Chick-In-Of-TheSea Posted May 20 Share Posted May 20 (edited) I came home to find the betta stuck in the shrimp cave. The caves have been in there for a year or so. I don’t know how long he was trapped; I was at work. I tried multiple ways to free him and, eventually we had to break the cave. He is injured, mainly from trying to free himself against unfinished ceramic which was very abrasive. He is stressed and I don’t know if I should ASAP medicate, let him rest, or what. @Colu @Odd Duck @Guppysnail @nabokovfan87 Edited May 20 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chick-In-Of-TheSea Posted May 20 Author Share Posted May 20 I feel I need to act fast. Adding level 2 salt, slowly with a drip line. And more catappa leaves 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppysnail Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 On 5/20/2024 at 7:52 PM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said: I feel I need to act fast. Adding level 2 salt, slowly with a drip line. And more catappa leaves I’m so sorry your guy is hurt. If it were me I would do this. I hope he recovers. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chick-In-Of-TheSea Posted May 21 Author Share Posted May 21 On 5/20/2024 at 8:03 PM, Guppysnail said: I’m so sorry your guy is hurt. If it were me I would do this. I hope he recovers. He is well enough to stay near the surface as he usually does. He is resting on top of his tunnel. I moved the sponge filter to the other side of the tank, not that it creates much flow, but it seemed it was bothering him a little bit in his condition. Pray for my guy. I’m about to turn the room light out so he can just focus on getting better. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 Main thing would be to make it as easy as you can for him to stay near the surface and monitor what on earth could be wrong. Some bacterial meds in a day or so to follow up would not be a bad idea as long as he is acting normal. Meaning, abrasions, cuts, wounds, etc... it's very common to use something like maracyn with barbs whenever they decide to fight a bit too much with one another. Give him 24-48 hours on the salt, maybe a breeder box near the surface if he isn't a jumper, and then decide if you want to follow up with anything else. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chick-In-Of-TheSea Posted May 21 Author Share Posted May 21 On 5/20/2024 at 9:09 PM, nabokovfan87 said: Main thing would be to make it as easy as you can for him to stay near the surface and monitor what on earth could be wrong. Some bacterial meds in a day or so to follow up would not be a bad idea as long as he is acting normal. Meaning, abrasions, cuts, wounds, etc... it's very common to use something like maracyn with barbs whenever they decide to fight a bit too much with one another. Give him 24-48 hours on the salt, maybe a breeder box near the surface if he isn't a jumper, and then decide if you want to follow up with anything else. He’s too stressed now to begin meds, but I added a second leaf hammock for him. He has several perches to choose from. Silver lining: caught his 2 shrimp and added them to the shrimp colony tank. The salt will probably kill the plants. I don’t think I care. Uprooting them will affect water quality. The fish is more important. 💙 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chick-In-Of-TheSea Posted May 21 Author Share Posted May 21 Sidenote: I think Geppetto is 4 or 5 years old now. My friend had him for several years, then I have him for about a year and a half. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 On 5/20/2024 at 6:14 PM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said: The salt will probably kill the plants. I don’t think I care. Uprooting them will affect water quality. The fish is more important. 💙 There's a lot of plants that I've salted and out of everything in my tanks, 20-30 species over time, I've only lost 2-3. Even high level doses of salt. Hopefully the plants handle it well. And yes, absolutely, give Gepetto a few days to show he's ok and then just consider that follow-up with any sort of medications that seem appropriate. That's all I was trying to say. 🙂 The body shape is what worries me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chick-In-Of-TheSea Posted May 21 Author Share Posted May 21 (edited) Hey guys, good news. Geppetto made it through the night. He was at the surface when I woke up: his standard spot. He looks pretty ok? I am NOT saying he’s out of the woods. I’m saying despite what he’s been through I thought he would look worse. I did a water change. He temporarily moved to the bottom while I did. He seems to swim normally. I was careful not to create current and blow him around. I am focusing on good water quality to care for his wounds. Yes it will dilute the tannins. I plan to supplement with catappa tea. Salt I dosed back accordingly, at Level 2. Fortunately I have a co op order arriving tomorrow and 2 bags of salt, leaves and other goodies are in there. Plus the dedicated co op measuring spoon for the salt. Now I will be able to find my cooking ones when I want to cook. 😉 Edited May 21 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 Main things to keep an eye out for is secondary bacterial and fungal infections salt and catappa leaves will help as @nabokovfan87 said you might have to follow up with antibiotic treatment such as maracyn or kanaplex if you see any Reddening I would do a course of kanaplex or maracyn if you see a fuzzy appearance to the body then I would treat with a combination of maracyn and ick X @Chick-In-Of-TheSea 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odd Duck Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 Solid advice so far. For sure add some Catappa tea. You don’t need to go so dark you can’t keep a good eye on him, but you can go pretty dark to help reduce risk of infection. