[tens00]

Louie....


Housing
What size is your tank? - about the size of a goldfish bowl
What temperature is your tank? room temperature
Does your tank have a filter? no
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? no
Is your tank heated? no
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? none

It contains gravel and we use the water conditioner (?) to get rid of the chlorine

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? top fin color enhancing betta bits - 2 pellets a day
How often do you feed your betta fish? 1 x a day

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? every 2-3 weeks
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? almost entire thing
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? the water conditioner stuff

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?
brought it to be tested yesterday. high in amonia. changed today. they checked how i do it and said i do it right.

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity:

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? yes - not as bright and fins seem floppy (or maybe I'm just noticing his fins now as he isn't as active)
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? YES A LOT - super active and excited to listless, not eating (as of tonight) and at the bottom of the tank a lot
When did you start noticing the symptoms? 1-2 days ago
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? not yet. I brought him to the store yesterday to see if he had fish rot. They said no. I called another place after tonight's tank change and they felt he could be aging out (we got him only a little over a year ago and he's been super healthy till now) or that the amonia in the water got him and he would be better in a few hours. Now that he won't eat (I removed the food), I am even more sure something is wrong
Does your fish have any history of being ill? I don't think so
How old is your fish (approximately)? we got him a little over a year ago from a pet store

I tried to take pictures but they came out terribly. I work full time and we are leaving for vacation in a few days (a friend is caring for our bettas - separate tanks). I am super worried about him and don't want him to suffer but would like even better if we could help him!

Thank you for any help you can provide!

 

[OMGemily]

im no expert but im assuming your bowl isnt more than a gallon, which is really too small for a betta, also it should be heated, and assuming your bowl is that small you should really be changing the water 100% every day i believe. im also pretty sure that you should probably be feeding him twice a day as i think they need more than just 2 pellets a day. the ammonia i imagine would have been quite high. theyre ideally not supposed to have any. thats mainly all i can offer though

 

[tens00]

im no expert but im assuming your bowl isnt more than a gallon, which is really too small for a betta, also it should be heated, and assuming your bowl is that small you should really be changing the water 100% every day i believe. im also pretty sure that you should probably be feeding him twice a day as i think they need more than just 2 pellets a day. the ammonia i imagine would have been quite high. theyre ideally not supposed to have any. thats mainly all i can offer though

Thank you for your response. I am still so surprised at the variety of information out there.

After all the research I did and people in pet stores I talked to, they all said all was good. It's so hard to know what is right. He has done great for over a year though that way, as has our other betta (in another tank). It's really crazy as I've heard so many varying types of information. It's hard to know who is right!!!

I think something made him sick, very sick, and suddenly. The ONLY thing I can think of is the ammonia. The woman in the store didn't seem all that concerned though. So, either she didn't know what she was talking about or it's something else. I guess it's very very hard to diagnose Betta illnesses without seeing them and with so many varied ways indicated as the best to take care of them. I'm so very sad right now as I don't see a good outcome. Louie has had a fantastic personality (my son's betta is a bit more shy). Me and my daughter will be very sad if we can't save him! :sob:

 

[OMGemily]

Thank you for your response. I am still so surprised at the variety of information out there.

After all the research I did and people in pet stores I talked to, they all said all was good. It's so hard to know what is right. He has done great for over a year though that way, as has our other betta (in another tank). It's really crazy as I've heard so many varying types of information. It's hard to know who is right!!!

I think something made him sick, very sick, and suddenly. The ONLY thing I can think of is the ammonia. The woman in the store didn't seem all that concerned though. So, either she didn't know what she was talking about or it's something else. I guess it's very very hard to diagnose Betta illnesses without seeing them and with so many varied ways indicated as the best to take care of them. I'm so very sad right now as I don't see a good outcome. Louie has had a fantastic personality (my son's betta is a bit more shy). Me and my daughter will be very sad if we can't save him! :sob:

after joining this forum ive learned not to trust anything the people at pet stores say, as its completely opposite to everything ive read on here. when i first got my betta and after i found this forum i just read as much as i could in the betta care section. i know how worried you must be, my first betta died after only 4 days im still not completely sure why... as for the living conditions they can sometimes survive in less than ideal ones but from what ive read here they prefer temperatures around the 80s and a general rule of thumb is 1 inch of fish per gallon. if you cant post a picture to the forums describing the fish usually helps a lot. has he changed other than what you listed above? is he having difficulty swimming? does he seem to be gasping for air? are his eyes cloudy? does he still react when you get close to the tank or slowly put your fingers on the tank near him? do you put the water conditioner in the water before adding it to the tank? do you take your fish out when changing the tank? if you only bought him a year ago it shouldnt be age. i think they generally live about 3-5 years, but it could very well have just been the ammonia

 

[tens00]

So sorry for the delay! Crazy day here. It's opposite everywhere I read and no matter who I talk to!

