My sick betta

[Marvelle Rife]

My dark blue iridescent crown tail betta is dying, I think. I think he had some fin/tail rot. They look straggly but its hard to tell. He is curled up and laying around the bottom.  He is skinny. This started about three weeks ago.  My water parameters are within  normal, the heater is 78-80, he is in a 3 gallon filtered tank by himself. He has no open sores or bumps or anything that looks like a fungus. Because of his color and he is a crowntail, its hard to tell.  I was advised to use the Maracyn so I did a round of that.  No change.  I waited a few days, and then a round of Paracleanse. No change. He has difficulty swimming, if I startle him he goes into a short frenzy, then settles back on the bottom or under something hiding. I cleaned the tank completely, got it up and running again and have been doing partial water changes with water conditioner. I hope someone can tell me what is going on

[quikv6]

Please post your water parameters. Also, have you tried any aquarium salt, by chance?

[Marvelle Rife]

1 hour ago, quikv6 said:

Please post your water parameters. Also, have you tried any aquarium salt, by chance?

No, I have not tried salt; never used it before.  My water has changed slightly since I cleaned the tank out. I had him quarantined during all that.  My water is now: pH:8.0, (it was 7.6 before) Amonia: .10 (it was 0), Nitrite: 0, Nitrate: 0 Thank you for responding

[Goosedub]

First, is he eating? If not could be constipation.

check your flow in your tank. My betta hates any amount of flow as well.

any other behaviors noted like flashing?

[quikv6]

How long has the tank been established? There are no nitrates, which could generally indicated that the tank is not fully cycled, unless its heavily, heaviiy planted.

 

Any ammonia would have me concerned, because it would further stress out an already sick fish.

 

 

[NanoNano]

Fin rot can come from bacteriological sources and chemical sources (potentially both).  General comments I've found over the course of owning about 15 different Bettas.

* Clean warm water is vital  In your picture I see visible debris on the bottom (maybe pieces of fin?)- that and poop need to be removed as quickly as possible.  Ammonia needs to be kept as low as possible so there should be at least a 50% water change every day while your Betta is ailing.  Super important that the water going in matches the water coming out in temperature and parameters.  I've seen some suggestions online to lower your tank temperature,  but I'd strongly advise against that as A) It will slow your Bettas immune system.  B) The bacteria families that cause fin rot are "comfortable" at room temperature which *to me* can be anywhere in the range of 65-90 degrees.

* Treating a with product that contains Malachite Green (e.g. Seachem Paraguard or StressGuard) is often helpful.  Malachite had antiseptic properties and will help knock down or out bacteria in the water and on your Bettas body.  You want to watch dosing directions and observe your Betta.  It is possible to overdose Malachite and in my experience some Bettas find being dosed with Malachite irritating.

* Having something for your Betta to rest on is helpful (e.g. a floating log or one of those "hammock" leaves).  Position it so that your Betta has a short trip to the surface to get air and that they're kept of the bottom of the tank where waste may collect.

* I have a personal suspicion (no evidence) that some Bettas develop an autoimmune response to fin rot as I've had some guys that get worse no matter how much treatment and TLC they get.  I don't have any words of wisdom here other than keep things clean and warm and if things don't improve,  it might not be due to you or your Betta's best efforts.

* Important to bear in mind that Betta are a prey fish on the food chain.  Mother Nature's general design for them in the wild is to mature so that they look fabulous, have a big spawn, and become food for something bigger.  Keeping Bettas in captivity can extend their lifespans into years,  but that's not a given.  Again, if things don't improve,  it might not be due to you or your Betta's best efforts.  Mother Nature is the house and the game of life is rigged so that the house always wins.

[NanoNano]

One thing that caught my eye after rereading is that the water PH that this Betta is in is climbing and now 8.0.  This might be why your ammonia seems to be trending up as well.  Betta's seem most happy in more 7.0-6.5ish acidic water, so  I would definitely want to put the brakes on letting the water PH increase any further.

[Marvelle Rife]

1 hour ago, Goosedub said:

First, is he eating? If not could be constipation.

check your flow in your tank. My betta hates any amount of flow as well.

any other behaviors noted like flashing?

my filter flow is very slow; I didn't think he could swim all the way to the top so I put in a very slow bubbler and he often curls around it or leans on it. He's always bent and very still. no flashing. I noticed in quarantine he had pooped.  He's very skinny. He sometimes will eat a couple of betta mini pellets.

