# Betta fish may have multiple illnesses



## BlueJWebb (Sep 6, 2012)

So I inherited Frank from my mom, who passed away in June. No one knew how to take care of him so I've been learning along the way. Unfortunately he always seems to be sick. He was sick when I took over his care. Now I'm at my wits end and don't know what to do anymore.  More details below:

Housing 
What size is your tank? *Moved him to a 1 gallon bowl*
What temperature is your tank? *78*
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
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? *none
* 
Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? *flakes...not at home so I don't have the exact name of them.* But he seems to get constipated every time I feed him those so I just bought him pellets yesterday.
How often do you feed your betta fish? *1x a day*

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change? *In his current living situation, once every 3 days.*
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? *API Tap Water Conditioner*

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?

Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
pH: 8.2
Hardness: Don't have an exact number, but it's hard water.
Alkalinity: ?

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? Yes - his fins look ragged and seem to be getting shorter (all of his fins). I can't tell if it's fin rot or if he is chewing on them. He is also slightly bloated and floating on his side. He tries to swim around but just flips back onto his side. One of his eyes also looked swollen last night too.

How has your betta fish's behavior changed? He is still energetic and has an appetite, but he seems restless and uncomfortable.

When did you start noticing the symptoms? The fin problem started last thursday, the rest came on suddenly yesterday morning.

Have you started treating your fish? If so, how?:

Yes - I started with melafix & pimafix not knowing any better. 3 days later when his fins looked a little worse I did more research and discovered I shouldn't have given him those meds, (He was in a 10 gallon at the time) I immediately put him in his little fish bowl with clean fresh (treated) water and removed all of the water from the 10 gallon. The tank also had sand in it and upon removing one of his decorations (hollow rock) I was hit in the face with a putrid stench that smelled like perm chemicals. I completely removed the sand, rinsed out the tank and put in clean gravel & water (no decorations) and let the tank run for 24 hours. I put a measured dose of Jungle Fungus Clear in his bowl with a small amount of aquarium salt and saw no improvement in 2 days. My dad suggested I put him back in the 10 gal tank so I did, with a full dose of Jungle Fungus clear & 2 Tbs of aquarium salt. The next morning I got up and he was kind of stuck at the top, floating against the edges of the tank. I figured he was constipated because this has happened before. I hadn't fed him in a couple of days at this point. Just in case, I took him out of his tank and back into his bowl and went to work. On my way home from work I get a call from my dad - he is floating on the top on his side struggling to swim. So I did an immediate water change when I got home - 100% and only added water treatment. I also fed him a peace of pea to treat the bloating. Then later in the night I noticed one eye looked slightly swollen and discolored. In a desperate attempt to save his life I gave him a small dose of Jungle Life guard because it's all I had left at the house at 11pm at night that I hadn't tried yet. I was sure I would find him dead this morning. He was still alive and his eye looked slightly better and he seemed to be able to wright himself for a little bit before tipping back over but his stomach is still swollen, fins still ragged and he hasn't pooped in at least 3 days. I'm at work now - I may come home to him dead 

Does your fish have any history of being ill? Yes. When I started taking care of him (he was my mother's fish, but she recently passed away) he had clamped fins. I used Jungle Fungus clear & 1/4 tsp of aquarium salt to treat him, carefully dosing him for his 1 gallon bowl, and he seemed to get better tho his fins never really looked healthy. I did weekly water changes (again, not knowing any better). 
How old is your fish (approximately)? 4 months

Now what do I do? Do I do another water change tonight? Do I continue with the Jungle lifeguard? It says not to use it on an un cycled tank, and to give one dose daily for 5 days before doing a water change. Do I add salt or stay away from it? I'm keeping him in his bowl in a quiet room to keep him calm.

I feel like I am killing this poor fish  I am so attached to him and if he passes away or if I am forced to euthanize him I will be crushed. There has been so much death in my family (our dog died a week before my mom) that I just can't deal with it.


