# The Story of Antione



## OMGemily (Feb 28, 2012)

*A Prologue*

So my name is emily, and a month ago i had never owned a fish. My step mom was buying gold fish for my little siblings (she used to breed bettas and other fish) and she asked me to come pick out a couple of my own to put in their 10 gallon tank. During our visit to the pet store, i passed the bettas. i had heard the name and i guess i had seen some before but they were just like every other fish to me. As i was waiting for my brothers to pick out their fish and get them bagged however, i found myself wandering back to the betta shelves checking out all the gorgeous fish. When the kids were done choosing their fish my step mom came up behind me and asked if i was going to get one. I didnt know if my mom would let me keep it and i didnt want to spend a lot of money without knowing anything about them. but my step mom had a spare one gallon tank so all id need was the food and the fish right? so i bought the fish and a little food and dechlorinator pack, and figured my mom would probably be ok with it 

I got him home and in his tank and set out on the internet to find out more about him! it was then that i realized how little i knew... i did some research and comparison shopping, and the next day drove back to the pet store to get a 25w heater and a 3 gal tank. I left with a 5.5 tank and 50w heater, which saved me about 5 bucks. shortly after that, sadly, my first betta, St. Jimmy died... i believe it was from necropsy and that there wasnt much i couldve done... i didnt want the money i spent on him to go to waste though... so after mourning for the rest of the day, i went to buy a new fish after school the next day and to get my water tested. 

When i got to petsmart, i was debating between 2 fish. there was this really pretty red veil tail with some light blue scales, and there was the bright blue crown tail. St. Jimmy was a blue/red crown tail and i wasnt sure if i wanted someone else so similar in appearance. but i also wasnt sure if i wanted omeone totally different... the veil tail was cheaper... but my little guy was so active! i went the day after theyd restocked so that was probably why. they didnt have dividers so all the fish could see each other and he was just flaring the entire time i was debating. so i spent the extra money hoping that, since he was more active, hed be healthier and more likely to live.

So i took him home floated him in his cup overnight and gradually introduced him the next day, and hes been alive and well for 2 weeks  he didnt eat for a while, but it made it that much more exciting when he did! his fins are a little curled and im not sure why, hard water was suggested, but i was told it was soft. so hopefully thats not permanent or harmful, but overall i think hes doing well! and hopefully i wont have any bad news in this journal  thanks for reading and ill be sure to keep you posted!


----------



## Romad (Jun 28, 2009)

What a pretty boy he is (assuming that's him in your avatar). Enjoy your new friend.


----------



## OMGemily (Feb 28, 2012)

Romad said:


> What a pretty boy he is (assuming that's him in your avatar). Enjoy your new friend.


thank you  and yep thats him  i always say he looks like Dory from Nemo haha

_______________________________________________________________

*Day 16*

Bit of a late start i know haha but i summarized the first 15 days in my last post  so last night his leaf hammock kept falling of because i didnt clean the tank wall before putting it back on after cleaning :roll: but i stuck it in the same spot again and its been there all night. Antione kept trying to lay on it and then it would fall lol so i think he was getting frustrated. i had it out for a day because i had forgot to put it back in and i think he realized how much he liked it haha hes been using it a lot more ever since. 

I decided i like keeping his hood off as long as im in the room. i think his light is too harsh for him and i keep the curtain next to him open a little so he gets the gradual cycle of day and night, but i make sure to put it on anytime i leave the room for more than a few minutes... i dont want to wake up to find him all dried up out of his tank :shock: so hes been pretty happy it seems. been having a few issues with his fins curling and possible fin rot... :-( heres the link to the thread about that: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?p=1016973#post1016973

But other than that hes been good i think  here are a few pictures!


