# Weird curved spine/bone???



## pinkcupid765 (Aug 14, 2011)

So my betta Emiko has ben acting weird lately. He's swimming kinda sideways and just sulks at the top corner. What I noticed today was that his side is kinda protruding out, like something is sticking him. The scales there are discolored and raised or something. I've never seen anything like it  Yesterday i caught him on his side on the bottom of the tank. He's fairly active…. and eats a bit… Looks real painful… 
When I got him he was in filthy conditions and had no fins. Could that have something to do with it? He's pretty old but not THAT old… A while back he bit his fins off so they grew back all funky  

YES I KNOW HIS TANK IS DIRTY! Today's cleaning day so that's why I noticed it 

Here is a vid:
http://tinypic.com/player.php?v=34yz4fr&s=6

Here are some pics:

sorry it's sideways

















Housing 
What size is your tank? 2.5
What temperature is your tank? 81 degrees
Does your tank have a filter? yes

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? TetraBetta"plus" floating mini pellets
How often do you feed your betta fish? once a day (4-5 pellets)

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change? try to once a week
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 100%

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? Weird bump on the right side
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? He's just kinda sad… 
When did you start noticing the symptoms? 2-3 days ago
Does your fish have any history of being ill? In horrible condition when I got him, then bit his fins off later
How old is your fish (approximately)? ummm maybe 11-12 months? 

Help?


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## Pataflafla (Jun 2, 2011)

It does look as if he's having a bit of trouble swimming.

Could you get an overhead picture to see if it's actually his back or just his caudal muscle or swim bladder?

For now, I'd try doing an epsom salt treatment at 1 tsp/gal with 100% daily changes for 7 days. Might want to put him into something smaller for the duration of the treatment to make water changes easier.


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## lvandert (Feb 23, 2012)

It looks like internal parasites. Get some unscented epsom salt and start with a 1 tsp per gallon treatment. Make sure you introduce it gradually. If he doesn't start looking/acting better in 3-4 days then we got to see what else it could be.

I also would recommend a 50% and a 100% water change every week.


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## pinkcupid765 (Aug 14, 2011)

I have put him in a cup to take some pictures. I have a 2 gallon acrylic tank with no filter. Would that be okay? I'm not sure if I want him in a filtered tank because before he was wrapped around the intake and he has NEVER done that before  I don't want him to get hurt by the intake. 
It was hard to get these pics because he keeps falling over on his side… *cry


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## lvandert (Feb 23, 2012)

the 2 gallon will be fine. They don't NEED a filter when doing multiple water changes for disease treatments. 

I would recommend the epsom salt treatment stated above.


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## pinkcupid765 (Aug 14, 2011)

Ok! He's in the QT. If the salt works will the bump go away?


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## Pataflafla (Jun 2, 2011)

the bump should at the very least decrease and make it easier for him to swim.

the epsom salt will help you be able to determine the cause of the swelling in that area. It might just be a case of sbd or it might be a parasite load.

If his poop starts coming out stringy and white (Epsom salt will make him poop as it is a laxative) then start treating for parasites with General cure or Jungle anti-Parasite tabs.


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## pinkcupid765 (Aug 14, 2011)

Thank you Hopefully he'll go back to his old self soon


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## Pucky21811 (Jul 31, 2011)

This almost looks like what happened to my Zamboni - but that was a traumatic event with a net when I was a real newbie. But this wasn't due to any trauma? Could it have been when he got stuck in the filter?

Either way I would also add to the above advice: put the qt tank in a dark room or even wrap a towel around his tank to calm him down.... :/
Good luck!


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## pinkcupid765 (Aug 14, 2011)

Thank you!


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## pinkcupid765 (Aug 14, 2011)

I just came home and discovered that Emiko died… I'm not sure what happened. Hopefully he's in a better place now… I'll miss the little guy *cry*


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## Pataflafla (Jun 2, 2011)

Oh no. I'm so sorry.

It's possible that he got internal damage from being stuck to the filter intake.

If you do get a new betta, be sure to sterilize the tank with either chlorine/water mix or vinegar/water mix just in case it was an illness.


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## pinkcupid765 (Aug 14, 2011)

I don't think I'll be getting a new one for a while. I already have 5 in my room, but thank you for the advice! I'll make sure to do that.


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