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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.
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.