# Trying Again



## Story Lover (Jan 9, 2016)

I've had three bettas in quick succession over the past two years. The tank setups have been terrible, but now I have a young female and I'm determined to do right by her and her two or three future tankmates (cories). She has a 10 g., with silk plants, decor that isn't rough, and heater, filter, lights. (As of yet no live plants.) She's very small and has not lost her stress stripes, but is very active. I'm in love. 
Isn't it funny how fish can show quirks within a few HOURS of being brought home? At first, she swam around the tank frantically, exploring and getting shoved around by the strong filter (unfortunately). She attacked her reflection so violently that she got stuck head-first in some gravel in the corner. She chased down bubbles, ate them off the side of the tank, ate them off leaves. Showed a tendency to go around things, not through them, even plants. After that first time getting stuck in gravel, she stopped going after her reflection quite as violently and after two days of attacking nonstop has started ignoring it, preferring to watch me, court the thermometer, chase bubbles, make bubbles, and swim against the current. It's like she's exercising. The first day she COULD NOT fight it AT ALL, and after three days of being fed a pellet a day she can almost always successfully swim against it. She refused to eat a bloodworm, spitting it out almost immediately. The only things that worry me are the slight bloat, the little lump on her head, and the stripes, but hopefully with time, clean water, and eventually new cory friends she'll get used to everything and become a really happy fish.


----------



## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

Sounds like you have a very young (2-3 month) male.  From the pictures, I can't see ovaries, though they have yet to develop.

Beautiful fish! I have to also recommend, though, that you get 6+ cories. You can comfortably house ~12 pygmy cories in a 10.


----------



## Rainbo (Nov 23, 2015)

She's adorable!

" and after three days of being fed a pellet a day"

Exactly how much are you feeding her per day? Is it only the one pellet?


----------



## Story Lover (Jan 9, 2016)

She does have a little egg spot, and I wasn't sure how many cories would actually be comfortable in there. It is only the one pellet, do you think it should be more? She's grown a bit but I thought it might possibly be some bloating, since when I first got her she was thinner and now her stomach is larger. I was only worried if she is bloating that I shouldn't feed her more, but was a little nervous to fast because she is very lethargic until a little bit after being fed

Sent from my SM-T230NU using Tapatalk


----------



## Story Lover (Jan 9, 2016)

Also, thank you everyone who has or happens to post for the advice already recieved, further advice is always welcome! 

Sent from my SM-T230NU using Tapatalk


----------



## Rainbo (Nov 23, 2015)

You might try 1 pellet 2x a day and increase the amount as she grows.

Is she always looking bloated, or is it only after feeding? If it's only after feeding then it means that you are feeding her the right amount, their little bellies should be gently rounded after feeding. If it's all the time then it's more concerning.


----------



## Story Lover (Jan 9, 2016)

It was rounder before I fed her this morning and then WAY more afterwards, now she looks fine however. Thank you


----------



## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

The only reliable way to sex a betta is to look for yellow, triangle-shaped ovaries behind the stomach. S/he is young, so s/he may not have developed them yet. Could you get closer pictures? Preferably from the side. Thanks!

Also, does s/he have a name?


----------



## Story Lover (Jan 9, 2016)

ThatFishThough said:


> The only reliable way to sex a betta is to look for yellow, triangle-shaped ovaries behind the stomach. S/he is young, so s/he may not have developed them yet. Could you get closer pictures? Preferably from the side. Thanks!
> 
> Also, does s/he have a name?


Unfortunately the camera on my device is bad enough that it only focuses on the background, so she'd have to be far away, and up close is blurry enough that it won't do any good. 

I don't have a positive name yet, especially seeing as gender is being called into question (not surprised though). I tend to have only one animal at a time, and every animal I talk to I seem to dispose of their name and just call them "babe", for some reason. Thanks for asking!
(This pic is about as close as I can get)


----------



## Story Lover (Jan 9, 2016)

Tried the two pellets, unfortunately it didn't work out, I'm switching back to one a day. She's having some problems swimming, her stomach is so expanded. She's not sinking, which is good, but she's floating pretty much on her side, which is not. Ah well, good thing it's fixable


----------



## Story Lover (Jan 9, 2016)

I don't think I've ever seen a more frustrated fish. She seems very angry that she can't swim around well and is really trying to move like she normally would. Poor baby


----------



## Story Lover (Jan 9, 2016)




----------



## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

I feel like frozen or live foods would suit her better. Get something like frozen daphnia or mini bloodworms. Frozen baby brine shrimp (or just adults) work well, too.

Just cut a tiny chunk off, thaw it in tank water, then drop it in.


----------



## Story Lover (Jan 9, 2016)

ThatFishThough said:


> I feel like frozen or live foods would suit her better. Get something like frozen daphnia or mini bloodworms. Frozen baby brine shrimp (or just adults) work well, too.
> 
> Just cut a tiny chunk off, thaw it in tank water, then drop it in.


I'll try, I'm not sure where I can get them locally though. Thank you!


----------



## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

Petco and Petsmart have BBS. Go to the freezer (where they sell frozen pinkie mice) and there should be some various foods. Basically anything labeled for freshwater fish should work.


----------



## Story Lover (Jan 9, 2016)

Ahhhhhh. Thanks again


----------



## Story Lover (Jan 9, 2016)

Gave her a tiny tiny bit of pea yesterday, and this morning she's looking much better! Don't think I'll be feeding her today, even though she looks quite tired, but her fins aren't clamped and she's swimming all over (albeit slowly).  Should be getting some frozen food for her between this morning and Sunday, as well as some cory friends! My younger cousins were all over her in sympathy about her "tummy-ache" yesterday and frequently came into my room to check on her❤. Thanks for the advice and everything!


