Masha
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Have you guys seen this yet? I think it's pretty interesting!
Australian Vet Removed a Brain Tumor From a Goldfish Named George
Australian Vet Removed a Brain Tumor From a Goldfish Named George
Wonderful news! I am so happy the vet was able to save this goldfish
Shame on those nasty comments... I read some of them. Come on really. Goldfish can live 20 yrs or more with proper care. I hate how people say "it's just a fish". No no no! If you think that, you ought not to ever have fish!
I feel the same way. I told my mom about this she said it's horrible how humans think they're so great, better than all other living things. A lot of people think 'well it's not a human it doesn't have feelings/it's life doesn't matter.' That disgusts me so much.
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I'm glad you agree! This is not the first fish surgery I have heard of either.
That mentality disgusts me too. If we can't have kindness, compassion, and love for creatures other than humans, what kind of a person does that make us?
I never thought less of fish, but, until I had one, I didn't know how much I could like one or interact with one. I didn't think they had much personality, but boy was I wrong about that! He gets all excited when he sees us, he is a very curious smart little guy. He follows our fingers... very sweet I just love fish now!
I had the same experience. My betta is so social, he comes right up to you when you are by the tank! He's smarter than some dogs, I think, because he knows when you stop paying attention to him so he goes back to hiding. Then if you show interest in him he peeks out of his cave, and looks to make sure that you really want to see him. If he's sure, he will come out.
I think he might have a tumor in his abdomen, I really hope not! It would be great if I could get it removed but a) I can't afford it and b) I think he's getting into the older range for bettas so I'm not sure if it would be worth the risk. The dedication of the owners that do this for their fish is just amazing, I applaud them.
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I'm glad that you have such a sweet little guy! He sounds like a very smart little fishy! Ours has been flaring his little gills at me lately LOL. Trying to be aggressive I suppose Do you have a picture of his side? Mine has a little bulge, but, I think it's muscle and normal. It's not huge or anything. I try to make sure he doesn't eat too much, and he fasts every Wednesday. I am not sure how the fasting once a week will work when we have catfish in there with him, but, I'll do my best...
If you think his quality of life is suffering now or in the future, there is a fast way to put him to rest... another forum member told me about it, PM me if you are interested if you ever think you need to use it. I hope I don't ever have to use it, but it is good to know just in case.
I'm sorry to have to mention that to you , but, I just wanted to tell you.
Thanks. He is a feisty little guy, he has always been a fighter. You walk into the room he flares at you, you walk away he stops. Lol it's like he's trying to get your attention.
The bump showed up only recently and it got steadily worse, I fasted him for a day and it helped, so I fed him a little less recently. Hopefully it's just bloating. I hope it doesn't come to the point when I'm thinking about putting him down, I would have such a hard time since I love him so much. He reminds me of my late cat so I have even more of an attachment to him. Just writing this is making me tear up, I really don't understand how people could think fish don't matter.
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Awww that is so precious Does he have a name?
What are you feeding him and how much each day?
Maybe try fasting him two days a week, at least for a few weeks? Say Monday and Thursday fast him or something like that. He will be fine with that and it could help even more. It's good you're already fasting him one day. Ours gets fasted every Wednesday, hopefully we can still do that when we get our pygmy catfish....
I hope it is just bloating too. I am so sorry to even had said anything I just hate to think of any creature suffering. I know you'll do all you can for him before it comes to that.
I don't understand either how people don't think fish matter. I don't even want to think about this now, but, when our fish pass, they will get a burial just like any other pet would. I would never dream of flushing a fish, it makes me sick that people do that!
Here is a few links I found on betta bloating (not sure if you have read anything yet but I wanted to try to help!)
Bloating and Constipation | Betta Fish Care
http://bettaessentials.wikispaces.com/Sick+Betta+-+Bloating+&+Swelling
Just a note on the second link, the salt recommended for treatment in my opinion is a little too much (but not completely out of the question depending on severity of what is being treated). I found a great link here about treating bettas with salt:
http://bettasplendid.weebly.com/fin-rot-101.html
Of course, sometimes more salt may be helpful, but I wouldn't run the whole ten days with it, maybe just 5-7. Do research and use your best judgment. in the link above, it says to gradually up the salt, so if you ever did use more than 2 tsp per gallon at once, graduate it into the water like it says.
Ours was treated twice for fin rot... first round was 1/2 tsp per gallon then up to 1tsp per gallon for the rest of the days. Second time about 2 weeks later, 1.5 tsp per gallon then 2tsp per gallon for the rest of the time. I hope he is all better from it now. He had beautiful fins & tail and now they are all ripped looking and shredded I don't think he's getting any worse though, which is good, plus it can take a long while, if at all, for the fins to heal. All throughout, he acted like his normal, active curious self, so that was good
Oh! and one more thing about the salt -- no more than 10 days in a row or it can cause organ damage and it's just not good for them to be in it too long. If you have to treat with it again, wait at least 10 days in between.
We used api aquarium salt. inexpensive and pretty easy to find. Of course the smallest container is more than we'll ever need, but, at least we have it in case we ever need it again.
How often do you feed? Fasting isn't harmful, honestly I believe that is one of the most prevalent and dangerous myths of this hobby. Fast him for three days straight if you like it won't do damage.
Also feeding blanched, shelled peas can supposedly help clear up constipation.
It depends on the kind of fish too. Some fish must eat daily. I think I even heard goldfish need to eat twice a day?
But bettas can handle a fast day or two or three a week. Ours is fine eating daily with one fast day, but, some instructions recommend feeding 3 times a week. Eh. Before we really knew better he got like 5 pellets am and 5 pm. Oops. He got two fast days that week.