bettas

Thank you. I got her as a little fry from PetSmart. There may be genetic defects that led to a weak immunity later on.

Thank you

@jwcarlson Thanks for your input. There is a heater in the tank and the temperature has been pretty stable from 77-79. Very rarely would the temperature drop down to 75 or 74, but I believe that could be enough to have stressed her out (?) She was about to turn 3 years old right before she passed 😞

@Colu Thanks for the advice. She passed on her own. I would just like to know what might have triggered the hatching of the nematode eggs. This happened last winter as well.

@Colu She is still breathing, but on the gravel from the past few days. I'm not sure if adding Kanaplex would help in this situation, but I can try adding. Please let me know what other steps I can take. She also hasn't been eating.

@Colu She has lying motionless on the floor but her gills are moving (after adding the medication). I am not sure what to do in this situation, as I am not sure if the medication is working.

@Colu I purchased the plant about 1.5 years ago. I guess the eggs for the nematodes might hatch during wintertime. How can I get her to eat? After adding the Expel P, she seems to have gotten even more lethargic.

Thanks @Colu I tried feeding freeze-dried daphnia/blood worms/brine shrimp but that doesn't seem to work. I am waiting for the frozen food to arrive. I have started the medication as well. She hasn't been eating at all, and I'm getting concerned over what I can do to make her eat. I would like to know why these nematodes pop up in my tank (I haven't skipped a single water change since the last time this happened) every winter. I know many people say they are harmless, but I see on the Fritz Expel box that nematodes cause wasting disease in fish. Is there an explanation for this?

@Colu There will be some sunlight pouring into the tank. Would that be fine, or would I need to cover with a blanket 24/7? I have been trying to feed her pellets and have been using Garlic Guard to get her to the surface to eat. She gets hungry when she smells the garlic, but she is taking very small bites at the food (most of the time the bites are completely far away from the food). Is there any way I could get her to eat?

@Colu Would that be enough to treat? The medication will be arriving on Thursday. Is there anything else I can do until then?

@Colu I have tested ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate using the API water testing kit and everything is at 0 ppm. I am feeding "New Life Spectrum Betta Small 25g Naturox Series)." Here is a photo:

I have a 2 year old female betta who sits mostly at the bottom of the tank. She's been doing this since the past 1.5 weeks. There are many copepods in the tank, and I believe that she may be affected with parasites. Last time I posted here, there were visible copepods attached to her body, which I was told could be because a parasite may have taken over a copepod which attached to her body. This time, there are no copepods attached to the body, but she is most likely affected with internal parasites. I have already treated her with "Absolute Wormer +" but I don't think it had any affect. I am not sure what to do at this point, as she not eating well at all. Please advice me on what to do. To make the food more appetizing, I have used garlic guard. The scent attracts her towards the food but she doesn't eat it.

My betta is full of eggs, has no tankmates (no male bettas, snails, etc.) She's had these eggs for around 4 months. I'm a bit worried because she's not absorbing or releasing the eggs. Other than stimulation or "borrowing" a male for her, is there any way I could help her release the eggs? *I don't want to try stimulating or bringing in a male because of the many risks associated with those methods 😕 However, if these are the only ways, I can try my best. The pictures may not be very clear, but irl it's clear that she's full of eggs.

Got it! I will try that out

Hello @Colu I have followed your treatment & problems have cleared up! Thanks so much. However, I have recently noticed a single parasite near her head. Unfortunately, I’m going out of town for 2 weeks, and I won’t be able to monitor her health. Should I go ahead & medicate her now or should I just add aquarium salt until it’s more noticeable & then treat? Sorry for bothering you with so many questions.

Thank you. So paracleanse + wormer plus at the same time? Sorry for the multiple questions

Should I continue to do the same treatment with Absolute wormer plus & aquarium salt until there is improvement? Or can I do paracleanse + salt?

Thanks, will do

Hello! Sorry for the irregular & late responses. I have done the water changes & added wormer plus. Her appetite has increased, but I saw the white stringy poop again yesterday. I'm not sure if it's because the parasites are going away or if she's been infected again. I have ordered the aquarium salt. I am doing regular water changes & parameters are normal, but the copepod/nematode population is still blooming in my tank. I see some algae growth in the tank, and I want to scrape it off. However, I heard that by scraping it off, it will only make it worse. Any advice on how to get rid of these copepods? @Colu

Hello, I did a 50% water change but there seems to be no improvement. What else can I do? I’m not sure if it’s just parasites that’s going on now. She’s doing the same thing by sitting on the floor for majority of the time.

Thanks. Sorry for the very late response. She was doing well with medicated food for a couple of weeks, but now she’s starting to behave in the same way. I dosed the absolute wormer plus into the water but I accidentally added a double dose. Should I do a water change? Also, I’m not 100% sure if it’s a double dose since my tank is only 10 gallons & I was supposed to add 1/10th of a gram, which is really hard to measure.

Thank you. I am using a syringe to drop the food in the tank for the next few days. If she does not eat the food, would I treat the tank with Paracleanse or Absolute Wormer Plus?

Thank you so much. I have not had time to respond to your messages, but this is very helpful! I have made the recipe; however, the food is all mush. Do you know how I can get it back into pellet-form? It's sinking too fast and even after adding garlic gaurd, she's not eating the food. Can I directly add the anchor worm plus or paracleanse to the water?

@Colu So, we need to use levamisole & paracleanse treatment afterwards? Is levamisole basically just Expel P or flubendazole?

@Colu Sorry for the late response. She doesn't have any rapid breathing, as far as I've noticed. But she sits at the bottom of the tank for majority of the time. Are nematodes worm-shaped? Or can they also be tiny little dots? I think I have copepods in my tank that are attached onto my betta, unless nematodes and copepods are the same thing. How can I get rid of them?