My Beta Fish is Sick & Unsure what to do?

Question

My fish has been swimming/floating upside down for a while then he will swim erratically all over the place. Sometimes the fish will be floating straight up and down. It is weird. He has not eaten for days because he can't seem to get focused enough to eat the food. I don't know if I can do anything to help or is this normal for a dying beta fish? He has lived for about 4 years.

Answer 1

I had a few similar problem's with my Betta a month ago, and after using this website


http://www.bettatalk.com

He got all better! These are symptoms of a few things. I'd tell you straight up what his problem was but I am not sure because I don't know all the details. Look around this website, and in the disease area aswell. It is very helpful!

GoodLuck!:D
Love Alena and Alastair the Betta.

Answer 2

It sounds like swimbladder disease
CAUSES:

Swim Bladder Disorder is often caused by overfeeding or lack of variety in the diet. SBD is not contagious and there is no need to destroy a fish with this condition as he/she is not suffering. SBD may be a side effect of a constipated betta.

PREVENTION:

Some betta owners fast (do not feed) their betta for one day per week to cleanse the betta's system. This is a useful method to prevent Swim Bladder Disorder and/or Constipation, especially if live or frozen foods are fed on a regular basis. Another feeding option thought to prevent SBD is splitting a betta's feeding up into two small meals per day, rather than one larger meal. This reduces the amount of food intake at one time and allows the betta's system to process it easier. Always remember a betta's stomach is about the size of his eyeball, so a little food goes a long way. Variety in a betta's diet is important both to prevent illness, and insure they are receiving the necessary nutrients to stay healthy.

DIAGNOSIS:

One day your betta is fine - swimming around happily and blowing his bubbles. The next day, he is swimming lopsided, not as active and maybe a tad bit dull in color or bloated. The "swim bladder" is located on the spine of the fish between his belly and tail. If the bladder becomes enlarged/swollen or tight, it can cause your fish to have difficulty swimming. Usually with swim bladder the fish will either float on one side or lay at the bottom because he has difficulty getting to the top. It may appear as though the betta has lost their buoyancy.

TREATMENT:

Try to keep your betta's diet balanced and not to overfilling. The swim bladder will soon correct itself and your betta will begin to swim normal again.

Similar to constipation, you can also try to fast your betta for 24-48 hours. Next, take a cooked pea and peel it. Feed a small portion of it to your betta on the end of a flat toothpick. Watch to make sure your betta is going to the bathroom, as this will mean the SBD and/or constipation is subsiding.

Additional procedures:

Clean water is always important for a betta, but is especially beneficial for any betta facing an illness.

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



Hope that helps
Good luck


EB

Answer 3

well I do not know IF it is dying, rather 4 years sounds a little short. (tailless goldfish yahoo videos see my tank btw)

I would put a small air pump diversion stone in a goldfish bowl, let water stand for a day befor inserting the fish into this IF IT NOT IN A SMALL GOLDFISH BOWL ALL READY.

going to sounds rather odd, take 1/4 teaspoon of baby peas and smosh them into a pulp, put this into the tank as food, hopefully your fish will be fine.

to hard to explaine about the baby peas but after "torpedo" lost his tail, we transfered him into a medical recovery tank (a small goldfish bowel with two air stones and nothing but baby peas for food for a week, he recoverd nicly. I do the same thing for all my fish who act "off" they recover as well.

basically I give them the two things they want most...food and extrem air enriched water to swim in, I also have two carbon filters runing that are for a ten gallon tank.