betta close to death...

[cybersymes]

i have a very battered betta male...
the story is in another thread...
here is a copy of it...

.....................................

i've just had a very bad experiance with dwarf gouramis...
i bought 3 without checking them out on the 'net...
as the 'person' in the lfs said no worries...

i now have a close to death betta...i'm totally... !!!

words cannot express my emotions right now...
[not words i can use here anyway]...

i'm really...really annoyed that the lfs said it was ok...
this could have been avoided...

i'm now taking the offending gourami back...
and one of his 'chums' who he also bullies...

i will have only one in the tank...
hopefully the remaining specimen will be chilled...

from this experience i would not call dwarf gouramis community fish...
[maybe in a bigger tank...or possibly just a solo]...

as for my betta...he's in my fry tank...
i might have to put him out of his misery...
as he's in real bad shape...

i knew someday fish would die...
but this was avoidable...
i'm just madd and sadd in equal measure...

lesson learned...always research new fish...
and don't believe everything you hear...
for me anyway...dwarf gouramis are not friendly fish...

.............................................

so...he's in a bad way...two days now...
not eating...sitting on the bottom mostly...
not moving...no finning...just still...

he seems laboured when he goes to the surface...
his body looks 'bloated'...
and his underside is silver now...
before he was all red...

my question is...how can i help this guy...
is there anything i can do...
[ i know i might have to put him down...]

 

[Seleya]

I replied elsewhere also. Keep the water in the fry tank clean and warm. If he got his clock cleaned by those gouramies he may be laying low also. If you see any injuries, you may want to add a little Melafix. Fish often recover from pretty severe injuries so he may still surprise you. If he seems to be getting worse, you may want to find some clove oil to have on hand. Good luck.

Here's something to cheer you up a little bit: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/12/31/nsooty31.xml

 

[cybersymes]

I replied elsewhere also. Keep the water in the fry tank clean and warm. If he got his clock cleaned by those gouramies he may be laying low also. If you see any injuries, you may want to add a little Melafix. Fish often recover from pretty severe injuries so he may still surprise you. If he seems to be getting worse, you may want to find some clove oil to have on hand. Good luck.

thanks seelie...i'll get the melafix...
clove oil i have...how much to add i wonder... ?

 

[Seleya]

The clove oil is solely to put him down. (just so no casual readers misunderstand) A dollop in a small cup, then swirl to mix well, then in he goes if he really needs to. Better to decapitate him, too, so there's no doubt you did it right. Let's not get ahead of ourselves tho, ok?

 

[prettypleco]

Don't give up on that fish yet. My moor lost all his scales on both sides plus had some deep scrapes. He made it fine and all his scales grew back with melafix. Be careful with the melafix. Pure Melafix can burn their labyrinth organ and kill them. Dilute it 50% with water before adding to the tank. Advice given by Pure who apparently lost a betta that way. I hope your betta recovers. It is so sad when they are sick or hurting. You feel so helpless.

 

[cybersymes]

The clove oil is solely to put him down. (just so no casual readers misunderstand) A dollop in a small cup, then swirl to mix well, then in he goes if he really needs to. Better to decapitate him, too, so there's no doubt you did it right. Let's not get ahead of ourselves tho, ok?

sheesh...i feel sick...
thanks tho...s.

 

[cybersymes]

Don't give up on that fish yet. My moor lost all his scales on both sides plus had some deep scrapes. He made it fine and all his scales grew back with melafix. Be careful with the melafix. Pure Melafix can burn their labyrinth organ and kill them. Dilute it 50% with water before adding to the tank. Advice given by Pure who apparently lost a betta that way. I hope your betta recovers. It is so sad when they are sick or hurting. You feel so helpless.

cheers...good advice...
i'll keep hoping he makes it...
i'm off to get the melafix now...

'helpless'...too right ...

 

[prettypleco]

Some stress coat would be good too.

 

[cybersymes]

Some stress coat would be good too.

rats...just been to the lfs...
i'll get some tomorrow...cheers ... s.

