Betta wilted

[ninamarie]

Hi I have a blue splenda and he is looking "wilted" *SICK* I see that there is something called Clamped fin? I read that he is either sad and lonely now and not on the edge of dying?
I had a gold fish *GOLDFISH* in with him and desided to take goldie( that was his name) out and since yesterday he has been wilted looking.

what is this and what can I do? I don't want to lose him I have had him since halloween
Nina

 

[Shaunna]

What size tank is he in? What size tank is your goldie in? (it should be at least a 10)... did you have your goldie tropical or your betta in room temp water? Try getting a heater and a filter for whatever tank he is in and see if he doesn't perk up. Are your params good and are you up on water changes and stuff? IS he showing any other signs of stress?

 

[ninamarie]

He , Maxx the betta is in a 2.5 gal tank. I use Betta bowl buddies when I change his water(once a week or every 2 weeks). The Goldfish goldie was in the tank with him and well goldfish smell and so I took him out and put goldie in a bowl and well he died. But then now Maxx is either lonely and that is all I can find on this Clammped fin thing. I have a desk lamp over the tank to warm him up and well he is swimming around and he actually ate some food in stead if spitting it out. the tank ia t 78 now and it was at 72. maybe that is it. I sure hope he was just not a happy guy and is depressed. I see no ich on him or anyother visable stuff.

 

[Shaunna]

How long ago did you remove the goldfish? I don't really see a betta missing having another tankmate particularly a goldfish, but you never know. They are so different those bettas. I would keep an eye on him and see how he does. Have you changed his water recently?

Btw, goldfish stink b/c they are messy and you had yours in an extremely unhealthy living quarters, but hey, lesson learned.. thats all that matters*thumbsups Good luck!

 

[geekrockgirl85]

how much water do you take out in each water change? if you only do about 25% at a time, consider a more drastic amount for the next wc, as soon as possible...50-100% would be good, just this once.

the heat will definitely make him happier... so good move putting the light over him. just make sure the temp doesn't get too high.

your tank is too small to go that long between water changes. i have a betta in a 2.5 with a filter and his water gets changed about twice a week. so changing Maxx's water more often should help keep him happy.. every three days or so should be good.

the clamped fins are most likely a sign of yucky water conditions... goldfish are poop machines (as it seems you have noticed... lol), so i can definitely tell you that Maxx has been living in much more ammonia than he would have wanted while the two of them were in there together. that's why i suggest a big water change... to make sure there is no more goldie poop in Maxx's home.

aside from a lot of ammonia, or nitrite in the tank, you have to watch out for fungal and bacterial infections. betta fins are for some reason exceptionally prone to both. if it looks like something is growing on them or like they are slowly melting away, you need to treat him with medications.

This filter would be good for your little tank.

oh and i wouldn't worry about him spitting out food... i see my bettas spit and re-eat their betta bites five times sometimes before they decide they're going to stay in their stomachs.

hope this helps.

 

[ninamarie]

When I change Maxx's tank I 100% change the water. So he gets freah every time. Goldie was only in there for 2 days and that was it.

I have had gold fish and I should of known better buthe was cute..anyways thanks for the filter my tank did come with a filter this is the tank I have Maxx in http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=3635102

So maybe I will hook the filter up

 

[Charlius]

I'm a little concerned about the using the lamp as a heater bit. Obviously, it's not good to have fluctuating temperatures in a fish tank. I'm pretty sure you don't leave the lamp on 24/7 (otherwise, how would he sleep??) so without the light...2.5 gallons is a minute volume of water and the temperature would equalize to whatever the surrounding is in a relatively fast amount of time. Not good. I know they have mini-heaters for small tanks like yours, try getting one of those.

 

[echoofformless]

I agree with Charlius; steady temperature is very important. Probably even more important than the actual temperature itself.

http://bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=32349;category_id=2259

 

[cybersymes]

i know this is a dumb question...
but as a newbie myself i'll ask it...

you are de-chlorinating his water as you change...aren't you...

[i don't know how fast chlorine will zap a fish]

 

[ninamarie]

I use this at every change

And so far so good.
I checked him this morning and still the same clammped fins and he is hiding under his shelf. The water is fine 78 and he swims but I just want his fins back and maxx as himself.

 

[ReefRelics]

hm... I'm still new myself..But not to bettas... so I hope this can help

But I'm not sure the cB's of a bowl buddy is whats bothering him. I had a betta that used that all the time and he had the most beautiful colors and a garenteed healthy male. But one day he clamped his fins and four hours after treatment he was as dead as a freeze dried shrimp X_X..Tytracyclin is a med I was told to use on him but we had no car to get the meds from thes store to him.. Sad case considering I could have helped him.. However with the goldfish in there I would suggest first removing the heater intirely... Bettas are no good with heaters and it could burn em.

