# Fish hasn't eaten in 1 month and is still alive. No sign of disease.



## Npinja (Aug 12, 2013)

Hi all, my fish has lasted a month without food now and there still is no sign of any diseases. The only questionable part is that his belly is starting to turn a lighter and lighter colour. He only comes up for air now and then lays back on the bottom. Sometime his gills are spazzing and air bubbles come out. Should I consider euthanasia? He is in a heated and filtered 2.5 gallon. I do a 50% water change once a week. I used to feed him Omega One Betta Buffet flakes.


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## Fishybitty (Dec 29, 2012)

That is odd, have you tried Omega One pellets?

if not I would really consider buying some and trying it
http://www.petsmart.com/fish/food/o...catid-300008?_t=pfm=category&pfmvalue=faceted


It could be he doesn't like flakes, also when you feed him does it seem like he can't find the food?



"He only comes up for air now and then lays back on the bottom" has this recently started or has he been that way for the month of not eating?


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## Npinja (Aug 12, 2013)

It has been that the whole way when he discontinued eating. He has been eating and loving flakes over pellets his whole life.


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## LittleStar (Oct 2, 2015)

Hi there, sorry to hear your friend won't eat. What other symptoms are there? Do you test your water - what are the parameters? Sending positive thoughts your way today. Keep the faith.


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## christinamac (Jan 2, 2016)

Can you provide a picture or two of your sick Betta? In a 2.5 filtered and heated aquarium, and doing 50% water changes once per week, it sounds like you've been doing a great job providing a healthy environment for your Betta.

What are the water parameters of your source water? How do they compare to the water parameters in your aquarium? If they are very different, adjusting to the difference with each water change may be taking its toll on your Betta.

Whenever my Betta starts refusing food, I can always count on him eating frozen bloodworms.


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## christinamac (Jan 2, 2016)

When you said your Betta's belly is turning a lighter and lighter color, I immediately thought "stretched skin...swollen belly...dropsy?" Google images of "Betta with dropsy" and see if your Betta looks anything like the search results.


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## Npinja (Aug 12, 2013)

No I have seen pictures of all the different diseases and he matches up to none of them. The only thing that he could possibly have is internal parasites but I don't know how to diagnose that. I don't have a test kit at the moment but I will try and pick one up at my local pet store today.


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## Npinja (Aug 12, 2013)

Which test kits do I get? I don't want to get all of them, just the most important ones. Im getting ammonia for sure.


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## jadaBlu (Feb 14, 2013)

I would suggest you go to fish emergencies fill out the form and post pictures and let people in this thread know you have done it so they can follow the thread. People who are experienced with sick fish or fish with abnormal behavior go there to look for threads to help out.


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## christinamac (Jan 2, 2016)

I recommend the *API Freshwater Master Test Kit*. I know it seems more expensive than the dip sticks, but it is cost-saving in the long run because you can do way more tests with the master test kit. The API Master Test Kit is also more accurate than the dip stick tests. It includes everything you would need to test for: ammonia, nitrates, nitrites and pH. GH and KH tests are also good to have on hand, but are not necessary.


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## Npinja (Aug 12, 2013)

If there are complete test kits I will get them for sure. What if there aren't any complete sets? Then what is the order that I should purchase from most important to least important? I would say ammonia, followed by nitrite or nitrate, then pH.


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## christinamac (Jan 2, 2016)

If they don't have the API Master Test Kit they will most likely have multi-test dip sticks. If they only have individual tests, then yes the order of importance is probably: ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, then pH.


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## Npinja (Aug 12, 2013)

I found these and I will probably get them if there are no test kit sets available. Do you guys think these are ok? I will probably only be able to get 2 today so should I get ammonia and nitrite or ammonia and nitrate? Also, I don't need to be worrying about iron, calcium, and water hardness right? I will be picking up some seachem water conditioner. Do you guys recommend seachem betta basics or seachem prime?

Ammonia:
http://www.petland.ca/products/nutrafin-ammonia-test-freshwater

Nitrite:
http://www.petland.ca/products/nutrafin-nitrite-test

pH:
http://www.petland.ca/products/nutr...esh-and-salt-water-available-in-3-test-ranges

Nitrate:
http://www.petland.ca/products/nutrafin-nitrate-test


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## christinamac (Jan 2, 2016)

If it were me, I'd get just the ammonia test today (if they don't have a master test kit) and save for getting a master test kit as soon as you can. You can even order one off of Amazon.com or eBay.com. You don't need to worry about testing iron, calcium or water hardness. 

I would recommend Seachem Prime over Seachem Betta Basics. The main difference between the two is that the Betta Basics has a huge dose amount per gallon and includes pH buffers. The Seachem Prime will last you a long time and you won't have to worry about it doing anything funky to your pH.


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## Tolak (Nov 13, 2012)

Sounds like internal protizoans, not eating is a common sign. Metronidazole is the med you need, sold as Metroplex by Seachem. You can either force med with a pipette, which is the most effective, or really bring up the temperature in the tank to increase metabolism/appetite while offering medicated food, and medicating the water. After a month I'd opt for the forced med, if caught early the heat to increase appetite treatment generally works. I know a guy who sells the pipette setup as well as metro, if you're interested let me know.


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## Npinja (Aug 12, 2013)

Kind of an unrelated question but I am planning to replace my thermometer soon. Have you guys tried strip thermometers? Are they even reliabe or would you guys rather stick with the classic thermometer?


