My betta is very ill and I don't know what to do

[Used_Car_Guy]

Clamped fins, clearly looks very ill

A bit of a bloat and a greyish mark on his body and gills. Fin rot as well.

His tail is turning red in some areas, no clue why.

This was a few days ago, his right pectoral fin is turning red.


My betta has been showing signs of severe illness for the past few days. He lives in a 7 gal, filtered and heated tank alone. It started with his pectoral fins turning red and now they look completely burned. I do 50-75% water change daily so I am not sure what is causing this. Today, I woke up to him barely moving and only doing ocassional dashes and he lays inside his cave for most of the day. He also shows a bit of a bloat. I changed from betta flakes to pellets. I feel like the food is dropping to the bottom and accumulating.

Whenever I pour water in, a ton of debris starts to float around. It looks like poop and food but I gravel vac every single time. It just won't stop and it looks horrible. Besides, his water params look fine.

I tested his water for the first time: Ammonia - 0 ppm, Nitrite - 0 ppm, Nitrate - 0 ppm. Maybe I tested wrong but I tried to follow the steps accurately. I do his water changes using Prime and add a dose of stability once done.

I added API aquarium salt today to help him recover his fins and any other sore on his body. I am going to fast him for 3 days to reduce the bloat.

I don't know what else to do, I am considering euthanizing the little guy, he seems to be in severe pain.

Please help

 

[shellyx]

I would increase the little guy's water changes to daily, if theres debris floating about then its possible it could be making his water parameters unstable for him. How often do you clean him and how much are you removing?

Sorry missed the 75% daily that would explain no nitrate reading, have you tried a deshelled pea for his bloat? Could he be getting burned from the heater?

 

[Aiken Drum]

How long have you had your tank set up? You aren't getting any nitrates which would normally be a sign of an uncycled tank, but you are doing daily water changes up to 75% so that might explain the low nitrates.

Are you testing before or after the water change?

Could you have forgotten to add dechlorinator?

 

[Used_Car_Guy]

How long have you had your tank set up? You aren't getting any nitrates which would normally be a sign of an uncycled tank, but you are doing daily water changes up to 75% so that might explain the low nitrates.

Are you testing before or after the water change?

Could you have forgotten to add dechlorinator?

I checked the nitrates again this time with a lot of shaking. It seems more like <5 ppm. I did a 75% water change yesterday so that might explain it. This is the first time I did a 75% water change. Usually its around 35-50%.

I am testing before the water change.

I always add 1 or 2 drops of Prime after I do a water change just in case.

I am considering buying this antibiotic: BLUE PLANET Aquaricycline Tabs

It is the only one available for decent delivery time here in Australia. Would you recommend I go with it? Btw, I am not certain if it is a bacterial or fungal infection.

 

[Used_Car_Guy]

I would increase the little guy's water changes to daily, if theres debris floating about then its possible it could be making his water parameters unstable for him. How often do you clean him and how much are you removing?

Sorry missed the 75% daily that would explain no nitrate reading, have you tried a deshelled pea for his bloat? Could he be getting burned from the heater?

Not sure if my last reply reached you so I am making another just in case.

The heater causing an issue is a possibility but I rarely see him go towards it. Before his pectoral fins rotted, they were bright red (almost like its blood!) and I did a water change immediately but to no avail.

I am considering getting this Tetracycline medication:

https://www.petcircle.com.au/product/blue-planet-aquaricycline-tabs

I am not even sure if his illness is a bacterial or fungal issue. He is just very lethargic now and just something about his appearance looks very off and....sick. I can't diagnose it for the life of me!

 

[Aiken Drum]

Red fins, gills etc is usually a sign of bacterial infection possibly caused by ammonia burn. So you would treat that with antibacterial medication. Im no expert on medication, and cant comment on the particular medication you are looking to get, although it is antibacterial med.

Note that antibacterial medication will not just treat the infection but could also affect the beneficial bacteria associated with your cycle. You would normally medicate in a quarantine tank to prevent this happening but as you have 1 fish it doesnt seem worth putting a QT tank together. Just be aware and continue to check your water parameters.

 

[Used_Car_Guy]

Red fins, gills etc is usually a sign of bacterial infection possibly caused by ammonia burn. So you would treat that with antibacterial medication. Im no expert on medication, and cant comment on the particular medication you are looking to get, although it is antibacterial med.

Note that antibacterial medication will not just treat the infection but could also affect the beneficial bacteria associated with your cycle. You would normally medicate in a quarantine tank to prevent this happening but as you have 1 fish it doesnt seem worth putting a QT tank together. Just be aware and continue to check your water parameters.