----------



## OMGemily (Feb 28, 2012)

*Day 17*

Nothing new really. Last night/this morning was his first "fasting day" He didnt eat the first week and i kept forgetting this week. I remembered halfway through yesterday, so instead of trying to remember today i just fed him once yesterday and once today. definitely fixed his lacking enthusiasm in food haha. on thing i have noticed since i started keeping his hood off... i can hear him chewing  and sucking in air... its really weird because i ever really thought fish could chew... crazy! haha i think ive decided though that when i get done with my current project in art, im going to paint him  so well see how that works out haha and heres a video of him swimmin around 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJhOUruLFdA&feature=g-upl&context=G2dc5076AUAAAAAAAAAA


----------



## OMGemily (Feb 28, 2012)

*Day 18*

So i keep hearing people talk about how betta's have "personality" and i kinda got that but i never really saw it in Antione. Maybe it was because i didnt notice, or maybe because hes just been getting used to his (not so new anymore) home. But i think ive decided that hes kinda of a shy and very curious little guy  hes almost always got his fins flared but he doesnt ever seem intimidated. dispite the .n. grumpy face he always seems happy  ive yet to see him puff out his "beard" and when i stick my finger in the water he slowly comes up to check it out and then nonchalantly swims away haha usually when i come home from school i cant find him and then he just wanders out of his mug like he just woke up  so cute :3


----------



## OMGemily (Feb 28, 2012)

*Day 20*

I think his missing rays are starting to grow back  theres not much of a difference yet, but comparing him now to the pictures of him previously, they look like they mught be getting a tiny bit longer  im going to return his current heater and get him a new one sometime this weekend. i currently have one from TopFin and every time i stick my finger in there its a different temperature  poor Antione. but his thermometer reads a consistent 80, when most of the time the water is cold to the touch... going to return that too. Its also topfin i think but its an outside one :/ so hopefully the next ones will work  thats all for now i guess. nothing new really


----------



## OMGemily (Feb 28, 2012)

*Day 23*

Antione has offially had his 3 week birthday  haha its been a few days since ive posted, but Im so glad i took those pictures of Antione earlier! i thought his fins were getting worse, but looking at those pictures made me realize i just missed a few things before, *phew* although i still think his dorsal fin is changing a bit... ill have to keep an eye on him. Its time to change his water again and i just got him some more marbles for his tank and a better thermometer  its one of those floating ones and when i first put it in he didnt know what to think of it haha  he would swim up close to it and just kind of sit there and swim away, he swam around it a couple times and then just ignored it. While i was at petsmart shopping for him though i had to stop by the betta shelf and it was really hard to walk away this time haha there was this cellophane halfmoon guy that i wanted soo bad! ive started to like cellophanes quite a bit. i think its awesome that you can see their organs  maybe if i ever get a sorority tank :/ anyway thats about it for today  gotta go change his water


----------



## OMGemily (Feb 28, 2012)

*Day 24*

Oh what a stressful day it was... i need to stop posting in the morning haha. yesterday, ironically enough, i actually ended up buying another betta. it wasnt the cellophane guy though (even though i wanted him really bad) because he looked bloated and i didnt have access to this forum to see what the cure for that was :/ but i got this beautiful red CT  also bought a divider for a 10 gallon whih i was going to get from my dad, but there were difficulties and ive got to wait a bit for that... so i floated the new guy (still nameless) in his cup to see how Antione would take sharing his tank. they flared at each other (Antione for the very first time!!) and Antione circled around haha but then when i went to take him out i noticed Antione had some MAJOR stress marks... i was really worried about him at first cuz id never seen him change so much! but they went away once i took the new one out. Anyway, i managed to fit the 10 gal divider into my 5.5 gallon tank and put the new guy on one side... Antione still got stress stripes (ive gotta say its neat how that happens) so i cupped Antione to let him chill for a bit and then let him float in his cup and after i thought he was calm enough let him back out into his side of the tank and he seems to have been fine ever since  but it was a stressful time full of observing haha still need to name the new guy, but here are some pictures


----------



## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Hahaha! Crowntail addict maybe? 
That's okay, me too.
My guys rays dissolved, and I'm scared to get another one, he looks so pathetic


----------



## OMGemily (Feb 28, 2012)

Olympia said:


> Hahaha! Crowntail addict maybe?
> That's okay, me too.
> My guys rays dissolved, and I'm scared to get another one, he looks so pathetic


 all 3 fish ive ever owned were ct bettas haha my first, St. Jimmy, died of necropsy... so i was really scared to buy another blue fish because those are who it primarily effects... but Antiones seemed way healthier than St. Jimmy did, so i guess he was just sick when i got him... still miss the little guy... antiones been having some problems with his fins too... hes a double ray CT... which no one could ever guess from how he looks now. unfortunately i dot have any pics of when i first bought him...


----------



## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Have you thought about IAL or rooibos tea to help the rays regrow?
I am desperate to try rooibos, but I haven't found any successfully. Hopefully soon.


