Help fast!! Dying betta

[Copplanes]

please help and fast! my betta Thanksgiving is on the brink of death. he has been generally unwell and fighting fin rot for a long time. i've tried very hard to medicate and nothing's worked fully. hes been in a 5 gal filtered aerated tank. i have had a 10 gal tank going that i have been planning on cycling to add my betta to.
he has been so unwell the last few days and lying on the bottom of his 5 gal that i moved him to the 10gal just now.
it's been less than an hour and he's lying in the corner of the 10gal, barely breathing. he had made some erratic movements and gasped for air and hasn't moved for a while.
ANY LAST MINUTE TREATMENTS? SHOULD I GET HIM OUT AND INTO A CLEAN HOSPITAL TANK WITH FRESH WATER?
I got thanksgiving one year ago at midnight. please help

 

[bullyboy]

Do you know your water peramiters?
Is the tank heated?
Have you cleaned anything or changed anything in the environment lately?
Is he eating?
How much and how frequent are your water changes?

Pics please...

A quick dip for an hour or so in some fresh water never hurts SO LONG AS the water is the same temp.

I had an instance like this a while ago with a fish that was given to me as a rescue senario from an office plant vase life.
He fought for a long while but finally went.

 

[Copplanes]

Do you know your water peramiters?
Is the tank heated?
Have you cleaned anything or changed anything in the environment lately?
Is he eating?
How much and how frequent are your water changes?

Pics please...

A quick dip for an hour or so in some fresh water never hurts SO LONG AS the water is the same temp.

I had an instance like this a while ago with a fish that was given to me as a rescue senario from an office plant vase life.
He fought for a long while but finally went.

thank you so much for he response. before i put him in the 10 gal i checked the parameters and they were all in excellent range. i had the 10 gal set up for several weeks, adding bacteria starter to it only realizing that it needed a source of ammonia. so the waters been running and i changed out a couple gallons of the water before i added him last night. the tank is not heated, however i live in arizona and my tanks stay at 76-79 degrees. i have a heater in there just in case but it's not turned on.
i just woke up and found him laying under his hut, unresponsive. came back a second later and he was swimming a little funky and gasped for air. then begged for food.
i was surprised to see him eat and have an appetite, but i know bettas will have an appetite even close to death. here's a picture of him just now and the tank after i fed him.

 

[bullyboy]

Could you get a pic closer up?

Also id turn the heater on anyway just because most of the time they are registering the temp at the surface of the glass and isnt usually accurate to mid tank temps.
The higher temp 76-80 will aid his metabolism and immunity.

Are you using any meds in the tank right now?

 

[Copplanes]

Could you get a pic closer up?

Also id turn the heater on anyway just because most of the time they are registering the temp at the surface of the glass and isnt usually accurate to mid tank temps.
The higher temp 76-80 will aid his metabolism and immunity.

Are you using any meds in the tank right now?

ok, just turned in the heater. the temp sticker was reading at 80-82 on the side of the tank opposite the heater, so i thought it was too hot. thank you for replying again!!

the tank might have a little bit of melafix or salt in it because i had added some of the water from his 5 gal a couple days ago in hopes i'd be aiding the process of transferring him. i just got this pic f him, you can see how bad the blood spots and tail rot is. still no idea how to treat it, i've tried melafix, salt, e.r. ethromycin and stress coat(not all together at the same time)

 

[fishychick]

I agree with bullyboy, definitely turn the heater on. I learned the hard way the temp needs to be consistent and the heater will help. This sounds a lot like what happened to my betta. At first I treated the heck out of him. Then after a while I wasn't sure what was working if anything so I just decided to go back to basics. I got the temp under control, did a pwc every day and he's still kicking today. Some of his fins grew back, but not all. I hope your betta is better soon.

 

[bullyboy]

So hes in the 10gallon now from the 5?
Is the 10 gallon cycled?