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## ZackyBear (Dec 1, 2011)

It sounds like it could be swim bladder and pop-eye or dropsy.

Pea treatment doesn't work very well with bettas since they are carnivores. You should get him started on an ES (Esposm Salt) bath as soon as you can. The treatment is explained here: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=73333

and here: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=73332

Hope this helps~


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

Welcome to the forum and sorry your Betta isn't well and my sincere sorrow of your mothers passing-My thought and prayer for you and your family......

What I would recommend at this point for your Betta is to start Epsom salt(_Not aquarium salt_) and tannin treatment.
Tannins-either IAL (_Indian almond leaf-1lrg crushed/gal_) or naturally dried and fallen from the tree Oak leaf (_20 crushed/ga_l)

Good that you have him in the 1gal-I would either lower the water level to about 3-4 inches or use a small container like what some Betta are sold in that can be floated in a heated tank (_attached so it doesn't sink_) to maintain water temp in the 76-77F range for treatment. Cover with plastic veggie wrap to help retain the heat/humidity for the labyrinth organ.

Premix some treatment water in a 1gal jug of dechlorinated water-Add Epsom salt 3tsp/gal and the tannin source if you have one. Let this steep for 30min to allow the salt to dissolve and tannins to start to release. Shake well before use.

Using the premixed treatment water-make 25% water changes every 15min for 1 hour today. This will get him acclimated to the new chemistry and start the treatment.

He needs to stay in the QT container that is covered with the wrap and in this premixed treatment water for the duration of the treatment period. Keep him in a dim lit quiet location.

Tomorrow-using the premixed treatment water make 50% water changes daily for the next 10-14 days...

If you used a tannin source the water should look darker every day and this is what you want.

Nutrition-If you have access to live mosquito larva-offer several rinsed a couple of times a day to boost protein intake for the immune response. If not-offer good quality varied diet in small frequent meals....

Good luck and keep us posted

Again, sorry for your loss-


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## BlueJWebb (Sep 6, 2012)

First, thank you.

I don't know where I would be able to get Indian almond leaf or oak tree leaf locally. Would I have enough time to send away for it? When I put him in the qt container do I put him in 100% of the water or put him in 25% of treated water/75% non treated water and do 25% water changes until the water = 100% (my guess is yes, but I want to make sure)


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

You need to pre mix salt for the right dosage in one gall and shake it well make sure it dissolved. Also make sure new water inappropriately the same temp as his water +-2-4*. You will need to put him in 100% treated with salt and dechlorinated water. And then do 25% water changes every about 15 min for 1 hour for today.


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## BlueJWebb (Sep 6, 2012)

Well I'm home from work. He's not dead, but his belly is now extremely swollen. I can't tell if his eye is swollen or not because he's completely on his side. I've started treatment. He is really freaked out though


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## BlueJWebb (Sep 6, 2012)

Here is a pic of how he looks right now


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## BlueJWebb (Sep 6, 2012)

Well I did the treatment, did the water changes in the tiny quarantine bowl with 100% salted water - 3 tsp to 1 gallon. It stressed him out big time and now he is frantically swimming around the cup, banging into the sides. I don't know what to do.


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

Hey how is your betta? Wait for Oldfishlady response she is not on line and didn't see your post's. Usually epsom salt very mild on betta and they very tolerant to it.
Did you put water conditioner along with salt? Did you make sure salt dissolved before you put him in?
Oh i think it my fault you put him right to salt water. You didn't have his original water in the changing cup i think that why he stressed. It because of me i should tell you to acclimate him. My fault. I hope he is ok.


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

so sorry all my fauld. I am usually tell every one to acclimate betta and i gave you completely wrong information. I don't even know what to say. I hope he is ok and you can start his daily water changes with pre mix epsom salt.


