They say my Beta is dying of an internal parasite??!?

Question

This is the sweetest smartest fish in the world
and all of a sudden today I woke up to him shivering a little... little like shakes.. his two fins beside his face (the tiny ones) are going a thousand miles a minute and he lays down a lot.
I knew something was REALLY wrong because you don't ever want your fish to go sideways because then they give up and die.

So the Vet told me to call Petsmart, and they said that once the fish is shivering or shaking that this means it is an internal Parasite?? And that he has maybe tonight or maybe a few weeks to live!! I asked her what I can do anything at all?
She said they would need an internal sample and analysis but if he is shaking that they dont do that because he is too far gone.

But he doesnt look "far gone" he just looks Extremely tired....
God I don't know what to do! I love this one so so much!

Please help! Does anything kill that nasty Parasite? I don't want him to die! What can I do? Anything?? Or just watch him go?
Help!!

No I just have him in a regular fish bowl not a full tank with all those things... to answer the first person.. he is always clean though and the water is filtered by osmosis... I also just put a little tiny itsy bit of salt in the water because I thought it could help... otherwise it is just a fish bowl with a light.. he is only one little guy...

YES I did clean the bowl out Thouroughly... totally!! It was the first thing I did when I saw him.oh and Prayed! I had an idea he had a parasite and prayed then I had an idea to put salt.. but not sure if that is ok? another Question about parasites said that the person gave the fish salty stuff that was supposed to attack the parasite.. that salt helped him.. but Is the salt I put in bad????

PS All of his symptoms are this
1. shaking shivering
2. fins by face going 100 mi an hour
3. very tired
4. tends to float on side (thats bad)
5. not wanting to eat

The petsmart lady said that shivering meant internal parasite and nothing was invented yet to treat that. I don't believe that nothing has been invented yet!! help!

PS it has been an hour and he looks a lot better, he is not shivering right now and he is not going 100 mi an hour with the fins but he still looks exhausted. I tried to fight with him with his toy umbrella and he fought! So maybe thats good he is a fighting fish

Answer 1

It sounds like someone at pet-not-so-smart didn't know what to tell you so they made something up. I know of no diseases that cause a fish to shake or shiver like you are discribing. The most likely bet is ammonia or nitrite poisoning. You don't say what kind of container you keep him in so I will assume it's a bowl. You should change out all of the water in the fishes bowl. Be sure to dechlorinate it fisrt and be sure it's very close to the same temperature as your fishes bowl.

It is also possible that the fish has some food stuck in his throat. If so it will soften up and he will be able to swallow it before long.

Best of luck and hope this helps.

MM

Answer 2

First, I really question the diagnosis. The symptoms don't fit.

This sounds more like a swim bladder problem to me if he's having trouble swimming and just sitting on the bottom. This link is for a webpage for betta diseases. Look up both conditions and see what you think - swim bladder is a little more than halfway down the page, internal parasites are a few below that.

http://www.bettatalk.com/betta_diseases.htm

There are treatments recommended for swim bladder problems. If you decide it's an internal parasite problem, you'll need an anti-parasitic food for him (should be able to get this in the medications at your fish store).

A water change may be of some help as well.

EDIT: I just noticed your question about salt. Yes, salt can help. It's best to use salt without iodine (pickling, canning, kosher, or aquarium salt). You can add 1 tsp./gallon.

EDIT 2: It isn't necessary to use RO - I just use tap water - RO removes some of the beneficial minerals like calcium & magnesium. Just be sure to add something to remove chlorine/chloramine. If you house is on a RO system, you can buy a product called OsmoPrep to add minerals back to the water - or, just get bottled spring water. (or, take an empty jug and get the water somewhere else - maybe where you work?)

Answer 3

im not sure about an internal parasite, but check your fish to see if there is a white growth around its mouth, fins, or stomach. if there is, your fish has a slightly severe case of fin rot. nothing to worry about- this fungus can be killed quite easily- depending on how long it has gone unnoticed. all you have to do is go to petsmart and they will have a bottle- they come in all sizes- ask for fin rot medication for a beta fish.

diagnosis::- this has nothing to do with you just its living conditions::- your fish is stressed out and has either been eating too much or tooo little. it is tired, as you said, so good job with that.

what you have to do::- when you get the meds, thoroughly clean out the tank or bowl- whatevs- and follow the directions on the bottle. after that, feed your fish a small pinch of food and clean it's tank every other day, but keep about a half of a cup of the old water in there- not the dirty water- because betas cannot adapt to new water every other day and they need some of their own bacteria to live.


follow these tips, and your fish should be better in no time!
if your fish does not have fin rot, im sorry for the trouble.
this disease is very common among betas and is also very curable. good luck!

Answer 4

Do you know your water readings for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and ph ?

Is your heater working (check thermometer)?

Is your filter on and working ?

How long have you had the tank running ?

It's a bit soon to say it's an internal parasite without knowing these answers; l'm sorry your fish isn't well - checking these out will help people give you advice

Answer 5

I'm sorry about you fish but chances are there is not anything that you can do. Mine died of the exact same thing. Are you using clean distilled water that is what the Petsmart guy told me to use and that didn't help either he still died. Good Luck

Answer 6

Umm you should go to the petstore and they'll help you find meds that treat internal bugs, but it may be too late to save it. It's a gamble with such little critters.

Answer 7

the fish is dying, just get a new one :)