I will check on him when I get home from work. Last night he was bad but this morning he seemed SLIGHTLY better. Not sure if it was wishful thinking or what.

What I can tell you is that his eyes didn't look cloudy to me. It kind of seemed as if he may have been having difficulty swimming. He was swimming more vertically than normal. I couldn't see him gasping for air (thankfully!). We would have to physically move the tank to get him to react. BUT when I put his food in and my finger, he did come up but never ate. This morning he seemed to follow my finger like he usually does but not quite as perky.

I do put the conditioner in before adding it to the tank and do take him out when changing the water.

I'm hoping that I get home to a perkier Louie and it was the amonia. If not, I just don't know what to do next and don't have a lot of time due to various things this week and next.

 

[OMGemily]

Hmmm I'm sorry to say I can't be much help. I'm interested in hows he's doing though. I wish I could help but like i said I'm not experienced by any means

 

[Aus]

After all the research I did and people in pet stores I talked to, they all said all was good. It's so hard to know what is right. He has done great for over a year though that way, as has our other betta (in another tank). It's really crazy as I've heard so many varying types of information. It's hard to know who is right!!!

I'll bet a fifty it isn't the pet store people.

Seriously, don't listen to them. Yes, there's a few really good ones, but on the whole, they have no clue about bettas. If they keep thier bettas in tiny cups with no warmth, don't listen to them. If they spin you the "bettas like tiny spaces" story, don't listen to them.

You really do need a heater. Really.

Bettas are -tropical- not cold water fish. They like the high end of tropical, too, 78-80 F. Unless you live somewhere tropical, or close to it, you need a heater. Otherwise your fish will always be miserable, like you would be if you were made to live in Siberia without a coat or fireplace. Your fish will get sick a lot. Their immune systems don't work properly when they are cold all the time. They may not get sick right away, because they're tough - but they will. And with a poor immune system from being cold, they have a far less chance of recovery.

Bettas breathe air from the surface of the water. Where in other fish this is bad news, it's normal for bettas - they evolved an organ to breathe air with, due to living in sluggish, oxygen-poor waters in Thailand. So 'gasping' at the surface is natural. In fact, it would help your betta if you gave him some plants to float on, if he has trouble making it to the surface.

I'm not experienced with swim bladder problems, but sometimes sluggishness/not eating is because of issues with food and constipation. I'll leave it to the experienced folks to help with his illness, however. I hope your fish gets better soon.

 

[tens00]

Improvement in activity but still trouble - not eating

Thanks all. I appreciate the info about what bettas do well in, I really do. Right now my biggest concern is that our betta who has been thriving for over a year is sick. I don't mean to sound ungrateful at all and hope you do understand.

So, today, he seems slightly more active than yesterday. I put his food in the water and he came right up. But, he has been hanging around the food for maybe 5 -10 minutes or so and not eating it. It almost seems as if he wants it but doesn't if that makes any sense. However, he is spending time at the top of the tank and doesn't seem to be struggling like yesterday.

In addition to him being sick, my greatest concern is time. I have tonight or tomorrow night to do something. Thursday night I have to bring him to a friend's to watch him as we are leaving for vacation :shock:.

I took some pictures. They aren't great but maybe they will help.

Thank you in advance. Thank you for any help and understanding

 

[tens00]

Thought he ate but...

Gosh, I have tried everything. He FINALLY went for a pellet on my finger! We were all cheering. As I tried to feed him a second, I saw something floating in the water. I believe he spit it out. SIGH.

 

[Aus]

It won't hurt your betta for him to not eat for a day or two. They can go up to two weeks without food, if they have to. So don't panic.

He doesn't look horribly bloated, but I'm not experienced enough with swim bladder issues - I hope someone who is can chime in..

Sometimes it's constipation, in which case not eating is probably a good thing, and he'll be fine after a poo. It's important to look at how much he eats daily, what quality of food he gets, etc.

And - not being rude? - but running out to buy him a cheap little heater? That's only going to help him recover now that he's finally ceased the attempt to thrive in cold water.

 

[tens00]

Thank you so much Aus! I'm starting to be more hopeful. He is still hanging at the top of the tank, so I take that as a good sign. I will have to be sure to tell my friend who is watching him to remove any food he doesn't eat.

I read something to try to give him a small piece of the inside of a pea (after heating it quickly for 20 seconds and peeling it). That was a disaster because it sunk right to the bottom of the tank! I'll be changing his water again tomorrow.

And, you aren't being rude! I will definitely grab him a heater on my way home tomorrow night!

I hope that others have additional helpful information! I'd really like to have Louie around for a lot longer and SURELY do NOT want him suffering!

 

[Aus]

If he's in a small bowl, a little adjustable 25w mini-heater might be best, to avoid overheating him. I use a dymax 30w, and I hear the aqueon ones are also quite reliable.