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

Where do you live? maybe a member close by can give you some IALS or oak leaves. 
I'm in NYC


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## BlueJWebb (Sep 6, 2012)

I got up this morning and he seemed better. He is still tipping on his side but he is able to swim upright for a bit and he is calm and alert. He is still swollen but not as much. He coughed up white stuff and pooped out a white, semi transparent poop last night. Now do I have to worry about parasites? I removed the debris with an eye dropper this morning and gave him 1 pellet of betta food. Last I saw he was nibbling on it. I worry about him being in such a small amount of water. It's probably 3/4 to 1 cup of water total floating in a heated tank. I'll do a 50% water change tonight. 

I live in central NY.


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## BlueJWebb (Sep 6, 2012)

Oh and thank you for all of the advise. Putting him the the salted water scared me, especially when he was so stressed. I got up a couple of times last night to check on him and he was still alive. I also know that if I didn't do anything he probably would have died so I had to try. He doesn't have any pine coning but his fins are still frayed. I don't see any black edges but he's a dark blue so it's hard to tell.


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## BlueJWebb (Sep 6, 2012)

And I forgot to mention, his poo isn't stringy, it's pretty chunky.


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

Good to hear he is better....White poop doesn't always mean parasites-sometimes it is due to stress and since he has been stressed I am not surprised that he had some white poop-but good that it cleared up on its own.

If you have either a sprig of live plant or silk plant-add that to the small temporary QT container to help make him feel more secure.

Keep us posted....


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## BlueJWebb (Sep 6, 2012)

He is doing much better today. I found him resting on the bottom of the bowl this morning and when he saw me he perked up and did his happy shimmy. He hasn't been able to leave the top of the water in days so what a major improvement! His fins still look frayed and haven't seemed to heal at all. They don't seem any worse either. I'd rather avoid medication to treat them if I could. And I know he is still having trouble with constipation because I haven't seen any poo in the bottom of his dish. I saw one hanging out this morning but now it's gone.


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

Good to hear he is responding to you and improving......The fin may take weeks to month to heal and depending on how bad the damage they may never return to their full glory.
Its not uncommon for them to eat or pick up and blow out their poop and so you may not be able to tell if he has any poop at the bottom of his container.

Keep us posted....


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## BlueJWebb (Sep 6, 2012)

Holy crap. I just checked him because I noticed some stuff at the bottom of his dish...he went big time! And when I pulled up the cling wrap to get it out I saw that he had built a bubble nest!! He hasn't done that since my mom died! WOW I am so happy. Thank you! I will keep up his treatment. Would it be ok to move him to a heated 1 gallon with the salt water treatment?


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

I would wait.....keep up the treatment in the small Qt for at least 4-5 days and then if he is still improving-move him to the 1gal with a low water level using the premixed treatment water...

Awesome to hear he is getting better....Keep us posted....


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## BlueJWebb (Sep 6, 2012)

An update on my fish. He was doing better but one of his fins developed a hole. I figured it may be due to stress and extremely fragile fins because he's always had problems with them. He's been getting really stressed out about me moving him back and forth for water changes. But tonight I screwed up. I was changing his water and moving him into the clean bowl and he got scared and took a nose dive onto the floor. It was pretty high up too. I couldn't get him right away because he was squirming too much and he fell into some dust. I did get him back into some clean water. I put stress coat in and part of an indian almond leaf but he looks like a mess. His fins are shredded and he has missing scales and possibly something wrong with his gills. I see something bright read sticking out. I turned out the lights so he's in a dark quiet area for the night. He's still in shock for sure but he is swimming and opening up his fins. I feel so horrible. I should have been more careful. If he survives I don't even know how I will change his water anymore. He is terrified of me now


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

Oh sorry, but don't panic it happened to me not once even. We all have to be careful they are jump. I think you it good that you added stress coat and dark quiet aria is good. 
Wait for Oldfishlady response. I would think you need to continue with water changes and epsom salt. I know usually aquarium salt is good for injured fish though. Not sure what to do in this situation. Wait for Oldfishlady. Don't panic not your fault i hope he will get through.


