memfish magic
Aquarium Advice Newbie
Please, please, please, someone tell me how I can help my poor sick betta! I have done everything I know to do and he's just not getting better. Here are the specs: I've had my crowntail betta, Sushi, for about 2 years, but he could be older. He lives in a 5 gallon tank, a Fluval Edge. I looked everywhere in the literature for specifics on the filter, but other than the fact that it's 3 part (foam, carbon, & biomax), I don't know. Sushi usually lives with a mystery snail and small algae eater (that I don't know the name of), but he is currently isolated in the tank for treatment. I vaccuum the gravel and do about a 50% water change once a week. I treat the water with Nutrafin AquaPlus and a little aquarium salt. I usually don't mess with ph levels but in my recent desperation I have added a little ph down (tests show the levels at appx. 7.8). Since ph down is an irritant, I don't want to change it too drastically while he's sick.
Several weeks ago I thought Sushi had swim bladder (which he has had before and recovered from) because he was sitting at the bottom of the tank, head down, tail up. I fasted him for a few days, but he has never gotten better. His breathing seems labored, he's completely lethargic, and assumes strange positions at the bottom of the tank, like lying on side or tail-up. He no longer eats at all (and hasn't for over a week). I've used progressively more aggressive medications: first the heater and API BettaFix, then added Acurel Health Guard and Health Guard Rx when he didn't get better, then Tetra Lifeguard, which is an all-in-one for various diseases. I've talked to multiple people at pet stores and online and finally concluded he must have a bacterial infection. Today is the last day of a full 4-day course of Tetracycline and he is not improved at all. I've tried hand feeding him bloodworms and dried pellets, to the point of brushing his poor little lips with it, but he just won't eat. It's breaking my heart to see him like this. If anyone has any advice, please help!!! I can't believe he's still hanging on, and I know he can't live much longer without eating.
Several weeks ago I thought Sushi had swim bladder (which he has had before and recovered from) because he was sitting at the bottom of the tank, head down, tail up. I fasted him for a few days, but he has never gotten better. His breathing seems labored, he's completely lethargic, and assumes strange positions at the bottom of the tank, like lying on side or tail-up. He no longer eats at all (and hasn't for over a week). I've used progressively more aggressive medications: first the heater and API BettaFix, then added Acurel Health Guard and Health Guard Rx when he didn't get better, then Tetra Lifeguard, which is an all-in-one for various diseases. I've talked to multiple people at pet stores and online and finally concluded he must have a bacterial infection. Today is the last day of a full 4-day course of Tetracycline and he is not improved at all. I've tried hand feeding him bloodworms and dried pellets, to the point of brushing his poor little lips with it, but he just won't eat. It's breaking my heart to see him like this. If anyone has any advice, please help!!! I can't believe he's still hanging on, and I know he can't live much longer without eating.