Cinnebuns Posted June 20, 2023 Share Posted June 20, 2023 This is storm. Last week he seemed a little bound up. I fasted him for 2 days and then fed freeze dried daphnia. Today I found his poo looking even worse. This week I have been feeding the daphnia and bug bites betta pellets every other day. Should I maybe fast and only daphnia for a bit? I know that's the advice I would give someone else but when it's your own baby you second guess yourself lol. He has seemed more lethargic snd not really himself the last 2 weeks. I did a water change yesterday and parameters are ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 5. 5 gallon. Only other tank mate is ramshorn snails. @Colu @Lennie storm is a sick baby 😔 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lennie Posted June 20, 2023 Share Posted June 20, 2023 Let's tag @Odd Duck as well. Hope he gets well soon :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted June 20, 2023 Share Posted June 20, 2023 What I would do is just feed daphnia if you can get frozen or live that would be better I just feed that for next 5 days if your still seeing no improvement it might be worthwhile doing Epsom salt baths 1 table spoon for 1 gallon for no more than 15 minutes for 5 days @Cinnebuns 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnebuns Posted June 20, 2023 Author Share Posted June 20, 2023 @Coluty! I have been looking for frozen for awhile with no success. My LFS says they haven't carried it in years and I have never seen any online. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lennie Posted June 20, 2023 Share Posted June 20, 2023 None of my 8 bettas are a fan of frozen daphnia. Other fish like it but my bettas, not so much :/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnebuns Posted June 20, 2023 Author Share Posted June 20, 2023 @Colu ok I noticed something else. I had to pull him out to get a good shot of this. I have only ever seen him flare once. His gills almost look to be in a permanent partial flare right now. I know they can develop fatty tissue around there if they don't exercise it enough. Is that maybe whats going on here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnebuns Posted June 20, 2023 Author Share Posted June 20, 2023 For some reason i don't think the pics uploaded in that post and I don't have an option to uploaded them right now. Forums are acting up today. Hopefully the video is enough Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted June 20, 2023 Share Posted June 20, 2023 Am struggling to see in that video I can see a tiny bit of white near his Gill's bettas can suffer from Gill hyperplasia that can causes the Gill to stay open that can be caused by a number of things such as poor water quality parasitic infections bacterial infections @Cinnebuns Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnebuns Posted June 21, 2023 Author Share Posted June 21, 2023 That sounds like what I'm seeing here. Basically his gills are always open. Combine that with the symptoms of being backed up and the poop looking even more strange today and I'm starting to wonder if it's a parasite. @Colu. Forums are acting strange today. I think that's why the pics and video aren't working. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 I forgot to add it can also be caused by over growth of epithelial cells caused by damage to the Gill's @Cinnebuns Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnebuns Posted June 21, 2023 Author Share Posted June 21, 2023 @Colu like from decor? Theres only really one possibility I can think of for damage from the decor but it's also something I've worried about before. I have an upside down terracotta pot in there. I intended it as something that he can lay on. I realized that he actually has been fitting in the hole that's intended for drainage for plants and using it as a hideout. It's very possible he injured himself squeezing through there. I think I'm going to take it out immediately just in case. The parasite thing also has me thinking because the poo today looked more strange than in the past but idk. I'm also of the mind that we frequently blame parasites for strange poo too often. At least Facebook tends to lol. Would adding a small amount of aquarium salt the the tank maybe be a good idea? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odd Duck Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 I would do the aquarium salt at 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons. That’s a bit borderline for salt sensitive plants but OK for many plants. I would also do the Epsom salt soaks exactly as @Colu recommended. Keep up with Daphnia, live is best because it also makes him exercise more. If you can’t feed live Daphnia consistently, then freeze-dried if he’ll take them, frozen if you can find them. If he doesn’t improve with 5 days of Epsom soaks, then try deworming with Expel-P. I would do a total of 4 doses (once weekly) but he should show improvement within 2 weeks if it’s going to work. If not improving within 2 weeks, then Metronidazole would be my next treatment. