Poor Skinny Betta

[BettaBaby]

Okay, this is my first time posting on here. It seems to run the same as most forums that I've been too, but if I am doing something incorrectly...feel free to put me in my place!

So, here's the problem...I'm pretty sure that my little yellow betta got ich! :? His eye swelled up to the side of a grape and he stopped eating. Well...I don't know how it happened but his eye got better and he seems to be well proportioned. He still wouldn't eat and I thought it would be okay and that we would try in a little while to see if things change. He eats now, but we think he's a little blind. I know he can see me, and see the food but it seems that he is too weak to take the worm. He also tends to miss a lot. He'll get right up next to it and when he goes to grab it it goes right over his head and he misses it.

Most of the time he spends at the bottom of the bowl and only comes up to breathe.

He is also very skinny and I am wondering if I should just put him down or if you all have any idea what I can do to make him better. He lives in a 10gal bowl with rocks at the bottom...so...what do you think?

 

[Meredith]

Welcome to AA BettaBaby! Sorry to hear your fish is sick. If you could answer these questions, it will make helping you a bit easier.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=33947

 

[BettaBaby]

1~What type of fish is afflicted? In addition, please describe what is wrong with the fish to the beset of your ability (i.e. cotton like growth, bloated, etc.).

Betta. skinny, pale, and won't eat consistently!

2~What are your tank parameters (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, temp, pH)? Please give exact values.

Honestly. All I could tell you is that it's ten gals. He is a little under room temp which is 70degrees. We use tap water with a betta water treatment. 12 drops. That's all I can tell you.

3~ How large is the tank? How long has the tank been set up?

5inch tall and 4inch wide and it's been around since the middle of November.

4~What type of filtration are you using? Please give the name and number (i.e. Fluval 304) and amount of gph if known.

I don't think this applies to me.

5~How many fish are in the tank? What kinds of fish are they and what are there current sizes?

One male betta...very skinny.

6~When is the last time you did a water change and vacuum the gravel? How often do you do this? How much water do you remove at a time?

Monday morning. 1-17-05. I put him in a cup and clean out the rocks before adding tap water the conditioner and slowly putting him back in.

7~How long have you had the fish? If the fish is new, how did you acclimate it/them?

I've had him since November.

8~Have you added anything new to the tank--decor, new dechlorinator, new substrate, etc.?

Nope. Same ol' thing.

 

[An t-iasg]

Welcome to Aquarium Advice, BettaBaby!

if I am doing something incorrectly...feel free to put me in my place!

You're doing fine 8) Now let's see about your betta!

Can you double check on your tank size? 5 inches tall and 4 inches wide is not a 10 gallon tank.

He is a little under room temp which is 70degrees

Bettas need to be at 80 degrees. They are very sensitive to fluctuations in temperature, and cool temperatures. They are stressed and get sick if they are in cool water or the temperature fluctuates.

An ideal environment for him would be at least a 3 gallon tank. My bettas are in 5 gallon tanks, with a 25 watt heater and a sponge filter. Many of the symptoms you are describing -- pale, lying at the bottom, not eating, bad eye -- are because his environment is less than ideal.

Also, taking the rocks out and rinsing them every week isn't good. The gravel bed/rocks/substrate develops a colony of good bacteria that keep the ammonia and nitrites undetectable. You don't have to remove the betta to do a water change. That may be stressing him too.

Read about cycling here: http://www.aquariumadvice.com/showquestion.php?faq=2&fldAuto=21

I would try to get him into a heated, stable environment. Even a Rubbermaid container that's about 3 gallons will be ok. This size container will allow for a heater, and over time a good bacterial colony will develop. You should also get test kits -- ammonia and nitrite for now.

If you're able to set up another tank for him, and have questions, ask! I'll tell you a little more about my tank setup.

 

[TankGirl]

Welcome to Aquarium Advice!! Glad to have you here, and I hope we can help.

5" tall and 4" wide - do you mean one gal instead of 10?

The first thing I notice here is that the temperature is way, way too low for him. Bettas are tropical fish, so he needs a temp of around 78F, so being so long in low temps may have impaired his health to the point where he cannot fight infection or other common ailments, and you may not be able to pull him through this. If you can put a desk lamp over the tank or otherwise warm him up that will help immensely.

This does not sound like ich, which is characterized by white spots that are similar to tiny grains of salt on the fish's body. It sounds like a bacterial infection, often starting out as a cloudy eye and then progressing, so he will need antibiotics. I am hoping one of our resident betta experts will pop in and assist with an exact medication, but I think getting the temp up is going to be the very first thing to do. Be sure the food that he does not eat gets removed from the tank so it won't cause water quality problems.

Good luck!

