Sick beta... please help

[haunani]

Answered in order of the questions in the sticky note above.

Beta Fish
Unable to hold himself down in the water. If he stops moving, he floats on his side. He appears to have some bloating at his belly. From his belly forward, on his underside, he has lost color. His pectoral fins have also lost color. He is still eating happily.

Ammonia- 0.25 ppm
Nitrites- 0 ppm
Nitrates- n/a
Temp- 76 F
pH- 7.0
(aquarium pharmaceuticals drop tests)

10 gallon tank, set up for about 11 months

AquaClear 20 (5-20 gallon tanks), up to 100gph

After the beta, there are 6 black skirt tetra in the tank, all about 1 1/2" long (with tails included).

Water change and vacuum was done today.

I will be taking this over for my husband, as I was informed he hadn't done so in nearly 4 months. 8O It was about an 80% change today. Tap water conditioned with Stress Coat. Leaf Zone added for live plants (names forgotten... have been in tank about 2 weeks longer than fish have) and aquarium salt added, about 1 tsp.

We have had the fish for about 11 months.

Nothing new has been added.

TetraColor tropical flakes and TopFin freeze dried bloodworms (occassionally as a treat). It has not been changed recently.

 

[Zagz]

It sounds like it could be swim bladder. You say he has been eating, have you seen him pooping at all? Trying to rule out constipation. With his bloating are his scales sticking out from his sides at all?
I'd do another water change to get the ammonia to 0 either today or tomorrow morning. Add declorinator when you do the change.
You can feed peas if the fish is constipated, or if not constipation, you can try some medicated food for swim bladder disease. Keep the water parameters pristine, swim bladder problems can be caused by bad water conditions.
Good luck, and keep us posted.

 

[haunani]

The fins aren't pineconing at this time. My husband said he seemed fine this afternoon when he did the water change.

I haven't seen him poop and couldn't get him to eat the pea. He was all about some food, but not the pea.

I read that epsom salts can help, too, as they don't have the sodium that other salts do. I'm thinking of trying that before I go with the meds (but I'll still get the meds to make sure I have them on hand).

Thank you!

 

[Zagz]

The epsom salts have proved helpful in many cases for sure. Hopefully it is constipation and he will take the peas soon. Keep an eye on him, watch for scales sticking out. It doesn't sound like dropsy to me. I have a gourami with dropsy right now and she didn't have any swim problems, just bloating and scales sticking out.

 

[haunani]

It seems that it was just constipation.

I didn't see him eat any peas as of last night and he wasn't looked any better (or worse) this morning. After making the run to the store to get him his "drugs", I started to get his quarantine tank ready (just to keep a better eye on him). Right after moving him, he pooped, and looked almost instantly better. After a couple of hours, he was his old self again. I'm keeping in the q-tank overnight just to make sure, then he can go home again.

Thank you!

 

[An t-iasg]

I'm glad he's better! You can feed peas to a betta once a week to prevent bloating and constipation. I like frozen peas - canned ones get too mushy in the tank. I put frozen peas in a "fish-only" cup of water and heat on high for 4 1/2 minutes in the microwave. I cut the peas up very small (yes, it's tedious!) so the pieces are about the same size as the betta's normal food. The betta should accept the pea if it's the same size as his regular food.

Some other observations: Loss of color is a sign of stress. 76 degrees is a bit cool for a betta. 80 degrees is a better temperature. Looking at a profile for black skirt tetras, they can tolerate a temperature of up to 82 degrees. You may want to try gradually turning up the temperature to see if you notice a difference in the betta. He will probably become more active at a warmer temperature. Increase the temperature gradually, though - turn up by one degree a day or two days, and then judge how the fish are doing.

How are the tetras treating the betta? In a small tank like that, the tetras could harraass the betta. Different tetra species behave differently, and I've seen neon tetras harrass a betta, but it's something to keep in mind if the betta still seems stressed.

Another possible source of stress for the betta could be the filter flow. Bettas don't like strong current, but if there is a place in the tank that they can get away from it, then they should be fine. I think that filter has an adjustable outflow - you could try adjusting that and make observations as to how things are going. Up to 100 gph is a bit much for a 10 gallon tank - IMO, a turnover of 5-8 times an hour is preferable, depending on bio-load.

How are the plants doing? Do you know how much light you have? Is it the standard 15-watt light that fits most 10 gallon tanks? Plants usually don't like any salt, so that's something to keep in mind if they aren't doing well (although other factors could affect the plants, like the amount of light or fertilizers). One teaspoon isn't a lot for 10 gallons, though.

 

[haunani]

I'm planning on upping the temp over the next week or so.

The tetras pretty much just ignore him, like he's not even there. That's one of the reasons I went with them over, say, the neons or cardinals or such.

We have two plants, Java Fern and a Red Melon Sword. They're doing well.

I don't remeber the light we have in there, but it's definitely not the "stock" light it came with.

We keep the filter on its low setting for that very reason. He has his places that he likes to 'hide', in the fixtures and the leaves of the plants.

Since he pooped, his color has returned, his fins are a bit slower to recover their color.

Thank you so much for your help and advice.

 

[An t-iasg]

I forgot to mention about the pea - but you probably figured it out already - to peel and discard the skin. Feed only the "meat" of the pea.

It sounds like you have everything under control!