Ive found that dayly 25% waterchanges treated with Seachem Prime are great for aiding fin growth and easing stress.

I dont use the bettafix/melafix stuff because it has oils in it that can damage their labyrinth organ and make it hard for them to breathe.

As far as meds go a good one ive had success with was Kanaplex which is a type of broadspectrum kanamycin based med.
It treats both bacterial and fungal diseases.

 

[bullyboy]

I agree with bullyboy, definitely turn the heater on. I learned the hard way the temp needs to be consistent and the heater will help. This sounds a lot like what happened to my betta. At first I treated the heck out of him. Then after a while I wasn't sure what was working if anything so I just decided to go back to basics. I got the temp under control, did a pwc every day and he's still kicking today. Some of his fins grew back, but not all. I hope your betta is better soon.

Im glad its better @fishychick.

Betta actually release a hormone whichb inhibits fin growth. It is my hypothesis that it may also be a contributing factor to the high rate of fin rot seen in this species.
In the wild they would just seek out better waters (why there notorious jumpers) but in a closed system thats hard to do

 

[Copplanes]

So hes in the 10gallon now from the 5?
Is the 10 gallon cycled?

Ive found that dayly 25% waterchanges treated with Seachem Prime are great for aiding fin growth and easing stress.

I dont use the bettafix/melafix stuff because it has oils in it that can damage their labyrinth organ and make it hard for them to breathe.

As far as meds go a good one ive had success with was Kanaplex which is a type of broadspectrum kanamycin based med.
It treats both bacterial and fungal diseases.

the 10 gal is not cycled at all, i had been acting bacteria starter microb-lift without feeding it any ammonia. i have been planning on cycling it with thanksgiving in it, but have been cautious because of his failing health.

i'll have to use that prime stuff and do pwc everyday and see what happens.

i did learn recently that melafix is bad for betas and don't plan on using it again, but it was the only medication i've used thus far that he showed great regrowth and loss of blood spots..

can i use kanaplex in the 10gal? or would i quarantine him?

 

[Copplanes]

I agree with bullyboy, definitely turn the heater on. I learned the hard way the temp needs to be consistent and the heater will help. This sounds a lot like what happened to my betta. At first I treated the heck out of him. Then after a while I wasn't sure what was working if anything so I just decided to go back to basics. I got the temp under control, did a pwc every day and he's still kicking today. Some of his fins grew back, but not all. I hope your betta is better soon.

wow, that gives me a lot of hope. hopefully daily pwc and having the heater on and being in an awesome big tank will keep him going for now. thanks for sharing

 

[bullyboy]

You can do it in the 10 and id also treat the 5 with a half dose dayly to be safe and kill off the disease.

In the future you can do a fishless cycle with ghost feedings.
Just put a bit of food in a set up tank with no livestock. It'll take a bit but its doable

 

[Delapool]

the 10 gal is not cycled at all, i had been acting bacteria starter microb-lift without feeding it any ammonia. i have been planning on cycling it with thanksgiving in it, but have been cautious because of his failing health.

i'll have to use that prime stuff and do pwc everyday and see what happens.

i did learn recently that melafix is bad for betas and don't plan on using it again, but it was the only medication i've used thus far that he showed great regrowth and loss of blood spots..

can i use kanaplex in the 10gal? or would i quarantine him?

Just regarding the melafix, I'm aware of nothing in either research or experience to suggest that melafix or pimafix is specifically bad for bettas.

There is an old thread which notes issues and its possible they have improved the way it mixes with water since then (nothing hard posted there). Rather I find the over-dosing needs to be very much avoided for all fish and this can be very easy to get wrong in small tanks. If possible dispense at filter outlet or something. I could easily see how in an unfiltered tank a fish hitting a "cloud" of melafix which hasn't dispersed through the tank would have troubles.

 

[fishychick]

How's he doing? Any improvement?

