Sick Betta

[glitterbloodbat]

I had two bettas, Ceo and gizmo, Ceo died of a bacterial fungus before I could take care of it

And now about a month later, gizmo has the same thing.
I've been changing his water daily, or atleast every other day, and medicating him with Splendid Betta:betta fix rememdy, I know the best thing to use is Jungle's Fungus eliminator, but I have no way to get to the pet store where they sell it, as it's miles from my home. I was hoping there might be some other things I could try and hope for the best. I feel terrible for him, and even worse that I can't get what he needs to get better. He was very lathargic the past few days, but today so far he has been quite a bit more active, but certiantly not back to his normal self. Also, he wasn't flaring up to anything, and today I managed to get him to flare at a mirror.

I appriciate any responses greatly

thank you

-krista

 

[ashleigh]

What are his symptoms exactly? what are the water conditions and temp? what ar eyou feeding him and how often? YOu might stop with the betta fix- I don't know what it is exactly, but if it is not the proper meds for his specific problem, it's not going to help anything and may actually hurt.

 

[CatsFishes]

betta fix is the same as melafix-just tea tree oil (melaluca). it is an anti bacterial and an anti fungal, just not a very powerful one. probably won't hurt, but if it's a bad case, probably won't help.

could you order some meds online?

 

[glitterbloodbat]

I wish I could order meds online, I'm underage, But I might possibly be able to ask my mother for her credit card, though I doubt she'd take kindly to buying fish medication, but I'll try it.

Also, I just did another water change, and there's a ton of little white specs that appear in his bowl, and float around and eventually settle, I was thinking it's the fingus falling off.

what do you think?

 

[CatsFishes]

could be fungus, sounds even more like ick. do some searching on the internet and compre pictures with what your fish has. you don't want to get the wrong meds. try and talk your mom into it for your fishy's sake.

 

[Lotus]

I don't know where you live, but Walmart usually carries the Jungle brands of meds.

 

[FishWhisperer]

Krista, it sounds like ich to me, and it may be going away. Are there any white spots on your fish? If not, it's possible what you have been doing has been working. Have you been doing a full water bowl change or partial? I think it would be best to do full water bowl changes and wipe your bowl out with a paper towel at each change. Be sure to rinse several times. Also, if you have some "Stress Coat" add that to the water. Please keep us informed of your Betta's health status. Good luck!

 

[glitterbloodbat]

When I first noticed, he was covered in a film, sort of white looking, my other betta had it, and when he came down with it I looked up the different illnesses, and the symptoms seemed to fit perfectly, along with the description, I have yet to find a site with pictures, But I'll start looking alot more. He's back to being really lathargic, coming up for air and a little swim around his bowl. I was gone all day yesterday, not by choice, so I don't know how he was feeling. But. when I did come home last night, It looked alot like most of the fungus has cleared off. when I do a water change I change all his water, and let the bowl fill and over flow with scalding water for a few minutes, than scrub it out and rinse it with scalding water again. I add Splendid Betta water conditioner and betta fix and let the temprature of the temp bowl he's in and the new water become about even, and then put him in. And I add the Betta fix Once a day, sometimes twice, but not a double dosage, I just put in a few extra drops
He's still eating just as much as he did when he was healthy. I have him on Hikari Bio Gold peletts, but I also have flaked food that he was eating when he first came to live with me. I thought the pellets would keep the bowl cleaner and that's why I switched. His bowl is really small, which I thought he would be more comfortable in, because at Petco they talk all about how they love small spaces. I know it's not too small for a betta, but he might be more comfortable in something larger, what do you think?
Also, at the stupid petco, They have aquarium salt, which I have heard prevents alot of illness and could help one as well, Is it a good idea to get some?
Now, you would think that petco would have products for this, being that it's a ****ing petstore, but when I went in there they reccomened me to go some place else. I might be able to get a ride to the aquarium store on monday.
I can only hope

oh, one more thing. my father recommended blowing into the bowl with a straw to give him more air. I thought that was kind of rediculous being that humans don't exhale oxygen. But then again, he is a pretty smart guy.