1 hour ago, quikv6 said:

How long has the tank been established? There are no nitrates, which could generally indicated that the tank is not fully cycled, unless its heavily, heavily planted.

 

Any ammonia would have me concerned, because it would further stress out an already sick fish.

 

 

the tank has been set up for over a year. The ammonia just showed up today after tank break down .I have very hard water. I used Fritz Water conditioner and many water changes

 

24 minutes ago, NanoNano said:

One thing that caught my eye after rereading is that the water PH that this Betta is in is climbing and now 8.0.  This might be why your ammonia seems to be trending up as well.  Betta's seem most happy in more 7.0-6.5ish acidic water, so  I would definitely want to put the brakes on letting the water PH increase any further.

I have some meds to lower pH...the water parameters changed when I changed out the tank. The debris on the bottom might be fin bits; that was where I had him in a shallow tub. temporarily. or some debris when I caught him in the net because he had only been in there about a half an hour.

Thank you for all your comments

[Colu]

What I would do is small daily water changes to help with the ammonia add Fritz complete to detoxify the ammonia your seeing and add aquarium salt 1 table spoon for 2 gallons remember to only add the back in the amount of salt you take out if you do 2gallon water change put 1 table spoon of salt back in after 1 week stop with the salt treatment and monitor as salt will have killed bacteria it can take some time for the fins to regrow

Edited May 26, 2021 by Colu

[Marvelle Rife]

On 5/25/2021 at 5:03 PM, Colu said:

What I would do is small daily water changes to help with the ammonia add Fritz complete to detoxify the ammonia your seeing and add aquarium salt 1 table spoon for 2 gallons remember to only add the back in the amount of salt you take out if you do 2gallon water change put 1 table spoon of salt back in after 1 week stop with the salt treatment and monitor as salt will have killed bacteria it can take some time for the fins to regrow

Thank you everyone; yes, his fins are rotting. I have him in a quarantine "tub" with air stone and heater and one small driftwood.  He has eaten a couple of pellets this morning. Used Fritz water conditioner and pH decreaser in tub..  He seems to be slightly more lively; I did have  hammocks and logs for him to lay on but he still stays on the bottom under the driftwood.  Shallow warm clean water.  Took his tank down again, will be starting over with new gravel. Will have to recycle.  How do I know his fins have stopped rotting? Should I keep him in the "tub" with 4 inches of water until his tank is ready??Should I add some aqua salt? It's very clean.  I THINK I had too much waste in the gravel, even tho I do lots of partial water changes. I got a new gravel vac that is amazing.  Since I gave him Maracyn and Paracleanse treatments  earlier, the fins should no longer be  "rotting", right? I know hey take a long time to grow back. When can I put him back in his tank?  He is alone; no plants yet. driftwood and hammock and catalpa leaf. I'm not giving up on this guy.  He also was the ugliest, palest, most scraggly one when I got him and he has been well and handsome. Now he is weak, skinny, tattered, and still. Your thoughts are appreciated.

[Colu]

1 hour ago, Marvelle Rife said:

Thank you everyone; yes, his fins are rotting. I have him in a quarantine "tub" with air stone and heater and one small driftwood.  He has eaten a couple of pellets this morning. Used Fritz water conditioner and pH decreaser in tub..  He seems to be slightly more lively; I did have  hammocks and logs for him to lay on but he still stays on the bottom under the driftwood.  Shallow warm clean water.  Took his tank down again, will be starting over with new gravel. Will have to recycle.  How do I know his fins have stopped rotting? Should I keep him in the "tub" with 4 inches of water until his tank is ready??Should I add some aqua salt? It's very clean.  I THINK I had too much waste in the gravel, even tho I do lots of partial water changes. I got a new gravel vac that is amazing.  Since I gave him Maracyn and Paracleanse treatments  earlier, the fins should no longer be  "rotting", right? I know hey take a long time to grow back. When can I put him back in his tank?  He is alone; no plants yet. driftwood and hammock and catalpa leaf. I'm not giving up on this guy.  He also was the ugliest, palest, most scraggly one when I got him and he has been well and handsome. Now he is weak, skinny, tattered, and still. Your thoughts are appreciated.

I would add some aquarium 1 table spoon for 2 gallons for a week after that I would monitor him for a week to see if you get any fin regrowth