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnebuns Posted July 22, 2023 Author Share Posted July 22, 2023 Ok, it's been a month. He has improved but not fully. His fins are looking better but his gills still don't look right and he's lethargic. I haven't been doing well myself lately so I probably should have made a post about this sooner but I'm a bad fish momma and didn't. He's currently in a 6 gallon tank with 1 TBSP per gallon salt. I have done 1 Epsom salt bath but he had a bad reaction and I haven't done it since. In hindsight I should have done more but just lowered the salinity. Again, bad fish momma. Trying to juggle lately lol. I just reread @Odd Duck comment and ill be honest i haven't dosed that. I have messed up on this one. I do have paracleanse on hand whch I believe contains metronidazole. I do not have expel-p on hand. He does eat. Earlier today though he had a largish bug bites betta pellet and just held it in his mouth for awhile before eating it. Here is a picture and a video of his left gill: Here is a picture and a video of his right gill: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted July 22, 2023 Share Posted July 22, 2023 @Cinnebuns can you also attach that video of the filtration showing the surface movement you took when we were discussing it. Maybe it was two weeks ago? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chick-In-Of-TheSea Posted July 22, 2023 Share Posted July 22, 2023 On 6/20/2023 at 10:47 PM, Cinnebuns said: I realized that he actually has been fitting in the hole that's intended for drainage for plants and using it as a hideout. It's very possible he injured himself squeezing through there. I think I'm going to take it out immediately just in case When I have holes in my decor I want to eliminate, I stuff a small chunk of coarse foam into the hole. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odd Duck Posted July 22, 2023 Share Posted July 22, 2023 Is there any chance you could get a video kind of into the gills a bit more? I know that’s a really tough ask but I’m concerned he may have parasites up inside there. Those can be some of the tougher parasite species to treat and harder to get meds to treat, plus far less common than intestinal parasites, so I don’t automatically go to those treatments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnebuns Posted July 22, 2023 Author Share Posted July 22, 2023 On 7/22/2023 at 4:32 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said: When I have holes in my decor I want to eliminate, I stuff a small chunk of coarse foam into the hole. Very smart ty! I took it out but imma do this and put it back in! On 7/22/2023 at 6:53 AM, Odd Duck said: Is there any chance you could get a video kind of into the gills a bit more? I know that’s a really tough ask but I’m concerned he may have parasites up inside there. Those can be some of the tougher parasite species to treat and harder to get meds to treat, plus far less common than intestinal parasites, so I don’t automatically go to those treatments. Sure I'll try. He's easier to take videos of right now because he doesn't move around a lot so I might be able to get that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnebuns Posted July 22, 2023 Author Share Posted July 22, 2023 Idk if these will be good enough but its the best I can do. For what it's worth, I can't see much more in person than this too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odd Duck Posted July 25, 2023 Share Posted July 25, 2023 Are there whitish tendrils on the gill margins? That could be anchor worms. Here’s the treatment I found for that after talking to the lead vet at the New England Aquarium about some anchor worms on axolotls. Anchorworm treatment: lufenuron at 0.1 mg/L [Lufenuron is the medication in Program. There used to be an injectable for cats on the market but I don’t think you can get it any more so buying tablets and crushing them would be the way to use it for this.] Diflubenzuron/Dimilin-X. 0.03 mg/L for 1 week - effective and safe for fish. Liquid: 1 tsp treats 500 gallons so 1 mls treats 100 gallons. 0.1 mls/10 gallons. Repeat dosing in 3-5 days. Max treatment is 3 dosages per month. Will kill ALL crustaceans and likely snails. [This drug is slightly more available than the injectable Program but will still take some searching to find and likely some notable shipping time.] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnebuns Posted July 28, 2023 Author Share Posted July 28, 2023 On 7/25/2023 at 8:47 AM, Odd Duck said: Are there whitish tendrils on the gill margins? That could be anchor worms. Here’s the treatment I found for that after talking to the lead vet at the New England Aquarium about some anchor worms on axolotls. Anchorworm treatment: lufenuron at 0.1 mg/L [Lufenuron is the medication in Program. There used to be an injectable for cats on the market but I don’t think you can get it any more so buying tablets and crushing them would be the way to use it for this.] Diflubenzuron/Dimilin-X. 0.03 mg/L for 1 week - effective and safe for fish. Liquid: 1 tsp treats 500 gallons so 1 mls treats 100 gallons. 0.1 mls/10 gallons. Repeat dosing in 3-5 days. Max treatment is 3 dosages per month. Will kill ALL crustaceans and likely snails. [This drug is slightly more available than the injectable Program but will still take some searching to find and likely some notable shipping time.] Ty for the help. He passed early this morning around 3 am. If I hadn't gotten sick the past month I would have been able to keep up with treatments better. I feel horrible. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odd Duck Posted July 28, 2023 Share Posted July 28, 2023 (edited) Sometimes our own health or circumstances limit what we can do. It hurts but no one is superhuman, so we can’t hang on to that kind of guilt. It’s not your fault at all. Edited July 29, 2023 by Odd Duck 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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