# Won't eat and lays on his side on the bottom.



## Kasse25 (Oct 7, 2012)

Our poor little guy is very sick. He had always been very attentive and loved to eat until a few weeks ago. He all of a sudden quit eating. Sometimes he would start to eat but then would spit it out. He was still swimming around though. 

We have bought BettaFix and tried feeding him different things including peas. He won't eat. We thought he was constipated and read where he should be treated in Epson Salts for 20 minutes a day and we have given him some treatments. Now we were reading the forums here and it looks like we are supposed to be leaving him in the Epson Salts?

We have moved him to a half-gallon tank. He looks very skinny and looks like an 'S' shape from the top. He has started laying on his side in the bottom of the tank, rarely swimming to the top for air. When he comes to the top, he just kind of hangs there, head pointing up. Then he moves slightly and falls straight down and onto his side. He just lays there lifeless unless he disturb him. :-(

We just changed his water again and put him in his cup from the pet store. He seems better off in the cup because he is standing on his tail and leaning against the sidewall, which puts his face near the air.

Please help little Freedom, if you can... Thank you!!!


Housing 
What size is your tank? He was in a 5 gallon but is now in his hospital tank which is a half-gallon.
What temperature is your tank? His large tank had a heater but his hospital tank is 74 degrees.
Does your tank have a filter? Yes but not his hospital tank.
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? Yes but not the hospital tank.
Is your tank heated? His large tank had a betta heater but he is not using one now.
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? None

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Pellet, brine shrimp, blood worms.
How often do you feed your betta fish? Once per day until he stopped eating.

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change? Each week.
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? Half, until recently since he has been sick... we have been changing completely.
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Aqua Safe

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? No If so, what are the following parameters?

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity: 

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? He is kind of contorted when you look at him from the top… Like and ‘S’.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? Won’t eat and lays on the bottom, on his side. 
When did you start noticing the symptoms? A couple of weeks ago and have been trying different things.
Have you started treating your fish? Yes. If so, how? We have tried feeding him everything including peas. Also putting him in Epsom salts for 20 minutes each day. Now reading posts on this site, it seems we are supposed to leave him in the salts?
Does your fish have any history of being ill? Not at all before this.
How old is your fish (approximately)? We got him from Petco last Christmas.


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## babystarz (Aug 3, 2012)

Kasse25 said:


> Our poor little guy is very sick. He had always been very attentive and loved to eat until a few weeks ago. He all of a sudden quit eating. Sometimes he would start to eat but then would spit it out. He was still swimming around though.
> 
> We have bought BettaFix and tried feeding him different things including peas. He won't eat. We thought he was constipated and read where he should be treated in Epson Salts for 20 minutes a day and we have given him some treatments. Now we were reading the forums here and it looks like we are supposed to be leaving him in the Epson Salts?
> 
> ...


First thing you need to do is stop using the Bettafix and throw it away. It contains tea tree oil, which can coat the betta's labyrinth organ and cause the fish to drown. It's terrible that this company markets this medication towards bettas because it can kill them.

Second, you really need to up the temperature of his cup/hospital tank. Ideally for treatment you should keep it at 80. This will help his immune system out.

Is he pooping at all? If not, you can treat him with epsom salt for 7 days, added to his water at a concentration of 3 tsp./gallon. He'll need daily water changes, and be sure you let the salt dissolve in the new water before you add it to his tank.

Please keep us updated on how he's doing, I hope he starts to feel better with the epsom salt!


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## Kasse25 (Oct 7, 2012)

Thank you for your quick response. 

We will stop with the Bettafix. 

No poop at all.

We were afraid of overheating him with the betta heater on such a small tank but we will figure out something.

Am I correctly understanding that we can leave him in the salt round the clock instead of the 20 minute treatment?

Thank you so much for your help! I will keep everyone updated on Freedom's condition.


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## babystarz (Aug 3, 2012)

Kasse25 said:


> Am I correctly understanding that we can leave him in the salt round the clock instead of the 20 minute treatment?


Yes that is correct, he can stay in the salt water full time for a week. The maximum is 10 days but since you did already treat him with a little salt I don't want to recommend the full 10 since I'm not sure how much the shorter baths affected him.


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## Aus (Feb 3, 2012)

Did you say that you were cleaning a half gallon once a week...?

If so, this needs to be every other day, 100% changes to keep his water clean enough to prevent ammonia damage. 

He's been a bit too cold, and probably could have done with more frequent water changes.. his immune system's worn down, so this infection has taken hold. Very clean water and good food in small amounts twice a day will help his quality of life, until you can figure out what this is and what to do about it..



> We have moved him to a half-gallon tank. He looks very skinny and looks like an 'S' shape from the top.


This really bothers me. The 'S' shape can indicate several things, including fish tuberculosis (TB) which is fatal to fish and can become a nasty skin condition if you handle the water with a cut on your hand. 

But TB often causes lesions (sores), as well as scale loss and other outward symptoms. If he has none of those, it could be that he's had an injury of some sort - the s-shape can be a symptom of pain, as can loss of appetite. 

I hope there's other suggestions for what this might be -- but just in case, I felt it was probably smart to warn you of TB and suggest you maybe = get some rubber gloves to use when handling water or equipment, just in case.


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## Kasse25 (Oct 7, 2012)

Hi everyone...

Our beautiful little man, Freedom didn't make it. We are so sad but at the same time we are relieved that he isn't suffering anymore. He certainly wasn't enjoying life anymore like he used to. 

We want to say thank you for your time and help.


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## Gracie8890 (Feb 25, 2012)

Im so sorry to hear he didnt make it. I send my hugs. At least hes not in pain anymore and is swimming in a huge pond with all the bloodworms to eat he could ever want <3


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## Kasse25 (Oct 7, 2012)

Thank you, Gracie...


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## dfaulks (Oct 17, 2012)

*Severe Popeye =[*

Help Me! My fish, Minaji has a bulging red eye. People told me it is popeye, but I am not sure what the best treatment is. I keep reading different things. Right now I am treating with Mardel Maracyn, but my fish is just laying at the top with the infected eye facing down. 

Also my fish is not eating and yesterday was "breathing" heavy at the bottom of the tank. Did I not catch it in time? I am broken-hearted. His eye looks so bad I want to cry. I need help and answers!!


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## sainthogan (Sep 27, 2012)

dfaulks said:


> Help Me! My fish, Minaji has a bulging red eye. People told me it is popeye, but I am not sure what the best treatment is. I keep reading different things. Right now I am treating with Mardel Maracyn, but my fish is just laying at the top with the infected eye facing down.
> 
> Also my fish is not eating and yesterday was "breathing" heavy at the bottom of the tank. Did I not catch it in time? I am broken-hearted. His eye looks so bad I want to cry. I need help and answers!!



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