should i give up on my betta fish?

Question

i've had a double tail betta for 5 months now and since day 1 i've been struggling to get rid of what i think is a swim bladder disorder. his abdomen is swollen and has problems staying balanced. i've tried feeding him less, even used an antibiotic called kanaplex , i change his water weekly, and put acquarium salt in his tank. this has been going on for the 5 months i've had him. i suspected he might have had an internal parasite since he darts around a lot and tries to scratch his gills a lot, so i tried treating him for ick (i'm not sure since i don't see anything on him)
but he's has not gotten better and recently is getting much worse. just the other day i saw that his fins were extremely torn up and shredded half his lower tail is gone, there's nothing plastic or sharp in the tank that could've done this. his gills are even having a hard time closing and he's gotten much more lethargic, he hardly moves much anymore.
should i just give up and euthanize him?

Answer 1

don't euthanize the fish. your first mistake was treating the fish when you didn't know what it had. medications are VERY hard on fish, so all the treatment has probably made him worse.

what do you keep him in? for best health you should have in him a tank that's at least 2.5gallons and has a small filter and heater. keep the water temp around 78°F to 82°F. giving him perfect conditions will help strengthen him enough to help him get over whatever he has.

two things to try for the next few days:
epsom salt bath - mix one tbsp of epsom salt with a gallon of water. put the betta in for up to 30mins. do this tomorrow as well.
fasting - don't feed your betta today or tomorrow
laxatives - after tomorrow give your betta a pea. frozen works best. soak the pea in hot water until room temp, then remove the skin and feed bite sized pieces of the pea to your betta, use a toothpick is needed.

if you don't see improvement in a few days email me for farther help :)

Answer 2

Not such an easy situation, I know, I've been in similar situations with fish before.

Given the fact that this has been going on so long, I think we can probably rule out a typical internal infection or parasite. To be honest, in 5 months the fish would either be well or dead, besides Kanaplex is a good antibiotic for internal infections and should have cleared up any infection in the tank.

If you treated for ich with typical ich medications, you would have most likely gotten rid of any small external parasites, even on the gills.

I think you may be looking at two separate problems. The split fins, problems breathing, lethargy and swollen gills are all signs of ammonia or nitrite poisoning. If the treatment with the Kanaplex was recent, you would be having problems with both at this time. That could explain his recent turn for the worse.

The swimming problems and swelling could be a long term internal infection, but is more likely the result of damaged caused by an infection or a genetic problem that only recently became obvious.

It sounds like to me that you have taken every reasonable course of action in treating the fish, so I suggest you check the water quality and correct any problems there to see if the symptoms subside. If the swimming problems and lethargy don't improve, you may need to euthanize the fish.

MM

Answer 3

You're pretty much doing everything wrong, I'm sorry to say. Most of what you're doingonly will make that kind of fish more sick.

If you want to keep it you should get a tank no less then 20 gallons for him, and change HALF of the water every other day for the first four weeks.

Tanks need to cycle and there probably wasn't anything wrong with the fish when you got it. However sadly most people don't know how to really take care of a fish and make it sick by putting it into a new tank.

It's nice that you seem to care so much about him but the best thing you can really do is try and find smeone who will take him, put him into a fish tank that someone else has that's much bigger that is already beed set up for a few weeks at least, or see if the pet store will take him back and care for him.

Don't euthanize him as it is simply killing a fish who might be savable.

I'm sorry as yu sound like you really did care but try and learn a little more from books and not pet stores or random ideas before you get another fish.

Answer 4

Ditto to emailing magicman, he has helped me with so many fish diseases. I'm not 100% sure, but these are my ideas on the illnesses.
#1. I think you were right that he had the swim bladder disease, but that wasn't the best treament. What I would of done is shelled a frozen pea, cut into small enough peices for your betta to eat; and put it in his water. but considering the fact that he is more lethargic and not eating he probably won't eat this. Look down on him and if he resembles a pine cone, he has got dropsy. My most dispised disease, if he does have it now it is probably incurable at this stage unfortunatly. The most humane way to kill a fish is provided at the following link.
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-most-humane-way-to-euthanize-a-fish.htm
Other methods such as freezing/ boiling/ leaving out of water are not very humane at all.
#2. As for the gills, I think he has/had gill flukes.
Here is a site on treatment
http://eric.petfish.net/flukes.htm

Hope This Helps!!!!

