Sad Betta help

[Pennysbluebetta]

Hello Everyone, I am new to this forum as well as new to the fish world. This past Saturday my daughter received a betta fish at a birthday party, we were excited about the new addition to the family but I noticed very quickly that the betta was in terrible shape, he came in a tiny container and his fins were all broken, he wasn't moving around much either. The next day I went to walmart and bought a betta kit that came with a half gallon mini tank, plastic plant and some purple rocks. The betta, his name is Dougy Gilmore lol still wasn't looking too happy so I did some research and got a few things in hopes of bringing this little guy back to life, I got a used 1.5 gallon tank, washed it out nicely, a thermostat and water heater, and his living conditions are a lot better now. He still seems pretty sad and not moving around much and it's making me feel terrible! Will he ever be better? And if so how long does it take roughly for them to be lively again. I'm really doing my best but nothing seems to change. Any advice or tips would be so helpful.

Thank you,
Nicole

 

[HeathBish]

Hi Nicole. Are the edges of Dougys fins blackened or bloody looking? Or do they just look torn and frayed? Itlf the latter, the clean heated water will help to heal his fins and he will become better on his own. If it is fin rot he will need to be medicated. Do you have a filter?

 

[HeathBish]

Also, make sure to keep his water 78 to 81. If he is sick with fin rot the warmer the better. If the fin rot is mild to moderate (severe will have white fuzzy areas usually) you won't need to medicate with antibiotics. Mild fin rot will usually heal with 50% water changes daily. Moderate fin rot will require dissolved aquarium salt. I would use your bigger tank as a 1 to 2 gallon is best. 1 gallon I'd use 1tsp dissolved aquarium salt and for 2 gallon you could use 2tsps. Make sure to dissolve it with fresh conditioned water. You should do this daily and be sure to do 100%water changes along with it. If you're not taking the old salt treated water out you'll overdose and cause burns and it is highly fatal.

 

[King Fisher]

I'll add a few things.....

You should really keep a Betta in a 2.5g tank minimum. 5g preferably.

Small tanks need extra care to maintain good water conditions. I'm assuming your tank isn't cycled. Because of this you should do 50% water changes every other day. Use a water dechlorinator as stated above. A good one is Seachem Prime. It will also convert your ammonia to the safer ammonium.

Try to get yourself an API Freshwater Master test kit to test your water. You will want to monitor the ammonia, nitrites and nitrates.

For fin damage I always use aquarium salt unless they are rotting really bad. As stated above, go with 1 TEAspoon of salt per 1 gallon of water. Being that you have a 1.5g tank I'd do a 50% water change then add 1/2 teaspoon of aquarium salt in your replacement water. On the second day when you do your next 50% water change.....again, add 1/2 teaspoon of aquarium salt to your replacement water. Mix it in good and dilute it. Do this every time you do a water change. It will keep your salt dosage stable at 1 teaspoon per 1.5 gallons in the tank.

Keep your tank at 80 degrees.

Keep us updated.

 

[Pennysbluebetta]

OK so I have added some photos of the poor little guy. I don't see any red around the fins, just more breakage I guess. Also, I just read that using dish soap is fatal to fish! When I was cleaning out the old used tank I used a bit of dish soap, I rinced everything really well but now I am worried about that!!! Oh jeeze, I'm doing everything I can to keep him alive and happy and then I do something that could potentially kill him ?

 

[HeathBish]

It's hard to tell anything from the pictures. Sorry. Why don't you try a 50% water change tomorrow. He was in terrible conditions as they always are when you got him. He might just need time. Also, they don't like a lot of light so at this time, if you have one, it would be best not to use it.

Keep us updated.

 

[King Fisher]

I use dish soap to clean out new or used tanks or if I start over. As long as you rinse it out really really good then it will be fine. A lot of people don't like to do this because of the risk.

The tips of his fins look white?? I would definitely run some aquarium salt. As Heath stated, do a 50% water change ASAP. Without a water test kit it's hard to say if your tank water is good or not. The sure way to keep the water sustainable is with frequent 50% water changes. It might be worth doing back to back 50% water changes then 50% every other day..... adding salt as well or as soon as possible.

Don't stress it to much [emoji106]

 

[Pennysbluebetta]

Dougy survived and is doing a lot better!

Dougy is doing so much better and looking so great!!! Look at the before and after

 

[HeathBish]

Awesome! He's a beauty!