----------



## OMGemily (Feb 28, 2012)

Olympia said:


> Have you thought about IAL or rooibos tea to help the rays regrow?
> I am desperate to try rooibos, but I haven't found any successfully. Hopefully soon.


 i dont know where to get it :/ i was told petsmart wouldnt have IALs but i havent looked yet... i think ill do that now haha ive also read on here that decaf green tea is good


----------



## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Yup! I hope to get some on the weekend.. I think CTs have much more sensitive fins since they are so thin instead of solid..


----------



## OMGemily (Feb 28, 2012)

definitely. i think Antiones have curled from hard water... but i dont know how to fix it :/


----------



## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

IAL will soften water.. Sadly I don't think curling is usually undoable. 
People used to sell CTs with fins curled like a pigs tail, it was cute IMO, but some people say certain ones uncurl in soft water anyways. o.o
Other than IAL, I wouldn't try playing with hardness.. Don't trust those aquarium products, they are a lot of work


----------



## OMGemily (Feb 28, 2012)

hmm ill have to try that for sure


----------



## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

you have very cute bettas  I also never had fish in my life. I never even was in fish department. I got betta instead of the dog about 4.5 years ago and got really addicted like probably a lot of people lol
I have a question, since you don't have filter how much and how often do you change water in your 10 gall?


----------



## OMGemily (Feb 28, 2012)

ANHEL123 said:


> you have very cute bettas  I also never had fish in my life. I never even was in fish department. I got betta instead of the dog about 4.5 years ago and got really addicted like probably a lot of people lol
> I have a question, since you don't have filter how much and how often do you change water in your 10 gall?


they are addicting  haha i have a 5.5 gallon at the moment but i change like 90% once a week and the ammonia doesnt get too high. (that was with just antione, if i still had 2 in there id probly change it twice as much) im not sure about 10 gallons but a good way to tell is to get an ammonia test kit and change it when it gets high (.25 or .5)


----------



## OMGemily (Feb 28, 2012)

*Day 26*

well... Jacques/Wilhelm (still didnt decide on a name) died today... i came home and he was upside down at the bottom of the tank...  at least it wasnt Antione i guess... i know that sounds bad but i didnt even have time to get attached to Jacques... i have not the slightest clue what was wrong with him... he was fine one day, the next his fins were clamped and the next he was gone  ... changed their water early for Antione, rearranged and added some more marbles for the bottom... guess hes just a tough little guy because ive now killed (or gotten while sick) 2 out of 3 bettas...  not a good day in my fish tank


----------



## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

The red one!? He looked fine D:
Gah, that's really scary. I doubt it was anything you did though. 
I bought a little boy today that's pretty sick too, hope he pulls through.


----------



## OMGemily (Feb 28, 2012)

Olympia said:


> The red one!? He looked fine D:
> Gah, that's really scary. I doubt it was anything you did though.
> I bought a little boy today that's pretty sick too, hope he pulls through.


 i know! he had clamped fins the second/third day and that was IT... i have no clue what was wrong... he was definitely more aggressive than Antione, who was the one with stress stripes... so i dont have a clue what couldve killed him... i assume the water wasnt it since Antione is still alive... ill be keeping a close eye on him though just in case... i dont think i can stand to lose Antione... i hope your guy gets better though... i wanted a cellophane halfmoon really bad but he was bloated so i opted for Jacques, who looked healthy... i dont think Antione liked sharing his tank though, so im thinking i might get some females to put in the 10 gallon from my dad next time i get any bettas...


----------



## OMGemily (Feb 28, 2012)

*Day 27*

Maybe I'm just being majorly paranoid... but I dont even want to go to sleep tonight for fear of waking up fishless... i cant let this little guy die on me... not Antione... heres the thread with all the information... any help is greatly appreciated...
http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=97424


----------



## OMGemily (Feb 28, 2012)

*Day 28*

Update on the illness: he looked better this morning at first glance, but upon closer inspection, he seemed to have some kind of fungus... i gave him some melafix (i know its bad) and it seemed to be getting worse. and then better, and its almost gone now  he seems to be acting fine, and he looks better, although the fungus is still there. i have hope  still afraid for his life though... i hate all this amateur business... it costs too many fish  Thats about all ive got today though. Here the thread with more info about his sickness:
http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?p=1030500#post1030500

*EDIT:* Antione is officially 4 weeks old  (starting on the day i got him)


----------



## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

I love your updates.I hope he will recover. If it really fungus i really recommend aquarium salt. It good that he is active and eating. I think you will be able to see after water changes. If it fungus it now going to cleared on it own... I think if it peeling off then it might be extra slime. Good luck. Did you see the post that i wrote to you about in another thread i think you should go and look at that post ...kind of need to know...Do you know which one i am talking about?


