# My Betta is very sick :( PLEASE HELP



## Lucinda1 (Dec 14, 2011)

Hi guys! I need some serious help. My betta is very sick and I took her to Petland and 2 Petcos and no one knows what is wrong with her. I have had her a little over a month and I purchased the entire beta start up kit for her. I clean her tank weekly and was instructed to feed her everyday. Unfortunately on my last visit to Petco someone told me that she should only be fed weekly or every few days. Everything was fine for about a week and then she started getting redish/brown stringy things coming out of her anus and then sometimes white stringy things. I researched and found that it was poop and that she was constipated. I skipped a bunch of days feeding her until the poop went away. I feed her flakes. Soemtimes my mom feeds her if I cant make it home and I think she has been over feeding her. Anyway, my Lucinda is really smart, very interactive and spends a lot of her time swimming around. Sunday i noticed a little red bubble protruding from her anus. Monday it got a little bigger, so i did not feed her. Yesterday it had doubled in size by morning and I brought her to the pet stores. It also appears to have a white fuzz growing on the red bubbles. She also has now turned grey. She is normally bright blue and pink. The petco gave me fungus drops and i changed her water yesterday and added the fungus drops. Today she doesnt look any better but she doesnt look any worse either. This is my first fish and I absolutely adore her. Please any help would be appreciated. I am thinking of feeding her a pea when I get home. I have attached pictures of Lucinda.


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

> Unfortunately on my last visit to Petco someone told me that she should only be fed weekly or every few days.


Um, WRONG. Petco employees usually have no idea what they are talking about. Bettas should be fed every day, with maybe 1 day a week of fasting. I'm afraid to ask but what did they give you for medication? Usually they only have bettafix which can do more harm to the betta then good. It as a tree oil that can damage their breathing organ. If she had fungus, she would have white fuzzies growing on her skin.

I would skip feeding her the pea, I think that is more for goldfish. I

Betta poop should look like little brown cinnamon buns. White poop is usually a sign of internal parasites.


Answer as many of these as you can, in the meantime, I'm gonna go get some others to look and see what they think you should do. 


Housing 
What size is your tank?
What temperature is your tank?
Does your tank have a filter?
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration?
Is your tank heated?
What tank mates does your betta fish live with?

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish?
How often do you feed your betta fish?

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change?
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change?
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change?

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?

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

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed?
How has your betta fish's behavior changed?
When did you start noticing the symptoms?
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how?
Does your fish have any history of being ill?
How old is your fish (approximately)?


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## Lucinda1 (Dec 14, 2011)

Housing 
What size is your tank? .05 gallons
What temperature is your tank? I dont know
Does your tank have a filter? No
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No
Is your tank heated? No
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? None

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Nutrafin flakes
How often do you feed your betta fish? Once a day - I have been skipping days because I thought she was constipated

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change? Once a week
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? All of it
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Nutrafin Max flakes

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

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

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? She is really teenie (that hasnt changed) She is now grey and she has red "ball" shaped masses hanging out of her anus. THere is a little fuzz on the bottom of the masses. She was originally blue and pinkish
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? She is normally very friendly and will swim around and come to greet you when you come near the tank. She will hang around her plant a lot or at the top of the castle. Now she is hiding inside the castle (which she never even bothered to stay in before) She would hang out looking out from inside, now she just goes in there and lays..I cant even see her in there
When did you start noticing the symptoms? Sunday night
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? I cleaned her tank last night with hot water and added the usual dechlorinator. I added one drop of the pimafix antifungal medication that PEtco gave me.
Does your fish have any history of being ill? I have only had her 2 months. She eats like a maniac but sometimes she has brownish/redish strings hanging out from her anus and once or twice a white string. I thought she was constipated so I stopped feeding her for a few days. 
How old is your fish (approximately)? Not sure, I only have her 2 months

I attached a picture of what I was given at Petco. That is her tank and what I feed her and add to her water.


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## Lucinda1 (Dec 14, 2011)

Thank you for any help that you can give! I am a brand new fish owner and followed all of the instructions I was given. It might sound rediculous but she has the coolest personality and I want to make sure that I help her get better. I spoke with the people at Petco - now 3 different people and one was the "fish expert" and they said a heater, filter, was not required for such a small fish/tank. She is a little thing. I appreciate anything that can help. I feel so bad for her, I can tell she is suffering, but she still tries to greet me and play. I try not to go near her tank too much because I dont want her to tire herself out.


