Importing a Thai Betta - The experience

[Autumnsky]

Today the Betta's tail is looking better, more solid, less clearish at the edges.

Did feed in the cup and 50% pwc with adding back in the lost meds and the aquarium salt and the Epsom Salt as well.

In the morning fed him about 5 of the small Betta BioGold pellets, enough just to feed him and that he would eat without excess waste.

He has decided I am a food interest and will come to the side of the tub to see if there is anything to eat. He is in a back area of the house with the excess house plants and aquarium plants. Have to go in to check on him often, of course don't give him food every time, lol.

A bit of relief that he is seemingly looking better.

 

[Delapool]

That sounds good he is getting to recognise you (or the food container at least lol). Seems a bit more lively.

 

[Autumnsky]

Yes, at first he seemed like a dazed walking dead, er, swimming dead.

The tail did look more solid when I looked closely today. I will see if I can get a pic which shows the improvement.

 

[Delapool]

Good news he is doing better.

 

[Autumnsky]

This morning he got a quick feeding and a complete pwc. Excepting about 30 ounces of water which had some of the tannins.

Added back less salt since he is looking better and same amount epsom salt.

The DW was really slimy - I rinse it off every time I do the 100% water change. Last time I added a Mystery Snail in to eat the slime, it just died.

Rinsed of the DW and decided to leave it in a Gallon container to stay wet but not add weird slimy grossness back into the tub. Which it has been continuously growing slime the whole time, and bing rinsed or brushed.

Dosed the last dose of the meds for 2 days for it to stay in the tank.

Friday I will change the water.

The leaves arrived from Junglefowl. Black Guava, sample of green Guava 5 or 6 leaves, and Jackfruit!

Pretty excited to add them.

I need to find out if the suggestions to boil some kinds of leaves are for safety or just because you want them to sink faster.

If it is about safety, then (hmmm, why am I using toxic leaves????) specifically which leaves do I have to boil.

All the reports for these kinds of leaves do not indicate they are toxic. Just not to add a basket of leaves all at once, or maybe it could be bad or too much for the fish.

I have years of solid good advice and even using certain leaves in my tanks. Mulberry, Catappa/IAL, and Oak, Guava, banana. There are plenty more types I do not know enough about or seen experiences/usage/comments from people I trust.

Really would like to get ahold of my friend from the hobby here who uses most everything good for fish and shrimp and is an excellent resource/reliable.

So excited about the leaves, didn't mention, it seems there is new growth on his tail. Fin rot has stopped.

 

[Delapool]

Jackfruit? Is it like mulberry.

 

[Autumnsky]

It is in the same family I think, I was reading about a bunch of them, hard to be sure. Only like 1000 times larger fruit.

 

[Autumnsky]

Thai Betta got his med treatment completed and moved to a new tank after getting acclimated and a chow down stop in his cup.

Hoping for a complete healing. The little guy flared at the phone when I was taking pics of him. That to me is a good sign, he is getting some life back into him. Will do my best to show off a couple pics tomorrow.

The blue trim is showing up on the regrowing tail.

 

[goatnad]

Great news to hear! Hope it won't be much longer and he will be back to a happy betta.

 

[Delapool]

All sounding good - put me off the whole online ordering idea though! From memory it's been a while since you first got him.

 

[Autumnsky]

About a month and a half.

 

[Barliman]

I think after all this you should hang "Betta MD" after your name.

 

[Autumnsky]

This may be the only thing I have done well lately.

December 5, 2018 Pick up night
This is the walking dead / swimming dead pic

Looking so much better

Closer up of the tail

What he was as the "what you see is what you get" quote from pics from the seller

 

[Autumnsky]

Loaded this last one for the night - his bad side, he has some rough spots there, damage.

He really shies away from showing this side. Most pics I took aren't this side.

 

[TMaier]

Looking so much better. Good job.

 

[goatnad]

He is looking waaay better then he did and it looks just like the pic! so you didn't get screwed. Yay!

 

[Delapool]

Yes, thinking same - looking a lot better and more like purchase photo.

 

[Autumnsky]

Yes indeed, I feel much better about that and it was a great deal of work, and I felt defeated there at the point before doing the meds.

Perhaps the sellers lights were very bright and after the stress he is changed somewhat.

In the one pic above when the light was hitting, he looked a bit more yellow in the fins.

Today he got a 75% pwc and added in the Epsom salts again, probably for the next week.

No pic, but today in the shimmering light of the LEDs he looked beautiful, and is seeing his reflection in the glass, so flaring at himself quite frequently. Hopefully making him stronger from being bold, not weak from stress.

The sides of the tank were a bit scummy, cleaned the sides of the tank and 3/4 of the way up.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Interesting observation is of the Mopani wood. In a few days the large wood piece fits in the gallon pitcher but sticks out the top, made the water very reddish. Lots of tannins still.

It was still slimy though, even after rinsing it off. Still after all this month and frequent rinsing off. Seems surprising to me.

It makes me wonder if the wood really helped with tannins or made things worse with its slimy fungus /bacteria.

The little tank has a internal filter (not yet in the tank) and I didn't yet, but think I will soak it in some bleach water to help prevent any transference if there was something germy there. I have some good filter media to add to it after it gets soaked.

May change the tank if he keep flaring so much.

I think we are getting to the end of this chapter, of importing a Thai Betta.

A couple more weeks - of finishing up Epsom salts, then waiting to see if his healing and tail regrowth continues.

Will move it to the topic to a new thread with the link for this, to the next stage which will be just making sure he's in a good space.

Thai Betta will not be going into the Paludarium, I had hoped to move the Dumbo Betta to that, but it seems he enjoys the Spec V, ruling over the Mystery snails. There needs to be some additional tank changes at my place in the next few months.

I will post the next couple weeks of progress.

 

[Barliman]

You've done an amazing job healing him.

 

[Autumnsky]

Alright fed him some frozen defrosted food and pellets today, the blue picotee /trim around the edges of his tail is getting darker and brighter! Pic on the weekend.

Probably a 1 gallon water change tonight.