Answer 5

Sounds like he might have fin rot.
I never put any kind of salt in mine and they live for around 5 years.
Do not clean the bowl with soap...use table salt and rinse well.
Maybe if you went to the pharmacy and got just one Tetracyclin capsule and treated the water with half of it, it may help. Don't change the water too often for a sick fish. Weekly is good for a healthy fish.
It does sound bad, but don't give up. He may get better. Can you put an air bubbler in the bowl? That may help a LOT.

Answer 6

I THINK your fish has dropsy. Look at this article.


CAUSES:

It is actually undetermined as to what brings on this illness. Once thought to strictly be the result of an internal bacterial infection, this is not necessarily the case. It could be the result of a number of things ranging from an internal bacterial, viral, or fungal infection, internal parasites, or even cancerous tumors.

DIAGNOSIS:

What results is a blown up appearance. Your betta will literally look as though he has been inflated. This is caused by swelling within the tissues and organs, the result of fluid build up in the kidneys and the inability to excrete this fluid in a normal manner. In time, as a result of the swelling, the scales will begin to pull away from the body taking on a "pine cone" appearance. This is best seen by looking down on your betta from top view.

By the time your betta is swelled up enough that his scales begin to raise, the internal damage is "usually" (not always) too extensive to be repairable.

It is really undetermined if Dropsy is contagious, some say it is, some say it is not. I would advise you treat it as though it is highly contagious, do not take any chances. This is a very serious illness.

TREATMENT:

What is most unfortunate in treating this illness is the number of potential causes. This makes choosing a treatment for cure very hard if not impossible. You can only do your best, and the best chances of your betta's survival would be to catch this early, begin treatment right at the onset of the illness.

Do not use aquarium salt:

If you use aquarium salt as a preventative, you will want to perform a fresh water change adding no salt. When treating your betta for bloat due to dropsy or any other type of bloat for that matter, it is best not to use aquarium salt in your betta's water. The reason for this is because the fish cannot remove the sodium from it's own body. The betta is already having a difficult time getting rid of salts due to kidney dysfunction. This is what has caused the inflated appearance, as well as raised scales if he has reached that point. Your adding aquarium salt to the water is only increasing the problem. The addition of Epsom salt to the water, may be useful however. (This is discussed below).

Medication(s):

Because of the broad range of possible causes of this illness, it is best that you use a broad-spectrum antibiotic that covers both gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria.

One that is recommended is Kanacyn, manufactured by Aquatronics. Another option would be Maracyn and Maracyn-Two. Combining these two medications, which is safe to do, you are getting the benefits of treating both gram positive and gram negative bacteria. Maracyn treats-gram positive, Maracyn-Two treats gram-negative. All bases are covered.

Click HERE to view our Medications Made Easy page that provides medication dosage on a 1-gallon tank basis.

The use of Epsom salt:

Optional: Adding Epsom Salt to your betta's water is something you can do as an addition to treatment. This may help reduce the internal pressure caused by the swelling. Epsom Salt is made with magnesium, not sodium. Epsom salt does not pass through the walls of the stomach or gills and will extract water out of the surrounding tissue into the stomach, where it may be excreted depending on the level of internal damage that may have already occurred.

Should you decide to use Epsom Salt as an extra measure, know that Epsom salt is made up of Magnesium Sulfate. This does contain one part Sulfa in its make up. If you are using a medication that states it is not compatible with medications containing Sulfa, do not use this as a method of treatment . Dosage is 1/8 teaspoon of Epsom Salt per five gallons of water. If you are working with a smaller tank, measure out 1/8 teaspoon, divide it up into five equal parts. Add one part per gallon of water that you are working with. It will seem very little, that is fine. A little can go a long way. More is not necessarily better.

Additional procedures:

Added aeration may be beneficial for your betta while treating with medication to provide them with more oxygen.

Clean water is always important for a betta, but is especially beneficial for any betta facing an illness. You may find it helpful to change your betta's water more frequently while you are treating with any medication.

Always keeping your betta warm, between 76-82 degrees, will also help them to feel more comfortable and raise their immune system.

Answer 7

Yeah, that's getting too expensive and he's suffering. Let him die and end his torment. Poor little guy. I've had Beta fishes but younger siblings...well...I've given up until I have a place of my own.

Answer 8

Email magicman. He is a betta expert, and has raised them for decades.

Answer 9

Dude never give up if it to hard 4 you you know what you do


TRY HARDER