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## EvilVOG (Nov 23, 2011)

does it look anything like the pictures in this thread here?: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=87029

And like Tiki said peas are bad unless someone here specifically tells you to use them. It is for goldfish. Betta fix is bad for the tree oil.

feed twice a day like 2-3 pellets per feeding, maybe a day a week of fasting.


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## Lucinda1 (Dec 14, 2011)

Sort of yes but much, much bigger and roundish in shape with furry or fuzzy white on it. I attached a picture.


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## Lucinda1 (Dec 14, 2011)

Sorry - here is the picture


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## EvilVOG (Nov 23, 2011)

most likely internal parasites then. Here's a better pic tho just for confrimation:










Bettas need warmth. 78-80 is preferred.


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## Lucinda1 (Dec 14, 2011)

I dont think it looks like that picture the best thing I can compare it to is it looks like human tonsils with fuzzy white on it


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## EvilVOG (Nov 23, 2011)

sorry i'm having trouble seeing it in your picture... It could be lympocitis or external parasites or fungus, pretty much all have the same treatment of aquarium salt, but the anti-fungal medication may be right or better. I don't know for sure. i just hope i got enough helpful info out for the next person. I don't have much experience in medicating beyond the conservative treatment.

Is she rubbing on her decorations/ resting on that spot specifically?


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## Lucinda1 (Dec 14, 2011)

I havent seen her rubbing but she is beign stationary and hiding inside her castle resting on the bottom of the tank.


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

Petco has a habit of giving out wrong information. Since they are tropical fish they need heaters, unless you happen to live some place very hot or tropical. However, heating a tank less then 3 or so gallons is a bit challenging because the smaller ones for bowls are not adjustable and from what I have heard, they are always on whereas 25 watt ones are usually adjustable and will turn off when the water reaches a certain tempature. Plus something that small should have a water change about every other day so ammonia doesn't built up. 

Is that red thing I see in the pic what you are talking about? The thing that is by the long dangly fins near her head (sorry, dont know what they are called)?? if so, I am stumped. Is it actually comming out of her butt or is it more of a growth, like a tumor? I'm thinking internal parasites which I do not think pimafix will help with. I "think" that is for bacterial infections..?



> *Internal Parasites*
> •Symptoms: Betta is losing weight but eating normally and acting lethargic.
> He/she might dart or rub against decor.
> •Treatment: These can be hard to fight and can get confused with the fatal disease Tuberculosis. Perform daily 100% water changes (if possible, for larger aquariums change 3/4). Make sure you carefully clean the gravel to remove eggs/larva. Aq.Salt does not seem to be affective against internal parasites. I find combining ES with an anti-parasite med is best. Treat with 1-2tsp/gal Epsom Salt combined with either Jungle’s Anti-Parasite Pellets, Jungle’s Parasite Clear Fizz tabs or API General Cure. PP is also effective against internal parasites.





> *External Parasites*
> •Symptoms: You may see parasites (other than ick) or you may not. Pay special attention to the area around the gills and fins. May dart and rub against decor, lose interest in food, lethargy, color loss
> •Treatment: Some parasites can be treated conservatively with Aquarium Salt. For salt treatments, treat as you would with Ick. If conservative treatment does not work or if you have extenuating circumstances then there are a number of medications you could use. API’s General Cure and Jungle’s Parasite Clear fizz tablets are both affective ways to kill parasites. Do not combine with Aq.Salt.
> •Alternative Medicines: I like PP for all stubborn external infections. It has never failed me, but it should only be used as a last resort.


You can try Pming Sakura8, Myates, oldfishlady or earthworm88. They are all good with diagnosing stuff


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## Lucinda1 (Dec 14, 2011)

THe pimafix is for fungus. 

"I find combining ES with an anti-parasite med is best. Treat with 1-2tsp/gal Epsom Salt combined with either Jungle’s Anti-Parasite Pellets, Jungle’s Parasite Clear Fizz tabs or API General Cure. PP is also effective against internal parasites." Can you please tell me what PP and ES are? Thanks! Do you think its possible for her to get better?


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

ES is plain old Epsom salt. Regular kind, not scented with anything.

PP is potassium pomagranet. I'm not really sure, exactly, what that is.

