# BrodrickStrider's Rescued Betta(s) Log.



## BrodrickStrider (Mar 31, 2014)

This will be a log for any and all Bettas that I will be rescuing from pet stores that didn't properly care for them.

*April 12th, 2014 - Red Veil Tail Male - Totsuka - Chronic Swim Bladder*

Surprisingly the water condition came to 0 ammonia and a pH level of 7.5, but it was still very dirty with visible waste floating in it. Fins are not clamped and Totsuka is not showing signs of stress but due to his Swim Bladder is having difficulties coming to the surface for air. He is temporarily in a 1 gallon, heated hospital tank with 50% water changes every other day and 100% water changes every 5 days. A buffered filter was in the tank to start with but even with the buffer proved to be too strong for Totsuka. If his condition improves, a filter will be added once again, or will be upgraded to a larger tank. I will be keeping him in the 1 gallon hospital tank for about 1-2 weeks to ensure that he can reach the surface on his own, seeing as an upgrade so soon to a large tank may result in drowning. If all goes well, Totsuka will be set up in a heavily planted, heated and filtered divided 10 gallon. The plants will provide resting and hiding places, and a leaf hammock will also be provided to allow for easier access to oxygen by being close to the surface.

Updates will be made to this log as Totsuka improves or if his healthy starts to worsen.


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## BlueLacee (Dec 8, 2013)

Good luck


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## BrodrickStrider (Mar 31, 2014)

*April 13th, 2014 - **Red Veil Tail Male - Totsuka - Chronic Swim Bladder

*Day two of betta rescue from PetValu. Totsuka is already showing improvement. He has an appetite today, eating one pellet in the morning and one pellet in the afternoon. He still has difficulties swimming properly, but his ability to come to the surface for oxygen is much better. He rests on his leaf hammock a lot now that he's gotten enough strength to get himself onto it. Yesterday his colouration was a dull, reddy-orange, but now that he's been in a larger environment with heating, his colour has improved immensely. He is now a deep red with with tips on his ventral fins. His fins don't appear to be damaged at this time, but I will be keeping a close eye on him.


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## BrodrickStrider (Mar 31, 2014)

*April 14th, 2014 - Red Veil Tail Male - Totsuka - Chronic Swim Bladder

*Totsuka started working on a very small bubble nest, but a bubble nest at that while I was sleeping. He was very active when I went to feed him this morning and ate two pellets (which is what I feed Fushimi and Koujaku in the morning). After returning home from school I noticed that he was even more active and his fins had opened up a lot more. While in the first post I said they weren't clamped, there is definitely a noticeable growth in comfort Totsuka has in his new home and he's able to fully stretch out. I fed him, Fushimi and Koujaku each one pellet once I returned from school and Totsuka ate it very quickly. I'm glad that his appetite has grown in the days that I've had him. Not only that, he's taken an interest in my fingers and even attempted to eat it thinking it was food. In the first two days he was having difficulty keeping his tail end buoyant, almost dragging his tail around rather than swimming properly. Today however he was swimming even better and even managed to have his tail end remain aligned with his head for some amount of time. If his progress continues as is, I'll begin to assume that his swim bladder was caused by the water conditions, space and diet that the staff at the PetValu had him under. We're almost out of the first 72 hours which are critical for knowing whether someone/something will survive or not, so lets home all goes well.


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## DaytonBetta (Feb 4, 2014)

I'm glad things are going well and look forward to hearing more about your fish!


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## BrodrickStrider (Mar 31, 2014)

*April 15th, 2014 - Red Veil Tail Male - Totsuka - Chronic Swim Bladder

*Totsuka has been doing amazing, and I'm very proud of him. He's showing almost no signs of swim bladder anymore and that is truly amazing. With this update, I can clearly say that his swim bladder was indeed induced by his environment, water quality and the food given to him, which most likely was not for Bettas to begin with. Now that he is out of the 72 hours, I feel comfortable taking pictures of him for you all to see. (My last betta I had a few days and it was very hard on me when he came down with a fungal disease.) The stubborn bugger just wouldn't stay still for a photo, but he remains easily entertained by following my fingers. Not only that, he managed to jump at my finger today when I held it over the water. I wanted to see if he showed potential of being trained, and amazingly so, he does, and great potential at that.


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