Help, i think my betta is sick :(

[flightless]

My beautiful betta fighting fish seems to be very lethargic.

He usually is swimming around and now he is laying on the bottom of the bowl. He won't eat. He won't swim. He won't dance. He's just over a year old and I take very good care of him. He doesn't seem to stress easily as I have moved him from windsor to london and back three times now.
This time, though, he is acting different and sick. It's been three days since the move. He hasn't improved at all. I've tried moving his bowl to different spots, thinking it was too cold or too warm.

I bought him some drops called "Betta Fix". I put 20 drops in his bowl and there has been no change. I am supposed to use the drops of one week and then change the water.

Will he die?
I know it's just a fish, but I have had him for over a year and I've grown quite attached to him. He's survived going down the sink, even.

edit: 12:10am.
I moved him to a smaller bowl (kept the same water he had) so that i could watch him better (no 'rocks' or plants for him to hide with). He seems gray-ish. I wish SO bad that my digital camera wasn't broken!! ARGH.
He is kinda leaning on his side.
I gave 5 more drops of the betta fix solution when i moved him to the smaller bowl.

 

[revfred]

Don't know if he will live or not, but usually life span is a year or two. Does he seem bloated or are the scales standing out ... called "pineconing". If so it is a type of dropsy that bettas contract for no reason that is understood. It sounds like you are taking good care of him and keeping him comfortable.

 

[flightless]

Thanks for the response!
No he is not bloated. He has none of the pine cone symptoms of dropsy.

He is only moving to come up to the surface for some air, and then back down he goes.
I wonder if the water is too cold.
I just moved so the only liquid thermometer i have is.... well.. in a box... somewhere.

He's my first fish and even though I don't use water conditioners or aquarium salt (don't get mad at me for not... Ive been told that they are fine without it), he's been very healthy and happy up until now (making bubble nests, flaring, etc..).

I dont have any equipment to heat his water if it is too cold. Maybe a "magic bag" heated a little and wrapped around his bowl so the heat kind of goes into the water?

:s
Suggestions welcome.

 

[Sprite42]

WHen did you last do a complete water change? Also, a desk lamp works well to heat those small bowls. At lower temps, bettas metabolisms slow. He could very well just be cold.

I would wrap a towel around his bowl except for a peek hole and place a desk lamp over the bowl or a heating pad around that to bring the temp up.

 

[flightless]

my last complete water change was on wednesday or thursday.. so only a few days ago.
he won't eat. he is getting more and more 'tired' i guess. he is almost laying flat on the bowl.
i just moved him to a more quiet area. I am thinking maybe he is scared of the new surroundings.
I will put a lamp over his bowl and make sure it doesn't boil him.
i bought some distilled water and i put about a cup of that into his bowl (so it's like 1 part new water, 5 parts his regular water).

he only comes to the top for air.
i went to the pet store looking for something else i could give him, but i didnt buy anything, as I have no idea what is wrong.

i just lost my dog of 11 years, not my fish too :'(

update:
it looks like his whole head has turned a brown color.
*SICK*

 

[Sprite42]

Do you use distilled water as your normal source water?

Distilled water does not contain the necessary minerals or electrolytes needed for bettas. Spring water would be a better choice.

Unless you know how old your betta was when you got him, he could be a lot older than you think. He could have been as much as 1 year old by the time you got him. The normal life span for a betta is 1 to 3 years. There are some that have lived to be 4 or 5, but that is very unusual.

If he was 1 year old when you got him and you have had him for 1 year, then he is probably on the downhill side of being 'over the hill'.

I would just do the normal, keep him warm and in good water, offer him the foods he enjoys the most, and love him.

Good Luck, I hope he perks up.

 

[flightless]

Normally I just use tap water that I let sit out for about 2 days.
I bought some distilled spring water today, in hopes that would help. He's used to the water from another city, and maybe teh chlorine or minterals in the water here, are too much for him.
He seems to be perking up a bit, but I'm not going to uncross my fingers until he dances for me

 

[ashleigh]

no offence, but why not just spring for the 4 dollar dechlorinator?

 

[flightless]

Originally posted by ashleigh
no offence, but why not just spring for the 4 dollar dechlorinator?

... because i don't know what it is/dont know it exists...

 

[flightless]

Well, I think I may have found out what is wrong.

Since he's been hiding since the moment i realized he wasn't feeling to well, i haven't had a great look at him. I mean, I stared at him but mostly his face area. I noticed a long scratch on the top of his head.
Well.

The cat musta' got to him. His tail fin is split from body to end (so now he has one small tail and one big one) and the rest of his fins are quite ragged. He would freak out and dart around very quickly to the top and then go back to hiding. So I'm assuming he's scared of being attacked again. It must have happened at night, since he was on the counter and the cat wouldn't dare do it during the daytime.
Anyway, I've been treating him with Betta Fix so that should help his little war-wounds heal up fine. He finally ate today, so that makes me feel a lot better. He spends a lot of time at the top of the bowl now, which is odd for him since he's usually up and down during the day, but lately he's just been hanging out at the top. He doesn't flare, either.

I also got one of those food screen covers (piece of mesh) that you put on your food in the microwave (flexible, thing, breathable) and tied it around the top of his bowl so the cat can't get to him now!

Anyway, thought i'd update.

 

[Lotus]

You might want to think about moving him to a cat-free room. Sometimes cats will get frustrated and climb on top, and it could pull his tank over.

Good to hear he's a little better. Bettafix should help him.

You might also want to look into getting some dechlorinator, you add it to tapwater and it makes it safe immedietly, rather than waiting 24 hours.

 

[Iggy]

PRIME water conditioner (dechlorinator) is awesome.

 

[flightless]

Well, my betta's fins have healed up very nicely... however, he's still not acting 'normal'. He used to almost jump out of his bowl whenever I fed him... and now he hardley eats at all. He doesn't flare. He even RARELY goes down to the bottom to hide now. He just kinda hangs around the top of the bowl. Sometimes he skids along the top of the bowl sticking his mouth out of the water and swims very fast... and then resumes his hangin' out.
Maybe he's just old... it just all happened so quickly though.

What are signs of an old betta?

 

[AquaticGem]

You might want to try a product called Bettamax, it helps with splits in the fins, listlessness, poor colour, etc.