----------



## Story Lover (Jan 9, 2016)

Sorry about the angle of the photo


----------



## Wildsho (Jan 24, 2016)

What brand pellets are you feeding? my girl is the same after 3 pellets she was at the top all day tilting on the side, i skipped a day of feeding and gave her daphnia and hse is good now, turns out the quality of pellets might be the cause, or maybe they just like frozen food, which does not make sense because the seller i got it from fed her only pellets and she was fine. a mixture of frozen and pellets is the best diet.


----------



## Story Lover (Jan 9, 2016)

Wildsho said:


> What brand pellets are you feeding? my girl is the same after 3 pellets she was at the top all day tilting on the side, i skipped a day of feeding and gave her daphnia and hse is good now, turns out the quality of pellets might be the cause, or maybe they just like frozen food, which does not make sense because the seller i got it from fed her only pellets and she was fine. a mixture of frozen and pellets is the best diet.


The mini Hikari Bio-gold. There aren't very many other brands I can find around here, other than a brand that has really big pellets that she would not be able to handle at all, so I might just go for only frozen food until she's bigger and can handle the pellets better. Though one pellet is the size considered best for her (when soaked as big as her eye, maybe slightly smaller). She also seemed perfectly happy with it, until she got too many


----------



## Story Lover (Jan 9, 2016)

There are three new additions to the tank - The Indistinguishables! The only cory cats were panda cories, and the three of them only differ in size. My betta hasn't been aggressive towards them at all. She seems rather curious. After they swim somewhere, she swims slowly after them in exactly the same path. She nudged a few of them but backed off when they froze. After studiously watching them root around in the substrate, she tried to bite a rock before quickly realizing it wasn't food. After a bit, she cautiously crept over. They froze, and this time instead of backing off or anything, she went over to the biggest one and lay her tail gently on its side, not moving. After about ten seconds she backed off, and now they don't seem as wary of her, but one of them always stays close to the food while the other two periodically swim around and explore the tank. They switch who's by the food every so often. It's the first time I've had cories, and I'm super excited! They all seem to be getting along. We'll see how things pan out.


----------



## Story Lover (Jan 9, 2016)

We have a problem. 
I woke up this morning and she was stuck againdt the filter. I thought she was dead, but her eyes weren't all dark and she swam to the surface when I gently pushed her off. 
However... below her head, from gills almost to mouth looks split. Whenever she has to take a breath, she shudders, and seems very hesitant to do so. 
It's hard to see because I took her out of the 10 gallon and she's in her cup until a hospital tank can be provided.


----------



## Story Lover (Jan 9, 2016)

It also looks like there's one or two parasites attached to her.. I don't know what I should/can do. I'll be taking all of the fish out of the tank, doing a massive water change. I'll prepare a hospital tank for the betta, and maybe put the cories back in the 10. Should I feed her a little frozen brine shrimp (thawed)? Breathing looks painful, let alone eating, and she's kind of bloated from eating the cories' food..


----------



## kouha (May 22, 2017)

you need to get a sponge filter or do a diy one, she's too small to swim against the current of a traditional filter and betta do better with sponge filters anyway. 



 i use 100% polyester filling instead fo filter fiber.

i would remove her to a small hospital tank with an air stone and some stress guard, silk plants, and almond leaves with daily water changes and try to get her healed up. in the mean time it's important you switch out your filter.

also, cory cats need to be in groups of 6 or more. they are a schooling fish, 3 isnt enough.

i can't really make out her injury in that image, it's too low res.

i would fast her a day if she ate too much of the cory's food.

edit: also when i get in babies i feed them a combo of blood worms, brine and new life spectrum pellets ground up in a pill crusher.


----------



## Story Lover (Jan 9, 2016)

I have never seen any fish die like this. Her body is in full dark color like it never was when she was alive, her head is essentially black, her mouth white, where her stomach and organs are is white. (I had to leave my house for a few hours and was mentally prepared for something like this, but it looks so odd and I'm very confused.)


----------



## Story Lover (Jan 9, 2016)

One of the cories is also dead, another seems to be dying, and the third just looks sad


----------



## kouha (May 22, 2017)

i think this is a good example of why quarantining fish before putting them in the main tank is so important. im sorry for your loss. i'd remove the remaining corys into a hospital tank and try some kanaplex, otherwise im not really sure what to tell you. 

thoroughly sanitize the tank and all decor with a vinegar solution. if you are going to try another betta i'd make sure to have a sponge filter and a betta emergency kit so you arent caught like this again.



> Seachem’s Kanaplex, is a broad spectrum antibiotic, that is easy on beneficial bacteria, but does wonders for most ailments, whether it’s fungal or bacterial.
> 
> Seachem’s Paraguard, is an anti-parasitic, and is particularly good for eradicating external parasites, bacterial lesions, and many types of fungi.
> 
> ...


I'd also make sure to grab some almond leaves.

If you can save the corys, make sure to buy more in the future once they are out of quarantine, because again, corys have to be in groups of 6 or more.


----------



## Story Lover (Jan 9, 2016)

kouha said:


> i think this is a good example of why quarantining fish before putting them in the main tank is so important. im sorry for your loss. i'd remove the remaining corys into a hospital tank and try some kanaplex, otherwise im not really sure what to tell you.
> 
> thoroughly sanitize the tank and all decor with a vinegar solution. if you are going to try another betta i'd make sure to have a sponge filter and a betta emergency kit so you arent caught like this again.
> 
> ...


Thank you very much


----------