----------



## OMGemily (Feb 28, 2012)

Sakura8 recommended to finish out the melafix treatment since its already started (doesnt recommend melafix itself though) and then if its still bad after that treatment to start with salt. hes not eating right now  but he does seem to be acting normal. i did see the post though, (replied on my other thread) but ill check it again when i can tonight. i honestly think this all started with Jacques. whther it was directly from him or Antione just got stressed enough to be more suceptible to illnesses, i think i shouldve been more careful with him...


----------



## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Melafix is most often dangerous when overdosed, so maybe under dose him a bit.


----------



## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

Good luck give us update  You wrote though that he got little better with melafix and his white fuzzy patches peeling off. So i think make sure he doesn't get worse then may be you don't need melafix. Not sure how long is melafix treatment. 
Good luck.


----------



## OMGemily (Feb 28, 2012)

Olympia: that's what sakura said and I have been. Just in case

ANHEL: melafix is 7 or 10 days. I can't remember right now. I don't want to stop the treatment in the middle though because it can make the bacteria or whatever build up resistance. And like Olympia and Sakura said its really only bad when overdosed. 

He does look way better now though  no fungus at all that I can see. AND he ate just now  gonna clean his tank out tonight


----------



## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

Oh good  Really want him to recover. Also with fungus don't make water too worm. Fungus love warm water and will get worse.
Good luck .


----------



## OMGemily (Feb 28, 2012)

*Day 29*

Finally done with all my band stuff this weekend! Heres a video of my flute solo if you wanna see what was taking all my time this weekend 
http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=96366&page=3

So now ive got tonight and all day tomorrow for Antione  I just cleaned out his tank with hot water (burnt my hands a little bit) and filled it up with 2 gallons, which i measured so i know how much is in there for the melafix (not recommended i know) but i wont overdose him. and the only thing i put back in the tank was his heater and betta hammock, no marbles, no cup, nothing that fungus can hide in. When i was washing the tank, i had poured most of the water out and was taking the marbles out to finish washing/rinsing, and the little bit of water left was disgusting... granted it was pretty much all of the dirt in the whole tank confined to just a little bit of water, but still... so theres nowhere for it to hide right now. Im still acclimating him so hes still in his betta cup but hes no longer floating in the tank (dont want germs from the outside of the cup in there) So thats where he is right now on his road to recovery 
And in reply to you ANHEL, i have read that before but didnnt think about it. Hes a bit cold now in his cup but ill be sure to turn his heater down as well as soon as i get done typing this. Thank you for the reminder


----------



## OMGemily (Feb 28, 2012)

*Day 30*

1 month old!  so hes in his tank now, probably kind of bored. Theres nothing in there right now. But hes still eating, im still treating (and slightly underdosing) him with melafix. This will be the 4th day out of 7. The white stuff (Ive been told it probably isnt fungus) has gone away almost completely. Theres no sign of it on his head, but there might be a tiny bit on his fins. Hes looking good  so glad my baby's getting better! I guess you have to make mistakes to learn from them. Im just glad i got another chance to do it right  I definitely wont be adding any more fish in with Antione, he's definitely a solo kind of guy! But i might get a sorority in the future, and now i know to keep them isolated at first! Thanks to every one who's been helping me and Antione through this  Im sure i can speak for both of us when I say it's appreciated!


----------



## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

I am glad everything going good  I also think it not fungus because it would be more difficult and longer to get rid of the fungus. 
Sorry if i will repeat myself. I don't remember if i wrote it on this post or another post. But i prefer to check if betta healthy before i would put it in the tank with another betta. It sort of like you have to quarantine the plant when your buy from the store before you put it in the tank. I am personally don't use plants from the store i am using spider plant but definitely quarantine the plant...I learned it from someone on this forum. Let me know if you need information on the plant. I think you might saw the information on that...
And if you have a spider plant at home you can use it for your betta tank. I am using home plant for long time.


