# Special Needs Betta?



## bunchollamas (Feb 24, 2015)

I ordered a betta fish from Aquabid, and posted in the Emergencies Forum earlier this week after he arrived. He arrived in not-so-great condition...swollen gills, erratic swimming, etc. After a very rough couple of first days, he has survived, but I am recognizing that he may not be the lively, healthy betta fish I was hoping to receive.

He has trouble swimming (unfiltered tank, since he's being treated currently), but he has a healthy appetite. He's wary of people in general, but curious as he does watch what's going on.He doesn't ever flare up...likely due to the swollen part of his gill. He always hangs out at the top where he can get air without having to move much.

I'm looking for advice on what to do when he's ready to be moved to a larger tank. What size tank? Are there ones out there that are more shallow than others? Are there better filters out there for bettas that have difficulty swimming?

I have neck and back issues, and cannot continue to do daily water changes without it effecting my health.

I'm desperate, and really looking for advice. Thanks!


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

I have not seen the Emergency thread, so I do not know the details, but could he just be extremely stressed out from shipping? Winter is a rough time for shipping. I had a really bad shipping mishap last winter, they arrived alive but in were almost frozen to death. Laboured breathing, erratic swimming, some floating upside down. 3 of the fish could not be saved and the 4th just barely escaped death, but he took some time to recover. Your fish might turn around yet.

But I would suggest lowering the water level to help him if he has trouble swimming. Some decor or plants that he can "sit" on close to the surface would be good too. You can also cover the tank in saran wrap to hold in humidity. This would help him breathe. You can baffle a filter fairly easily (think there is a DIY tutorial in the tank setup section) or pull the intake up higher to dilute the current, but I think it would be better to just forgo the filter for the time being. You can throw in a lot of live plant to help with the water quality (fast growing plants like hornwort and duckweed are the best).

Good luck with him and I hope he recovers!

EDIT: Just remembered (very tired, sorry): sponge filters. They are powered by air pumps and do not create a whole lot of water disturbance and are great for weaker swimmers. They are usually used by breeders to filter tanks for baby fish, but are pretty common to find and set up. You can even find tutorials to make one for yourself out of simple household items.


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## jadaBlu (Feb 14, 2013)

I had betta that I bought knowing he had swim bladder problems. I put lots of plants in the tank especially floating ones which he used to right him self and lean on. He liked his betta leaf. Eventualy he did improve and was able to swim greater distances and around at lower levels. He was the cutest fish ever. Have you tried methelyene blue baths I've found they can do wonders. Also I've had good luck with AQ salt for gill troubles. It only took about three days to heal up the gill one fish. I've also used a regular aquarium with another fish that also had some swim bladder issues when I bought him. I started with the lowest level he could easily get to the top in and over a months time I raised the level. the exercise of full length aquarium was good fro him and he swims well now. So there is hope. I would ask the breeder for a refund if you have not already.

Here's info on fish baths:

http://www.aquarium-pond-answers.com/2009/07/fish-baths.html


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## aselvarial (Feb 21, 2014)

I have a fish that has serious issues swimming. I have him in a 2.5 minibow with a sponge filter, a sunken ship, plenty of plants, and a floating tube. After 3-4 months of stress, this was discovered to be the best combination for him and he's done quite well with that setup since May 2014. I love the floating tubes for all my better, but especially for my bad swimmer. Even better, it only required 2 1 gallon changes a week once it cycled. (1 only do 1 a week now as it's quite heavily planted)


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## bunchollamas (Feb 24, 2015)

Thanks for the advice everyone! I'm getting a larger, filtered tank today, where the water level will be low, but it's still filtered so I can ease up on having to do 100% daily water changes. I will get some more plants that he can lean upon, and continue to montior his health.

He's been swimming sideways - no trouble really swimming down, but he's swimming sideways all the time. His stomach is bloated, so I'm going to not feed him for 2-3 days and see how he does. His gill is no longer swollen, but his gill cover sticks out on one side? I included a picture. Can this be repaired with continued AQ salt treatment?


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## bunchollamas (Feb 24, 2015)

I feel really encouraged hearing all of your stories about bettas that were able to recover from extreme stress, and swimming issues. Thank you so much!


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## aselvarial (Feb 21, 2014)

You might want to try 3-5 days in a light ep salt solution for the bloating. That always helps my poor swimmer whenever he gets his chronic SBD. I do 1-2 tsp per gallon, though I know some do more. That seems to really help in addition to fasting. Also, if the gill cover is sticking out due to any residual inflammation, the ep salt helps there too.


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