StrangelyNormal
Aquarium Advice Activist
What size is your tank? 10g, now reduced to 5g to make breathing easier.
What temperature is your tank? 82. Upped the temperature, was 78 before.
Does your tank have a filter? Yes, and the tank is cycled
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No
Is your tank heated? Yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? None. It is just him.
Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Mix of foods (hikari bio-gold, NLS, bloodworms, Daphnia, tubifex, mysis, brine, etc), however the last meal he had was a bloodworm as a treat and I am worrying. I avoid them, normally.
How often do you feed your betta fish? Once or twice daily with fasting days.
Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? Weekly.
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 25%-40% percent.
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Seachem Prime or API Water Conditioner.
Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?
I have not tested it, I just performed another water change and took out the gravel etc. He has two decorations to hide in, though.
Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? A bit paler, but it seems he is normal color now.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? Lethargic, falls to bottom of tank. Lies on bottom of tank or stays in the right top corner. I have been making it dark for him (towel over the tank) to ensure he is stress free. Slight interest in food and moving. I noticed one gill was slightly inflamed.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? One or two days ago.
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? Epsom salt bath, API General Cure. He seems to have improved with the general cure.
Does your fish have any history of being ill? Just once. The heater stopped working for a few hours, but the heater is working well now.
How old is your fish (approximately)? I bought him as a young fish in June of 2014, not from a pet store. I don't know how old he was prior to me obtaining him, but I have a funny feeling he was injected with some sort of hormones because his color has changed greatly long before this incident. He was healthy looking regardless, though.
I have shined him with a flashlight and noticed goldish-rust yesterday, but it didn't have cysts or anything (in case of velvet). Now I've shined him again today after some API Gen Cure, and whatever goldish he had is gone. I have since done a water change so the GenCure is no longer with him.
He has shown some improvement since the original day. He is more colorful, flares when he sees me and has even moved around a little more normally, but generally still remains on the bottom. He has swam more normally with the passage of time, so I'm hoping it works. I got him to eat last night and he is stronger today. I just am puzzled.
Thoughts?
I'm a bit puzzled, really, because nothing is screaming that is wrong with him. He was in a tank with 2 hideouts and multiple plants, so I can't see it being reasonable he was bored. He is also a very big flarer - if I show him his reflection in a mirror for exercise, he generally reacts. He hasn't reacted. The only thing I am thinking is swim bladder, and you can bet Ill be paranoid about bloodworms from here on out.
He has been dosed with epsom salt and api gen cure with daily water changes. 2 days before I tried aquarium salt and it seemed to help, but I dint know what's wrong so this is very trial and error.
What temperature is your tank? 82. Upped the temperature, was 78 before.
Does your tank have a filter? Yes, and the tank is cycled
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No
Is your tank heated? Yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? None. It is just him.
Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Mix of foods (hikari bio-gold, NLS, bloodworms, Daphnia, tubifex, mysis, brine, etc), however the last meal he had was a bloodworm as a treat and I am worrying. I avoid them, normally.
How often do you feed your betta fish? Once or twice daily with fasting days.
Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? Weekly.
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 25%-40% percent.
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Seachem Prime or API Water Conditioner.
Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?
I have not tested it, I just performed another water change and took out the gravel etc. He has two decorations to hide in, though.
Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? A bit paler, but it seems he is normal color now.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? Lethargic, falls to bottom of tank. Lies on bottom of tank or stays in the right top corner. I have been making it dark for him (towel over the tank) to ensure he is stress free. Slight interest in food and moving. I noticed one gill was slightly inflamed.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? One or two days ago.
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? Epsom salt bath, API General Cure. He seems to have improved with the general cure.
Does your fish have any history of being ill? Just once. The heater stopped working for a few hours, but the heater is working well now.
How old is your fish (approximately)? I bought him as a young fish in June of 2014, not from a pet store. I don't know how old he was prior to me obtaining him, but I have a funny feeling he was injected with some sort of hormones because his color has changed greatly long before this incident. He was healthy looking regardless, though.
I have shined him with a flashlight and noticed goldish-rust yesterday, but it didn't have cysts or anything (in case of velvet). Now I've shined him again today after some API Gen Cure, and whatever goldish he had is gone. I have since done a water change so the GenCure is no longer with him.
He has shown some improvement since the original day. He is more colorful, flares when he sees me and has even moved around a little more normally, but generally still remains on the bottom. He has swam more normally with the passage of time, so I'm hoping it works. I got him to eat last night and he is stronger today. I just am puzzled.
Thoughts?
I'm a bit puzzled, really, because nothing is screaming that is wrong with him. He was in a tank with 2 hideouts and multiple plants, so I can't see it being reasonable he was bored. He is also a very big flarer - if I show him his reflection in a mirror for exercise, he generally reacts. He hasn't reacted. The only thing I am thinking is swim bladder, and you can bet Ill be paranoid about bloodworms from here on out.
He has been dosed with epsom salt and api gen cure with daily water changes. 2 days before I tried aquarium salt and it seemed to help, but I dint know what's wrong so this is very trial and error.
I will post everything in a bit. 