 

[Seleya]

I would just use the Melafix and use a 1/2 dose. Pure knows his stuff so do as PP says. I'd be hesitant to use the Stresscoat also (as a treatment) simply because you don't want to be messing too much with the osmotic pressure when you have a sick fish (too many chemicals in the water at once)

Don't get ahead of yourself, Cyber. As PP said, they can recover from seemingly bad injuries. It is not uncommon for bettas to get badly banged up and recover totally. Good water quality and low stress are key. Give him time. if it really looks like he's suffering, worry about that then. Otherwise, don't give up on the little fella.

PP - it's great to hear your moor got better. I was wondering how that turned out. I bet he'll be a bit more careful in the future.

 

[Chazwick]

Yeah, keep the tank clean and use plenty of stress coat.... i wouldn't give up on him, you'll find when (or if) he pulls through, he'll probably end up being your favourite lol

 

[cybersymes]

cool seelie...sounds good...
thanks for the help...much appreciated... !

the melafix says to add to tank daily...
then do a 25% change after seven days...

so i was thinking of doing a 25% tonite...
adding the melafix for the next week [half dose]...
and then another quarter change...

how does that sound ... ?

 

[cybersymes]

Yeah, keep the tank clean and use plenty of stress coat.... i wouldn't give up on him, you'll find when (or if) he pulls through, he'll probably end up being your favourite lol

cheers chazzi...all advice gratefully accepted...
he has been a favourite for a while now...
i wasn't keen at first...but his character won me over...
huge personality my betta...he's called 'dago red'...

interesting new look to your mails...me like...
is that avatar you... ??? ...

kurt cobain...saw nirvana twice...unforgettable...
the day nevermind came out was unreal...
music as i knew it was shattered...
we need another explosion like that...
cheers...cyber.

 

[cybersymes]

Here's something to cheer you up a little bit: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/12/31/nsooty31.xml

wild...stranger than fiction ...

 

[Shaunna]

Hey, sorry to hear about your betta. Don't give up on Gouramis though. They are great little guys. It is too bad you didn't know not to put more than one male together or with bettas, but they do make great additions to community tanks. aS long as you follow the "rules". Good luck. Keep us posted on Dago!

 

[Chazwick]

interesting new look to your mails...me like...
is that avatar you... ??? ...

kurt cobain...saw nirvana twice...unforgettable...
the day nevermind came out was unreal...
music as i knew it was shattered...
we need another explosion like that...
cheers...cyber.

Thanks alot, the one in the right in my pic is me... LOL - well, my hair anyway I have better pics which i'll use soon, and the one on the left is my mate Lauren - this is off topic, but i agree about Nirvana..i wasn't alive (obviously, being 14) to see them live, but i wish i was

Good luck on the Betta!!

 

[cybersymes]

Hey, sorry to hear about your betta. Don't give up on Gouramis though. They are great little guys. It is too bad you didn't know not to put more than one male together or with bettas, but they do make great additions to community tanks. aS long as you follow the "rules". Good luck. Keep us posted on Dago!

hey chum...thanks for your mail...i'm hoping all will end well...

as for the 'rules'...i thought i was ok...i was given 'duff-gen' at the lfs...
my regular guy was busy...and i trusted someone else...

another lesson learned... !!!

 

[Jayrod7]

You can never trust the lfs. They don't always have the most smart people. They just want to sell fish. I would suggest putting the betta in another tank until it either gets better or dies =(

 

[cybersymes]

You can never trust the lfs. They don't always have the most smart people. They just want to sell fish. I would suggest putting the betta in another tank until it either gets better or dies =(

dago red is in a smaller tank now...
along with 16 platy fry...

hopefully it will all end well.

 

[Limi310]

Sorry to hear about your Betta, I hope he pulls through. I had a pregnant guppy go through my gravel vac tube and her little fishy face was smashed - she looked pretty rough - but after a few days of melafix, she pulled through and had her babies. Today she is as right as rain.
Keep us posted on Dago