# New "Rescue" - Help?



## Espeon (Oct 4, 2013)

About a month ago, my roommate and I went to the Petco near our school, and as always, we had to go check out the bettas. There was one halfmoon in very dirty water and had a nasty case of popeye. We showed him to an employee, and she told us they'd take care of him.

Today, we went to the same Petco and lo and behold, there was the same halfmoon from a month ago. I'm almost positive he's the same one, seeing as they're identical. His popeye was gone, only he'd developed what we think is fin rot. I decided to take him, and brought him home with us. When we emptied out the Petco cup he was in, it was pretty nasty.

He's been pretty lethargic since we put him in a basic 1 gallon bowl (temporary, I do have 2.5 with a filter and everything for him when he feels better) and has been breathing heavily. We put clean, warm water and eight drops of Betta Herbal Revive in the bowl. Any ideas on what to do with him? I really hope he'll be alright.  

Also, he still needs a name - I was leaning towards something from Greek/Roman mythology. My roommate has Triton, Hermes, and Narcissus, so it can't be any of those.


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## Chachi (Sep 22, 2013)

What a pretty color!


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## Espeon (Oct 4, 2013)

Chachi said:


> What a pretty color!


Thank you!  I'm guessing he'll get brighter once he's feeling better, too.


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## Espeon (Oct 4, 2013)

Update: He seems to be doing better this morning. Last night he stayed near the bottom of the bowl and was breathing pretty heavily, but today he's swimming a little more and his breathing isn't nearly as heavy. I'm going to try using aquarium salt for the fin rot and doing 100% water changes daily.


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## Soph7244 (Sep 18, 2013)

I think all you need to do is keep him in a nice tank with clean and warm water for a while and I think that would do it! once you know it's not serious I would move him into the bigger tank as soon as possible. Good luck and keep me updated!


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## Espeon (Oct 4, 2013)

Soph7244 said:


> I think all you need to do is keep him in a nice tank with clean and warm water for a while and I think that would do it! once you know it's not serious I would move him into the bigger tank as soon as possible. Good luck and keep me updated!


The clean, warm water is helping him a lot- he seems much happier today than he did yesterday! I even got him to eat three pellets, which is great. I'll definitely keep you guys posted!


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

He is gorgeous! I agree on daily water changes , give us update.Thank you for rescuing him!


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## Espeon (Oct 4, 2013)

ANHEL123 said:


> He is gorgeous! I agree on daily water changes , give us update.Thank you for rescuing him!


Thank you!  I changed his water last night and added a little bit of aquarium salt for the fin rot. He's pretty active this morning and even ate a few bloodworms. I'll change his water again tonight. 

He finally has a name now, too - Acarnan.


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## PetMania (Mar 28, 2013)

API Stress Coat can also help him out a lot. Every rescue I have has been treated with this. 
I would recommend keeping him in smaller quaters until he settles.


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## Espeon (Oct 4, 2013)

PetMania said:


> API Stress Coat can also help him out a lot. Every rescue I have has been treated with this.
> I would recommend keeping him in smaller quaters until he settles.


I will definitely look into getting that for him. Thank you! Right now he's in a 1g bowl - the only other things I have that are smaller are Petco/Petsmart cups and these glass bowls that are probably around .25g. About two months ago this guy was selling bettas at my school in the .25g bowls (they're cups, really), which is how I ended up with my other betta, Enjolras.


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## Espeon (Oct 4, 2013)

Also, here's a picture of him from just now. You can see the damage on his fins a little bit.


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## Tank Gurl (Sep 26, 2013)

Good on your for saving him! I hope he starts perking up, im sure he will with some TLC. =)


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## Tank Gurl (Sep 26, 2013)

=)edit, sorry


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## Aquatail (Jun 29, 2012)

I'm glad he's feeling better!  He's going to be very beautiful when he's all better.

On a side note, I love your username!


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## PetMania (Mar 28, 2013)

He's on a good path to recovery


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## Espeon (Oct 4, 2013)

Thank you, everyone!  I'll be sure to keep you guys posted on his recovery!


