Fish Thread

[CrazyCochin]

Bad news! Rascal isn’t feeling himself and it looks like his scales are starting to raise. He skims the top of the water and won’t swim down to the bottom of his tank anymore. He has an air stone, so I don’t think it’s an oxygen issue. Ammonia 0, nitrites 0 & nitrates 5ppm…I don’t have any medications on hand yet ( maracyn, paracleanse & ich-x is on the way ). I do have Epsom salt & aquarium salt on hand, could I give him a salt bath in a hospital tank and do a 50% water change in his main tank?View attachment 2928680View attachment 2928682

Does he float at the surface? How much do you feed him?
I lost my first female beta to some sort of ailment that caused her to continuously float upwards at the surface.
I don’t know if my girl’s had to do with her diet, or perhaps she had swim-bloat or something on that order.

My current Betta, Tramp, has a very strict diet. Their stomachs are very small. And they bloat easy if overfed.

 

[cluckingheck]

How old is he?

no idea, but I’ve only had him since August. He’s a petco betta, though, and there was no date anywhere on his cup. He didn’t look to be too old when I got him. These are from when I first got him. Someone said he might be getting ready to make a bubble nest, but he never acted like this when he made his first one.

 

[CrazyCochin]

You wouldn’t want to put your betta through the shock of a drastic change of temperature. The salt bath is recommended twice a day for a really sick betta, once a day for a mildly sick or recovering betta.

 

[CrazyCochin]

no idea, but I’ve only had him since August. He’s a petco betta, though, and there was no date anywhere on his cup. He didn’t look to be too old when I got him. These are from when I first got him. Someone said he might be getting ready to make a bubble nest, but he never acted like this when he made his first one. View attachment 2929079View attachment 2929080

Petco’s bettas are usually 1 year old under when sold. Mine was just a baby when I got him, no bigger than a neon tetra. Now he is roughly 6 months old and about an inch or two.

 

[ColtHandorf]

Hmmm, Not super old, but generally the adult males are not wee babies. Is his tank heated? I'm assuming it is.

 

[cluckingheck]

Does he float at the surface? How much do you feed him?
I lost my first female beta to some sort of ailment that caused her to continuously float upwards at the surface.
I don’t know if my girl’s had to do with her diet, or perhaps she had swim-bloat or something on that order.

My current Betta, Tramp, has a very strict diet. Their stomachs are very small. And they bloat easy if overfed.

Yeah, he’s just staying at the surface and it seems like it’s hard for him to turn. I tried fasting him for 3 days already and it didn’t seem like it did anything. I’m gonna try fasting him again and more salt baths while I wait for the maracyn & paracleanse to get here. I have bettafix, but I was told by a number of people on the betta subreddit & aquarium subreddit that it doesn’t do anything/does more harm than good. I guess it’s something with the Melaleuca oil that irritates the labyrinth organ.

I feed him around 5 pellets of the betta biogold ( they’re really tiny pellets ) a day.

 

[cluckingheck]

Hmmm, Not super old, but generally the adult males are not wee babies. Is his tank heated? I'm assuming it is.

Yeah, he has a heater, filter & air stone

 

[ColtHandorf]

What's the water temp?

 

[CrazyCochin]

Yeah, he’s just staying at the surface and it seems like it’s hard for him to turn. I tried fasting him for 3 days already and it didn’t seem like it did anything. I’m gonna try fasting him again and more salt baths while I wait for the maracyn & paracleanse to get here. I have bettafix, but I was told by a number of people on the betta subreddit & aquarium subreddit that it doesn’t do anything/does more harm than good. I guess it’s something with the Melaleuca oil that irritates the labyrinth organ.

I feed him around 5 pellets of the betta biogold ( they’re really tiny pellets ) a day.

Okay, while at this point, do whatever you think will help him. Have you tried peas? It is like a laxative for fish.

Have to be careful with that organ. From what I heard, oil’s that coat the surface of the tank cause problems because the betta cannot breathe well with it.

More info on the use of peas: ”You can also feed a pea to your betta once a week to prevent any future constipation problems. It will help to clean out the betta's digestive system. However, before feeding your betta a pea, do not feed it anything for an entire day. Chop one half of the pea into small pieces with a knife and drop it into the tank.”

 

[CrazyCochin]

Yeah, he’s just staying at the surface and it seems like it’s hard for him to turn. I tried fasting him for 3 days already and it didn’t seem like it did anything. I’m gonna try fasting him again and more salt baths while I wait for the maracyn & paracleanse to get here. I have bettafix, but I was told by a number of people on the betta subreddit & aquarium subreddit that it doesn’t do anything/does more harm than good. I guess it’s something with the Melaleuca oil that irritates the labyrinth organ.

I feed him around 5 pellets of the betta biogold ( they’re really tiny pellets ) a day.

Your boy is probably way bigger than mine. I only feed mine two little algae pellets, one or a half of a worm shaped piece of betta feed, or a few flakes. I am very careful when feeding.
(Yes, I had shrimp at one time…. *shiver* They are cute, but none survived.
Variety: That’s Tramp bombing it.

Gotta clean his tank walls again.