Preventive betta treatment question

[Catalina]

I got a new betta yesterday, and he is currently living in a one gallon bowl. (I've had new feelings about the betta bowl thing, and I feel bad about keeping him in there, but he's going to be moved into a 10 gal. as soon as I move my dwarf gourami into the bigger tank.)

I added a drop of Aquarisol to his water as a preventive measure, since petco bettas are often sickly. My questions are: Should I do daily water changes while doing preventive treatment in an unfiltered bowl? How many days should I keep him in water with Aquarisol before I'm sure he's disease free?

Thanks in advance!

 

[William]

Whats th e disease that he has?

and what is Aquarisol?

 

[An t-iasg]

You're adding the Aquarisol as an ich preventative? Usually you want to QT for about 3-4 weeks, but I wouldn't use Aquarisol that long. It's not good to use long-term. I think a drop of Aquarisol once a day for 7 to 10 days would be ok. I would do a small, maybe 20%, water change every day to make sure the Aquarisol isn't getting to strong in there. The copper in Aquarisol will end up doing something to their brain or nervous system, and it could shorten their life. By how much? Maybe a few months; no one's really sure. Their lifespan is only a few years anyway, but we want to keep them around as long as possible! I have some Aquarisol, but I use it only as a net dip. After QT, you can change the water 50% every 4-5 days, as long as he's in the bowl.

I wouldn't do the Aquarisol longer than 10 days. But I understand that you want to make sure the little guy is ok! After all, Petco bettas do look kind of sickly sometimes. After that, I would use some BettaMax for about 2 weeks.

Don't mix the Aquarisol water and the BettaMax. Put the betta in a little critter keeper or something, dump the Aquarisol water, rinse the bowl, and start the BettaMax in new water.

One BettaMax capsule is the right amount for one gallon. It's a little hard to dissolve if you sprinkle it right in the bowl. Take some bowl water (doesn't really matter how much), dissolve the capsule in it, (the water will turn green) and pour that water back into the bowl. If you never used BettaMax before, you have to open that capsule. It doesn't dissove like our medicines! That yellow powder can stain, so after you open the capsule, throw it away; don't lay it down on the counter or anything. The green water doesn't stain as bad as the powder, but be careful to wipe up any spills when you're doing a change and rinse it down the sink well.

You could mix up another gallon of BettaMax water in an empty bottled water jug or something. Do a 50% change every other day, for the 2 weeks. That should take care of anything bad in him!

 

[Catalina]

thank you so much An t-iasg!

I'm using the aquarisol as an ich and fungus preventative; the betta does not actually appear to have any diseases. He's eating extremely well (this evening, he gobbled down pieces of a squished pea, because i thought he seemed sort of bloated) and is swimming around his bowl, showing off his full purple/ turquoise finnage. I love him so much already.

What I think I'm going to do is treat with aquarisol until Sunday. I put a drop in his bowl when I got him on Wednesday, did a full water change today and put a drop in the new water. (It says to use a drop per gallon.) I'll do a 20% water change tomorrow, and on Sunday, I think I'll do another full water change and this time put him in water without any aquarisol. I didn't put gravel in his bowl, because I found that gets too hard to clean in betta bowls, and he doesn't seem to mind full water changes, as long as I catch him in a tea cup instead of a net (tempest in a tea cup!) I am always sure to match the temperatures from his former water to the new water.

Do you think this is a good plan? Should I treat with Betta Max for two weeks after the aquarisol, or just give him a break from the medications? Thanks so much again for your help.

 

[An t-iasg]

Hi Catalina! I'm glad your betta is eating well and swimming around. It does seem like he's in good shape. I'm a little worried that you think he looks bloated, though. Giving him the pea is a good thing to do; it may help to remove any blockage that is present. I had two bettas; one died a few weeks ago from bloat/dropsy. The remaining betta is fine, thank goodness!

So here's what I would do: continue with your Aquarisol routine until Sunday. Then, since he may be a bit bloated, and since he's going into the 10 gallon tank soon, I would make sure he is disease-free before putting him in the 10 gallon. I would do the BettaMax for 6 days. Completely change the Aquarisol water before using the BettaMax. It says on the BettaMax box not to use if copper (which is in Aquarisol) is present in the water. I would give him all new water and mix the BettaMax in as described in the other post. Change the BettaMax water 50% every other day, adding more BettaMax water that you have mixed up in another gallon jug. You can add the capsule directly to the jug and shake it up afterwards. You can't shake the fishbowl, so that's why I said to dissolve the capsule in some water first!

So, if you start the BettaMax on Monday, then you'll change on Wednesday and Friday. Leave him in the medicine until Saturday, about 24 hours after the Friday change. Then he should be all ready to go in the tank!

Now, is he going into the tank with other fish? If so, I think the BettaMax plan is best. If not, and you think he looks OK tomorrow after the Aquarisol treatment, and he doesn't look bloated, then you can put him in the tank sooner. Just keep an eye on the bloat. If he's still a little bloated, use the BettaMax. If it gets worse, you'll need to treat with a stronger antibiotic than BettaMax. I've used Kanacyn on my bettas before. Kanacyn is made by the same company as BettaMax, and the box will look similar--two clear tubes with the capsules in them. Keep a careful watch on him and use the Kanacyn if the bloat gets worse or doesn't clear up. But--I think you'll be OK, because I first noticed my betta's bloat (he became very bloated very quickly) on a Sunday, and by Tuesday he was dead. You got yours on Oct. 1, and he's eating and swimming well, so that's a good sign. I know how much you love him, because I love mine too and can't imagine not having him!

 

[An t-iasg]

Hi William,
Aquarisol is a medicine for ich. It says on the label -- Fresh water cure and preventative for ich, closed fins, body fungus, velvet and other parasite infections. Do not use on snails, grass shrimp, crayfish, crabs, fresh water lobsters, invertebrates or amphibians. I wouldn't use it daily as a preventative, though, because of the copper. You wouldn't want to expose the fish to that all the time.

How is your betta doing-- the one that you got from your sister?