 

[FishWhisperer]

Thanks for the update on Gizmo. I don't mean to ask too many questions but it's hard for me to imagine a Betta getting a disease if he is not sharing any bowl with others or is in an aquarium. If I understand you correctly, you had both Betta's in separate bowls. Did you buy Betta bowl kits for each Betta? We have a total of three Betta's. Each Betta has their own one gallon bowl and really enjoy it. I have read extensively that no fish should be kept in any bowl as it is considered cruel. It is now understood that goldfish should not be kept in a bowl so I think the same should go for Bettas. When you clean Gizmo's bowl, do you use a net or your hand to transport Gizmo? I am only asking because I am "fish sitting" a Betta for a co-worker and he looked terrible when he came to our house. It could have been the car ride over but his color was just so awful. He had wrinkled and broken fins too. I do know when she transports him to his second home (she keeps him in two plain small vases), she uses her hands. Any time you handle any fish either by net or hand, their "protective slime coating" is disturbed which causes the loss of electrolytes resulting in a low immune system and fish are more susceptibile to diseases. I use "stress coat" and add it to all my fish tanks and bowls at each water change. You can purchase this at WalMart for $2 or $3. I really believe just this little pharmaceutical added to the water help my co-worker's Betta. I also put the Betta in a 5.5 gal tank alone, using filteration for 24 hours. The next day he was swimming back and forth in the tank and just loves it. I feed my Betta's Wardley Pellets and TetraMin granules. They love the granules and it is good for their color. I also use a website to help me with my fish questions. It is www.tetra-fish.com, and they respond within 24 hours time. They have always answered my questions immediately. Keep us posted on your Betta. Good luck.

 

[glitterbloodbat]

yay! I bought some betta max, which I've also heard good things about. I never ever touch Gizmo with my hands, when I change his water, I simply dump the bowl as slowly as possible into an emptyone. and when I replace him back into his bowl I use a chuckie cheese cion cup, it's small, about the size of a fist and has holes on the bottom, so most of the water leaks out, but not all of it so he doesn't have to be out of water for too long. I always make sure to scrub everything I use, and to rinse it with scalding water
I put in some betta max right when I got home, and I'll do it again when I change his water later tonight.
He seems alot more energetic so far, but that could just be because I just got here. Yesterday I couldn't manage to get him to flare at all, but today he'll puff out his fins at his reflection.
Yes, I kept both Bettas in seperate fishbowls, they're glass, and a little on the small side, I plan on getting a much bigger bowl, and maybe even a tank as soon as I have more money.

Thank you so much for all your help
and I'll be sure to update to let you know how he's doing

 

[CatsFishes]

Glad to hear he's doing better. If you really want to know everything there is to know about bettas, try this site, it is wonderful. With bettas, like with any fish, bigger is better. The ultimate for a betta is his own 5 or 10 gal tank, but they can be perfectly happy in a 1 gal (just keep up with the water changes). Yes, it's true some bettas like small spaces, but that is more in the way of a cave or a plant to snuggle in, not as in a tiny little cup they can hardly turn around in. Often the people in the pet stores know less than you do.

 

[FishWhisperer]

I'm glad to hear your Betta is better. You did a great job for your fish. Take care.

 

[glitterbloodbat]