Shouldn't be too hard to maintain the parameters with consistent water changes. I am willing to sacrifice the bacteria if it means saving this little guy.

 

[shellyx]

I just wondered about the heater as my betta use to sleep next to it and cause burns.
If his fins etc turn red I would think ammonia burns as well, keep giving him large changes I would also keep adding salt hopefully that will pick him up.

 

[Used_Car_Guy]

I just wondered about the heater as my betta use to sleep next to it and cause burns.
If his fins etc turn red I would think ammonia burns as well, keep giving him large changes I would also keep adding salt hopefully that will pick him up.

I am keeping up with the water changes and checking the parameters. I also added aquarium salt. I am considering getting an antibiotic and adding it as well but I hear it isn't a good idea to do both at the same time.

I am not sure how much time I have in saving him, he was floating at the top very still and not moving. I even touched him with a net and he didn't move. He started to move a lot when I transferred him to a bucket to see if he is dying or not.

I feel like I am running out of time. It is day 3 of big water changes and aquarium salt but his condition is getting worse.

 

[shellyx]

How old is he?
Sad to hear he's gotten worse.

 

[Used_Car_Guy]

How old is he?
Sad to hear he's gotten worse.

I can only estimate how old he is. My cousin got him from a pet stall and had him living in a 1.5 gallon tank (more like a box) for a few months. I am assuming he was 1 year old when she bought him and is nearing 2 years.

His bloating has increased but I added half a tablet of this:

https://www.petbarn.com.au/blue-planet-tri-sulfa-tablets-15-pack

It is basically triple sulfa (I think). I will also add seachem stressguard as soon as it arrives.

Please let me know if these tablets are going to be helpful.

 

[shellyx]

I'm not sure about the tablets so I cant comment on them. Have you tried a deshelled pea? Is he pooping ok? Epsom salt baths can help with bloating.

 

[Used_Car_Guy]

I'm not sure about the tablets so I cant comment on them. Have you tried a deshelled pea? Is he pooping ok? Epsom salt baths can help with bloating.

I will try deshelled pea tomorrow. I am not sure about the pooping situation, haven't really been paying attention but I have yet to see stringy poop when I do water changes.

 

[ray210]

Any updates on this? My betta is immobile, and I'm thinking it's constipation. I was wondering if anything worked for you.

 

[fishingBuds]

Let me tell you my set up:
4g tank
No filter
No heater
Low light
1 echinodorus paniculatus (plant)
2 snails
1 rock (betta size +/-)

I do water changes every 1-2 weeks for him, and I feed him once a day with granules or sometimes blood worms or even flakes.

You are making a lot of water changes not allowing good/beneficial bacteria to evolve and you are making your fish stressed. Dont forget to use a sponge to clean glass algae.

Im guessing you using water conditioner or betta water for his tank (if you are using tap water for his tank I would appreciate if u test it before adding water conditioner, just to make sure it is not Hard)

Also, when you have a small tank with a filter, consider the noises and vibrations that comes with this set up, betta fish can survive inside a bottle of water with regular water changes (not happy and low life spam, but still) and dont need water movement to survive since it grabs O2 from the atmosphere, nature selcted it that way.

However if you want to make an experiment and see if this guy survives, try API products, always worked with me, just read the instructions, check quantities and you good. If your fish dies, dig a hole and give it back to nature, under some plants so they have nutrients

Hope it made you to understand how to trhive next time or to actually help your fish.


Edit: about over feeding and pallets laying down: you can feed him once a day, and take a look if he is actually eating everything, you dont want to give him more than 8 or 10 granules, or 5 or 7 flakes. Betta dont eat hard stuff like srhimp pellets (its just too complicated to them and looks like rocks for him) and sometimes they actually turns into scavangers and look for food at the bottom (even knowing its wrong to leave food at the bottom of any low tech tank) ONE FOOD THEY WILL ALWAYS EAT: LIVE FOOD (small invertebrates, worms...)

 

[Enchantress]

Too much of a good thing can be a bad thing...with such massive daily (!) water changes you're pretty much destabilizing the parametres and making things worse instead of better. Fish don't like such frequent and dramatic fluctuations in temperature, pH etc. It's just stressing him out and since your tank is healthily understocked, there's really no reason to change out that much water. Cut the changes, cut the feeding, and check the filter. If there's lots of debris floating around then it could be clogged. Get some medication for the fungal infection and he should recover. I've seen bettas in much worse shape who were succesfully treated and went on to live happy lives, so don't give up on him. He's not beyond help.
Also - put some Indian Almond Leaves in his tank, he'll definitely appreciate it. They have mild antibacterial properties, lower the pH (bettas prefer it lower) and help relieve stress.