# Got a neglected betta.



## darkangel (Jun 11, 2013)

today was kind of a surprise, I home to an extra fish sitting on my desk in a digusting smelly tiny bowl with poop and what I think is, remains of a java fern. 

apparently today when my mom was picking some up flowers from the floral store, she saw this poor guy and tapped on his glass. my mom was like, "oh, he doesn't look so happy" and the owner started chatting with her about it, the lady apparently didn't really care much for the fish anymore so my mom was like, "oh I have kid who likes fish, maybe she can heal it" and she came back with it. 

apparently, the dumb lady at the floral store thought that a single rotting plant in a bowl can "clean" it so she has *never* cleaned his bowl before, EVER. His bowl holds like 2 cups of water..

the water was brown and smelled awful so I immediately got him out of there and dumped everything in the bowl. I was did a water test and omg, I was shocked, the ammonia levels were so high my test kit didn't register it! I can't believe this fish is even alive. I swear, this is exactly how the test showed up:









:blueshake: 

but I am more shocked at how resilient this fish is, after I placed him a 1.5 gallon with fresh clean warm water and some aq. salt, he slowly begun to swim and even accepted some frozen brineshrimp. only a couple hrs ago he was half-dead. I have high hopes for this fella, I think he is going to survive. once I perk him up, fatten him and do a round of preventative medication, he will be the first fish in my divided planted 10 gal. :-D









he does have really bad ammonia burns, you can see the burns around his gills. :-( but I think it will heal, Im going to try and get him some IAL. 

he doesn't have a name yet so I am open to suggestions, I was thinking of calling him Mercy but I am not sure? 

needless to say, this was one neglected fish, hopefully he will get the life he deserves with me! after my last rescued red female died, I was so nervous about getting new fish that my 10 gal has been sitting empty.


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## Taboo (Jun 28, 2013)

geez, he is gorgeous! Those ammonia readings are unbelievable...it's a blessing and a curse bettas are so hardy, isn't it?_ Nothing_ else could survive those living conditions, but maybe that's for the better. 

You should get a snap of him in his 10g and send it to the florist! He's going to be loving life and I bet he's damn relieved to be with someone who knows what they're doing at last. Kudos darkangel!


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## EllyFant (Mar 16, 2013)

ohmygod.
Poor baby! D; the ammonia readings are crazy!


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## karenluvsbettas623 (Jul 13, 2013)

That is just sad :-(, he is one lucky betta though! what are the chances of him ending up with you? probably a couple days later he would be dead. He really got a second chance at life, you should name him "chance".


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## jesssan2442 (Feb 19, 2013)

He is sure a lucky boy to have you! I can't believe some lady thought he could live in those conditions! I hope his ammonia burns heal quickly! I think some IAL maybe be amazing for him if you can get some, Ebay has alot for cheap! 

Chance, Blessed, Magic, Happen or Flo might be some good names!!


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## kjnewcome (Jul 25, 2013)

Oh how very sad that he was living like that. So glad your mom brought him home to you. He will have a wonderful like from here on out. He's a lucky little fella.


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## cowboy (Apr 14, 2013)

2nd chance sounds like a good name. Or even lucky


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## darkangel (Jun 11, 2013)

he is resting on a silk plant right now!
he is breathing a bit heavy, probably the ammonia poisoning. =S

I like the name Chance! So I guess I'll call him Chance


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## cowboy (Apr 14, 2013)

That's a good name... Keep us posted.


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## kjnewcome (Jul 25, 2013)

Please keep us posted, sure hope he will be ok. He is probably in shock and doesn't know what to do in clean water.  Poor boy!


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## snowflake311 (Jun 19, 2013)

Super betta should be his name. He lived in that high of ammoni he is supper fish. 

That's so cute that your mom got him for you to fix. I love it. Great storie.


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## darkangel (Jun 11, 2013)

today he was spazzing! I am not sure what to do! I thought it was going to be okay ... :-( can someone help me? I posted a thread in the disease section.

after I did a water change he was twisting for about 15 secs, sank to the bottom and than bubbles came out of his gills, than he swam to the top of the tank, took a breath and was acting normal again.

a few min. ago, I fed him and he spazzed out again!!

what is causing this? I tried searching up on google, but came up empty. Not sure what to do =(


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## kjnewcome (Jul 25, 2013)

How is he doing now? I have never seen a betta do that. I hope someone can give you some answers and advice.


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## jesssan2442 (Feb 19, 2013)

One of my boys did that. It just means he's scared what I did for my boy was I left him alone and covered part of his tank with a towel. I think he might have jist beem adjusting. My boy hasn't done that since a week after I got him!


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## snowflake311 (Jun 19, 2013)

jesssan2442 said:


> One of my boys did that. It just means he's scared what I did for my boy was I left him alone and covered part of his tank with a towel. I think he might have jist beem adjusting. My boy hasn't done that since a week after I got him!


I Agree 

my petsmart rescue did that to when I was messing around his tank. . He freaked out swam around all crazy I too got a little worried. He is now much healhier and has not done it since.


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## darkangel (Jun 11, 2013)

I started treating him for septicemia, I think he probably have it because his pectoral fin is kind of bloody. 

He is doing a little better today, no spazzes so far but he is still breathing incredibly fast and hard. I emailed a experienced fish keeper from my aquarium society and he said, bubbles coming out of gills regularly might indicate the fish's gills aren't functioning properly. So I am just keeping him close to the top of the tank with lots of silk plants to rest on, that way he can directly take in air.

fingerscrossed he can recover by next week and move to the 10 gallon!