Gizmo is doing great, from what I can tell, I've been sitting at my desk for 10 minutes and he hasn't laid down on the bottom once. He still is pretty much covered in the film, but since it's only his first real dose of bettamax, I'm sure that will improve with time, I'm just glad to see him swimming like usual.He gets pretty excited when I come home, so that may change later on. I'm going to the store in a bit to get some aquarium salt and a new betta, because, well, I just can't help it. It makes me so depressed to see them in there in those tiny little cups, laying around. So I save as many as I can properly take care of. By the way, DOWN WITH PETCO. hehe. Anyway, I keep my bettas in a bout half gallon fish bowls, like I posted earlier, as soon as I have the money to buy them gallon bowls/tanks, I certiantly will.
One more thing, On Gizmo's ventral pelvic fin, he has what look to me like two little tumors, I'm fairly sure they haven't always been there, they're basically just little balls, in the same spot, one sticking out one way, the other sticking out the other, they're dark red, but so are his fins, the bumps match perfectly to the colour of his fin. Giz also came down with fin rot awhile back, I treated it and he's fine now, I noticed the bumps during and after the finrot, could that be where they came from? It almost look like his fin got torn and those are little coils of it, but I dont really see any coiling. I don't know what to think. They don't seem to bother him at all, so maybe it's nothing to worry about

once again, thanks for all your help, and I'll update again real soon.

 

[FishWhisperer]

Thanks for updating us about Gizmo. How long have you had Gizmo and what was Ceo's lifespan? I guess we have been lucky in the Bettas we chose to bring home. It sounds like the Bettas you took home probably had something wrong with them when you bought them. All three of our bettas were bought at Wal-Mart. We only chose the active Bettas with vibrant colors and no fin damage. We have had them since May so maybe I am speaking to soon. I hope I am not causing any "jinx" to our fish. I just hope I am as good as a fish keeper as you and will notice when anything is wrong. By the way, I am fairly new a fish keeper too, and I have a brother who has been doing it for almost 20 years. He gives me lots of good advice. I am not familiar with fin rot nor tumors but I can ask my brother if he is familiar with those problems. My brother has defied anything about fish. For example, he never used treatment for his water until a few years ago. I guess the water in Nebraska used to be pretty clean. He also put Bettas in tanks but had to take it out because his shark was nipping the fins. I read Betta shouldn't be kept in tanks. One more thing that is utterly amazing, he never tests his water. Just one question for you, does your Betta or has he in the past flared at you? I'll keep checking in this forum.

 

[glitterbloodbat]

Gizmo flares at me if I get close to him after he's been flaring at someone, or something else, and there was a short time, for about a week, right before I could see signs of his fungus that he flared his gills at me every single time I put my finger close to his bowl. I imagine they only flare at their parents when they're under alot of stress. also, his flaring occured right after Ceo's death, and it sounds crazy, but I think he was attatched to him, or atleast used to seeing him everyday. I let them flare up at eachother once a day or every other day for a good five minutes, because I've heard it's good excersize but I've also read too much can be stressful to them. I've had Gizmo for about 2 months, maybe more. I assume at the store they sell them anywhere between 6 months to a year and ahalf old, or so I have read. Ceo died about 2 weeks ago. Ceo looked pretty sickly to begin with, my brother picked him out, as he was originally my brother's fish, and I adopted him.

I got a new betta today, rescued it from the petco

I haven't named him yet, but he seems to be doing good in his new home. I'll update again about Gizmo and the new fishy soon

 

[twoluvcats]

Glitter- BettaMax is a recovery treatment, and will not cure any problems with your fish. If he is still covered in fungus, you'll need to treat that with JFE or something similar.

Fungus and fin rot are also highly contagious...so if you are using the same net or cup for both fish, that's how you transfered the disease from one fish to another.

 

[FishWhisperer]

Nice to know you have a new Betta glitterbloodbat. My betta's name is Alpha because he is my first fish. I also put the betta's together so they can flare at each other. I do it at least once a week. Keep us posted.

 

[ashleigh]

What do you mean you out them together once a week? that doesn't sound like a good plan at all.
Glitter- have you tried looking at a disease database to see exactly what he has? Like twoluvcats said, if it is not a medicine particularly for the condition he has it is not going to work.

 

[glitterbloodbat]

Ash- if you had read the whole thread, you would know that Fishwhisperer didn't mean put them in the same tank, rather they meant put their tanks near by eachother.

 

[ashleigh]

regardless, that's not the point of the thread. if you want to get your betta healthy, you need to find out what is going on with him exactly and medicate for that specifically. Catsfishes gave you a good link for diseases.