Help! Very Important Betta is sick!

[chris_topher]

I currently have the betta from my workplace at home because he very inactive and wasn't eating very often. He is very important to several of the staff, including myself, and the customers know him well.

The Problem:
Lucky is a green, pink, and white betta that I bought about 5 months ago, he has been healthy and active until now. He is in my established planted 5 gallon. The symptoms he is showing are:
-listing and rolling over to whichever way his top fin is pointing
-sinking to the bottom
-darting around the tank
-ignorance to food and the occasional mirror because I have tried to get him to flare up (helps with constipation).

The Previous Tank:
Was about a 1.5-2g bowl, no plants, and a bubbler. Temp was getting very cold as winter was setting on and there was no way to regulate this; it is really too small and awkward for a heater.
-No tests for pH or other chemicals in the water were done.
-He was always on a diet of betta pellets.

The 5g he is in now:
Established tank for a year. My own betta has been living in this tank since the start, he is healthy and active and I moved him to a new tank while I have Lucky.
-Temp: 23-24C (controlled by heater)
-Ammonia: 0
-Nitrite: 0
-Nitrate: too low to measure
-pH: 7.8 (unfortunately it has always been high)
-Last water change: yesterday, 1/3 water change, used dechlorinator as usual as well as stability

From what I can tell he has a swim bladder problem, however I dont think darting around is part of the symptoms of it. Lucky has been home for 3 days and ate only 1 pellet on the first day and then I tried to give him the pea treatment today and he didn't even notice it even when it dropped literally right in front of his mouth. I dont really know what to do, I have never treated sick fish before, and they are hard to diagnose and medicine can be risky so I need help, Lucky is important to many people!

Thanks!

 

[Jchillin]

Sorry to hear about Lucky not feeling well. As you mention, he is showing signs of swim bladder disease (listing, sinking and rolling). The other symptoms (darting) are usually signs of a high nitrate/nitrite issue and/or a ph/temp imbalance. Did he exhibit all of the symptoms you mentioned prior to the tank exchange?

 

[An t-iasg]

I'm sorry to hear about Lucky too. Unfortunately, keeping a betta in an unheated bowl is not the best environment for them. Your own betta that has been living in your 5 gallon planted tank from the beginning is healthy and active, while Lucky, in a less-than-ideal environment, is not doing well. At my bank, they had a betta in a vase and I kept telling them that betta is not going to do well.

At this point, I really don't know what you could do. Ignoring food and darting about rapidly are not good signs. My betta did that the day before he died. You could try some antibiotics for 5 days to see if it will resolve the swim bladder issue, and then keep him in an optimal environment - heated, cycled tank. Swim bladder issues are often genetic, but they can also be brought on by less than ideal water parameters. Is he swollen/bloated at all? This can be a common condition for bettas too. Bettas must be kept in heated tanks - cold water is usually the most common cause of betta illness. A 25-watt Visitherm Deluxe heater will work in a 2.5 gallon mini bow aquarium. You can find a minibow tank at Walmart. This brand of heater is available at the local pet stores or online. Hopefully that type of tank will fit within your work area, for the good of Lucky or any future bettas.

 

[chris_topher]

I came home from school today and he seems to be doing a bit better, the darting is less random, and I offered him pea and a few dried bloodworms, which both he nibbled at and spat a little out. I have started up my CO2 injector which the end is just hanging in the water to see if I can get the pH down a little, and I will do another partial change either tomorrow or the next day. Temp is fine as usual. Will try your suggestion and take a look around for small heaters and possibly a new bowl/tank.

Before I took him home he wasn't really darting, you could just tell he was having trouble getting to the top and no he is not bloated.

 

[bluerose]

Right now Petco is having a sale... my local one has pad heaters (although no 25w heaters) which might be adequate for a small tank.

 

[FishCrazyBenBOMB]

I suggest staying away from the pad and getting a 25W heater that you can adjust the temp.