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

He is very beautiful! And i love your bettas names! Oh and thank you for rescuing both of them
Just in case to be on the safe side do not share anything between them in case Acarnan has something contagious going on. The caudal fins are damaged, but looks like tail biting though. The blackened edges on the other fins looks like his normal coloration.

Do daily water changes . Stress coat is very good idea. If you can get frozen blood worms , it has a lot of protein and really good for the immune system. Also NLS has garlic in it and also really good quality pellets. 
The best quality pellets are
http://www.bigalspets.com/betta-formula-1-mm-semi-floating-pellets-50-g.html

http://www.petco.com/product/116563...ne-_-1483889&gclid=CImPyLeOtroCFdGe4AodsXAArg

About salt. I think if he is getting better with water changes do not use salt. Salt is very good and helpful when needed . But it also stressful on kidneys . So if he is getting better then i think he will continue to improve without a salt. Also at any time when you using salt it should be therapeutic dose . The therapeutic dose is 1 tsp/gall up to 3 tsp/gall. And just make sure you always pre mix and make sure its dissolve before you put it in the tank.
Give us update please


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## Espeon (Oct 4, 2013)

ANHEL123 said:


> He is very beautiful! And i love your bettas names! Oh and thank you for rescuing both of them
> Just in case to be on the safe side do not share anything between them in case Acarnan has something contagious going on. The caudal fins are damaged, but looks like tail biting though. The blackened edges on the other fins looks like his normal coloration.
> 
> Do daily water changes . Stress coat is very good idea. If you can get frozen blood worms , it has a lot of protein and really good for the immune system. Also NLS has garlic in it and also really good quality pellets.
> ...


Thank you!  I haven't been sharing anything between them, no worries. I thought it was fin rot because of the blackened edges, but I could be wrong. I haven't seen him biting his tail or anything, but he could've been stressed at Petco. When I went to clean out the cup he was in after I put him in the bowl, there was this brownish stuff at the bottom that was pretty gross. He was also breathing heavily and stayed towards the bottom of the bowl the first night I brought him home.

I have been changing his water daily and will look into getting Stress Coat. The pellets I feed both of my bettas are NLS, and he did eat some bloodworms this morning. I've only been putting in a tsp of salt since he's in a 1g. Thanks for all your help! I will be sure to keep you guys posted on Acarnan's recovery.


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

I would do daily water changes for now. You can alternate it between 50% and full water changes. If you do want to use salt then you can use 1tsp/gall with daily water changes and redose salt with every water change


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## PetMania (Mar 28, 2013)

Do not use salt treatment for more than ten days. The salt is bad for a bettas organs, and they can only take so much.


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## Espeon (Oct 4, 2013)

I have been doing daily water changes for him and will stop using salt in a few days. I'm going to order Stress Coat for him, too, and Amazon says it should be here by Tuesday.


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

Oh good ! I just compared the pictures from post #1 and post 11 and i am not sure if those black tips really his normal coloration or fin rot. Looks like he has some black in his coloration. Do you think the tips are smudged or clean?


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## Espeon (Oct 4, 2013)

I think it's fin rot, but I could be wrong. It doesn't really look like tail biting and he has dark edges where pieces of his fins are missing, but I tried to get a picture of him so you can see better. He just ate, so that's why it looks like he as a little bulge. 

Also, it might be just me, but I think his fins are starting to get redder! I hope that's a good sign.


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

It is good sign. Hmm not sure about fin rot. He has a lot of dark in his coloration. Keep doing daily water changes. Do daily pictures for comparison and see how he doing. If it will be better or worse . Give it a few days see how he doing. He is courageous. I really think if it fin rot and he will get worse you will be able to see it. You can buy API Triple Sulfa just in case you need it. Its a good one for fin rot and you keep receipt so you can return it. If it a fin rot he will get worse pretty fast and you will be able to see it.


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## Espeon (Oct 4, 2013)

He seems to be doing better just comparing the most recent pictures to the first one, but we'll see how things go from here. He's perked up quite a bit, too. I will continue to do daily water changes, and I just picked up API Stress Coat from Petco. Hopefully, that'll help him.