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## BlueJWebb (Sep 6, 2012)

I checked him this morning and he is swimming around happy and has quite an appetite (I only fed him 1 pellet this morning). There are bright red vertical streaks along his gills and his fins are a little shredded in some spots. I'm not sure if I should put Epsom salt or aquarium salt in his bowl. I had ordered Indian Almond Leaf on ebay when I started treating him the first time around and I just received them yesterday. I feel like it saved his life. He has been so calm since the leaf has been in his water. I mixed up the epsom salt & leaf mixture and put some of that in his water so it's around 20 - 25% a mixture of that and 75% non salt water. I'm worried about infections and diseases at this point. He seems to not hate me as he came up to greet me this morning & did his I want food wiggle. He is still in a small Tupperware bowl with a low water level in the heated tank & I found a clean turkey baster & I cleaned thoroughly with vinegar and used it for a small water change last night. 

He's been in non salted water since sunday, last night is the first time since that I added any salt. He still seems to have some very minor issues with constipation so I am afraid of the aquarium salt. Daphnia has been a huge help keeping him regulated. I don't want to feed him that now because it's the frozen stuff so it can still potentially pass something to him.


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

I am so happy to read your update. I think you doing right thing. Almond leaf and epsom salt. Epsom salt also has antibacterial / fungal affect. So it will help with infection. Since he still have minor issue with constipation i think epsom salt is right thing to do. And if he responsive and eating then his fins should heal with what you doing. Just keep water super clean. bright red vertical streaks along his gills from injury. Not sure if it can be permanent or will heal but look like it not bothering him and probably will get better also.
Please keep us update .


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## BlueJWebb (Sep 6, 2012)

Just a little update - Frank is doing great. He looks like he's come back from war with his red streaks on his gills and his shredded fins (which actually look like they are healing a bit) but he is building these huge bubble nests & jumps at his food when he sees it coming. I am also floating a female in a dish next to him in the tank and when I got their dishes too close together he flared at her so he must be feeling better. I honestly think without the Indian Almond Leaf he wouldn't have made it. I just can't believe that he's pulled through all this. I'm afraid to put him back into a real tank though. It seems like every time I do he gets sick. 

I've been tearing apart the 10 gallon at the same time - it will have brand new natural gravel - no more paint chips! - and I want to plant it. I've found a few suggestions here on the forum. I'd like to start with floating plants and maybe some java fern. And I bought the material to make a divider so he and the female can be in the same tank (I saw her at petsmart and she was a tiny baby - after a day of not being able to get her out of my mind my boyfriend bought her for me). She will eventually be moving to my boyfriends house - I have to rip his tank apart too before that can happen.

But I know he's not ready to go into a bigger tank yet so it's not a huge rush. I have a 2.5 gallon tank set up, just waiting for the heater I bought for it to arrive. I'm torn as to who should go where and when. I guess I will figure it out. What's important is that Frank is OK.


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

Awesome....so good to hear Frank is perking up and flirting.....good job....keep us updated.....


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## babystarz (Aug 3, 2012)

I'm so glad to hear Frank is improving  And I get fish jumping out of nets onto my floor/tables/behind stuff all the time. I just scoop them up with my hands and put them in their tanks and they're never worse for the wear. I even have one fish that I think jumps on purpose. He must like the adrenaline rush from his sky diving or something


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## BlueJWebb (Sep 6, 2012)

