sick betta??

Question

my poor betta fish hardly ever moves! he is usually stationary but is moving his fins like crazy (kinda looks like a hummingbird?). this leads me to believe he has sumthing wrong with his swim bladder, tho i cannot be certain....when i put a mirror in front of him he does nothing. he doesn't eat. his color has turned from red to a silverish on his head/by his gills. umm, yeah he hasn't eaten in 3 days even when i put food up close to him. any suggestions? oh i also bought BettaZing and was told it is an all-around preventative. i followed the instructions and put 1 drop in, but he's still sick. that was 3 days ago. oh and i did a full water change too w/ tap water that had been sitting out for a couple days to dechlorify. please help! i dont want to lose mhy friend!!

Answer 1

1) Not moving? Does he have a heater? Bettas need a temperature of 72-74 degrees farenheit.
2) Swimbladder problems are easy to diganose. is he on the bottom or top of the tank and seem very off balnce? Does he fight to swim but just spiral around the tank?
3) Silvery may be a fungus problem. get an anti fungal medication
4)bettazing is probably crummy
5)To get him to eat which is very very important try freeze dried bloodworms and some hiraki betta bio gold both of these will get even the pickiest betta eating.
6) Full water cahnges are bad unless your betta is in a unfiltred less than one gallon death trap. Now a 2.5 gallon tank and filter may run you up 20 bucks so it's not that bad
7) Does his belly area look swollen? If so he may be constipated. Feed him a frozen thawed pea with the hull removed 2 to 3 times daily for 3 to 4 days o until he is pooing regulary.
8) Medications often tyake a week to see diferences be patient.
9) Invest in a filter and or bubbler with meds in the water oxygen levels are low and he will need it.

Hope I could help!

Answer 2

Is he acting any better since the water changes? I think he looks a bit swollen/bloated as well. In one picture, it almost appears that may be what's causing the color loss, since it appears in the same area as the bloating is. First, stop using the salt. Only use aquarium salt if treating for parasites or if there's nitrites present in the tank. Also, stop using the ph adjusting product. Those are junk, and will actually cause more harm then good unless you know what you're doing by altering the ph. Usually, after using those products, the ph will bounce back where it was originally in a short time, causing further stress on the fish. Most fish will tolerate ph from 6.0-8.0 just fine. Leave it be what it's at naturally for your home. I would suggest picking up a smaller gravel vacuum for your tank size, and start doing weekly water changes. Even if the betta doesn't make it, if you plan on getting another, all fish really need to have their tanks cleaned out weekly. Without knowing what the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates were that very well may be what the probably was. All the symptoms you've described from the color loss, bloating, clamped fins, etc. can be signs of poor water quality. I would continue with the frequent water changes for the next few days. Then get on a weekly schedule. Pick up some epsom salt as well, and add a bit of that to the tank. I'd add about 1/2 teaspoon. Epsom salt helps with constipation, and also helps to draw fluids out. Aquarium salt retains fluids, so again, don't use that anymore unless treating for what I specified above. Also for the next few days, only feed him a small portion of the inside of a pea. That helps with constipation as well. That's all I would do at this point for treatment. If he's gonna make it, it'll be because of the improvement in water quality. If he's too far gone, the other stuff most likely won't help, and I don't see a need for using any med at this point since it really doesn't sound like a bacterial or parasite problem. Good luck!

Answer 3

Make sure he has a gallon of water per every inch of him. Also make sure the water is at 75-80 degrees fahrenheit, and the ammonia is low. Check for parasites. Bettas usually live for 2-3 years, so his time may be up. Good luck

Answer 4

If he's all white around the stomach and puffed up there too then he just ate too much.