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

Give us updated please in a little bit to see how he doing I still don't know what is that damage on his dorsal fins. First i thought its a tail biting now i am not sure. So i guess you right see how he doing with water changes and stress coat. I know i wrote it before but don't remember if it was in your thread so excuse me if i will repeat.You using water conditioner already , so when you put stress coat do not use full dosage of it since its also a water conditioner. Put a quarter of it per gallon.


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## Espeon (Oct 4, 2013)

Here he is today - I'm thinking of stopping with the aquarium salt and just using Stress Coat. I've only been using the salt for four days, but I think his fins are starting to look better and I don't want to damage his organs or anything. I've been keeping up with the 100% water changes, too.


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

Keep doing water changes and stress coat. If it too much job with full daily water changes , you can alternate daily water changes between 50% and full water changes. I like this picture because his fins are spread you can see his fins very well. I think if he is acting healthy and eating do just water and stress coat. Make picture again in 2 days to for comparison. Not sure now about his anal fins, the picture before that look bit different. This picture you can see them better. They not look full grown though.


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

How is he doing?


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## Espeon (Oct 4, 2013)

I got two pictures of him today (since he wouldn't sit still long enough for me to get a good picture of him)! I've still been doing daily water changes and treating him with just Stress Coat. I'm thinking of moving him to the 2.5g pretty soon.

It's kind hard to believe he's only been here for eight days.


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## Tank Gurl (Sep 26, 2013)

He's looking better, got some more color to him. =)


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

He is gorgeous and i really don't think he has fin rot. I hope i am right . I was searching for the similar color betta. Just want to understand if he has fin rot. Check this one out, there is similarities ?
https://www.google.com/search?q=BLA...ghter-hm-betta-for-sale-iid-496276881;430;336
Are you going to cycle 2.5 gall or just do regular water changes? I think its better to keep him with the regular water changes and less water movement.


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## Espeon (Oct 4, 2013)

Thanks, everyone! I'm not entirely sure if it's fin rot, either. The missing chunks in his fin are what worries me. They haven't gotten worse, but they haven't started to heal yet (as far as I can tell) either. I only did a partial water change yesterday, so I'll do a 100% later today. I might move him to the 2.5g tomorrow or Monday, we'll see. My other betta is in a 2.5 gallon and I do regular water changes for him.


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

I do the same for all my tanks.
Yes missing chunks that is confusing me too. But since he is acting healthy and eating , and its didn't get worse since you have him for about 8 days i would also wait and just do water changes and see how he doing. But if you will see any fin rot then i would try aquarium salt first . If you can get medications so you have them if you need it.
Also if you will see more chunks missing make sure it not tail biting before you go to any treatments. 
So just give it a time and keep us posted  And do not cross contaminate anything between him and others. Sorry if i repeated , i think i said it already million times lol


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## Espeon (Oct 4, 2013)

So here he is today. I did a 50% water change yesterday, and will be doing 100% today, and have been using Stress Coat. I'll be moving him into the 2.5g sometime this week, probably sooner rather than later. He's been behaving and eating normally (he even ate shrimp the other day), but the only thing that still concerns me are the missing chunks in his tail. 

He's also colored up quite a bit. It's kind of hard to tell from this picture, but he's almost iridescent in the light.


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

He is gorgeous and his coloring is amazing ! And i really think he improved since you have him. The missing chunks also bothering me ,but the edges are clear and i don't see fin rot so its good
You really can transfer him to 2.5 gall and do 2-50 and 1-100% water changes OR just do full water changes every 5 days. I would not use the filter yet, less water movement is better for him for now.


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## Espeon (Oct 4, 2013)

He's certainly gotten darker and more iridescent since he got here! I'm hoping that's a good sign, lol. Yeah, I don't think he's ready for a filter just yet, but I'll wait a day or two and see if his tail gets any better.