 

[An t-iasg]

Oh -- here is an article about ich. http://www.aquariumadvice.com/showquestion.php?faq=2&fldAuto=32
Does your fish look like the fish in the pictures? If you think he has ich, a good treatment is elevated temperatures, as stated in the article.

 

[Menagerie]

[center:e1952f7afc] Welcome to AA, BettaBaby! [/center:e1952f7afc]
I agree with An t-iasg. My bettas are in a split 5 gal tank with a heater and sponge filters. I had never kept bettas like this before, but my current bettas have out lived any male bettas I have ever owned. When bettas are not in a proper environment, they are prone to disease. Due to the lovely betta fins, disease settles in quickly because there is almost no circulation in the finage.

 

[BettaBaby]

I read the article and he definitely does not have ich. I'm such a bad mom! I have no idea how much water is in here...how could I be so dumb? maybe...three cups? I always thought they were better off in smaller bowls, but y'all are talking about 3 GALLONS...that seems like so much? Do they really need all of that room?

Also, can I just use a regular thermometer or is there a special instrument that I should use to get the temp right?

And another question...someone said that I don't have to remove them from their bowl to change their water. How do I do that? Just pour the water out and add while they're still in there? Do I need to condition the new water separately and then add it in later?

Wow, didn't realize I had so many questions.

 

[TankGirl]

In order to maintain good water quality, I don't like to keep bettas in less than 3-gal tanks, and 5 gals is better, just because the more water you have the easier it is to keep it stable.

What many of us use are stick-on adhesive liquid crystal thermometers, which you just stick onto the glass on the outside, and you can read the temp at all times. You can also use one on whatever container you use to condition the water before you put it in the tank, so it matches.

To change water you can use a syphon hose, and you can get a very small one at the LFS or order it online. The one I like has a one-way valve so you can shake the end up and down in the water and it starts a syphon without you having to suck on the end of the hose (yuk!). You suction out water and any debris that is in the bottom all at the same time, leaving the fish alone. Moving the fish from one container to another is stressful, also, and stress can contribute to susceptibility to illness.

Now you see how it is for many of us here - we get a simple little tank, have a question, come here and learn more than we really wanted to know, and the result is that we get more tanks for the fish that we did not know needed more room, get more fish, and become totally "hooked" on the hobby!

 

[Menagerie]

I always thought they were better off in smaller bowls

That's because stores propagate this misinformation. They want bettas to be an easy, care free pet.

talking about 3 GALLONS...that seems like so much? Do they really need all of that room?

It's amazing when you give a betta room. Their personalities come out more! Many members have female bettas in with community fish. I have a female betta in with Badis in a 29 gal tank. She is the start attraction!

someone said that I don't have to remove them from their bowl to change their water. How do I do that?

Get some plastic tubing at the LFS and siphon the water out. When you add in new water, you can put in the dechlor straight into the tank and then add the water. As for temp, I have small thermometers from the LFS--they cost $2-3 and are the perect size. The ones that stick on the tanks are not as reliable.

 

[BettaBaby]

Okay another question...LOL!

What is the better type of food to feed them? Mine won't eat the pellets only the dried worms. I've heard the worms aren't very good for them. It's the equivalent to us eating cheeseburgers, and pizza all the time!

 

[TankGirl]

That is too true. I have had finicky bettas and if you wait long enough they will come around to the prepared pellets, worms as a treat. The best thing for them is to get a blanched, peeled pea once or twice a week to keep their digestion flowing, as bloat is a real problem.

 

[BettaBaby]

I really have tried to feed them pellets, and he'll eat them but then just spit it out. How long should I try this for? Will he eventually eat it?

My friend has a water lilly habitat with a betta and is it okay if he only eats the worms or should she try to make him eat the pellets too?

 

[Menagerie]

A varied diet for any fish is a better diet! I don't know how many fish you own, but if you have other frozen foods, try those (mystis shrimp, daphnia, blood worms), definitely a pea a week, and on days where pellets are on the menu--that's all that is offered.

 

[An t-iasg]

My bettas like Hikari Betta Gold pellets. It's fairly normal for a betta to spit the pellet, or any new food, out. My new betta probably spit the pellet out for 3 days. One the 4th day he ate one, and then spit the second one out. By the end of the week he was eating all four pellets that were offered. I feed one pellet at a time, waiting until he "chews" to give him the next one.

My bettas get the pellets 5 days a week in the morning (Monday thru Friday). On M-W-F evening, they get a few freeze-dried bloodworms OR daphnia. On Saturday morning, the get a pea, and on Sunday I don't feed them. I boil a few frozen peas in the microwave in a fish-only glass measuring cup. Peel and discard the skin, and cut the pea into little pieces that are close in size to the pellets, and he should accept the pea. A half of one pea is more than enough for my two bettas.