 

[Copplanes]

How's he doing? Any improvement?

i must have temperature shocked him when i put him in the 10 gal. after i turned on the heater, he was fine. being in his new tank the blood spots have faded a lot, and i'm about to put bacteria starter in it then check my parameters. thank you for asking!

 

[Copplanes]

the 10 gal is not cycled at all, i had been acting bacteria starter microb-lift without feeding it any ammonia. i have been planning on cycling it with thanksgiving in it, but have been cautious because of his failing health.

i'll have to use that prime stuff and do pwc everyday and see what happens.

i did learn recently that melafix is bad for betas and don't plan on using it again, but it was the only medication i've used thus far that he showed great regrowth and loss of blood spots..

can i use kanaplex in the 10gal? or would i quarantine him?

i bought the prime and have been doing water changes with it. i think he's definitely doing him good, but i'm having trouble doing water changes with water that's exactly the same as the water in the tank.

 

[Copplanes]

Could you get a pic closer up?

Also id turn the heater on anyway just because most of the time they are registering the temp at the surface of the glass and isnt usually accurate to mid tank temps.
The higher temp 76-80 will aid his metabolism and immunity.

Are you using any meds in the tank right now?

turning up the temp helped tremendously, i'd definitely say he's out of immediate danger. thank you for your help!

 

[2EZY]

If it was me put your heater on and up your water changes daily add a little aquarium salt it aids it a little and add also stress coat+ stress coat+ helps the regrowth of fins as well because it's got a Aloa Vera in it with helps tissue regrowth.

Clean water is the key to success therefore the disease can't survive .

I've used malafix betta fix all that crap they do more harm then good they don't work.

I'll give you an example my betta split it's caudal fin in half caught it on something I changed the water daily 25% added salt and stress coat recovered in 4 days big improvement so there you go

Also do u add any water Hardness in ur aquarium they also keep the water constant so your fish is less acceptable to diseases. Good luck hope it works

 

[Copplanes]

If it was me put your heater on and up your water changes daily add a little aquarium salt it aids it a little and add also stress coat+ stress coat+ helps the regrowth of fins as well because it's got a Aloa Vera in it with helps tissue regrowth.

Clean water is the key to success therefore the disease can't survive .

I've used malafix betta fix all that crap they do more harm then good they don't work.

I'll give you an example my betta split it's caudal fin in half caught it on something I changed the water daily 25% added salt and stress coat recovered in 4 days big improvement so there you go

Also do u add any water Hardness in ur aquarium they also keep the water constant so your fish is less acceptable to diseases. Good luck hope it works

i've been using salt for quite a while, doesn't seem to be helping him at all.. maybe i have used it wrong or too much, but the one time i did see a lot of regrowth i was using melafix and salt together. stress coat seems to make him lethargic too. just my experience!
i think my biggest mistake has been not doing daily water changes during illness, so thank you for the advice.
do you have recommendations on how to change out that much water? i've been using a cup and dumping it in the sink but that's pretty tedious daily!

 

[2EZY]

Just vacume siphone 25% of the water into a bucket that you take out and replace it with fresh clean condition water daily make sure the new water is the same temperature as the water you took out you don't want stress the the fighter by constantly having temperature changes when u change his water I always my preheat my water with large aquarium heater just to make sure it's the same before goes in the tank does your tank have temperature gudge on it ? That will tell what ur current water temperature is

 

[Copplanes]

Just vacume siphone 25% of the water into a bucket that you take out and replace it with fresh clean condition water daily make sure the new water is the same temperature as the water you took out you don't want stress the the fighter by constantly having temperature changes when u change his water I always my preheat my water with large aquarium heater just to make sure it's the same before goes in the tank does your tank have temperature gudge on it ? That will tell what ur current water temperature is

i have a temp sticker on the side, but i've heard it's a poor representation of the inside of the tank. since it's just a 10 gallon tank, i use plastic water gallons to mix my dechlorinator and such before adding to tank.