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chick-In-Of-TheSea Posted May 22 Author Share Posted May 22 (edited) Wounds look good. Light pink, healing. He’s in good spirits. Did the wigglebutt dance when I approached. Good appetite, but I reduced his portion just in case of any internal issues that I can’t see. Sorry for the glass in the second video. Looks messy when shining the flashlight on it. That was the best way to assess him. I’ve been keeping his light off also, but turned it on to check on him. I notice 2 wounds on his side also, light pink as well. I am surprised at the progress he’s made in 24 hours. I think my co op order with the catappa leaves is due to arrive tomorrow. Edited May 22 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony s Posted May 22 Share Posted May 22 Honestly, very nicely done. He looked really rough in the first sets. But as long as no bacteria set it, he should do good. Tough little dude. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chick-In-Of-TheSea Posted May 22 Author Share Posted May 22 On 5/21/2024 at 10:23 PM, Tony s said: Honestly, very nicely done. He looked really rough in the first sets. But as long as no bacteria set it, he should do good. Tough little dude. He sure is. He is resting a little more. I wouldn’t call him lethargic. It’s just like he’s taking breaks more often, understandably so. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted May 22 Share Posted May 22 (edited) In the second video (side view) when he is swimming left to right you can see a little something. I am not sure what it is, but maybe you can see it better in person. @Chick-In-Of-TheSea On 5/21/2024 at 6:55 PM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said: I notice 2 wounds on his side also, light pink as well. I am surprised at the progress he’s made in 24 hours. Missed this bit, but yeah! You saw them too. They look very, very typical from what I see on the label for erythromycin use. I think beyond that, adding the botanicals in there as well would be the steps I would take. Edited May 22 by nabokovfan87 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chick-In-Of-TheSea Posted May 22 Author Share Posted May 22 Geppetto enthusiastically greeted me this morning and fiercely attacked his live white worms. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chick-In-Of-TheSea Posted May 22 Author Share Posted May 22 Changed water. Redosed salt for replacement water. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chick-In-Of-TheSea Posted May 23 Author Share Posted May 23 (edited) Got the co op measuring spoon! Didn’t realize the bottom of it was also 2 measuring spoons! 4 spoons in one! (Why isn’t it green tho?) Perfect timing for this salt treatment. This is how you season a tank, right? (Hehehe) Edited May 23 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chick-In-Of-TheSea Posted May 24 Author Share Posted May 24 Geppetto got white worms again today and was very excited about it. I saw him diving down to the bottom of the tank when I was across the room, checking on his pet trumpet snails. He loves to watch them. Wounds look good. Light pink. Last night I boiled the catappa tea and let it sit overnight, and today’s water change added back tannins. Redosed salt to level 2 as usual, and all is going well. He’s so nosy too. If I do stuff with the tanks below or next to his, he is right there watching everything that is going on. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chick-In-Of-TheSea Posted May 24 Author Share Posted May 24 It is hard to get decent photos so here’s a video of how our boy is doing. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted May 24 Share Posted May 24 Still not looking great hopefully a combination of salt and catappa leaves will prevent secondary infection 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chick-In-Of-TheSea Posted May 25 Author Share Posted May 25 (edited) In person the wounds are barely noticeable. I really have to look with the flashlight. One of his kickstands has loss of pigment in a little spot. I checked closely, and I cannot see fungus or anything there which is a relief. I just keep changing water every day and dosing back salt and catappa tea, plus like 3 leaves are in the tank. His fins do need a little help; they are looking ragged from the ordeal. Also not sure why he’s so attracted to that thermometer lately. He never seemed to notice it before. I gave him a flower pot tunnel today. It has no bottom, and it has been sanded smooth. The opening is way bigger than he is, so no concern there and it gives him a new something to explore. By the way, I hope everyone has a nice holiday weekend (if you are in the U.S., and if you’re not, then I hope you have a nice weekend in general). 🙂 Edited May 25 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chick-In-Of-TheSea Posted May 29 Author Share Posted May 29 Today I observed redness at the gill. He just completed his 7th day at level 2 salt with water changes and catappa tea daily. I did drop him to a level 1 today to give him a bit of a break, and I observed this after making that change. The redness concerns me. On 5/21/2024 at 6:07 AM, Colu said: if you see any Reddening I would do a course of kanaplex or maracyn I have both. Which is better? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted May 29 Share Posted May 29 On 5/29/2024 at 1:21 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said: Today I observed redness at the gill. He just completed his 7th day at level 2 salt with water changes and catappa tea daily. I did drop him to a level 1 today to give him a bit of a break, and I observed this after making that change. The redness concerns me. I have both. Which is better? I would do a course of kanaplex it's a more broad spectrum antibiotic treatment 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chick-In-Of-TheSea Posted May 29 Author Share Posted May 29 (edited) On 5/29/2024 at 6:22 AM, Colu said: I would do a course of kanaplex it's a more broad spectrum antibiotic treatment I was hoping you’d say Kanaplex. I didn’t want to obliterate my filter with Maracyn. I have to fish out my trumpet snails to treat his tank. QT tanks are in use. Edited May 29 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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