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## kjnewcome (Jul 25, 2013)

darkangel said:


> I started treating him for septicemia, I think he probably have it because his pectoral fin is kind of bloody.
> 
> He is doing a little better today, no spazzes so far but he is still breathing incredibly fast and hard. I emailed a experienced fish keeper from my aquarium society and he said, bubbles coming out of gills regularly might indicate the fish's gills aren't functioning properly. So I am just keeping him close to the top of the tank with lots of silk plants to rest on, that way he can directly take in air.
> 
> fingerscrossed he can recover by next week and move to the 10 gallon!


I sure hope he will be ok. Sounds like you are doing all you can for him. Be proud of that no matter what happens. Prayers!


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## New Betta Lovers (Jul 30, 2013)

He is beautiful.....I am so happy for him!


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## yarslov (Aug 2, 2013)

I am so happy he found you!
I love my betta fish so much that I can't go to a pet store because I want to take them all home with me!
I hope Chance will get through his illness, after all that he needs to live! He is such a handsome boy.


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## darkangel (Jun 11, 2013)

thanks! I am keeping my fingerscrossed.

today I bought about $25 worth of brand new plants for my 10 gallon. I also got new got good CFL light bulbs so the tank is nice and bright. 

I hope he makes it!!! can't wait for him to move in.


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## BettaLover1313 (Apr 15, 2013)

I'm so glad that your mom got Chance for you, I really hope he gets better since he's already survived quite a bit.


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## darkangel (Jun 11, 2013)

he is doing a bit better today. Redness has been reduced and is swimming around.

still breathing really fast, he is staying close to the top of the tank though, and regularly gulping in air, I think there could be permanent damage to his gills, sometimes bubbles come out of them.


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## yarslov (Aug 2, 2013)

You posted that the ammonia levels where catatonic. He was living in that for how long?? It is truely amazing that he is alive and that he is now with you.
If he does have permante gill damage at least he will be breathing clean air and be swimming in clean water and has a owner who loves him.


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## NikBogdanovich (Aug 9, 2013)

Chance and Karma are both cute names.


He's pretty, I hope he gets to feeling better soon.


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## bettabumx (Aug 5, 2013)

Subscribing to this thread and sending good vibes Chance's way!


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## Loz (Aug 8, 2013)

I think you should call him Lucky!  But chance is good too. Hope he makes it!!!


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## jesssan2442 (Feb 19, 2013)

How's he doing? I'm sure he's very greatful for your and your mom's help! I think for living the way he was a gill problem seems pretty lucky! A betta hammock will do him good, The diy ones are super easy I'm sure you have probably seen them and probably have one too! his quality of life is 100% better than before even if he has a slight health problem!


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

I had gotten a few bettas from petco with ammonia reading that bad..one even turned the test water blue :evil: amazingly enough they all went on to live for a few years. One of them is the guy in my siggy

If you can find methelene blue - that can sometimes help with rapid gill movement and can supposedly help with nitrite poisioning.


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## darkangel (Jun 11, 2013)

Thanks! 3rd day of antibiotics and he seems to perking up, the redness is nearly gone! Still refuses to eat pellets though but is eating frozen brineshrimp like a champ.

The gills I think will be this way for life, his gills are moving very rapidly. I even compared it with slade's and yeah, its like 2x as fast. as long as he can live with it, i think it should be okay. =)


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## makoisland (Mar 2, 2012)

What a pretty boy. He is more than lucky that your mom brought him home to you, you're doing a great job caring for him.  Good luck!!


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## Perry the platypus (Aug 20, 2012)

That is just...just AWFUL!!! The Ammonia levels would be...*BOOM* to me. He's gonna survive. I know it.


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## darkangel (Jun 11, 2013)

just an update!

Chance is doing so much better as of today! He is almost ready to be taken off the meds. he has learned to accept pellets though he still spits them out once in a while. he is actively swimming around and even flared up a little today. 

the breathing unfortunately is still kind of rapid but it doesnt seem to bother him too much ^^

I will put him in the 10 gallon next week


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## karenluvsbettas623 (Jul 13, 2013)

can't wait for update pics!


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## ashleylyn (Mar 30, 2013)

Good for you, taking such great care of the poor fella. I'm sure Chance is so thankful for his new home.  Good luck and keep us all updated on his progress! He sure seems like a tough little fish.


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## BulletToothBoris (Jan 8, 2013)

New pics?


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## darkangel (Jun 11, 2013)

BulletToothBoris said:


> New pics?


I took some just now.

I placed him in the 10 gallon for a test run and it didn't go so well. the filter is too strong for him to swim so I have to find a way to baffle the filter (or downgrade to diff. filter, right now its rated for 10-20gal) and he got his head stuck between the divider and the glass so I need to buy more mesh/plastic to make a better one. divided tank fail. :<

I wanted him to kind of get use to plants, light, snails and having a betta next door so i opted to tear down the 10 divider and make a smaller one and he moved in with slade. they hate each to say the least. lol I have covererd the mesh with a plastic canvas so now, they can't see each other. 

its kind of funny during feeding because both think I am going to feed them and become confused when i feed the other one. 

here are some photos

















still breathing really hard, this side of his face has bad ammonia burns in particular.









his better looking side, anal fin is still slightly clamped but his tail is now completely spread. I think the clamping will be completely gone by next week. 

:BIGhappy:


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## BettaLover1313 (Apr 15, 2013)

He's looking much better already!


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## blufish425 (Jul 29, 2013)

He's looking great!


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## Skygryph (Mar 25, 2013)

He really does look healthier! It's amazing he's doing so well. I can't believe the poor little guy survived in such horrid conditions...the ammonia readings made me shudder. Part of me thinks you should take a picture of him in his new home and show the floral lady how well he's doing now, so she can see exactly what she did wrong. I don't mean that to be spiteful to her or anything, but she was obviously horribly, horribly misinformed about bettas. Either way, I'm just glad he has a great home now. What a lucky betta!


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