# When to attempt rescue and when to give up



## mursey (May 9, 2012)

So, inspired by a lot of your rescue stories, I accompanied my mom to Walmart (which I hate) secretly knowing I was going to slip away and see what was going on in their fish section, if they had one.

At first I was happy because I saw a blue veiltail in a larger tank with some other fish instead of a crappy cup. But. . . then I saw a dead crowntail suctioned to a filter in another tank section, and then I spied a cute little veiltail that was still moving its gills but on the floor and looking close to death.

My mom is probably totally annoyed by my betta obsession but I told her "I want to try to save a half-dead betta" and she said ok. I went up to the pet department guy and said "I want to try to save a half-dead betta you have". He told me that they did not get their shipment of betta cups, and that is why they were in regular tanks. (I didn't care, I thought that could be better) I showed him the dead crowntail, and then he got my half-dead veiltail for me to take home. 

It sunk to the bottom of the container, barely breathing. He told me it wouldn't make it to my home even if it was 5 minutes away, probably. I said ok and left, but I really wish I could have helped the little guy.

So my question is. . . when you guys know to say "Forget it, fishy is dead in 10 mins no matter what I do" and when do you think you can save it?

Also, i am collecting items to put together a betta first-aid kit from reading different forums. I am curious as to what is in your arsenal to save a betta that is in bad shape. I have read a LOT but I still wonder what your MO is when attempting to rescue, and those of you who rescue and then give the fish to good homes, how do you find places to give the fish to? I would happily try to heal little fishies but I can't keep an infinite amount. I have 4 now and I like to give them a pretty decent tank of their own. I can get a few more. . but I do need to establish a reasonable limit.


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## Maura (May 13, 2012)

I can answer the bit about first aid, but that's about it (sorry!).
I like to keep Maracyn, Maracyn 2, MarOXY, CopperSafe, aquarium salt, and (most importantly) clean water on hand all the time. One or a combination of those can usually knock out most anything.


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## mursey (May 9, 2012)

Thanks! That is good- I do always have clean conditioned & salted water set aside just in case I need to do some water changes. I have something called Maracyn-Oxy from when my platy was sick. I will look for those other things just in case I want to rescue something next time. 

I just sort of panicked like "uh .. ok .. . really sick fish . . what else would someone have on hand?"


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## Maura (May 13, 2012)

mursey said:


> Thanks! That is good- I do always have clean conditioned & salted water set aside just in case I need to do some water changes. I have something called Maracyn-Oxy from when my platy was sick. I will look for those other things just in case I want to rescue something next time.
> 
> I just sort of panicked like "uh .. ok .. . really sick fish . . what else would someone have on hand?"


Maracyn-Oxy = MarOXY. It's for true fungal infections.

However, most fish that look really sick at those large chain pet stores improve drastically with clean, warm water and plenty of room to swim around. The fish in this post has not been given any medication and has gotten so much healthier looking in just the week he's been with me (granted, he was from an accident at a LPS, not poor keeping at a large chain store, but still).


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

> hen you guys know to say "Forget it, fishy is dead in 10 mins no matter what I do" and when do you think you can save it?


You really do not know for certain. There was a blue CT in walmart that I was like NO way will he even make it home. He was lying on the bottom of the cup, fins were burnt off from a level 8 ammonia and rapid gill movement.

My boyfriend looked at him and said You want to save this one. I looked at it and was like He will not even make it the 5 minute ride home but I got him anyways. He also survived the journey from alaska to NY in january as well along with one red CT. Most others I had were not so lucky due to a freak accident with an open window 

The night I brought him home:

























About a week later









Now









This was my most recent. I went to petco with the intention of getting one in bad shape. I know this guy was there for a while cause I seen him a few weeks ago, plus his water was like yellow.









The ammonia test for his water turned BLUE :shock: I was told that is about an 11 or so. 

and a week later









His fins have grown back a bit in the past weeks. No special treatment - just clean, heated water and Amquel plus for conditioner.

What I look for is that the fish is still alert. Usually if they show some kind of interest in you, no matter what their condition, they seem to almost always pull through. The other thing I avoid is ones with fuzzies - I do not want to mess with columnaris. I only managed to fight it off once.

I have aquarium salt, epsom salt, tetracycline, jungle anti parasite fizz tabs, stress coat, malachite green and stress coat for conditioner. I also have Amquel Plus that I use for those with high ammonia levels as I heard it can help with ammonia poisioning. I have ammonia in my tap so I like to add in a dash of either that or Prime (which I do not like cause it reeks of sulfer). I had maracyn 2 but supposedly it is less effective with hard water. I had to OD my fish on it to get it to work. Furan 2 or triple sulfa may be better choices


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## mursey (May 9, 2012)

Tikibirds, I sort of felt like doing what you did- saying "I want him anyway, if he dies so be it". Ugh. 

Well, at least you guys are helping me get a list together for the next time. I ordered Malachite Green and the blue stuff (methyline blue or something like that). I meant to pick up the Jungle stuff and forgot to today. I have an antibiotic (tetracycline), Seachem Prime, and I do have epsom salt but I didn't know what that was for except for bloating, and how much to give.

Is there a sticky or list of all the medications and what they are for that a betta owner should have on hand?


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## Striker0086 (Jul 1, 2012)

I can't help you with meds, but my advice for you with rescuing is if you think you can then go right on.

I have hermit crabs (don't know if you are familiar with their proper care). I got 6 from my LPS and one of them happened to be a streaker (dropped it's shell) Typically when they do this it means they are close to death. Out of the 6 I had 2 live. The other 4 died of post purchase stress. One of the surviving was the streaker. I can guarantee you that had that streaker been in the store for one more day it would have been dead. If you heart tells you what you need to do all you have to do is follow. While they may not make it, the most important thing is that you actually gave them is one thing nobody else did, a chance to live.


