[afessler]

I am in the Navy and my ship just recently got back from deployment to the middle east. While we were gone one of my shipmates had a civilian friend watching her house.
When we got back we found a Betta fish in her bathroom in disgusting water. Murky, algae looking slimy crap that smelled terrible. It was bad. My friend is terrified of fish so I offered to take the fish. He's a little red thing that starts out black and fades to his fins. I've named him King Neptune.
His fins have always drooped and he never flares them I guess is the term. There are shiny scales around his head, specifically the underside of the mouth and on the gills and recently I've noticed that there seems to be a clear film coming off of him.
I'm very new to the aquarium keeper business and while I love animals of all kinds and don't want to see them suffer I'm wondering if I've gotten in over my head. I've been reading about the different diseases that Betta seem prone to and am wondering if I should be concerned about King Neptune.
He was a little lethargic when I first got him to my room, but since turning on a light next to his tank that produces heat he has livened up. Heater has been purchased and should be arriving within the week.
No issues with eating food... except I might be feeding him too much... I try for four to five pellets twice a day... and a few more when I get off of duty and a feeding has been missed. IE: instead of four or five its six or seven. In fact my little Neptune seems to beg for food swimming about the tank quickly when ever I approach it.
No noticeable scratching or rubbing against the fake plant life.
He does lounge on top of the betta hammock suction cup though, but that could just be a peculiarity.

I'm going to try and upload a picture, the little white dots are air bubbles on the side of the bowl not actually on Neptune if it loads.

If anyone can shed some light I'd be thankful, I'd like to keep Neptune alive if at all possible...

 

[Leeniex]

How sweet of you to take him in! A heater is great, but how big is his tank? I would get at the minimum, a 1-2 gallon. With that, a heater, and frequent water changes he should do great. Make sure to buy conditioner for the water too.

 

[afessler]

He's in a bowl there, I was changing the water when I took the picture. He doesn't like my camera so it's hard to get pictures where he's a not a blur. My tank is a 1 gl tank. I know I have to keep him warmer then my room temp. 62 degrees is great for life in hawaii but not so good for little tropical fish.
I'm really hoping that there is nothing wrong with his fins. Everything I've read says they shouldn't droop.
Thanks for the quick reply.

 

[Gen2387]

First of all, kudos for taking him in! :-D
Since your little guy is a Veil Tail it's normal for his fins to drop a little when he's at rest like that.
With a little TLC I'm sure he'll perk right up. Make sure to keep him in clean, warm water. If you have a 1 gallon, I suggest a 50% and a 100% water chance every week at least(someone correct me if i'm wrong). Ammonia builds up fast in small tanks.
Also the heater and thermometer are VERY important as they are tropical fish and need to be in water between 76 and 80 preferably.
Water conditioner is also a MUST.
I would also suggest testing your water. You can bring a sample at the local petstore or fishstore and they'll test it for you if you don't have the kit at home.
Make sure he as a little hiding place in his tank to help him relax if he's stressed and a silk plant if you till have space.
As for food: I recommend 3 to 4 pellets twice a day. But you can adjust depending on the size of your fish and his age. His stomach is about as big as his eye.

Good luck!

 

[callistra]

I would cut back on feeding a lot. Feed no more than 2 pellets in a feeding and feed twice a day with one fast day a week. Also make sure to invest in a good protein based pellet. Omega One Betta Buffet (feed the 3-4 a day) or New Life Spectrum Betta (feed 6-8 a day and 3-4 in a feeding as they're a lot smaller) are good feeds. NLS is easy to find at petsmart or petco. Omega One may be harder to find but it's a common feed as well.

Getting a couple silk (not plastic plants) and a little cave or like to hide in will really help him.

Do his scales appear to stick out at all? From the photo I cannot tell but based on the quality of shot he looks almost dropsy on my computer..He also appears to be sprinkled in white salt like dots?

Get him into something 2.5g + with a good adjustable heater like a Marineland Visitherm, Hydor Theo 25w and he should be good with twice a week water changes. Get a cheap in tank thermometer and find out what exactly the temp is. Set the heater several degrees below what the ambient water temp is. Then slowly click the heater up one degree until it comes on. From there up the temp one to two degrees an hour until he's in the 78-79 degree range.

Also as noted above make sure he gets some dechlorinator in the water. Prime is cheap and really effective. API Stress Coat is a good one too.

 

[afessler]

For declorinator I have aqua safe plus. The little white dots are air bubbles. His scales do not stick out, they are smooth to his body. And food is currently Betta Bio-Gold. It is what was next to the dish he was found in. I have a little one gallon tank that was recommended by the pet store with a small amount of tank gravel on the bottom, a silk plant and a betta hammock left thing that they are suppose to like laying on, which he doesn't.

 

[Meldiane]

It looks like he possibly has ick!

 

[freemike]

He said the spots on the fish were water bubbles not parasite meldiane.