# New Betta Owner With a Sick Baby Betta!



## Aguamenti (Jan 5, 2012)

Hi!

I am new to this forum and bettas! I have wanted to purchase a betta for some time now, and last Saturday at Petco I noticed they had baby bettas. I asked a Petco sales associate how the care differed between a baby betta and an adult betta, to make sure I could handle caring for it properly. According to them, the only difference is that babies need smaller food. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that one of its eyes was cloudy and its water was dirty. I decided to take this one home as a rescue, in hopes of giving it a better life. Now, I need some advice as to how to properly care for the little girl (at least I'm calling her a girl for now), as she is sick, young, and in a new environment. 

I will try my best to explain her current tank, husbandry, and physical appearance. Keep in mind I have only had her for 5 days and I am still learning! Also, all the advice I had for her care was given by people at Petco, before I had discovered this forum. 

Tank: She is in an approximately 1 gallon glass half orb bowl (one side is flat, the other rounded) with tap water and Aqueon betta bowl plus water conditioner/dechlorinator. There is no filter or heater, but she is in a temperature controlled room. The water is a stable 71 deg F (which I think might be too cold for a sick baby, but I didn't want to cause any more stress by drastically raising the water temperature) and the tank is sitting in a dark corner to help her feel more comfortable. I put her in her new home on Monday after I felt she had acclimated to the stress of traveling in a car twice (I bought her at a Petco near my parent's house, approximately 50 minutes away from where I live). I moved her tank last night to a warmer area of the room, and now the water temperature is 73 deg F. This is a temporary solution until I can get a water heater tonight. I haven't tested the water yet, but when I go to the pet store tonight, I will bring a sample. 
Treatment: API Bettafix, which she has been treated with 3 times. It says to repeat the dose daily for up to 7 days, and then make a water change. I did a 50% water change last night with spring water before I treated because her water was slightly cloudy from the food she won't eat that falls to the bottom. I was advised to use this treatment for her cloudy eye. 
Food: I have been attempting to feed her twice a day, with either Tetra BettaMin Tropical Medley flakes or ZooMed Micro Floating Betta Pellets crushed up.
Appearance/behavior: She is approximately 1 1/2-2 inches in length with a white body and reddish fins. One of her eyes is cloudy and possibly slightly protruding (popeye?). When looking at her profile from above, her back has a slight curve to it. She is always at the bottom of the tank, but when she is prompted to move, her movements are darty and appear to be difficult. She will come up to the surface to get air, and I try to tease her with the food. She seems interested, but will usually not eat any of the food (maybe a small crumb). After a while of swimming up by the surface not eating, she will then nose dive down to the bottom of the bowl, using objects on her way down for support (she has a rock sculpture decoration). Her breathing looks like it might be difficult, but since I am new to bettas, I don't know how normal breathing looks. Also, her fins appear clamped. Since I moved her tank to a warmer area, she now floats at the top with her head slightly pointed upwards. This morning she seemed unresponsive to water vibrations and food. She may have still been sleeping, or she may be taking a turn for the worse :blueworry:

What is so difficult about her care is that there are so many factors that could be causing her appearance/behavior. I don't know how long her eye has been cloudy and I don't know if her current coloring is her normal coloring or due to sickness. I don't know how long she hasn't been eating. I really want to give her the best possible care so she survives and has a loving home. I welcome any suggestions about what I should be doing differently to get her healthy again! I will try to get some pictures of her, but I have been trying to leave her alone as much as possible as to not stress her more. 

Thanks!


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## Tobythefish (Nov 14, 2011)

I don't know how to help, but you should definitly stop Bettafix as it can cause damage to bettas labyrinth. It's good that you are getting a heater since all bettas need to be kept as close to 78 degrees F as possible. I don't know how to take care of baby bettas, but I do know there is a lot of difference between taking care of baby bettas and taking care of adult bettas. Baby bettas are very delicate I think. Good luck


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## Aguamenti (Jan 5, 2012)

OK, I will stop using the Bettafix! Any other suggestions for treatments?


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

I had a baby too but it didn't survive. 




> all the advice I had for her care was given by people at Petco, before I had discovered this forum.