Then after doing that try to figure out what killed the goldie. And remove him from that tank. Then clearafy the water by adding things like PHballancers,BettaMax powder and more aquarium salt to kill off any infectional parasites in the water and other desease possabilities.

you can never tell for sure what a betta is bothered by since they cant talk, this would just be to make sure it's not a Parasite issue. Then after that go back to your betta and add some Bettmax right into the water he's swimming in. If It's a depression issue this would also help in calming him.
Once thats done put him and the water back into his new Medicated home, but only if your sure the meds are well mixed in the aquarium ( filtered)
Watch his acctions in the tank, if he just goes to the bottom or stays in one place at the top. You most likly have a sick betta and the meds would help. But if he swims around with that clamped fin.... He could sadly be depressed by his new buddy dieing so fast =D And thats a heartwarming but sad thing.

If depression:
After a night of being in the water, I would suggest getting a new friend * not a goldie* and putting it in a see threw cup floating in his water. After a day of that remove it and place it in the water with him, before you know it you should have a Happy healthy and friendly heart warming betta again! ^_^
I would also suggest getting a sample size of Hikari Betta Bio Gold. It Helps in Depressed Bettas alot.

If sick:
I would add more Bettamax and possably half a drop of Tytra. Then if he still is showing signs..you should find out what els he is doing.. Like is his tail blackening. Is his eating habbits still bad, does he hit the gravle or side of the tank. Could he have spots on his body.

Watching for all that should help in finding out what is wrong. But if he is still showing signs there are meds out there for his special problem if it's parasital,bacterial,ick. Or just a old betta..

You never know when you get a betta inless you get it as a fry, how old it is. And if after all this he's still acting like that. Its most possable that he's just old. Mine was found to be SEVRAL years old before I got him. And I possably got a grandpa ! lol. But you never really can be sure..So you may have to just be sure and show him all the effection you can, sure him some live food to get his hopes up every now and then. And hope for the best..

 

[Pure]

No medication should be used unless you know or have a darn good idea of what the problem is. Bettamax won't hurt him, but I wouldn't be discouraged if it didn't help.

Clamped fins is a sign of stress, in this case most likely from high levels of ammonia. And on top of that now temp swings from the light being turned off at night. If the light is being left on then he is stressed from no sleep. Fish don't have eyelids and need darkness to sleep. Lights are really a poor choice for heating a tank.

A 100% water change is in order. Set a bucket with the new water next to his tank over night to allow the PH to stabilize (gas exchange) and the temp to match the current tank temp.

 

[Shaunna]

I would still recommend getting a heater, doing a 100% water change, and maybe give him some bloodworms or something to let him know he's special Also, does he have any plants or decorations in the tank with him, something to hide behind and rest upon?

 

[ninamarie]

ok i did the water change got some FUNGUS CLEAR from Jungle( I called and spoke to some one) and said this is what is going on and she said he has a fungus go get this and use half a tab (for 4 days) along with the betta bowl tab. let disolve and add fish back in.
I also feed him the Hiraki Gold food aswell. He was sooo beautiful!!! this is what he looked like!

I don't have a heater and the lamp warmed up the water and now it's away and I have his reg lamp on from the tank hood. If I turn the light off at night the water will cool too much then he will die. Don't want that.

The gold fish is gone and I am thinking it might of funguled up the water and that is why Maxx is ill.

I will look into a holding cup for the cory's I want to get and see if that works with him also.

So weird to see him swimming around in green water(meds) and his fins are closed up.
Anyways I will keep you posted on how we are doing and we will go from there.
thanks guys.

 

[Shaunna]

You need to get a heater. They aren't that expensive at Walmart. Not turning the light off at all is stressing him out. Fish have to have "dark time" too. He especially needs some dark time if he is stressed. I would recommend you get a heater as soon as possible. It isn't good for them to have the light on all the time. The corys will be a good idea. Maybe just get a couple in such a small tank or even a few ghost shrimp.

 

[Masta_Cheef]

I'd agree with everyone else and say that you're going to need a heater ASAP. The light being on 24/7 isn't a good thing. He's stressed 'cause he can't sleep at all. echoofformless posted a link to a mini-heater. I'd recommend getting that within the next day or so (budget permitting).

Also, if you're looking for some tankmates that won't bother him in such a small area, you could go with a few cherry shrimp. They're small, active, and pretty awesome to watch! If you can't find any around your area, you might try PMing Lotus.

 

[ninamarie]

cherry shrimp never hear of them I will ask my LFS about them and see if she can hook me up.
I will check out that heater and see if I can get one. The tankis hoovering at 78 drgs so that is good. I will do the heater and keep the light off and see how that is.
Thanks

 

[sweetvegan74]

It's a little more effort but since it is a small aquarium, you could consider switching his water with spring water, but do it gradually of course. I use same brand of spring water with a little bio-coat and aquarium salt every week when I do the partial change, so you do not have to worry about chemicals.