----------



## OMGemily (Feb 28, 2012)

I dont have any real plants in there right now. Im not ready to deal with that too. One betta is enough for now, ive decided haha. And yes, ive definitely learned from my mistake, and will quaranrine any other bettas i may get when adding them. I didnt know you were supposed to quarantine plants too though. Good thing you mentioned it


----------



## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

Yes put plants in tap water NO conditioner. Now wimpy plants may/will die,so be warned! I've had to with sword,wisteria and java fern...wisteria died. the others lived If you quarantine for 2-3 or more weeks,the disease will die off.the thing about ich,velvet,etc,is it needs a host...no host,it eventually dies.
Sorry what i wrote it from someone else since i don't use plants from the store but i think it valuable information...


----------



## OMGemily (Feb 28, 2012)

*Day 33*

Havent been posting here for the past few days, because ive been pretty much doing the same thing in the disease forum. But the good news is i think hes completely healthy now  if he did have anything i think its gone now 

So right now im just asking around about his fins. Theyve gotten pretty bad since i got him :/ heres the thread with pictures: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=97424&page=3
i think ive linked to this thread already but at the top of the page are some before/after pictures of his fins. Its mainly the caudal Im worried about. But he seems to be acting fine and his anal fin is growing back nicely


----------



## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

Emely i feel bad that you have problem with him. You always worry and didn't really had chance to enjoy your baby. But you are taking good care of him 
I saw his fins. I hope it due to hardness and he will be able to adjust. It good that he is eating and active at least. He is beautiful betta.


----------



## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

I just started treating my CT with AQ salt to get his fins to regrow, hopefully they do. I noticed a lot more growth while he was in a cycled 15 gallon tank than before in his 2.5. Reeeally want to order some IAL, keep me updated on how that goes. Those darn CT rays. >_>


----------



## OMGemily (Feb 28, 2012)

ANHEL123 said:


> Emely i feel bad that you have problem with him. You always worry and didn't really had chance to enjoy your baby. But you are taking good care of him
> I saw his fins. I hope it due to hardness and he will be able to adjust. It good that he is eating and active at least. He is beautiful betta.


Oh ive definitely enjoyed his company  he is the cutest little thing in the world and i love that liittle guy to death! call me crazy but hes already been some nice company when everyone else is being jerks. I always say i never thought i fish could get so much love outta me  but he did. I do agree that hes a handsome little fellow haha so tiny and cute  (one of the smallest bettas ive ever seen at the pet stores, hes about 1.5 inches counting his fins)



Olympia said:


> I just started treating my CT with AQ salt to get his fins to regrow, hopefully they do. I noticed a lot more growth while he was in a cycled 15 gallon tank than before in his 2.5. Reeeally want to order some IAL, keep me updated on how that goes. Those darn CT rays. >_>


Those darn CTs indeed haha I just recently noticed Antione regrowth  i was kinda bummed at first because they didnt seem to be growing back any but when i finally did notice it was like he built his first bubble nest haha it was that exciting for me. I hope your guys start growing back soon too  its really awesome to see that theyre healing. Especially in Antiones case when i felt like i was doing everything wrong. He let me know i was doing at least one thing right haha. Ill definitely keep updates coming once i get the IALs, im super excited to see if his fins start to get better. I know its not necessarily bad to his health, just aesthetic, but he just looks healthier with straighter fins. And i want the best for my little buddy


----------



## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

Now again i am not sure what i am talking about. But i think i saw post on this forum that the best water conditioner to use with hard water is Prime. Not sure who wrote it but i think it even may be Oldfishlady. Also i am using Prime and on the bottle written ''for exceptionally high chlorrmine concentrations,a double dose may be used safely.'' So i am wondering if Prime can help.


