AliMcMurph

Just as a side note I took the lid off of the tank to give him some food and the light coming from the lid on side of the tank illuminated his insides while he was floating on his side and I saw what looked like three air bubbles in his stomach area stacked on each other. This could be air build up that can’t escape? Or they could be organs, I am clueless when it comes to fish anatomy. I have heard of people removing air from their fish’s abdomens by using a syringe but he’s so petite and I feel like it would be too risky. Anyway just thought I’d mention it. Thanks for everyone’s input and any more is appreciated

Should I try to feed him as normal then? I feel so bad 😞 ill try kanaplex as a last resort too

Hi all, In need of some help. I bought a betta fish from a big box pet store about two months ago (so, rescued from a cup). I took him off the shelf when I saw he was floating on his side (immediately righted himself once I touched the cup so I knew he wasn’t dead, lol). Based off this I strongly suspected swim bladder problems and wanted to help as the average person who walked into the store might not know what’s wrong. Additionally, he is also very petite for a male betta, even a younger one from the pet store. I have him by himself in a 9 gallon Fluval flex tank (with live plants and the output flow is slowed down a lot with sponges so he’s not blown around). When I first put him in his new tank, the swim bladder issue seemed to correct itself and he was able to swim normally and explore. From there I fed him about one pellet a day. Occasionally he would seem to have problems and be stuck at the top again and then I’d back off the food. I think after awhile he seemed to be doing ok (still didn’t seem quite normal some or a lot of the time as far as spending a lot of time at the surface of the tank) so I graduated him to a pellet in the morning and one at night for several days. The swim bladder issues became more frequent (this started to get worse weeks ago) so of course I backed off the food and started fasting. When that only seemed to help a little I tried a small piece of cooked pea. Fast forward the issues have continued and now they are worse. I have alternated fasting, small pieces of pea, fasting again, daphnia, fasting, and a few epsom salt baths (spread out a couple days apart). I had aquarium salt in his normal tank but I read that can make it worse so I’ve done enough water changes to remove it. After the first Epsom salt bath, when I removed him from the recovery bath to his tank, he immediately went to the bottom, swam normally, and hid under a plant, but within minutes was swimming right at the top again. The last two did not seem to help at all. He is at the point where when he rests he is always on his side now. And he is having trouble getting around (he’s flopping/side swimming). The last food he had was a small piece of pea again last night (he hadn’t had food for a few days and I tried a pea once more as a last ditch effort). I did notice during the bath today he had some feces coming out, but at this point pooping doesn’t really seem to help him (although he definitely has abdominal swelling). Overall he has an appetite and energy (well when he gets startled or tries to swim away) he just can’t get around properly anymore and I feel so bad for him after trying multiple things. Also, no pine coning of the scales is happening, his scales and fins and color appear very healthy. Just keep in mind he is very petite still so I’m wondering if this is a birth defect issue. Water parameters are: 0 (or less than 5ppm nitrites/nitrates). Ammonia is fine. pH is 7.5, KH is around 80 and GH is around 120 (water is a little hard where I live normally so I’m thinking of using spring water instead of my treated tap water?) Any feedback is welcome. I saw another thread where kanaplex was recommended. I can try that, but has anyone else had this problem before and is it possible he just has some sort of birth defect or internal issue not caused by constipation or overeating? Pictures are attached of his tank and him in the salt baths (side resting and bloated abdomen). He also frequently has the trademark S curve in his back.

Mine had the same thing (well, a white dot at the tip of the mouth). I saw a thread on another site where someone said it’s scar tissue. It went away on its own but if yours is actually fuzzy then it could be fungus

Ok thanks again for your insight 🙂

Did you have other fish in there as well? I don’t want to overcrowd my tank

Did you have other fish in there as well? Another commenter indicated I have too many fish already for a 10 gallon

Thanks so much; That’s encouraging. I’ll go out and get more this week! I also have a 9gallon I’m about to set up ( it’s more a square shape though so less ground space) that I plan to add a male betta to. Maybe I’ll put a few in there and hope the male I pick isn’t too aggressive

I did read on a forum where someone did an experiment between rocky gravel, fine gravel, and sand, and the kuhlis seemed to prefer the rocky gravel. I just feel bad for the bigger guy who can’t seem to burrow. Thanks for your input. I have no issue having more, just thought it would be mean to have more than 2 in a 10 gallon based off other stuff I’ve read. But I really like them and would be more than happy to get a couple more. I also ordered a second hiding place in addition to the “house”. It’s a rock with some entrance holes in it but should provide more darkness than the open half log decoration I have in there now.

Ok thank you. Mine don’t really come out no matter what (the little one is almost always burrowed) so I have been trying to lightly bury sinking food (I bury it because the betta will get to it otherwise). And when I feed my rasboras some of the flakes fall to the gravel anyway. Hopefully the newest, bigger guy can figure out burrowing and if not, the house suffices to hide in until all lights are out.

Ok, if you’re sure. I am open to changing the gravel (I feel like that’d be a huge task though) or giving the loaches to a better home if the gravel would be harmful to them or causes extra stress

Hi all, I have a 10 gallon aquarium with several fish (female betta, killifish, 6 harlequin rasboras, 2 kuhli loaches). I got the first kuhli about a month ago after seeing the aquarium co-op video about how they are bottom feeders and do well with bettas and are relatively easy to care for. It’s pretty thin and tiny. I knew they are nocturnal and liked to hide, and there is a house/castle structure that offers a decent sized dark space for them to hide in that also has ridges along the inside rim they can hide in. I noticed the little one burrows into my gravel, which I didn’t even know they did (my fault for not doing my research but I thought they just needed hiding places). The gravel is not small, but not huge. It’s relatively smooth edged. Anyway, I went and got a second loach yesterday after reading they might do better if there’s more than 1 (and I know aquarium coop mentioned they can be in 10 gallon tanks). It’s thicker than my first one and he can’t seem to burrow into the bigger gravel yet (it’s only been 24 hours and I think the first one didn’t burrow for a couple days). I researched and I am now seeing they do better with fine gravel or sand. Now I feel guilty that I am causing them (especially the new one if he can’t ever get to burrow) unneeded stress or possible injury. this is the gravel: https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/imagitarium-snowy-river-aquarium-gravel and this tank has been established for a year now. Like I said the edges are not really jagged, maybe even smoother than the picture in the link provided as it’s been in the tank and vacuumed and moved around for a year. Anyway, sorry for the long post, but should I try to replace the gravel even though I have other fish in there, hope the kuhlis do ok (especially the new one since he can’t seem to burrow yet, and maybe he’s too thick to do so), or try to donate the kuhlis to an experienced store that will take them? 😞 thanks in advance, I also attached a pic of the actual gravel in my tank