# Fish is floating and struggling to breathe HELP!



## morganwheel (Jun 15, 2011)

Hi I have a double tail male betta and i think he is sick. 

He is floating at the top of the tank and it looks like he is struggling to breathe (he is breathing quickly and moving his fins erratically)...he also has a swelling at the bottom of his abdomen ..which may be because i have overfed him.

He had swim bladder disease before but he did not act this "stressed" and I just dont want him to be uncomfortable.

Also he has finrot (which I didnt even know was a thing until researching betta diseases tonight) Can i get him medicine for that at petsmart/petco? and will his beautiful fins grow back?

Please help I dont want my betta to die but I honestly have no idea what im doing


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## Waterbottle2 (Sep 8, 2010)

Hi please fill this out so we can help you better
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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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Welcome to the forum, Morganwheel. I'm sorry things are so bad with your betta right now. How long have you had your betta? (one question not on the sticky) Soon as we get some info, we'll know how to help. Hang in there!


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## morganwheel (Jun 15, 2011)

Sorry I didnt realize that was something that I should fill out. And Ive had him since sometime in November. 

Housing 
What size is your tank? I believe a half gallon 
What temperature is your tank? I dont have a thermometer but it is whatever temp water would be at room temperature I would imagine
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? should it be? 
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? He used to have a plant but it died recently

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Normally flakes but I just switched to round pellets right before he got sick
How often do you feed your betta fish? twice a day

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change? about once a week
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 100%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Tetra aquasafe water conditoner 

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters? No i dont know how to do that

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

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? When he doesnt feel good he looses his vibrant red color and is more of a pale red and gray..which is exactly how he looks now
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? He looks stressed, looks like he is stuggling to breathe, floating on the top, erratic fin movement
When did you start noticing the symptoms? last night at around 11pm
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? I put him in a new tank with new water.. I didnt know what else to do
Does your fish have any history of being ill? He had that bladder issue that they get from overeatting and he was floating at the top.
How old is your fish (approximately)? I dont know but I have had him for about 7 months
__________________
Animals are not ours to exploit for money or pleasure.


Those who would abuse animals would do so to a human without second thought.


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## morganwheel (Jun 15, 2011)

Oh I forgot to add to other health problems on that survey...finrot...but I only discovered this last night and so I am buying him medicine for it this afternoon.


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

If u will buy medications i am recommending TETRACYCLINE API mixed with FUNGUS ELIMINATOR BY JUNGLE. 

But i think a lot of the time fin rot can be treated just with every day water changes and 1tsp/gall of the aquarium salt if u will do it for 10 days.

But if he has swim bladder problem usually Epsom salt will help.

I think u need to fast him for few days and see how he does. And keep water change for fin rot.

They love to eat but they get sick when u overfeed them.

Good luck


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Hi Morganwheel, thanks for filling out the sticky.

Okay, first off good job switching to pellets. They're much easier to feed and less messy than flakes.  Secondly, yeah, you should probably get a heater for the tank. Bettas are tropical fish and need warm waters around 78-80 degrees farenheit. You can get a small heater for not too much at Petsmart or Petco. And finally, in a half gallon container, you'll want to change 100% of the water every day. The toxic ammonia builds up really fast and even if the water looks clean, it really isn't. It might seem like a lot of work but in a 1/2 gallon tank, it'll go by pretty fast. Be sure that the water you put back into the tank is roughly the same temp as the water you take out. This will minimize the chances of him getting temperature shock. 

It sounds like your guy has ammonia poisoning. Even though you didn't mean it, by not cleaning his tank every day, the ammonia built up in there and is causing him harm. The best thing to do is what you did, which is get him into clean water. Keep changing the water every day and get him a heater as soon as possible. For the small tank he's in, the Zoo Med Betta heater will work well.








Another thing you may want to pick up at the pet store is an ammonia test kit. You can get the API liquid drops or the Mardel Ammonia strips, if they have them, both are good. Being able to test and see if the ammonia level has gotten too high will prevent ammonia poisoning from happening. Also, a thermometer is a good buy so you can make sure his tank stays the right temp. 