----------



## DTailskatr (Mar 24, 2012)

I have also been told Prime is best by quite a few members. It's almost impossible to overdose on as long as you follow the bottle. I was having ammonia problems (my tape water has very high levels) and this took care of it right away


----------



## OMGemily (Feb 28, 2012)

ive also seen prime recommended many times. And its perfect timing because ill need some new conditioner before i can change his water again


----------



## OMGemily (Feb 28, 2012)

*Day 35*

Well i went to petsmart yesterday, and wasnt even tempted to get a new fish thanks to Jacques. But i was looking at water conditioner and i never thought itd be so hard to find one! i was going to get prime but it was WAY too concentrated... like 1 mL per 100 gallons! so then i wanted to get some by Aqueon as thats what i had first but i couldnt find any. It was hard enough finding one that was watered down enough that i could use it, and then i realized there was water conditioner, water purifier, and water dechlorinator... such a headache... so i got water conditioner because it sounded most like what i was looking for and i got Topfin because... well mostly because it was a small concentration and the measuring cap had about the markings i needed. Horrible lack of variety for smaller fish tanks... but oh well. i changed Antiones water today and filled it all the way up again since hes not being treated for anything. I think i noticed his little poops in there when i changed it  at first they looked way to big to have come from him  but then i realized they were just all spiraled and only looked like a big glob from fr away haha. he had three in there over a weeks time... wonder if thats normal? i feed him 4-5 pellets a day. its been a few more today and yesterday so he knows i love him  haha


----------



## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

sorry ...


----------



## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

Are you split them for morning and evening or you give them all at once? 5 Pellets at once it too much.


----------



## OMGemily (Feb 28, 2012)

oh yea! haha i definitely split it up. i used to feed him 3-4 at a time twice a day and he got fat fast so i cut back. i usually feed him 2 at a time now, twice a day. and i skip once a week


----------



## OMGemily (Feb 28, 2012)

*Day 38*

havent seen Antione since yesterday morning :/ i miss the little guy! Ive been at my dads house since easter morning and, despite my rules. I bought another betta... AND it was from petco of all places! I guess theyre selling baby bettas now and i couldnt let this little baby grow up in such a horrible place... seriously you should have seen the fish there... one looked like he was rotting alive... like an actual fish zombie... he was decaying but still breathing... i told the fish lady and i think she threw him away or whatever it is they do with sick bettas. im sure she didnt treat him... if he even could be treated at that point... poor guy  so when i saw this little baby i just had to rescue it! he cant be more than a few months old tops. If hes starting to get color i cant tell. Hes kind of a really pale see through yellowish color and hes about half an inch long maybe. Im excited to see what he turns into color and tail wise. assuming he makes it that far :/ he survived the night though and i got him some frozen baby brine shrimp to eat. although i think hes too big for them maybe... oh well. i got some freeze dried blood worms as well. those are too big for him at the moment but im sure Antione will eat them if the new guy/girl wont. so thats about all ive got now. if you want to know any more about the baby feel free to ask  advice is good too haha


----------



## OMGemily (Feb 28, 2012)

and here are some pictures of my mystery baby  (i keep refering to it as him but im actually clueless about the gender right now :lol


----------



## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Oh wow! I am seeing some yellow in there! How exciting


----------



## BETTACHKALOVE (Nov 22, 2010)

Remember don't put them together until you sure new betta don't carry disease.


----------



## OMGemily (Feb 28, 2012)

Olympia said:


> Oh wow! I am seeing some yellow in there! How exciting


Its extremely exciting X) i think the yellow shows up more in the pictures than in i can see it in person but the pictures dont show very well the slight iridescence on his body around his pectoral fins  cant wait to see what happens!



BETTACHKALOVE said:


> Remember don't put them together until you sure new betta don't carry disease.


i definitely learned my lesson with my Antione scare. This one isnt going in the same tank for a while anyway. i was told to do a whole poop ton of WCs and i dont want to stress Antione out so hes getting upgraded to a new 10 gallon  he should be happy about that. The mystery baby is getting Antiones current 5.5 gallon as soon as i get home


----------



## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Keep the baby's tank bare bottom while you're feeding tiny things and doing tons of WC's. It'll make things much easier IMO.


----------



## OMGemily (Feb 28, 2012)

oh i plan on it  Antiones is bare bottom atm because last time i changed the water it was disgusting... all hiding in the marbles :/ so yep. theyre both gonna be bare bottom for a while  im excited to get the baby in a bigger tank


----------



## kfish (Oct 5, 2010)

OMGemily said:


> *Day 35*i was going to get prime but it was WAY too concentrated... like 1 mL per 100 gallons!


