Lethargic, frayed tail, BETTA, please help!!!

[charmerang]

Hello all,

I'm hoping you can help my betta fish Phelps. I have had him for about 3 months now, he is normally very active and outgoing. However, for the past couple of days he has been very lethargic but this morning I noticed he was looking REALLY bad, his tail is frayed and he is only using one of his little side fins (I don't know what the proper name is.)
He has been hiding alot, which he normally does not do. He's also been hanging out near the surface just kind of floating there...


His tank is kept extremely clean, 1.5 gallon, full water change 1-2 times a week. So I can't imagine that it would be anything bacterial, fungal, or ammonia/nitrate related.

I had an ich scare with one of my newer bettas, so I panicked and added aquarium salt and Bettafix to Phelps' tank for preventative measures since I use the same net for both tanks.

But I'm not sure that it was the medication either. When I got my new betta fish, Petsmart was out of the heaters that I like for my small tanks (Marina 10w) so I got a different kind of heater, which supposedly also had automatic shutoff for temperature saftey (Marineland 10w.) I switched Phelp's heater with the new heater, but when I checked the thermometer this morning it was well above 85 degrees F!!! :0

Could this be the problem??

Phelps was also overfed by my fish sitter, he ate a whole 7 day betta feeder in less than 4 days!!! :0 But I fasted him all of last week and fed him some live brine shrimp yesterday.

Also, my newer betta Perry has been very lethargic and sulky too, but I can't imagine what is wrong with him. He has been like that since I got him... maybe that is just his personality?

Here are some pictures of Phelps healthy and then unhealthy.

Please help! I'm a very worried mommy!

Healthy Phelps:
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y63/charmerang/IMG_3114.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y63/charmerang/IMG_3121.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y63/charmerang/IMG_3125.jpg

Phelps today:

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y63/charmerang/IMG_3136.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y63/charmerang/IMG_3138.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y63/charmerang/IMG_3141.jpg


PS. Did a full water change last night before I woke up this morning and he looked worse....

 

[dkpate]

His fins look clamped, and even in the healthy pics he has fin loss.
In that small of a tank, you should be changing the water about every other day, not 1-2 times a week, especially if you don't have a filter.
Try changing part of the water every day, and NEVER change all of the water. Every time you change out all of the water, you kill the good bacteria and I am assuming you take the bettas out while cleaning, which is very stressful.
How much do you feed him? His belly looks pretty full! Their stomachs are only as big as their eyes, so they don't need as much food as they think they do! I know it's hard, since they always seem to be begging, but you have to hold back.

 

[adadkins1]

I agree with dkpate, you would have to do a water change every day to keep the water liveable for Phelps. If you can, invest some money in a good 5 gallon tank so you can do weekly water changes instead of daily water changes. Do this and you would put less stress on him and have more time to enjoy him .

 

[Homedog98]

His fins look clamped, and even in the healthy pics he has fin loss.
In that small of a tank, you should be changing the water about every other day, not 1-2 times a week, especially if you don't have a filter.
Try changing part of the water every day, and NEVER change all of the water. Every time you change out all of the water, you kill the good bacteria and I am assuming you take the bettas out while cleaning, which is very stressful.
How much do you feed him? His belly looks pretty full! Their stomachs are only as big as their eyes, so they don't need as much food as they think they do! I know it's hard, since they always seem to be begging, but you have to hold back.

Actually, only a little bit of bacteria is in the water. Not really enough to make any difference.

 

[dkpate]

Actually, only a little bit of bacteria is in the water. Not really enough to make any difference.

*sigh* Once again, (since we have already had this discussion), the walls of the tank and the decor dry out when you change all of the water, therefore killing the good bacteria living on those surfaces.

 

[Homedog98]

*sigh* I guess there's just some things we'll never agree on. Lol, but there still isn't a lot of bacteria in the actual water. You said so yourself!!!

 

[dkpate]

I never said a word on here about the bacteria in the water....It DRIES out the tank walls and the decorations, and the drying kills the bacteria.

 

[adadkins1]

There is a negligible amount of bacteria in the water, but I agree that the vast majority grows on the walls and substrate. Since the bacteria are aquatic they need water to live. If the walls and substrate gets dry, bye bye bacteria!

 

[Homedog98]

Oh... Still. In my opinion, almost no water is on the tank walls, just a bit on the decor, some on the substrate, and most in the filter. Just IMO. The bacteria won't be able to grip the tank walls' surface.

 

[adadkins1]

Is there a filter? Just curious because there wasn't one mentioned and I have seen people keep bettas in unfiltered tanks.

 

[dkpate]

How can no water be on the tank walls if you have a tank for a fish? Bacteria can grow anywhere.

 

[charmerang]

Yes he did have a filter, but it seemed to be bothering him so I unplugged it for a little while. Should I try putting it back in?

I would love to get a 5 gallon tank for him but I simply don't have the room right now in my dorm at school. Hopefully in a month or two I can move him into a nice big 5 gallon mansion.

I don't know about the fin loss in the healthy pictures. He's a crowntail and all of the ones I have seen are like that.

I will try changing the water tomorrow. I do not want to upset him right now, he has been moving around quite a bit more since this afternoon.

I was really thinking that it was because the new heater was making the water too warm for him... could that be it? But it wouldn't affect his fins.

Should I use bettafix and aquarium salt for his fins?

Thank you for your help!

 

[adadkins1]

I would keep and eye on the water temperature and make sure it stays at a constant temperature plus or minus a degree or two. I would definately put the filter back in, though you would have to re-grow the bacteria that were established before you turned it off. Keep up with daily water changes (about 50% would be good if water parameters are off) and plug the filter back in, but you can use the middle section of a coke bottle to direct the filter output. Just cut off the curved top and bottom parts leaving you with a cylinder. Then cut the cylinder from vertically from top to bottom. Finally just put it over the filter output to direct the flow and reduce the current. Works great for me. Keep us updated.

 

[charmerang]

See my new thread. I changed the water and plugged the filter back in yesterday but Phelps has gotten much, much worse... when I changed the water today, Phelps naturally swam away but when he was swimming bits of his tail and fins started actually breaking off. There were little bits everywhere...

I am seriously considering euthanising because its clear that he is really suffering, but I want to make sure that I do everything possible first.

With his fins breaking off, I'm very reluctant to do more water changes because it will disturb him, but I have left the filter running.

I'm going to see how he feels at the end of the week but after that I can't stand to see him suffering any more :'(

 

[adadkins1]

Just saw it. I am really sorry about him. "Go with your gut" when it comes to euthenasia.

 

[Homedog98]

Aquarium salt will help clean the water. 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons of water. It's worth a shot!

 

[siva]

Betta's been on salt too long now, gotta stop the salt.

 

[dkpate]

+1 Siva. Clean water is going to be what's best for him. If he is in the small tank, you can pick up a cheap turkey baster and change a little of the water at a time.

 

[charmerang]

Great news!
I got back from class just now and naturally checked on Phelps, when I noticed I was back he swam up to the glass like he used to do to say hi to me. He has been swimming around a little, but he is also taking some long breaks near the plants... His fins are obviously damaged but he has been spreading them as best he can.
I'm going to do a 40% water change with unsalted water later today. But I'm hopeful that he will make a full recovery!

 

[adadkins1]

Thats good to hear!
Keep on doing the water changes like you are and hopefully he will have a quick recovery.
Like dkpate said you can use a turkey baster in order to disturb him less. I currently use a simple piece of airline tubing and just start a syphon by sucking on one end. Also makes a good gravel vac.