Next is the fin rot. Are you absolutely sure it's fin rot? Does his tail have black, ragged edges? Did large parts of it just drop off? Or is the tail bloody at all? If it just looks ragged but has no other symptoms mentioned, then he may be a tail biter. For now, hold off on the medication. Instead, get a box of aquarium salt. Mix half a teaspoon in a small amount of his tank water. Let it dissolve as much as possible (it takes forever to dissolve), then pour the salt water into his tank. Keep doing the salt treatment every day for five days, changing 100% of the water every day. If his fins still look bloody or there is black stuff advancing up his tail toward his body, then post back and we'll see about meds. 

I really hope the little guy perks up soon for you. Clean water is the best med for him. I can't promise anything, since ammonia poisoning can be deadly but we'll certainly try everything we can. Hang in there.


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## morganwheel (Jun 15, 2011)

First, Thank you guys so much! Honestly you are so helpful and I probably would have accidentally killed my poor fish if I didnt have your guys advice.

Second, He does have finrot. The ends of his fins are black and losing their red color and parts of it are falling off...I thought this was normal and he was shedding his scales kinda like a snake (which might have been a stupid thought) but now I know that he is sick.

Third, I am going to petsmart/co after I get off work. I have 3questions:
1) if I get him a bigger tank (I am unsure how many gallons it would be yet..but Ill update you) How often should I change his water?

2) If i get a tank with a filter..am I able to change the water less often? if so how much less often?

3) If i have a plant, can I change the water less?

(I dont have a lot of time because of work and school so I just dont know if I can always change the water everyday )

Thanks again so much!!!:-D


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

If u will do salt treatment with every day 100% water changes it easier for u to do it while he is in a smaller tank. Then when he will get better u can transfer him in his new home.

If u will have plants it doesn't meen that u can change his water less often. 

I don't have filters for any of my betta i just do 100% water changes. For 2.5 gall i do it every 4 days. 

Also my bettas live in 74* temperature. They very adjustable to the temperature. 

Also sorry about question but i thought half of the tsp it works as a preventative. I know Oldfishlady lady usually recommending 1tsp/gall with 100% water changes. And the salt treatments usually can be only 10 days


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

ANHEL123 said:


> If u will do salt treatment with every day 100% water changes it easier for u to do it while he is in a smaller tank. Then when he will get better u can transfer him in his new home.
> 
> If u will have plants it doesn't meen that u can change his water less often.
> 
> ...


Yeah, half a teaspoon for a gallon but this guy's in _half_ a gallon. I wasn't sure if a whole teaspoon for a half gallon was a good idea or not. Maybe someone will post with advice.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

morganwheel said:


> First, Thank you guys so much! Honestly you are so helpful and I probably would have accidentally killed my poor fish if I didnt have your guys advice.
> 
> Second, He does have finrot. The ends of his fins are black and losing their red color and parts of it are falling off...I thought this was normal and he was shedding his scales kinda like a snake (which might have been a stupid thought) but now I know that he is sick.
> 
> ...



1) Depends on the tank size.  I'm sure he'll be happy to get a bigger tank.
2) You can change the water less often (as in not every single day) but it wil still be every week, possibly more, depending on the tank size. Also, if you cycle your tank and its filter, that will help. PM me if you want cycling info. 
3) You'll probably still have to change the water at least once a week, regardless of plants. But, again depending on tank size, with a cycled filter and a plant, you may be able to change the water only once a week. And while it's not an excuse to slack off on water changes, the cycled filter and plants will give you just a little leeway so if you can't change it on the normal day, your fish won't expire overnight, giving you time to change the water the next day.

How do you change the water? Do you scoop it out or use a siphon hose? Siphon hose goes by insanely quick. The longest part of changing water is putting it back in.


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

Yes sorry half of tsp per 0.5 gall.


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

just wondering how is the betta


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