*Frank has been moved to his 10 gallon*

Another update on Frank - after my last post I continued to do daily water changes for frank and this weekend I decided he was doing well enough to go back into his 10 gal tank. I think his gills are permanently scarred. he's got some vertical shiny silver/red streaks on his gills which he got when he jumped and the ends of his fins still look tattered. When I got him he was an all blue fish. Now he has quite a bit of red and blue! And he poo's like a horse and jumps for his food, much better than he was a month ago. I did multiple water changes until I got the ammonia down to 0. For some reason the ammonia built up in the tank with no fish in it..I am guessing floating the plastic bowls in the tank had something to do with it (?) because the water tested fine before I had the bowls in the tank. But he is in his tank now and swimming as fast as he can back and fourth in his tank, I am guessing that means he is happy (I hope that's not his desperate attempt to escape because of something horrible I missed in his water). He's also been checking out the rocks I put in his tank. He kind of cocked his head a few time and flared a little while staring at them. It was hilarious to watch. He managed to put a tiny pinhole in his anal fin which I think was caused by the silk plant I put in with him. His fins have always been unreasonably delicate so I removed it. There is some extra stress coat in the water to help out with his fins. I've attached a picture of him (I apologize for the crappy quality. My phone sucks) and I might add that his fins have never been so full before.

I also attached a picture of the filter I have going in his tank. Is it enough to cycle the tank? I don't have a terribly powerful air pump hooked up to it because the current & disturbance on the water surface seemed to upset him. I had a bio wheel in the tank before and even with it baffled & a pre filter made of layered pantyhose he was getting knocked around the tank. Granted he would swim into the current and then let himself be carried away but he would bash into the glass and even the heater at times. 

Should I be doing water testing every day or is every 2 - 3 days ok? And changing water when there is ammonia present (which could end up being daily) or do the standard rules apply? I just want to make sure he doesn't get sick again. Oh yes and I plan on adding live plants eventually. I bought a couple of Marimo balls on ebay and some weeping moss. I'm not sure how I will get that to work yet (maybe tie it around some tiny flowerpots?) - but I plan on getting some floating plants and a couple of plants that can be tied to rocks or flower pots (I bought a bunch to put in)..and after all of that I want to add some ghost shrimp to clean up any missed food. 

I swear he's been more work than I ever imagined but when I am at work all I can think about is how to make his environment better. And thank you to everyone who's been so kind to help. I was so lost before I found this forum.

And lets not forget his companion, Amelia Pond (she is white with red speckles on her head and red tipped fins - Dr. Who fans will get this lol). I put her in the 2.5 gallon w/a new heater that was tested for 3 days. She will probably get a water change every other day until I can move her to her permanent home at my boyfriends house. I am also setting up a 10 gallon "with" him  I still have to rip that tank apart and clean it. :/


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## BlueJWebb (Sep 6, 2012)

*Wth?*

Well, Frank has been in his 10 gallon for a couple of weeks now and he seemed to be doing well, until I got home from work today. I had to go to my boyfriend's last night and because Frank has been doing seemingly well I felt confident I could leave him for one night. Well, I come home to a huge chunk of his caudal fin missing. I put him in my 2.5 gallon with the appropriate dose of stress coat to treat torn fins and some aquarium salt (1/4 tsp per gal), which hopefully wont cause him to get constipated/bloated again. When I put him in his 10 gallon he seemed to be getting pin holes in his fins, but they were also healing so I thought he would be ok. Did I do the right thing?


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

Tail biting. A lot of betta do this . I have tail bitter. He does it. But i am lucky he does it about every 6 month. I actually keep ''toys'' in his tank so he get busy. I have thermometer, heater on one side and just heater holder on another side. He circle around that heater holder sometimes, i have a few plant on my table next to his tank. I keep him busy. Some bettas can bite tail on regular basis and you just have to keep water super clean to prevent infection. Do not add aquarium salt yet. First you add 1/4 per gall it not therapeutic dose and it will not help and if you will use it his immune system will get resistant to it and it will not help when you really need to treat him.

I just do extra water changes for my 2.5 gall and my tail bitter who is about 3.2 years old never had any problem and his tail grow fast . I do 2-50% and 1-100 a week for my 2.5 gall. 

So if he is eating and active just do extra water changes and it should grow back. Only if you will see that his tail getting worse or if you will see white,cottony like patches than you might need to treat him.


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