Sick Baby Betta

[lizzastevens]

I have 2 baby bettas I got from petco. No issues until recently. I went on vacation and put a dissolving feeder in the tank (one on each side of the divided tank). Dumbest idea ever. It would have been better to leave them unfed because the tank was filthy when I came back. I changed the water out completely and cleaned everything in the tank. I noticed that both of my babies have been acting strange and I’m pretty sure they got sick. Both of their fins seemed to be much smaller than before (almost like parts went missing). One fish lost some of his color and became smaller (the one that floats to the top which I will mention). One fish always sinks to the bottom and has very low energy. He doesn’t eat. So I quarantined him, lowered the water level so he can swim up to breathe, have been fasting him for two days, and added a few drops of bacterial medicine. The other fish is always floating to the top. This one eats and seems to have more energy than the other one, but still is much lower energy than usual. He is in his own tank as well with medicine. Since they have been quarantined, the one the floats to the top has seemed to be getting a little better. He moves around more and eats every time I feed him. His fins look like they’re growing back (white tips on the fins and his fins look a bit larger). The one that sinks to the bottom has made no progress. I’m super worried about both of them.
What else can I do to help them? Am I doing something wrong ?

UPDATE:

The above was sent to Yahoo answers a few days ago. Just an update: the fish that tends to float to the top has been showing improvement. He moves around much more and has more energy. He’s still getting better, but the partial water changes and bacterial medicine I have put in the tank have seemed to help.

My fish that sinks - he’s the one I’m more worried about now. Yahoo answers people told me to put him back in his 5 gallon so I did. I left him for a night and a day and checked on him throughout and he seemed to be getting worse. He was breathing really heavily and seemed to struggle to get to the top for air. I put him back in the tank he was in before with the lowered water and his breathing has returned to normal (he comes up for air more too because it’s less of a struggle).

However, he is still not doing well and is clearly stressed. I’m new at this and I have no idea what’s wrong or how I should be treating him. Please help!

 

[V227]

Your Bettas are probably suffering from an ammonia spike. Research "Fish-In" tank cycling.

 

[Angellove78]

Is his scales pushed out from his body? Like a pine cone! Is his belly large? How low is the water level? And what are you using for meds? My suggestion is low water level to about 2-3" in a small space like a hatchery at the top of the tank. And get some jungle fungus clear taps. Chances are he's bloated, and stressed, but also a chance of fungus . 1-2 more days with no feedings.

 

[lizzastevens]

I’m trying to insert photos of him but for some reason they aren’t uploading. I just get error messages.

Anyway, I don’t think his scales are puffed out anymore than normal? Like they might seem bumpy but not any more than normal I don’t think. I wondered about dropsy.

His fins have their color and I don’t really see black on them anywhere. He’s definitely clamping his fins together though. There are white spots on his face which I don’t totally remember being there before. So maybe ich?

 

[lizzastevens]

Also, he did not appear sick when I returned from my vacation. It happened after I cleaned the tank so I’m wondering if maybe the stress from moving and their already lowered immune system from the dirty tank caused then to catch something.

 

[Angellove78]

How clean did you clean the tank? Did you take fish out to clean it? Do you have a filter on it? And did you clean that too? Another thing is if he don't have spots all over it's not ich. If it's a few patches that look white, most likely from ammonia level. Could be his color too. If these are baby (small) betta's color change can be almost instantly sometimes. First thing to do is test the water they are in. And I'd probably do a few water changes with treated water to get the meds out. Depending on what your using.

 

[lizzastevens]

I have two smaller tanks (like gallon sized tanks) that I put them in while I’m changing out the water. There is a filter in the main tank. I try to avoid harsh soaps and things with chemicals when I clean it. I wiped everything down and removed all the particles and junk from the sand and rocks. I cleaned all the fake plants and decorations too.

Usually I put clean water (not tap water) in the tank and include some of the previous water in the tank as well. This method has worked really well in the past with fish I have had before that lived a long time.

Sometimes I forget to wait for the new water to get to the right temperature before putting my fish back in. I definitely forgot to do that during the last cleaning.

 

[Angellove78]

Test your water, is all I can say. There's more to fish keeping than just filling a tank with water. You need to treat it. It needs to be same temp. And you should never clean a tank like that. It's too much of a change for the fish putting them in shock. If you don't have a test kit. Then might wanta get one. Not trying to be rude by all means. Just concerned is all. Tanks need to be cycled and properly maintained.

 

[lizzastevens]

Finally got a photo to work. I will test the water quality and try treating the water with that fungus stuff you mentioned.

 

[lizzastevens]

Also just realized a piece of his fin is missing

 

[Angellove78]

The water level needs to be low enough for her to be able to breath from the surface. If she's not swimming she needs the surface, very important! I wouldn't medicate. She's wounded, not sick. And she's stressed from not being able to swim to the surface and Gills are out she can't breath right (surface). Still test the water. And make sure there's never any ammonia with her so she can heal. Lower that water level as low as you can so she can reach without a struggle. When you see her pop her mouth to surface it will be low enough.

 

[Angellove78]

If you have some blood warms try feeding her alittle after you get the water level down to her. She might still eat. If she eats, that's a good sign.

 

[lizzastevens]

A positive update!

So Rio seems to be doing better. I’ve had his water level lowered for several days and, after having not eaten for a little over a week, Rio finally ate something! So exciting because he wouldn’t eat anything I was trying to feed him.

His fins are still clamped and he still isn’t as energetic as he was. But, he’s swimming around a bit more.

 

[Angellove78]

Aquarium salt! Dissolve it in a bowl same temp as tank and add it to the water. 1/2 -1 tsp per gallon. Set heat at 80°. It will help with the clamping and to heal faster. Good job momma. Should pull through.

 

[lizzastevens]

Thanks for all the advice! [emoji846]