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

There is a sticky of certain diseases and how to fix them but not one of meds and what they are for. 

This is one of the easier to use lists I have seen:

http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Quickcure.html

On the side are links to other brands like Seachem, tetra and Jungle. 

under the seachem meds is one called Kanaplex. That is a good one to have on hand. 
Blended Kanamycin based medication that safely treats several fungal and bacterial diseases (Dropsy, Popeye, tail rot, septicemia, flexibacter), as well Kanamycin has been shown often effective for _Mycobacterium marinum_ (Fish TB). 
*Because it is absorbed by the fish it is useful in treating internal infections in those situations where food is refused. *It does not adversely affect the filter bed and is easily removed with carbon.

Espom is good for internal things like bloating, swim bladder disease, help flush out parasites, ect. It's 1 teaspoon per gallon and if the case is bad enough you can up it to 3 teaspoons per gallon but you need to do it gradually. Every 12 or so hours you would need to change the water and add in another teaspoon of it.

Aquarium salt is for outside things like external parasites, fin rot, and I think it can help with gill function. I think it can also help with a mild fungal infection? Its also 1 teaspoon per gallon but unlike epsom, you should only use it for 10-14 days MAX. Its more harder on the fish then epsom and in the long run can do more damage then good. 




> Tikibirds, I sort of felt like doing what you did- saying "I want him anyway, if he dies so be it". Ugh.


As long as you know what you are possibly getting yourself into (as in he may not make it through the night) then I say go for it. Most people are here are like NOOOOO! You are only supporting walmart/pteco and they will only replace the one you bought with another fish. The fish dies they get credit anyways so....might as well go ahead and try and give one a good life. Not like a $5 fish purchase is gonna really mean anything to a store a big as walmart anyways.


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## tanseattle (Jun 28, 2012)

There are so many sad stories about fish at pet store


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## CTBettaLover (Jul 23, 2012)

mursey said:


> Tikibirds, I sort of felt like doing what you did- saying "I want him anyway, if he dies so be it". Ugh.
> 
> Well, at least you guys are helping me get a list together for the next time. I ordered Malachite Green and the blue stuff (methyline blue or something like that). I meant to pick up the Jungle stuff and forgot to today. I have an antibiotic (tetracycline), Seachem Prime, and I do have epsom salt but I didn't know what that was for except for bloating, and how much to give.
> 
> Is there a sticky or list of all the medications and what they are for that a betta owner should have on hand?


Hello! I am new to this thread and am currently treating my betta for fin rot using maroxy. I tried the 7 day aquarium salt treatment but it didnt seem to do much and i found it difficult to keep his water clean even with 75% pwc daily. He was in the 1/2 gal qt tank so how am i supposed to drain it entirely every day without removing him over and over very quickly and stressing him out? 
Also, the maroxy says to repeat as necessary but how do I know Im not overdosing my fish and making his health way worse? I have carbon in my filter but its 2 months old now. So i dont know if it will still pull the medication from the water if i use it. So how do I "repeat" dosage with maracynoxy?

Oh & I found a sticky yesterday listing practically any aquarium medication you can find! 

http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/tropical-fish-diseases/medicines-9117/


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## gossipgirl1031 (Dec 7, 2011)

I've never been sorry that I rescued a betta, whether it lived or was terminal. There's pics of a really severe case of neglect on my page (Maggie). She had terrible rot & was in filthy water with high ammonia. Labeled as a "male VT", she was clearly a female. She never rally colored up & her tail was more than half way gone & all other fins pretty much gone. I did everything I could to save her & she responded to treatment for a couple weeks before it came back really bad despite the best of care & medicine. I had to put her down after she gave up fighting. It was hard, but I don't regret it one bit. I may have a new King rescue coming my way when I get home from house sitting next week & I currently am helping a really tiny baby survive. Good luck!


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## mursey (May 9, 2012)

(Tikibirds):_ "Most people are here are like NOOOOO! You are only supporting walmart/pteco and they will only replace the one you bought with another fish. The fish dies they get credit anyways so....might as well go ahead and try and give one a good life. Not like a $5 fish purchase is gonna really mean anything to a store a big as walmart anyways."_

You know, that is the part I can not figure out for myself! I used to boycott Walmart for other reasons, and try to shop more locally but depending on where you live and your transportation, that might not work so well for you. I still rarely end up in a Walmart but Petco .. . yes. It is so close to me and it's 5 minutes drive versus 30 each way to a respectable local fish store. I guess I should make the 30 minutes drive and keep lists. I don't want to suport crappy businesses . . but on the other hand.. . I feel like the situation is doomed in a way. . like not enough people will ever boycott those places enough. Although some Walmarts have stopped selling fish, so maybe there IS hope for a boycott? I don't know. 

GossipGirl, I really enjoyed your photo albums of your little girls and guys. 

Thanks to everyone for posting the great links to medicine lists. I am going to look them over now.


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## gossipgirl1031 (Dec 7, 2011)

Thanks mursey! I took on maybe another lost cause yesterday with another Petco baby. Auggie's doing great! Growing, eating & being feisty! He's even starting to color up a bit. They had a pet adoption thing yesterday at Petco (and I fully support adoption) and it was located directly in front of the baby bettas. The dogs were barking SO much & I think it was stressing them more. I had been watching one there for about a week-super clamped. He was so much worse yesterday, so I decided to take him home. Hopefully Bode improves with proper care. He's not eating yet, not a good sign.


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