl, but it's not adjustable and a fairly cheap model tbh and it allowed his tank to get to 67. I'm stunned he survived because he was at that temp for almost 8 hours. It's very possible that his immune system was lowered by that temperature dip.

I bought TC Tetracycline but I haven't added it yet. I'm planning on doing it later tonight unless he suddenly improves. Any advice? I'm considering dusting a bloodworm with garlic powder next time I feed him. If he doesn't improve in the next few days I'm going to euthanize him. Breathing and eating is a struggle for him and I can tell he's stressed and unhappy.

 

[lilnaugrim]

Can you get a video of him? Most likely this is not a life long case of SBD where the fish is deformed (Double Tails) but rather an infection to the swim bladder which can simply be treated with antibiotics like Maracyn I & II, KanaPlex, or Tetracycline.

Regardless of which type, Bloodworms aren't going to help him since they do tend to cause swim bladder issues, it's not directly making him have this but it certainly isn't helping him since most likely his bladder is enlarged with the infection, the worms could create a blockage if everything is swollen and thus becoming constipated related as well.

You can use the Tetracycline now.

 

[VivianKJean]

Can you get a video of him? Most likely this is not a life long case of SBD where the fish is deformed (Double Tails) but rather an infection to the swim bladder which can simply be treated with antibiotics like Maracyn I & II, KanaPlex, or Tetracycline.

Regardless of which type, Bloodworms aren't going to help him since they do tend to cause swim bladder issues, it's not directly making him have this but it certainly isn't helping him since most likely his bladder is enlarged with the infection, the worms could create a blockage if everything is swollen and thus becoming constipated related as well.

You can use the Tetracycline now.

yep. agree with what has been said above

 

[freeflow246]

Alright, I'll get it dissolving in another container now. He's looking a bit peppier after eating, but I'll avoid bloodworms for not.

Should I discontinue the epsom salt and Jungle Fungus Clear? Each pack of the Tetracycline treats 10 gallons, and since I have him in a 1 gal I was going to fill a container with 10 cups of water, dissolve the pack in there, and scoop out one cup of water to add to the 1 gal container. Is there a better way to do that?

 

[lilnaugrim]

You can do that, just make sure to use only roughly 5 teaspoons of that 1 cup. 1 Cup divided by 10 is .1 and then there are 4.8 teaspoons in that. That way you dose him fairly properly.

You can continue the Epsoms salt if he is bloated in any shape, if he isn't then there is no need to continue the ES. Definitely take him off the Jungle Fungus Clear.

 

[freeflow246]

But if 1 packet treats 10 gallons, and I empty the whole packet into 10 cups, then isn't 1 cup enough to dose 1 gallon?

Or am I being totally dumb. Math is not my thing.

 

[freeflow246]

I have him in the meds. I have him in a cup floating in his tank because the way his SBD affects his equilibrium, he has a lot of trouble reaching the surface. Every couple hours I fill the cup with new water from the tank. Hopefully he will have improved by tomorrow morning. He's a pistol.

 

[beautiful Betta]

Could you not have just tipped the powder on a plate and separated it into 10 equal piles, might have been easier.

I hope he makes a recovery.

 

[freeflow246]

The powder is just over half a teaspoon, so separating an amount that small into 10 equal piles proved to be a bit difficult.

 

[beautiful Betta]

Ah I see. Sorry I didn't realise. Fingers crossed for him.

 

[freeflow246]

No problem! He's a tough cookie so if there's a chance he's got it.

 

[lilnaugrim]

It would have been 1.6 cups if you were to empty the packet for 10 gallons into 1 gallons. If you empty 10 gallons work into 1 cup, there are 48 teaspoons in a cup, divide that by 10 to get the amount for 1 gallon which is 4.8 teaspoons to dose for 1 gallon. Does that help you?

 

[freeflow246]

Yea that does! I had been planning to empty the packet into 10 cups, but emptying it into just one cup is a lot easier. So I went ahead and did what you said last night.

He's still alive as of an hour ago. Kind of blah and listless but still breathing.

 

[lilnaugrim]

Oooh okay, I see what you were going to do but yeah, my way at least you don't have to measure the packet out and so therefore it will mix better and more evenly. Just stir up the water when you go to dose him again later.

Can you get photos and/or a video of him? I would like to see if there might be something possibly external or internal that we might have missed since it's very possible he has a secondary infection from his immune system being compromised. The more pictures and angles you can get the better idea we can have to help you help him.

 

[freeflow246]

Here's a picture of him from the top, and a video of him spinning. I had to tilt his cup a bit to get him to move, and he still wasn't being very cooperative. But when he tries to get to the surface, he spins around a lot faster and multiple times. His eyes look a bit funky to me, but this medication claims to treat popeye and cloudy eye as well, so should I just stick with the Tetracycline plan?

Video:
View My Video


Also, the wording on the medication is a bit weird, so let me make sure I understand this. I dose the tank, wait 24 hrs, and dose it again. Wait another 24 hrs, and do a 25% water change. Then start at the beginning for a total of four doses. Right?

 

[lilnaugrim]

Well his eyes look large because he's severely emaciated as well! His swimming looks fine in the video but he doesn't have a lot of water in that cup so I can't really judge that well.

And yes, you will dose his tank daily. However since he's only in a 1 gallon or at least in 1 gallon of water, you can change his tank every other day still to keep him fresh. So;

Day 1: Dose
Day 2: Dose
Day 3: Full water change and replace the last two doses along with one additional dose to keep the concentration the same as if you weren't doing a water change.
Day 4: Dose
Day 5: if needed start another round.
And so on and so fourth. Just make sure to "reset" every 4 days as it says.

 

[freeflow246]

He looks pretty bad in the photo and video but I assure you that he doesn't look that bad in real life. He gets fed twice a day 6 days a week, sometimes 3 times since he's still growing. But he has definitely lost weight these past few days. And thank you for the clarification on the dosage.

 

[freeflow246]

Also, the twirling he does in the video is what I'm talking about. He rolls over and over like that even in several inches of water and sinks to the bottom. I've done some googling and apparently SBD can manifest in this way, but it's not often seen in betta fish. Bettas usually float or sink, not roll. Pebbles is sinking and rolling. I've been keeping him in a cup floating the the hospital tank because it's so hard for him to get to the surface and I can't bear the thought of him drowning. Every two hours or so I get new water in the cup from the QT tank.

I'll be adding the second dosage late tonight. So far he's no better but no worse, and still interested in food as long as I put it right by his face. But he barely has enough energy to eat.

 

[lilnaugrim]

Alright, well just keep him as he is then and just pray the meds work for him. Keep us updated on his situation.

 

[freeflow246]

I just checked on him and his eyes are definitely popping out more. I tried to take a picture but it isn't showing up well. Should I get him back on the epsom salt? In addition?