Rule no. 1 - always see out a 2nd opinion as petco employees usually have no idea on what they are talking about. 


Try and keep the tank as warm as possible and try putting saran wrap (with holes) over the bowl to keep the air she breaths humid. 

*Popeye*
•Symptoms: One or both eyes will swell and bulge out. It in itself can also be a symptom of Dropsy.
•Treatment: Usually not fatal if treated, but your betta might lose an eye. Conservative: If the swelling is extreme then use ES first. Perform 100% daily water changes. You may be able to treat the popeye with just Epsom and clean water. However, if the swelling goes down but the eyes remain cloudy/white, then switch to Aq.Salt at 1tsp/gal or use medications. Do not combine Aq.Salt with medications but you can continue to use ES during medical treatments. Medication: If ES or Aq.Salt do not do the trick or it is a serious case of popeye, then combine the ES with API Tetracycline, API Fungus Cure, API General Cure, API Triple Sulfa, OR Mardel’s Maracyn. 

I am not sure how well a baby would handle meds.


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## Aguamenti (Jan 5, 2012)

Thanks for the help! The swelling isn't extreme, so should I start with ES or Aq. Salt?


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## zimmerb0922 (Dec 12, 2011)

i think since there is some swelling even if its not extreme you should start with the epsom just so it doesn't get any more swollen. after that goes down and if the eye still looks cloudy i would use the aq. salt. remember to only leave her in the salts for a maximum of 2 weeks. good luck


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## Aguamenti (Jan 5, 2012)

So I will be doing a 100% water change with epsom salt added, correct? How much epsom salt do you add per gallon?


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## zimmerb0922 (Dec 12, 2011)

i thiiiiiink its 2 teaspoons per gallon. but i dont know that for sure. you might want to wait for another expert opinion. or look around the forums a bit, epsom is a very widely used medication so theres a lot of information on it here.


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## Tobythefish (Nov 14, 2011)

The dosage of epsom salts is two teaspoons a gallon. I hope the baby makes it.


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## Aguamenti (Jan 5, 2012)

OK, I was seeing two teaspoons per gallon while searching around the forum, so that is what I will go with, thanks for the reassurance! :-D Would you suggest starting with a 25% or 50% water change with the epsom salt solution? I'm assuming if I did a 100% water change and put my little girl in the epsom salt solution without any acclimation that it could stress/harm her. So these are the following changes I will be making based on the advice I have received: stopping current treatment, starting a epsom salt solution until eye swelling goes down, switching to aquarium salt solution if her eye is still white/cloudy, heating her tank to 80 deg F gradually, making a temporary saran wrap lid with holes poked into it, and getting different food. I am going to try to look for smaller pellets since it doesn't seem like she can eat the bigger ones I have been offering her (whole and crushed). Any other suggestions for foods that will stimulate her appetite and get her eating?


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## Aguamenti (Jan 5, 2012)

Here are some pictures of the little girl's bad eye:


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## Tobythefish (Nov 14, 2011)

I've heard that a good way to acclimate them to epsom salts water is to premix a gallon of epsom salt water and then do 25% water changes with the premixed treatment water every five minutes for a half hour. You will probably have to mix up a second gallon of epsom salt water, but its not that hard. Make sure all the salt is dissolved before you use it, and make sure the water is the same temp as the tank water. I don't know anything about bettas except what I've heard from other threads about them, but this is what you do with adult bettas and I'm assuming its safe for babys too. I've heard that newly hatched baby brine shrimp are good for baby bettas, that probably hard to get though. Heres a link to a website about breeding bettas and taking care of the baby bettas. http://clefty.hubpages.com/hub/bettafry Of course, the experts would really know better what to do, but I hope this helps, she's soooo cute. Good Luck!


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## gossipgirl1031 (Dec 7, 2011)

Poor baby's eye  Hope she feels better soon!


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## Tobythefish (Nov 14, 2011)

It might be better to do the the same amount of 25% water changes I mentioned above with the premixed water every 15 minutes. That would probably be less stressful. Remember that I don't know much about bettas since I'm not an expert, so if you want to wait for confirmation from one of experts, do it and be on the safe side. Hope she feels better


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