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

You have him for about 11 days so i would think it will take time to grow back just make sure you keep water super clean  And of course watch for any sign of the infection. And give us update


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## Aquatail (Jun 29, 2012)

I'm glad he's looking better! He does have coloring that would make telling if it's fin rot difficult... You've had him for less than two weeks, perhaps he's tail biting? I think that was mentioned before, but I do see a few chunks out of the tail that look suspiciously mouth shaped.


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

Yes i mentioned it before because its kind of like a ''u'' shape which can indicate betta teeth , but i am not sure now. Not sure because thankfully he didn't bite it again .So i think its the best for now just keep him in super clean water to prevent infection and monitor him closely to make sure there is no other symptoms develop. But i think so far is good because i don't think its a fin rot.The edges are clean and they not ''smudged'' , frayed,tattered edges,and they are not receding hopefully.


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## Espeon (Oct 4, 2013)

I moved him into the 2.5g a little while ago. Since he seemed to be swimming just fine in the 1g, I put the filter on to see if he could handle it. He's swimming with the filter like a champ.  Right now, he's busy exploring all the things I put in there for him. If he was biting his tail in the store, he hasn't done it since; If it was fin rot, it hasn't gotten worse. So either way, I think it's an improvement.


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## Aquatail (Jun 29, 2012)

Yay!


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I'm glad he's doing better.


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

I agree with everything you wrote therefore i didn't think that you have to treat him. He looking good. Sorry i am not a big fan of the filters in the tank size you have for him , i think its easy for cycle to crashed , make sure you check water parameters daily. What water changes schedule you going to follow?


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## Espeon (Oct 4, 2013)

I do 100% changes weekly for both of my bettas. I'm probably going to be moving them into a divided 5g when I move back home. That won't be for a little while though, lol.


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

Am i difficult lol I don't like divided tanks. Well i always paranoid if one get sick then i will end up with 2 sick bettas. For example my 3 years old got very bad fin rot and he never was sick before. Especially when people divide it between young fish and old fish . There is always chance older one will get sick . 
As for the water changes, i love doing full 100% water changes ,and i do it for all my(10 bettas) but you really don't need to use the filer in this situation. But if you still want to keep the filter its fine just make sure you rinse it each time in the dechlorinated water. In your situation filter is there not so much for biological filtration (the cycle) but for mechanical filtration (to filter out dirt and particles from the water and keep the water circulating).
Thank you for the update


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## Espeon (Oct 4, 2013)

The problem with my room back home is space and limited outlets, which is why a divided tank would be the best if i want to keep them both in my room. I've been doing weekly 100% changes for my other better, Enjolras, and he's been doing great. If it's not working for Acarnan, I'll change his water more frequently.

Acarnan made his first bubble nest, by the way! I'm so excited, lol. My roommate and I also think he's starting to marble.


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

How nice that your roommate love bettas too!!! Acarnan has amazing coloration. He looks different on every picture that you posted. Keep doing good job!


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## Espeon (Oct 4, 2013)

My roommate has four bettas, so our room has a lot of betta stuff in it. xD Acarnan's tail looks like it's starting to heal, too - there's now clear stuff starting to grow where there are pieces missing. He's come a long way in just a few weeks!


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

awww its just awesome !!! How nice that you guys love bettas, makes me happy Bettas are really addicting. I got a few people at work addicted too.


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## Espeon (Oct 4, 2013)

There's this one light purple double tail that's been at the Petco by us for like a month now that is super tempting, but alas, I don't have the room nor means to take on another betta. I can only hope he'll go to a good home.


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

I know what you mean believe me. I don't even go to the stores because every time i go i leave heartbroken . I have them for 7 years and first few years i tried to save them all . I was going to the store and even change the water while no one sees me. But with time i understood we can't save them all
And we need to know limit too. The more bettas you have, the more chance of the cross contaminating problem you have ,i think .So be careful. I want more bettas too but i know i can't .


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## Espeon (Oct 4, 2013)

I love them a lot, but they are pets and do come with a responsibility. And being in college, I can't handle more than two at the moment. And I think that's probably for the better, lol. Even if I want to save them all. Both of mine were rescues/sympathy purchases, after all...


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

I absolutelly agree with everything you said


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