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## christinamac (Jan 2, 2016)

I use the Finnex Max-300 Digital Aquarium Heater Controller as my thermometer. It monitors the temperature for me and adjusts the heat output of my heater to keep the temperature at whatever I set it to. It's a nice set it and forget it solution. You can buy one for about $30 on Amazon.com

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007480AP6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


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## Excalibur (Jan 8, 2016)

My brother once had a betta that refused to eat anything for 50 straight days... It lived somehow, and began eating again normally. That thing lived for 7 years! There is hope even if no diagnosis can be given for his behavior


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## BettaStarter24 (Mar 24, 2014)

Most petcos and petsmarts carry the API master test kit. But get liquid tests vs test strips, test strips aren't really all that accurate. 

As for diagnosing parasites, is his poop white and stringy if he is pooping?


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## BettaStarter24 (Mar 24, 2014)

Npinja said:


> Kind of an unrelated question but I am planning to replace my thermometer soon. Have you guys tried strip thermometers? Are they even reliabe or would you guys rather stick with the classic thermometer?


I use a strip thermometer on my mom's tank. It seems to be pretty accurate, but I trust the classic thermometers more.


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## Npinja (Aug 12, 2013)

He is not pooping at all now because he hasnt ate for a bit over a month. Hopefully he gets better as Excalibur said.


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## jadaBlu (Feb 14, 2013)

I was wondering if you have live plants or snails in his tank.


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## Npinja (Aug 12, 2013)

No live plants or snails.


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## jadaBlu (Feb 14, 2013)

I would go ahead and treat your fish with epsom salt. Start with a low dosage to aclimate him to the treatment the first day. You will actually have to visit fish emergencies to find out the dosage (where your post really would have gotten the best response). He could have parasites or be severely constipated. Either could make him stop eating and pooping. Raise him to the normal recommended dosage by the second day and dose as suggested, Keep up water changes. Don't expect immediate results. Keep an eye out for poop or other unusual waste in the fish tank when you vaccumn. Please confirm that you do vaccumn the tank rather than dunk it out. Sorry if you said that already but I'd have to delete this post to go back and look again. While there are fish that will only eat flakes they do typically contain wheat flour which is known to constipate. You might switch to New Life Spectrum Thera-A if you can. One food you could try is frozen dapnia which can have a laxitive effect. Maybe wait a day or two to introduce it. You will probabably have to go to a smaller fish shop to find it unless your Petsmart has it some do stock it. Expect to have to ask where to find it.


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## Npinja (Aug 12, 2013)

Yes I do vacuum my tank instead of dipping. I have freeze dried blood worms, daphnia, and mysis if those help at all?


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## jadaBlu (Feb 14, 2013)

Freeze blood worms can also cause constipation. The freeze daphnia if it's soaked in water (you don't feed dried up stuff to a constipated fish) might help but honestly I am not sure I've only used frozen. You want to tempt him to eat the frozen will be wet and fresh and more appetizing to him. You can defrost it in a small bit of aquarium water.


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## Npinja (Aug 12, 2013)

*Update*

When I came home today, I saw him have white stringy poop. The top half of his waste was white while the bottom half was dark green. This is the first time he has pooped in a long time. Could this be internal parasites? How do I treat it? Thanks!


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## jadaBlu (Feb 14, 2013)

It could be vacuum the tank thoroughly. Before any treatment is considered is he willing to eat now?


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## Npinja (Aug 12, 2013)

No he is still refusing to eat. Its has been 2 months now it's a miracle that he's still alive.


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## jadaBlu (Feb 14, 2013)

I am little concerned about medicating a betta that has not eaten in two months. Normally that would make him very weak and it would make him less medication tolerant. I've seen an epsom salt treatment for parasites vs the chemical version. How is his behavior? is he super skinny at this point?


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## Npinja (Aug 12, 2013)

He actually hasn't changed that much aside from his colours getting a bit dull. His stomach is still a soft round shape but not bloated round.


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## jadaBlu (Feb 14, 2013)

Post a pic of him. Are you sure he isn't eating something in the tank or maybe browsing on the bottom?


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## Npinja (Aug 12, 2013)

He is mostly laying on his side at the bottom of the tank. He only comes up for air. I will try to get a picture of him asap.


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## jadaBlu (Feb 14, 2013)

That doesn't sound good has that been the routine for awhile or is that new? Do you have any medicines on hand? You might want float him in a clean container in his tank so he doesn't wear out trying to surface. I will be up a little longer if you want to post that pic.


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## Npinja (Aug 12, 2013)

I think I am going to be posting the pic tomorrow since it is dark and my lighting isn't that great. He has been laying on his side for about 1 month now. I will probably be moving him to his 0.5 gallon hospital tank. I currently have bettafix and aquarium salt on hand but am willing to get more medications to save my betta. How should I move him? I'm afraid that if I use the net, he will be too stressed out and maybe die. He is at the bottom of the tank most of the time so he will be quite hard to move.


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## jadaBlu (Feb 14, 2013)

Use disposable plastic cup( like a solo cup or something). I would suggest floating the hospital tank in his own tank if possible to keep his surroundings familiar easing stress. Plus you can keep his temp constant. I avoid netting fish to preserve their slime coat and avoid fin damage. Cups preferably new and unused are preferable. You just want to avoid potential soap residue with whatever container you use.


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## Npinja (Aug 12, 2013)

Sadly, when I woke up this morning, fishy had passed. Thank you for all the advice you have given me jadaBlu and it is time to look forward to my future 50 gallon community tank with another betta.


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## jadaBlu (Feb 14, 2013)

Sorry for your loss. I wish there was more that could have been done.


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## Npinja (Aug 12, 2013)

Well it is what is is. You did all that you could and I appreciate it.


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