911. HELP. ASAP

[mother2kamryn]

Here's the story. I just woke up about thirty minutes ago. I woke up to my find that my three year old son had gotten into our little 2 gallon tank and tore my betta's fins to ****. It's really bad. He's still alive but he's barely hanging on. We put him in a smaller container with a semi-low water level so he doesn't have to exert much energy to breathe. It's not looking good. I can't really describe what he looks like. It is so awful. He's as close to death as he can be without being dead. If someone, anyone, know of anything i can do to help him i would appreciate it and i'm sure he would too. Thank you.

 

[Allivymar]

Aww. Poor betta 3 yr olds are tough on fish; I fed my mom's tropicals a box of baby food when I was 3...think it comes with the territory.

The lower level of water is a great idea; the less energy he has to expend the better; somewhere in the recent forums someone made a betta "bed"; a platform of sorts for the fish to rest on. Hopefully whoever did it will pop in.

There is a product called Bettafix you may want to try. Its similar to Melafix, but at a lower dosage (Melafix is too strong for bettas). Its a mild antiseptic and may help prevent infection.

 

[mother2kamryn]

dang I posted and hit reply instead of submit

Bettafix! wrote that down. I also heard of Bettamax, what is your opinion on that? I only ask because I only have access to a very small fish store..Nothing else for miles on end. My choices are limited.

Also is there anything else that I maybe missing.. Such as how often to change his water now that he is in a small tank and will have meds? anything.

Thanks in advance and thanks for your post Allivymar.

 

[Allivymar]

You can certainly use Bettamax as well; thats more of an antibiotic, but should help prevent infections too, which is probably the biggest thing to worry about atm. As long as the fins aren't torn out from the base, they will likely regenerate.

You are probably going to need to change water daily if he's in a small container; just make sure its the same temp and treated. 50% should be plenty, and do it before adding meds.

Heh and it must be one of those days; I had to delete one of my posts cause I somehow managed to post the same thing twice.

 

[Sara]

The lower level of water is a great idea; the less energy he has to expend the better; somewhere in the recent forums someone made a betta "bed"; a platform of sorts for the fish to rest on. Hopefully whoever did it will pop in.

I've got a platform for my betta - its really nothing to set up. All we did was get one of those little suction cup platforms that are supposed to be used as little shelves in the shower. Rinsed it well, and then added some gravel and a really small fake plant. My betta, despite recently being upgraded to a 5.5 gal with lots of room, seems to spend all his time lounging in his 'balcony'.

mother2kamryn, you should be able to find a platform at any Wal Mart or department store. My betta really seems to appreciate the downtime, so I imagine that it would really help yours.

Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[Allivymar]

Thanx Sara! I knew one had been discussed, but was at a loss as to who had set it up LOL

 

[Christmasfish]

Regeneration depends on the fin rays..sometimes if the main dorsal (top) is damaged too badly or the pecs(little side flappers) the fish will tire and die.
the caudal and anal (tail and skirt) naturally tear off long fin specimins all the time.
No biggie, though sometimes they come back like an ugly ragged crown with scarring (clear or white skin) on the edge.
I'd be more worried on if the body got compressed or the swim bladder damaged.
Only time will tell. Bettamax is a good product but overused (the blue soup most pet store bettas is in is bettamax). Fin damge is usually best combatted with daily water changes as long as there is no infection. We use asian almond or bannana leaf because we bought it to have onhand.
Good luck witgh the little guy. My son almost fed his bettas to death once. But I made him do an immediate tank change and look at his gasping fish. He has been very sparing since.
He takes good care of his friends now because mean old mommy used the "do this? and your fish will DIIIIE!" lecture, "you don't want to kill your fishies do you?" My son is 5 though. Three is a harder sell!

good luck..best to put Mr. betta atop a dresser or bookshelf about 3 ft up.

Heh Alli! We all are making betta beds now. Crxi found a better way (fake plants) than mine (live that die a lot). And the bettas looove it!
Mine now has a Repti water dish leaf double boiled and soaked in Kent. 8)
Least til I find some java fern. the riccia explodes adn so does foxtail and hornwort. My watercress didn't have enough current.

 

[sofia]

arggg one of the reasons I hate children. Place him somewhere where the kid will definetely not reach him. I hope he is doing better now

 

[medge00]

i doubt he understands what he was doing...

good luck though!! Let us know how things work out

 

[centuriJon]

Also an even easier way to make betta beds is get some java moss and attach it to suction cups near the top of the tank. It's soft, they can hide in it, and it almost impossible to kill java moss, so it lasts a long time