Just so you know when you need more conditioner - the dosage for Prime works out to one drop per gallon, or 1 mL per 10 gallons (and each thread on the cap is 1 mL). When you do a water change, it's best to add the full-tank dosage, anyway. To get a drop or two, I pour a tiny bit into the cap, then pour a few drops from the cap into whatever container I'm mixing water in. Then dump the rest back in the Prime bottle. You can't overdose, so don't worry about that. Just eyeball it.

It lasts foreeeverr because you need so little, haha.


----------



## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

1ml per 100 gallons works out to 0.1ml per 10 gallons, and 0.01ml per 1 gallon. That is much less than whatever "a drop" could be considered, drops can have different sizes so it isn't the best way to explain things 
I think that bottle must have been for large tanks, some have smaller dose amounts. I thought prime was 1ml per 10 gallons as well.


----------



## OMGemily (Feb 28, 2012)

i thought it was crazy too but i double checked. rediculously huge amounts of tank water  its alright though. i dont have a problem with ammonia and my topfin stuff seems to work fine  maybe next time i need it ill be able to find prime less concentrated somewhere else


----------



## kfish (Oct 5, 2010)

Olympia said:


> 1ml per 100 gallons works out to 0.1ml per 10 gallons, and 0.01ml per 1 gallon. That is much less than whatever "a drop" could be considered, drops can have different sizes so it isn't the best way to explain things
> I think that bottle must have been for large tanks, some have smaller dose amounts. I thought prime was 1ml per 10 gallons as well.


I have the biggest bottle size (that they have at my Petsmart, anyway) and it says 5 mL for 50 gallons, which is 1 mL per gallon.

Water conditioner doesn't have to be exact... and, since you really should add a full dosage every water change, that'd be 1 mL in a ten gallon tank, anyway.


----------



## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

I was just going with what Emily said.


----------



## OMGemily (Feb 28, 2012)

kfish said:


> I have the biggest bottle size (that they have at my Petsmart, anyway) and it says 5 mL for 50 gallons, which is 1 mL per gallon.
> 
> Water conditioner doesn't have to be exact... and, since you really should add a full dosage every water change, that'd be 1 mL in a ten gallon tank, anyway.


i wish i could find one with that dosage -_- that would make my life so easy haha the topfin stuff has that same concentration but i couldnt find it in Prime at my petsmart. granted i didnt look at all the sized bottles but i think the largest and smallest had the same cincentration so i assumed they all did. oh well. ill check again next time


----------



## kfish (Oct 5, 2010)

OMGemily said:


> i wish i could find one with that dosage -_- that would make my life so easy haha the topfin stuff has that same concentration but i couldnt find it in Prime at my petsmart. granted i didnt look at all the sized bottles but i think the largest and smallest had the same cincentration so i assumed they all did. oh well. ill check again next time


If you were just glancing at it, you may have combined the Liter measurement with the word gallon, lol. Because it says 5 mL for 200 L (50 gallons). I'm pretty sure they're all the same concentration? Could be wrong, though. I think it might be worded differently on different sizes, though, since cap sizes are different and they like to keep it in terms of a capful. 

As a side note, they have a 2L bottle @[email protected] Can you imagine needing to change that much water? Hahaha.

Edit: holy shamoly, they have a 20L bottle (.. jug? barrel?), rofl.


----------



## OMGemily (Feb 28, 2012)

oh my... i bet its cheaper in the long run though haha. i very well couldve read that wrong... now that you point it out i bet thats what i did *facepalm* but even then my current tank is 5 gallons so thats half a mL. id have to get a smaller syringe


----------



## OMGemily (Feb 28, 2012)

*Day 38 (cont'd)*

just got home and saw that my IALs arrived!! put half of one in Antiones tank less than an hour ago and he seems to love it!  hes resting on it and swimming through the curls of it  i bet he might even sleep on it  haha hes so cute!