If you google fish lymphocystis does it look like any of the pics for that?
That can form a pinkish/red growth that kinda looks like tonsils. I do not think its fatal, but I don't think there is a cure for it either.


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## Lucinda1 (Dec 14, 2011)

Thank you everyone for your help! I am going to try to bring her to this place called Fish Town - they only sell tropical fish. I completely forgot about them. Hopefully they can help. Thanks again for all of your comments...I will try everything and let you know how she does. I really, really appreciate it.


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

OK..just be careful on their advice. Not all pet stores have employees that know anything about fish :-? petco for example.


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## Lucinda1 (Dec 14, 2011)

Thanks...I will be careful. They only sell fish, so Im hoping they can help. I spoke to someone on the phone who said he would be able to help me if I brought her in. I'm hoping to start her on the correct treatment asasp  My poor little Lucinda.


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## Lucinda1 (Dec 14, 2011)

Hi guys! Thank you again for all of your help. Appparently my little Lucinda has a bacterial infection. I brought her to the tropical fish store and they gave me antibiotics for her Tetracyclin. I am also supposed to continue to add the anti-fungal medication. I will keep you updated on her condition. She was not in hiding this morning so thats already an improvement. She wont eat though which is worrying me a little. Thanks again!


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

I hope she gets better. I had to order tetracycline off ebay because petco doesn't carry it, or any real meds for that matter. 

They can go two or so weeks without food, so I wouldnt worry just yet.


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## BETTACHKALOVE (Nov 22, 2010)

I hope it bacterial infection not parasites. 

She looks a little bloated to me,may be i am wrong. I think check her poop again. It don't have to be white. Usually white, stringy or white and black poop - internal parasites and with internal parasites she also would be bloated too.

But white fuzzy stuff it can be bacterial or fungal, or both so TETRACYCLINE API mix with Fungus Eliminator by Jungle will help. Also Fungus Eliminator you can order on line or call 888-373-8686

I would really try Aquarium salt before medication because it would take care of the bacterial and fungus and internal parasites if she has that together.

If you decided to do medications then still watch her poop to be sure she don't have parasites.



Usually aquarium salt for external parasites and Epsom salt for internal parasites. I know it difficult sometimes to get rid of parasites. There is also anti –parasites food,so just make sure she don’t have it. The food for internal parasites is Jungle’s Anti-parasite pellets.

Also for the tank that she is in .05 you need to 100% water changes about every 3 days. Once a week absolutely not enough. I think that is the main reason her got sick. Also when you feed with flakes it really massy . I think half of that go to the bottom of the tank when you feeding and contaminate the water. 
Try to feed her pellets if you can. I like AQUEON Betta Food; TOP FIN Betta Bits,also another one I think it called New life spectrum betta pellets in in the round blue container.
Always make sure food don’t sink to the bottom or remove uneaten food. 

You also can feed your betta with cooked shrimp. Just give him pieces the size of the pellet , she will appreciate. 

Good luck give us update.


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## BETTACHKALOVE (Nov 22, 2010)

Also don't put pimafix if you already treating her with medication. Sorry just read the symptoms where you wrote about red ,,ball,, I guess I didn’t read it before. So she is really bloated. So it is possibility that she also has parasites I think.


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## Myates (Aug 2, 2011)

Hi Lucinda, BETTACHKALOVE had asked me to come take a look.. I don't have a whole lot of time right now to go into too much detail as I'm about to head out, but will see if I can understand some more of what is going on.

At first it sounded like she was just going to the bathroom.. since you said it was brownish strings coming from her anus.. that is her going to the bathroom and normal. The fact that you are seeing it means that she is not constipated.
The white could of been her having absorbed some eggs, which will turn their waste white in color. Very common in females, very normal.

Is there any chance at getting a clearer picture of what you are talking about with her stomach? I am having a hard time picturing it in my head... and the first two pictures look normal other then a big belly. I see no fuzz.. 

You should be feeding daily, how much of the food are you feeding when you feed?

Personally, to me it sounds as if over feeding per meal.. flakes you have to be careful with not to over feed, it's hard to judge correctly the amount.

Unless it says different, that tank looks more like a gallon- I think they come in half and full gallons. 
1 50% and 1 100% water change per week is recommended for that size.. 

Again, I am sorry I can't spend more time.. but will check back in later. If you can get a clearer picture, that would be helpful as right now it could be a couple different things..


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