----------



## OMGemily (Feb 28, 2012)

*Day 39*

Im upgrading him to the 10 gallon today  so i can make room for my mystery baby  i bought some blood worms for the baby but theyre too big. so i fed Antione one to see if he would go for it. I wanted to soak it a little before he ate it so it wouldnt expand in his tomach but i didnt have any other water around so i had to soak it in his tank. I stuck it on the end of a bread tie and put it in the water. Antione noticed it right away from across the tank and darted right for it. So i kept moving it away from him to let it soak. i think he enjoyed chasing it though haha he gobbled it up pretty quickly  his IAL started to change the water color today  i put one in his new 10 gallon as well but im still waiting for it to heat up. Im going to try and have a filter in this one. its from my 5.5 so hopefully the current wont be as strong. i guess ill wait and see


----------



## OMGemily (Feb 28, 2012)

*Day 43*

This very well may be the last day i post about this little guy :'( im not too confident in his ability to survive much longer.... maybe im overexaggerating, but being a still pretty new betta owner im not sure if it too late or not  he seems to have some kind of swim bladder issue and his scales look like their starting to pinecone... these things always seem to happen when i cant be here  last time i had contest all weekend and this time its prom... why cant my fish just be healthy?? i dont know what im doing wrong


----------



## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Awh!
Don't beat yourself up, he was tiny, could have been too late for him the moment someone decided to sell him as a baby betta. Dealing with loss can be hard. I don't know if it's safe to treat a baby, but if he's alive when you're home, you should look into an aggressive treatment.
How is Antoine?


----------



## OMGemily (Feb 28, 2012)

Antione isnt the baby... but hes pretty much dead... :'(


----------



## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

wait i think he was doing good. Sorry i got confused. Is it Anthony who is pine coning? If it him i think you don't do anything wrong he probably sick from the store. So sorry it really happened to a lot of people. It not you doing something wrong. 
How is that little new baby?

I saw a lot of post's where people lost 3 even 4 fish before they finally have healthy one, don't give up. Sorry you go through this.


----------



## BETTACHKALOVE (Nov 22, 2010)

I just saw the post when someone treated dropsy symptoms and i PMed about it i was curious how to treat it and i got this mess back. May be it can help  I know you did so much already  
Below the answer on my pm :

No problem! I cannot guarantee if it was the medication or just a stubborn fish. I have been told several times that what I did could not possibly work. The only medication I had at the time was Jungle Fungus Clear, so I used what I had. I had 2 girls survive with this. The only two I treated this way. 

I added 1/4 tablet of the Jungle Fungus clear and several(I can't remember how many) teaspoons of epsom salt (for the bloating) to a gallon of spring water. 

I moved my little girl back into her bowl from wally world. (The plastic one I brought her home in.) I used the mixture to fill her bowl and changed it out 2-3 times a day depending on how it looked. I kept her in the warmest room in my house since her bowl was too small for a heater. I held off food for the first several days, until she seemed less bloated and the scales were going down a bit. I fed her right before I changed her, so if she didn't eat, the water would be cleaned out anyway.

It took me 2 weeks of this before she seemed well enough that I put her back in the aquarium. The second girl took about 10 days. I still have the second girl, but the first one I lost on her 3rd round with Dropsy, so I think she had something else wrong with her to begin with.


----------



## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

so sorry i just saw your other post . He died? Sorry...Something was wrong with him from beginning though. You did everything you could. Don't give up


----------



## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

I agree, Antoine seemed riddled with problems from the start.. Probably bad breeding made his system weak.. >< avoid that pet store if you can.


----------



## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

So weird i just read help about IAL and it look like Antione was doing a lot of better before emily put him in 10 gall with IAL. 
And also water got cloudy which i don't understand. Is it was something in the tank may be.
So sorry


----------



## OMGemily (Feb 28, 2012)

*The End*

43 days... at least i was expecting it this time i guess...


----------



## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Hey Emily don't be so hard on yourself.
Take a break from fish, don't look for another one. After a while go to pet stores every now and then (not the one you got Antoine from, seems like a bad place), wait for one to find you.. Don't rush into fish again, too hard.
 <3


----------



## BETTACHKALOVE (Nov 22, 2010)

Very sorry. With me it kind of different the more i have trouble the more aggressive i became. My very first 2 bettas died and i bought 3rd one. And he didn't live long and develop dropsy i want and bought 4 th one. So i don't think you should give up. I think give it a chance. We all learning on our or someones mistake all our life. So i would say give it a chance. Anyway your fish was loved otherwise it would be in the store dead anyway. So i would say don't give up. If you care so much you should try.

Wait until store get new shipment and get one. Disinfect 5 gall . Wash vary well and let it sit on the son for 3 days. I am not sure how you disinfect your 10 gall just hot water not enough if you had sick fish in there.

That what i think but again it me. You will feel better if you will do it. Many people on the forum had trouble ....


----------

